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2024: The Biggest Year?



Kitchen Renovation * Solar Eclipse * Farm Livin'
Best Girl Around * Keys to the Kingdom * The Graduate
The Great White North * Aurora Borealis * This Old House



School's Out/Big Man on Campus
So this was a big year. Henry graduated from high school amidst a pack of great friends, had an epic graduation party, and went off to the College for Creative Studies (with a handsome academic scholarship), his stretch goal and the school he most wanted to attend. He's already had homesickness, a disaster roommate, made great friends, been frustrated by his professors, crushed his projects, wanted to quit, gotten great grades, and come home to do laundry. As Bluto's sweatshirt proclaimed: COLLEGE.



Convergence Weeks and The Biggest Year with the Best Person I Know
A weird thing Penny and I noticed is that big events seemed to culminate in groups this year. You'll work on several projects or be waiting on an event or news, and then it all seems to hit at once. It happened over and over for us...odd times when (after a dull stretch) everything seemed to happen all at once. We called these "Convergence Weeks."

Additionally, a fun mental exercise we came up with this year is to think about the calendar year where your life had the most events. Maybe one year you changed jobs and had twins, or one year your house burned down and you also lost a parent, or one year you circumnavigated the globe and also got married. This may have been the biggest calendar year in our lives: Kid graduated, big party, went to college, moved, sold a house, remodeled a kitchen. Those are some whopper events.

All this to say there's no way I could have gotten through all of this with the level of success I feel without my best girl by my side. A planner, an empath, an accomplisher, and honestly the best person I know. I'm the luckiest person that ever lived. Sorry, everybody else.



Kitchen Remodel
A major construction project wrapped up this year, when we reimagined an 1880s with 1930s cabinets to be historically relevant but modern and useable. A pretty good wrapup is available in this series of photos.



Trail Cam

We got a trail cam this year and have since spotted foxes, deer, turkeys, sandhill cranes, possums, cats, and this rascal:

AADL 200
This year our library celebrated the Bicentennial of Ann Arbor and created 200 stories about the history of the town. For one of the stories, my buddy Paul and I were interviewed about the rise and fall of Tower Records in Ann Arbor. It was a blast and we got to tell some funny stories.


Smoked Paprika
Have you tried this? It's like paprika, but smokey and everything you put it on tastes 17% better.



Northern Lights
We had a remarkable display of the Northern Lights this summer. We were sitting on the couch and social media exploded with friends saying "GET OUTSIDE!" We went to The Big Playground near our house and were treated to a spectacular lightshow. It was even more visible using the cameras in our phones and nearly everybody in town posted a million pictures. A terrific shared experience.




Cat Food Robot
We got one of these automagic cat feeders for our food-obsessed cat. He gets regular portions at regular intervals and it has helped his weight and food mania immensely.



Take Off to the Great White North
During the summer we caught a Tigers game at the Rogers Centre in the shadow of the CN tower, and also took in some local sights. Highlights included rolling a 20-sided die to determine my burger at Storm Crow Manor (I rolled a chicken patty with nacho cheese on sourdough bread with caramelized onions and banana peppers. Side of tater tots), seeing fucked-up taxidermy and ancient answering machines at Doc's Leathers, checking in on the TVA at the Toronto Reference Library, and drinking a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster at The Offworld Bar. Pretty great, eh?



Farm Livin' is the Life for Me
Once we shoved Henry off to college, we finally made to move to the 1880s farmhouse where Penny's grandfather grew up. We've put a ton of work into this house and the grounds, and there's still more to do, but we're happy and proud to be here. Some highlights and updates on our Instagram page BurrOakFarm1886.







Disney World and Keys to the Kingdom
The Mouse never disappoints. This year Henry was finally old enough for us to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour, which brings you behind the curtain to see the inner workings of Jungle Cruise, and my personal favorite Haunted Mansion.

The real highlight of the trip was getting in line for the rollercoaster Big Thunder Mountain Railroad right before closing and the Disney carnies stopped our train at the top of the big hill just as the massive Disney World fireworks were starting. We perched there and saw the huge explosions in the sky before the train cars pulled us down into our ride. It'll never happen that way again and we soaked in the experience like three Mickey-shaped sponges.



Upper Hand Brewery

This was a fun Michigan beer to get to know this year, particularly this variety pack. One of them has fireflies on the label.


Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
PJ and I embarked on a Philly Cheesesteak odyssey this year, sampling as many cheesesteaks as we could. What follows is a rough order of what we liked best.

- Lefty's
- Izzy's
- Moe'Z Famous Cheesesteaks
- Broadway Cafe
- Monty's Public House
- Blue Dog Tavern (plus cheesesteak tots)
- Old Town Tavern
- Mr. Spots
- Knights
- Jersey Mike's Subs
- Subway



This Old House
On the flipside, we sold our house in Ann Arbor. in 1999(!) we bought the worst house on the best block we could find. We ripped out astroturf, re-wired old knob-and-tube, painted and updated, tore out drop ceilings, re-engineered bathrooms and kitchens, brought in two cats (Galaga and Bukowski) and laid them to rest, added our Boston Terrier Daisy into the mix and loved her until she was 15 and we said goodbye. We endured blackouts, block parties, shoveling a corner lot and walking to Old Town whenever we felt like it. We joined rock bands and got our black belts, lost parents and gained a son, all within those walls. I'm overjoyed to be where we are today, but will always remember Our First House™ with immense fondness and absolutely zero regrets.





PLUS: Rebuilt the rotting posts on our porch stairs, re-stained the deck, (finally) had Harvest Supper at Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village on Halloween, Motor City Comic Con (got to see Ernie Hudson and Karen Allen, plus my wife in her Bo-Katan Mandalorian cosplay), we took a boring vacation in Saugatuck at a cute log cabin and played an ancient A-Team board game, saw a cool solar eclipse, re-stained the cottage and repainted the bathroom, a terrific Chi-Chi's-esque Mexican restaurant called Jalisco opened up in the neighborhood, we attended a fond and bittersweet going-away/block party, spent time at the cottage with friends and family (and friends who are family), and a host of other wonderous things.




Tunes:







Spotify Playlist




I saw the following rock shows:
• Ratboys with Ducks Ltd. at the Blind Pig
• Jeremy Porter, The Yardarm and Flatfoot at the Alley in Lansing
• Jim Roll and Tim Monger at North Star Lounge on Penny's birthday (and Jimmer made everybody sing happy birthday to her)
• DETxDET at Loving Touch
• Jim Roll and Television City at Ghost Light
• Klezmephonic at Blue Llama
• Brawny Lad and Timothy Monger at Stony Lake Brewing Co.



Books:





Some Highlights:

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Immersive world building that reminded me of Game of Thrones with elaborate caste structures and subtle magical influences, plus it got spicy every once in a while.


The Farseer Trilogy / Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
A fun and poetic fantasy series about (the usual...) a lowborn guy who works his way up in the ranks and discovers his hidden true worth. There are battles and magic and the usual stuff, but it was well-crafted and engaging.


The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic by Daniel de Visé
I wrote a more in-depth review here.


Cocaine and Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette by Tyler Mahan Coe
I wrote a more in-depth review here.


A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
This is the spicy fairy book that Instagram warned you about, but the worldbuilding is good, and the main character stands up for herself as an individual. These are exceptionally easy book-snacks and you can devour them and move on with a spring in your step.


The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
On the day before she turns 17, January discovers a mysterious book that smells of sea and spices in one of the many rooms of Locke's house. As she reads the book, she learns that certain locations in the world are doors to other worlds—and that her entire life is tied to those doors.




Movies: (in no real order)

The Beekeeper
Challengers
Babylon
Perfect Blue
Paprika
The Substance
Deadpool and Wolverine
Twisters
Tom Petty's Heartbreakers Beach Party
A Disturbance In The Force : How The Star Wars Holiday Special Happened
Dune Part Two
The Fall Guy
Furiosa
Trap
Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary
MaXXXine
A Quiet Place: Day One
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Anyone But You
Lost City
Ferrari
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Bone Tomahawk




Computers and Technology:


Podcasts:

60 Songs that Explain the '90s
A '90s guy blathers on about '90s music but brings in elements of culture, the zeitgeist and his own goofy but sincere life experiences in recounting the important songs of that decade. It was supposed to be 60 songs but then ended up being pushed to 90 songs and ended up being 120 songs. Even the songs I don't like end up being worthy listens.


Armchair Anonymous
Armchair Anonymous sends out a topic and normal joes call in with their insane stories.


What Went Wrong
Two movie insiders dig into the insane nonsense that goes into how a film gets made.


AADL 200
As mentioned earlier, the library did a bang-up job of documenting Ann Arbor's bicentennial. Despite their rigid criteria, Paul and I still managed to sneak in and make some noise about working at Tower Records.



Videos and Funny:


















Televizzle:


Doctor Who
Didn't really explore many shows this year but we finally bit the space/time bullet and started watching Doctor Who.

Also:
Bridgerton & Queen Charlotte
Sex Education
The Olympics Opening Ceremony
The last month of the Detroit Tigers season and a handful of Lions games.



Bad News Bears:



Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss.
I was brutally heartbroken and disillusioned in November when enough Americans proved themselves to be gullible, afraid, and callous enough to vote for that criminal. Somebody pointed out that the America we woke up in on that morning was the same America we went to bed in the night before, but that was such a gut punch I really felt (and still feel) damaged by it. I hope we can recover. I have concerns.



Moving
Our experience moving went about as well as it could, but still... moving is a pain in the ass. We found so many boxes that we had packed up when we moved from our apartment, then moved them to our old house, then never opened them. We donated a ton of stuff and gave away things to friends and neighbors but still had to pack two houses together when it came down to it.



COVID part II
I got the 'Rona again. Not as bad this time, but still shitty.



New furnace
We were just about to move and our 30-year-old furnace just crapped out.



Dead stove at Cottage
Our mid-60s era cottage had a mid-60s era stove until this year. It was a weird old workhorse who lost one burner maybe a decade ago and finally gave up the ghost.



Getting stuck in Kevin's Delorian
This was more of a larf, but my buddy drove me to dinner in his Delorian, and we had multiple issues opening and closing the gullwing doors. We finally got back into the car after our meal, but it was a potentially harrowing ride home: knowing that we might pull into his driveway and neither of us be able to open the doors. News flash: We did get out and I would take that offer of a ride again in a heartbeat.



Workplace Changes
I won't go into too much detail but two of my treasured colleagues (one far, one very near) were let go this year and I hated both instances. Additionally, one of my projects underwent a massive data swap that was necessary but still very much the end of an era.



Oasis reunited but I didn't get tickets
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about this now.



Lost my Zorro knife
I've had a Zorro pocket knife since I graduated college and this year it finally went missing. Couch cushions and walks around the yard yielded nothing, and I'm sad to have lost it. No spoilers, but this story may have a happy ending in 2025.



Those we lost:
Barb Cope
Shelley Duvall
Maggie Smith/James Earl Jones
Kris Kristofferson
Brendan's Mom
Melissa's Dad
Goody's Mom
Sue's Mom
Bob Newhart
Kinky Friedman
Mojo Nixon
Gary Rasmussen





Here's to Hopin'!


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