This year has been such a whirlwind of a year. Without a doubt the highlight of the year was becoming a parent. We welcomed our little one in October! We are definitely still very early in this next chapter of our lives, but it’s been the most meaningful experience of my life. Without a doubt the top three highlights this year for me were:
- welcoming our baby to the world
- paragliding in Queenstown NZ
- seeing Machu Picchu
Before our little one arrived however, I made sure to make use of any holiday or work-from-anywhere weeks to visit new places. Let’s go!
Travel:
70,240 miles flown, 11 countries visited (5 new to me!)
January – New Zealand / Fiji
February – San Diego / Lake Tahoe
March – Puerto Vallarta
April – Mexico City
May – Lima / Cusco / Panama City
June – Guatemala
July – Boston / New York / Seattle / Santiago / Mendoza
August – Cairo / Luxor
September – Athens / Cannes / Barcelona
October – Seattle
kid via surrogacy!
December – Puerto Vallarta
Intellectual Curiosity:
Books:
I read 8 books this year that spanned my interests in real estate, becoming a parent and travel. Hope to read more on all these topics in the coming year!
- Fragile Neighborhoods by Seth Kaplan (Jan)
- Arbitrary Lines by Nolan Gray (Jan)
- Containing big tech by Tom Kemp (June)
- Crib Sheet by Emily Oster (September)
- Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman (October)
- The Deepest South of All, Richard Grant (November)
- The Amur River, Colin Thubron (November)
- Sovietistan, Erika Fartland (December)
Languages:
48 – hours of French group classes taken
Over the past few years I’ve taken language classes for fun, primarily French and German through the Global Language Network in DC.
I’ve wanted to become at least conversationally fluent in French for years, primarily for future travel throughout France and it’s former colonies (Senegal, Madagascar, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, the Maghreb countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). This year, I’ve taken almost 50 hours, and hope to continue this habit and do more in the new year!
Wineries:
13 – wineries visited
Most of my wineries visited happened during my trip down to Chile/Argentina earlier this year. Now that I’m a parent, I’m aiming to hopefully check out more wineries primarily in California in the new year.
- Hammerling Wines, Berkeley CA (March)
- Wente Vineyards, Livermore CA (June)
- DeLille Vineyards, Woodinville WA (June)
- Whitecliff Winery, Gardiner NY (July)
- Concha Y Toro, Maipo Valley CL (July)
- Vina Santa Rita, Maipo Valley CL (July)
- Bodega Norton, Lujan de Cuyo AR (July)
- Bodega Chandon, Lujan de Cuyo AR (July)
- Catena Zapata, Lujan de Cuyo AR (July)
- Bodega Andeluna, Valle de Uco AR (July)
- Bodega Salentein, Valle de Uco AR (July)
- Bodega Zuccardi, Maipu Valley AR (July)
- Novelty Hill, Woodinville WA (October)
- Hall Wines, Rutherford CA (November)
Health & Fitness
In 2024, I diversified my fitness routine by doing more group classes, such as those offered at my work, or doing Barry’s classes with friends. In particular, after my annual physical indicated that I was prediabetic given my A1C levels, despite feeling healthy and trying to live an active lifestyle, I need to do more (such as focus on my diet) to maintain good health.
- 518.5 – miles jogged, walked, hiked or ran
- 140 – running sessions completed
- 127 – strength training sessions completed
- 6 – yoga classes completed
- 26 – Barry’s classes completed
- 12 – cycling classes completed
- 15 – trails hiked totaling 57.4 miles
- 6.1 – my A1C level, which indicates I’m prediabetic (!)
Spirituality & Religion
The highlight for me this year was starting to attend services at Grace Cathedral, an Episcopalian Church, in San Francisco. I made the decision to start exploring other denominations after the birth of my child — I couldn’t in good conscience feel comfortable with raising my kid around doctrine that wasn’t supportive of who I am as a person. It’s been such a welcoming community and I plan to continue in the new year!
At the same time, early on my partner and I decided that we would raise our kid Jewish. It’s been an ongoing process figuring out what it means to be an interfaith family, and my favorite highlight would be lighting Shabbat candles on Fridays. In the new year, we will continue to figure out what being an interfaith family actually looks like and what it means!
- 17 – visits to Sunday mass/services
- 2 – kol nidre & pride shabbat
2025 Goals:
As a new parent, for 2025 I am definitely resetting my expectations in terms of what’s achievable, especially when it comes to travelling. In many ways, my life priorities have shifted. I’d much rather be at home figuring out how to be a parent, with all the conveniences and community of friends we have in the Bay Area, rather than trying to figure it out on the road. Here’s to another year around the sun!
- Reduce a1c so I’m not prediabetic!!
- 100 – hours of language lessons
- 150 – sessions of strength training
- 520 – miles ran
- 12 – books read
- 12 – hikes completed
- 100 – miles cycled
- 12 – wineries visited