January 2025 Wrap-Up

2025 has started off with a bang. Things were quiet early on and then really picked up around the middle of the month. TikTok was temporarily banned, which has caused me to delete all Meta owned apps like Facebook and Instagram from my phone. I plan to stay inactive on all Meta apps until the fate of TikTok is decided. Once something is more definitive I'll make a decision on what I want to do going forward, which will include a post about my opinion the subject. That same weekend we were in NY to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday and had a wonderful time seeing so many family members all together again.

The inauguration of President Trump and his subsequent executive orders set off a wave of discussions, especially at work. It's a very interesting time being a Libertarian who works for a state government but works on and is paid by federal grants. Overall, the mandates and expected changes have been a mixed bag. I'm excited to see the government become more efficient, but worry about the unintended consequences and cascading affect some decisions will cause. Despite how hectic everything has been, the rest of the month felt like an eternity. 

Blah Blog Log

There were a couple of posts early in the month and there may be more coming now that I'm inactive on Meta owned apps.

Bored Board Games

I had a couple of in person meet ups as the house got healthier. Regular in person will be back on schedule in February. That being said, I really leaned into playing some of my favorite light games on BGA. I'm hoping we can pick right up in the new year. Because I played so few unique games and don't have a gaming goal for the year, this month's highlight was pretty easy:

Crokinole - This is a classic dexterity game that dates back to 1876. As described on BGG: "A ring of posts is set around the inner circle, which functions as an obstacle to reach this area. Playing pieces are wooden circular disks similar to checkers pieces. Players take turns shooting disks across the board by flicking them with their fingers in an effort to land them in the highest scoring ring on the board, the highest score (20 points) achieved by shooting a disk into the center, recessed hole. From the outside in, rings are worth 5, 10, 15 points." Scoring at the end of a round is determined by cancellation. "For example, if Player One scores 250, and Player Two scores 225, then Player One will add 25 to his/her game score." The first player/team to score 100 points is the winner.

I've wanted a Crokinole board since I really got invested in the hobby over a decade ago. Because they're made out of wood, the cost has always been fairly prohibitive for me to spend the money on one. I've played a version of the game on my American Carrom board, but that's using plastic discs and doesn't play exactly the same. Given my job changes over the past couple of years, I'm able but not normally willing to spend money on myself. When I saw that Mayday Games was running another Kickstarter campaign for their newest round of boards, I decided to treat myself to finally getting one because they're significantly cheaper than the top end ones (north of $300) while still being good quality. The boys were immediately interested and played a few games with me and against each other. I look forward to having and sharing this simple but enjoyable game for years to come.

Enjoyable Eats

I've decided I want to use this space to highlight as many local places in Delaware whenever possible. While I've done a pretty good job of doing that already, I want to be intentional about it going forward. That may mean not covering good food elsewhere, like the Haddock Po Boy sandwich I had at The Ithaca Ale House. But I think we should all have a duty to support and shoutout local businesses. On a recent date night, Christine I and wanted something quick because we were leaving the house later than normal so we were hungry given we normally eat with the blue hairs. We decided on El Serranito Tacos and Bar in Smyrna.
Open in part of the building that used to house a different Mexican restaurant, this smaller takeout forward restaurant is about to celebrate its one year anniversary soon. We've been a couple of times now and found the food to be quite good and the service very friendly. While it's not our favorite Mexican spot in Delaware, it's certainly the closest and most convenient. I've had fajitas both time and the portion size has been very generous. I ended up being able to eat it for dinner and then lunch the next day. We hope that they stick around and continue to thrive because we love Mexican food and not having to always drive to other towns to get it.

I'm Watching 👀

Continuing our effort to use our HBO subscription (I know it's MAX but I never going to call it that) we've started watching the 2018 psychological triller miniseries staring Amy Adams called Sharp Objects. The premise of the show from Wikipedia: "Crime reporter Camille Preaker, suffering from alcoholism and recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital after years of self-harming, returns to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate the murders of two young girls. Upon arriving at her childhood home, she finds herself once again under the critical eye of her mother, Adora, a small-town socialite, which forces Camille to confront her personal demons."

We're about halfway through and I've appreciated the visuals, dark atmosphere, and acting by Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson who plays her mother. I can definitely see why the show received both Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations. While I don't like when good television comes to an end, I think more miniseries with A-list actors would be wonderful to see. There's just something so enjoyable about a tight, well-written story paired with great acting that's not in movie form. You get a little bit extra and more time to flesh out the characters, while also not pushing a successful series into a hate watching just to see the end scenario.

Resolutions Update

I decided on a single resolution for this year: Read all 35 issues of Simplify Magazine. Which means I'll need to read 3 issues each month. Each issue is about 75 - 100 pages long and is comprised of short essays on whatever that issue's topic is. 
  • Goal Progress - 3 out of 35
I read the first three issues that focused on Happiness, Health and Wellness, and Stress and Overwhelm. I think they're great initial topics for this project. I've enjoyed sitting on the couch with a tablet in reader mode and taking in the tips and advice being given by experts in a variety of fields. I want 2025 to be the year where I start to slow down and focus, as I'm about to turn forty in just a few months. This resolution seems like it should definitely aid in that goal.

TikTok Time

As mentioned before, the temporary TikTok ban was upsetting for me. I'm not willing to give it up and  think forcing it to lose its US presence unless its sold to a different investor/company is a mistake by our government. I'll save more of my opinion for an upcoming post. But since it's still available in its current form, this month's highlighted account is one of my absolute favorites: m.sloan98
@m.sloan98 Wow, he seems excited #history #historymemes #ww1 #ww1history #ww1memes #historytok #usa #murica ♬ original sound - 🖍☠DRINKE☠🖍

His whole account is videos about various world history and I've learned quite a bit from the more serious ones. I chose the one above because it's kind of funny.

Whatcha Snackin?

I'm trying to cut back on snacking right now but that hasn't gone very well. That being said, I had a really hard time coming up with a snack that I've been enjoying over the last month. At work I find myself having random candies my boss puts out and that I don't need, but I've also been eating a lot of original cheddar Goldfish from the giant milk carton-esque container they come in. One of the boys asked for them instead of the flavor blasted version that they mow through each week and then decided to stop eating them. So that's what I'm going with for this month.

There are 25 servings of 55 crackers in one of these containers, which go very quickly between the two boys. For YEARS we've been buying at least one of these containers of the Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheddar a week, but often need to open a second one by week's end so there's normally one open and one unopened container in the pantry at all times. The flavor blasted are arguably better because they throw on extra flavoring powder, but the simplicity of the the original with a somewhat muted cheddar flavor and a hint of salt on the outside is perfect for a mid morning work snack.

Wrap It Up

Please comment below with any thoughts or comments on anything I've covered. Thanks for reading!

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