2020 Was a Great Year

 It is approaching 9 pm and I am sitting in my living room with the next 3 days off of work.  Maleficent is on the TV, streaming from Disney+ as my wife fiddles with something in the kitchen.  My boy is blowing shit up in some video game and my girl is singing along to some random Bubble Guppies song and playing with the dog.  After a long week at work I feel totally at peace with my family and my life.

The year 2020 is not going to be remembered fondly by a lot of people because of the world wide pandemic that swept over us all, but I am a firm believer that life is what you make it.  You can choose to give in to your circumstances and proclaim Fuck 2020 and Fuck Covid loud and proud and just accept that your life was decidedly horrible this past year because of what happened.  Or you can be in charge of your life and march forward with a chip on your shoulder because you know  that the only thing that can slow you down is yourself and you did not allow that to happen.

I'm not saying that I ruled the world for the entire year and proclaiming myself king of the underworld but I am stating, as fact, that I sure as shit made the most of it as the year came to an end.

The positives of 2020:

1 - I changed my mindset and decided to take back control of my life.  I jumped on a program called #75Hard and over the course of 75 days I lost 30 pounds while building up a better mental toughness and increasing my will power.

2 - Due to the pandemic, and being an essential worker, the wife and I hit more (and bigger) bonuses at work and are closing the year out with our biggest income to date, and by a large margin.

3 - I finally decided to start a Fantasy Football League with a group of friends from all walks of my life and past.  My brother, my son, my brother-in-law, a friend I met in 6th grade, one from 11th grade, one from college, Co workers that I have met since moving to Vegas and a random dude from the internet that I met because of podcasts and video games.  Quite the gambit!

4 - My children have grown like bad weeds in a flower garden. They have outgrown all of their clothes. Their personalities are shining through loud and clear and they are certifiably crazy, but I love them.  Having gone from never wanting children to having a full brood has made my life more fulfilling than I ever thought possible.

5 - Since October 1st I have lost approximately 40 pounds.  I have cut out 99% of my junk food and fast food consumption.  I have cut out soda's and am drinking a ton of water.  I have started to eat healthier and the wife and I are finding new healthy recepes to replace unhealthier versions as we both work towards a better lifestyle for our family.

6 - While my hobbies have taken a back seat to me taking a journey towards self improvement I have actually reconnected with one that I have been ignoring for a bunch of years, reading.  Starting #75Hard I read through 5 books and have continued to read a little bit almost every day since. I am about 50% through one currently and have a couple more lined up for 2021.

7 - I expanded my podcast from a two man wrecking crew and added three new members to help us push out content more consistently and have formed great friendships with every member of the team.  In addition to the three new members we also have two others who are part of the team in some manner and I hope to expand their roles in the coming year.  

8 - I was forced to buy a car when my 2005 Ford Focus started to need too many repairs and then the AC shit the bed during one of the hottest times of the year.  I upgraded to a 2019 Toyota Corolla.  

9 - While trying to raise money to buy a Playstation 5 and an Xbox Series X I rediscovered some old Magic: The Gathering cards I had in a box and started selling them off so I could afford the new systems.  One month later I accidentally made enough money to pay off my car AND purchase one of the systems (and this was after paying eBay and Paypal fees).  I had ONE monthly car payment and then on month two I made a lump sum payment and now own the car outright.

10 - I still acquired my PS5 and my Series X and then I won a Nintendo Switch (which showed up today, the last day of the year) in a giveaway on Twitter from a video game company.

Ten reasons why the year 2020 has kicked a lot of ass for me and my family.

2021 is rapidly approaching (2.5 hours away as I clack on this keyboard) and I plan on it being an even better year.

I will enjoy my family more.

I will get in better shape.

I will drop another 30 pounds.

I will sink a lot of time into my favorite hobbies.

Life is good people.  Stop making excuses as to why life sucks.  Grab life by the balls and make it your bitch, not the other way around.

The FatManinVegas has spoken.  

Thank you all for being in my life.  Without friends and family you just have ass-hat co-workers  :)