Required “Year in Review”
Typically, I treat “Medium” as a place to write personal essays — things I would imagine strangers reading more than friends. But strangers DGAF about my year in review. So… sorry strangers. Just wanted to provide the requisite 2016 reflection.
It began at Spirit, a bar/club in Lawrenceville. We waited a really long time in really cold weather to get in, they ran out of food before we could get any, and ran out of champagne after we’d each received the tiniest thimbleful. It wasn’t great, but at least we started 2016 with friends.
January was typical. It was cold and I had wine and cheese for my birthday, which is what I’ve come to do every year (except this one… more on that soon).
February was travular. I kicked it off visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Dallas for my cousin’s baby shower. My sister and Grandmother came, too. It was a lot of fun, and great to spend some time with family I don’t see very often.
I also had the opportunity to go to HIMMS, a professional conference, which happened to be in Las Vegas this year. That was a nice highlight because I got to spend some time with my overseas co-workers, and I got to meet some members of our sales team I had not yet met. It was very long hours on our feet, and despite it being in Vegas, I didn’t gamble a single nickel, nor did I drink very much at all. It was definitely work versus play, but it was a really awesome experience.
Before I knew I was going to HIMMS, Josh and I had decided to book a trip to Florida to see the Pirates at Spring Training and visit with Josh’s cousins who live there. The vacation began as HIMMS ended, so I flew straight from Vegas to Tampa, all of which was a wonderful departure from the cold temps and cloudy skies of Pittsburgh. In Florida, we lounged in the sun, drank a lot of beer, spent some hilarious and delightful family time, and watched Pirates baseball. It was wonderful.
March was hard work. I had a lot of work projects going on and submitted a proposal for a major potential customer which we ended up winning, but we are still ironing out contract details so I can’t mention the name of it.
In April, our entire Sales team had to attend a major conference, but my company had already booked a couple spots at a smaller conference in Atlanta. Being the next person in line with as much knowledge about our company and solutions, work opted to send me. That was great fun. I did a bit of networking, got a bunch of sales leads, and attended some good parties and a nice dinner at the Aquarium.
In May, work was going well and getting very busy. I received the green light to begin searching for my own employee. I spent a lot of time interviewing and reading resumes.
When June rolled around, work had hired a new Bid Manager in Ireland, and my boss figured we should meet. There was also an “onboarding” class in Dublin — a crash course in who we are and what we do (and liver training) for new employees. My boss wanted me to do a presentation for them, so off to Ireland I went for a week. Again — business, not pleasure, but still so very enjoyable. I got to meet new coworkers, spend some time with favorite existing coworkers (and former coworkers), drink whiskey and eat Irish butter, which is far superior to all other butters.
July dropped the work bomb of the year. Where Pittsburgh had been our North American Headquarters (even though our office was just two little rooms in an office park), my company decided to move to Chicago, where there’s more healthcare IT buzz and direct flights to and from Dublin. After initial panic, I learned that I would not need to relocate, but would be traveling to Chicago at least once a month. Unfortunately, I had to give up my employee search and start fresh there.
With the help of our new in-house recruiter, we found and hired my first employee in August. She is awesome. She is better at my job than I am. I have hired my own assassin. Whoops.
In September, I had my performance review, which was quite positive.
In October, I got to attend our brochure photo shoot to make sure our product was displayed and used properly in our photos. It was a very long but really neat day. As per usual, Josh and I closed out October with a Halloween party and decorations that frightened trick-or-treaters. Josh and I both traveled for work a lot in October, me to Chicago and him to Ohio. We didn’t see a whole lot of each other, but we saved crazy money, which was cool.
November brought my favorite holiday — Thanksgiving. We spent it in Ohio with Josh’s family, which is always great. We ate a lot. We drank a lot. My good friend and I, who were born 2 days apart, booked our second every-five-year birthday trip. When we turned 30, we went to Vegas. This year we will be celebrating 35 in Punta Cana. One can’t complain about leaving Pittsburgh in January to lounge by the pool with a cocktail. Definitely looking forward to that.
It goes without saying that November also brought the election. I was registered as Independent for a long time. My tears and frustrations over the election don’t come from a place of being too lefty to appreciate anyone but “my” candidate; they come from Donald Trump himself, and what an asshat I believe him to be, truly, in my heart. My feelings come from the progress women, minorities and LGBTQ folks have made, and while we need to make more, we probably won’t be able to now. Not for a while. I can’t say much more that hasn’t already been said. I’ll do what I can from here on out, but it feels hopeless.
And here we are in December. Josh and I stayed in Pittsburgh this year for Christmas. We both have been traveling so much for work that we felt like we never see our home and our animals and each other, so it was the right choice. We spent time with extended family, including my 91-year-old Grandmother. She’s in good health and good spirits, but 91 is still a fragile age, and it’s nice to spend time with her when we can.
I know we lost a lot of good people, animals and celebrities in 2016. I don’t need to rehash all of that. It really felt like once a week we woke up to more tragic news about things happening throughout the world and icons leaving us. I don’t want to dwell on those things.
So here are some stats for 2017:
Miles flown: 23,319, or four times as long as the Great Wall of China.
Public oboe “performances”: 7
Pounds lost: 2.4 (underwhelming)
Countries I technically spent time in: 3
Employees hired: 1
Wine consumed: Infinity
Let’s all hope that 2017 brings at least some good news and some good vibes for us all. I don’t think I’ll make any “resolutions.” My resolution for 2016 was to be a better tipper, which I think I’ve accomplished. I don’t know. Maybe my goal for 2017 will be a promotion, but that’s not really a resolution. Whatevs.
Wishing everyone a fun evening to kick off an awesome new year full of whatever it is that makes you happy. ❤
