2020 round up

2020, eh? I don’t think I’m alone in calling it as not a particularly great one. Here’s hoping the new US administration can rejoin a few global accords to curb the worst effects of global heating, not screw up the vaccination programme, roll back all the anti-environment legislation, and generally make it so I don’t have to watch the news through the gaps between my fingers. Today’s Tribune reported:

Overall, there have been 283,473 counted cases of coronavirus in Utah, meaning about 1 in 11 Utah residents has tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2021/01/03/coronavirus-utah-state/

Which sounds about right given the damn-the-casualties and keep-everything-open policy Utah’s been pursuing since April. We’re really lucky to live somewhere with the wilderness practically on our doorstep, and able to work exclusively from home. Sarita’s sabbatical plans ( e.g. in-person interviews around the country ) were rather ruined but she moved her teaching online with characteristic panache and aplomb.

We survived earthquakes,

wind storms ( and attendant week without electricity / internet ),

cancelled holidays, Coatsville Ave’s reconstruction, roof replacement, tooth extraction, crown replacements, root canals, unkempt hair experiments, and levels of political incompetence / malfeasance hitherto unseen. Oh and Utah voted in record numbers for trump and republicans down the rest of the ticket again. Ugh. Plus ça change, innit.

Life goes on though. We moved house, less than a mile down the road. It’s delightful, more so every day, and, once this whole pandemic thing blows over, ready for the mother of all housewarming parties. I no longer have to move my office around according to the seasons. Yesterday’s Welsh cake and empanada cooking was an exercise in ease thanks to having the space for proper mise en place with a kitchen island and everything. And it’s going to be fun seeing what grows in the garden once spring arrives.

This is the Spotify playlist I’ve been adding tracks to over the year, a mixture of new and resurfaced oldies:

No stand out albums this year, Grimes’ Miss Anthropocene was probably the one that grabbed me most. The Beths’ second LP was good but not as packed with bangers as Future me hates me. Likewise, Fiona Apple’s was more admirable than enjoyable. Asking Alexa for Rebecca Black’s Friday every Friday never gets old. Shakira’s collaboration with Black Eyed Peas scrapes new lows. 4ÆM slaps.

Found a lot of fantastic local trails, the whole Logan area for starters, new bits of the Uintas, and all round SLC too. Hell’s Canyon’s a great find, and they’re building miles of new trails for mountain bikes and pedestrians up above the avenues which are perfect for running around.

Started, but didn’t finish, running every street in Sugarhouse from the old house’s front door ( masked or at least 3 metres from any soul ).

Another project continued:

and today I snapped a snowy one:

Speaking of trails, I wore out several pairs of trainers…

For an historically indoorsy year, it’s been very outdoorsy.

I doubt I’ll ever run further or higher in a year. I did 230K of climb in 2019 and that included the R2R2R Grand Canyon madness. Training from April to Sept was pretty intense, and the dentistry didn’t help. I didn’t always manage the weekly mileage demanded by my wretched spreadsheet overlord, but, dammit, I did alright in The Bear 100 and get to wear a ‘Grizzly Club’ belt buckle if ever the mood takes me.

Telly? Going to make more of an effort to keep track of what I’ve been watching next year but standouts of the last year or so of golden age prestige TV include: Devs, Watchmen, Better Call Saul, Queen’s Gambit, The Flight Attendant, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Succession, Cobra Kai, The Umbrella Academy, Giri / Haji, The Morning Show, & His Dark Materials. And yesterday I binged through Ted Lasso, “US football coach comes to London and transforms lives with his folksy wisdom and absence of cynicism”, bloody loved it and consequently no longer know who I am. Other than Pixar’s Soul, I haven’t seen any standout films for a while, but the slew of quality small screen stuff more than makes up for that.

In 2021: Must. Read. More.

Favourite new ( to me ) podcasts:
Pilot TV Podcast
Grounded with Louis Theroux
The The One Show Show
St. Elwick’s Neighbourhood Association Newsletter Podcast
Films to be Buried With

My most liked instagram of 2020 was a video of an unseasonal blizzard in May up Farmington way, followed by my stock-in-trade Utah scenery. And a video of the bread maker in action.

Max_Pancho_2000’s top pic was himself and DrSita up city creek in late autumn. Truly a dog for all seasons.

A memorable year however you look at it. Interesting times…