{"id":12198,"date":"2023-12-24T12:18:04","date_gmt":"2023-12-24T17:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/?p=12198"},"modified":"2023-12-24T12:18:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-24T17:18:04","slug":"life-2023-was-a-good-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/12\/24\/life-2023-was-a-good-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Life: 2023 was a good year"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:517,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/adamjackson\\\/53319320810&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20231225171758\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/adamjackson\\\/53319320810&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-03 16:13:43&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-19 04:03:11&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-03-24 23:12:37&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-11 22:47:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-22 14:22:07&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-22 14:22:07&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p><a title=\"View &#039;Harriet&#039;s Hamburgers with Matilda&#039; on Flickr.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/adamjackson\/53319320810\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"  title=\"Harriet&#039;s Hamburgers with Matilda\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  width=\"\"  height=\"\"  border=\"0\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/53319320810_9c5a3a4705_b.jpg\" ><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Throughout this year, I\u2019ve had a few very long posts about specific events:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I moved to North Carolina (the last month of 2022)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/01\/07\/photography-back-to-mirrorless-canon-r5\/\">I bought a Canon R5<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/09\/photography-leica-q2-minus-the-red-dot\/\">I bought my first Leica<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/09\/life-dyslexia\/\">I learned that I had dyslexia<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/16\/life-6-weeks-post-rotator-cuff-surgery-slap-labrum-repair\/\">I had rotator cuff surgery<\/a> and have spent the last 7 months in physical therapy recovering<\/li>\n<li>I went to a <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/16\/photography-2023-mint-hill-rodeo\/\">rodeo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/16\/photography-march-moto-madness-2023-in-tellico-plains-tn\/\">Tennessee<\/a>, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/05\/16\/photography-washington-dc-with-the-leica-q2\/\">DC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/06\/06\/travel-las-vegas-babymoon-2023\/\">Las Vegas<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/07\/29\/photography-nova-scotia-and-newfoundland\/\">Canada<\/a> (including Newfoundland), <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/07\/16\/photography-a-weekend-in-maine-july-2023\/\">Maine<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/07\/16\/photography-provincetown-july-2023\/\">Cape Cod<\/a> and spent the summer in <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/07\/16\/photography-july-4th-in-new-hampshire\/\">New Hampshire<\/a><\/li>\n<li>I took heather to her first SEC football game and my first Gators game in 20 years<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/09\/15\/life-37\/\">I turned 37 years old<\/a><\/li>\n<li>I had ankle surgery to remove a bone spur I\u2019ve had since I was 16<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/11\/12\/life-a-tattoo-story-7-years-overdue\/\">I got a tattoo<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/11\/12\/hello-matilda\/\">I became a father<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/12\/01\/life-lasik-after-30-years-nearsighted\/\">I got nasik eye surgery<\/a> and now have 20\/15 vision after requiring glasses since 3rd grade<\/li>\n<li>I<a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/12\/11\/life-getting-my-teeth-straightened-with-invisalign\/\"> got Invisalign<\/a> and straightened then whitened my teeth<\/li>\n<li>I lost 34 pounds (so far) and a blog post will happen sometime in March\/April when I move to maintaining my weight<\/li>\n<li>I attained both my PMP and PgMP certifications<\/li>\n<li>I spent all of 2023 in chiropractic care, working with a nutritionist, undergoing a lot of testing and labs with many physicians and I had over 50 physical therapy sessions<\/li>\n<li>I spent about $75,000 in insurance billings to achieve all of the above health results and a few hundred dollars on gym memberships<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then there\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2023\/10\/09\/to-the-limit\/\">this October post<\/a> about what is currently on my plate none of which included a baby on the way.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p>It has been the biggest single year of my life in overall improvement and investment in myself. I\u2019m actually making less money than I did in New Hampshire so it\u2019s not like I had some windfall of money. Heck, I saved more money than ever but I just became very strategic about where money went and how I spent my time. I also invested more heavily with a kid on the way in setting myself up for a healthy and happy future versus the previous 37 years where I sort of did what I wanted but less so things that were going to better myself. A lot of experiences for sure but my health and career were on auto pilot for a really long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Things are slowing down but in 2024 but there are some big projects going on. What certifications I get next, what areas I improve at my job and being there as much as possible for my daughter her first year on this earth which is a year she won\u2019t even remember as she gets older.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There isn\u2019t much to say that wasn\u2019t already said other than just taking this brief moment to celebrate a really amazing year. I\u2019m still blown away at how much I accomplished. Maybe quitting 2 of my 3 jobs, being in a new place where I couldn\u2019t motorcycle as much and a much healthier work life balance to to thank. I also think, when Heather was carrying our child that I felt a clock ticking to the birth of Matilda and it inspired me to take up some long overdue things like carrying 70 more pounds than necessary or battling nearsightedness and not having any professional certifications to match my experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re a few days from 2024 but 2023 was a really great year. I have no regrets and am ready to see what the next couple of years before I turn 40 look like.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Throughout this year, I\u2019ve had a few very long posts about specific events: I moved to North Carolina&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-24T17:18:49Z","apple_news_api_id":"4ae3619c-9e8c-4f70-ad1f-9c3f62e593ac","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-24T17:18:49Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ASuNhnJ6MT3CtH5w_YuWTrA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-life","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-3aK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6374,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/11\/18\/linked-my-photos-library-contains-73732-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":0},"title":"Linked: &#8220;My Photos library contains 73,732 images.&#8221;","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"November 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"via iMore: The oldest ones are nearly 15 years old: 1600-by-1200-pixel snaps taken from my first digital camera, a Canon PowerShot. I bought that camera in October 2001 because my wife and I were about to have our first child; we knew we were about to have a life experience\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linked&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linked","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/linked\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1889,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/03\/17\/four-years-ago-today-my-twitterversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":1},"title":"\u2605 Four Years ago today..my Twitterversary","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"March 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the day, I didn't archive things like I do now. I do remember a date that forever shaped my life and that was March 21st, 2007. It was the day I joined Twitter.com. Little did I know March 21st, 2007 was the one year anniversary of Twitter. Of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1507,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2013\/05\/07\/beer-haul-april-13\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":2},"title":"\u2605 Beer Haul: April &#8217;13","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"May 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: My smallest beer haul ever. I spent my finances this month upgrading home-brew equipment, doing more batches (YAY SOUR BEERZ) and replenishing my savings account after a 2 week trip to Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark followed by a weekend in Philly. I bought 8 Tired Hands Growlers (not pictured)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Beer Haul&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Beer Haul","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/beer\/beer-haul\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vermont Beer Haul 4-12-13","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8404\/8643243989_06033b2917_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8404\/8643243989_06033b2917_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8404\/8643243989_06033b2917_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":243,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/04\/18\/my-break-whats-happening\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":3},"title":"\u2605 My Break&#8230; What&#8217;s Happening.","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Thursday night, I went home at 4PM and I watched television with @LauraW. She and I watched SouthLand, South Park, 30 Rock and The Office. All four of these shows are really good! I have never watched them before and I have to say that there are some awesome television\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4025,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2014\/03\/07\/technology-going-pro-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":4},"title":"Technology: Going &#8216;Pro&#8217; (again)","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"March 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been a very long time since I had a MacBook Pro. Writing this feels so 2009 because there was a time when I had a regular MacBook then a MacBook Pro then the MacBook Air came out and I had a MacBook Air + 17\u201d Pro w\/ SSD\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen-Shot-2014-03-07-at-10_55_31-AM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adam-jackson.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Screen-Shot-2014-03-07-at-10_55_31-AM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adam-jackson.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Screen-Shot-2014-03-07-at-10_55_31-AM.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adam-jackson.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Screen-Shot-2014-03-07-at-10_55_31-AM.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5422,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2016\/01\/30\/i-bought-a-blackberry\/","url_meta":{"origin":12198,"position":5},"title":"I Bought a Blackberry","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I honestly wish there was some way I could convey my excitement to you all. I love Blackberry and I can\u2019t wait to make this my only phone. Not kidding. I\u2019m stoked.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Technology","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen Shot 2016 01 30 at 12 05 54 AM","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Screen_Shot_2016-01-30_at_12_05_54_AM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12198\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}