December 2022

2022 has been a run of the mill year.

John spent most of the year at home (when not traveling) and Colin went into the office most days.

Colin continues to enjoy working with his team at Okta. Never a dull moment when you have nine people who know how to explain complex tech processes in laymen’s terms. He had his first in-person conference this year so it was a reunion of sorts.

John is still an unemployed hobo. He’s kept busy with travel, cooking, jigsaw puzzles, writing, online classes, a few side-gigs (he’s developing a new online shop, so visit his website), gardening (he’s added a bunch of indoor houseplants), video games, and lots of reading (two book clubs plus he’s plowing through a bunch of old-school fantasy audio books).

John spent some of his hobo time traveling in 2022.  He went to Ogden, UT a few times (once on Amtrak), Colorado a couple of times, and met Rachael (his travel cohort in crime) in Los Angeles to attend the Cruel World concert that had already been covid-postponed twice. The show was amazing with Bauhaus as the showstopper.

One of the travel highlights was two extremely busy weeks in April. John flew to Ogden and less than 12 hours later he and his pal Susan hopped in her jeep and drove to Detroit (in a snowstorm at 4am…crashing only once - a single, plastic road divider was the only fatality - the car and occupants were fine). From there they found a realtor, packed and moved Susan’s old office at the university, packed up her house and garage, arranged movers, and then drove back to Ogden (but they took a little extra time and thrifted the shit out of the Midwest on the way back).

Colin is still practicing with Quivers and writing new songs. They lost a drummer to the affordable prices of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, but managed to find a great replacement after one audition. Phew! Finding a great drummer is like winning the Powerball. Stay tuned for shows in 2023.

Colin made a quick visit up to Portland in August and was able to visit friends from grade school, high school, and college. He then trekked it out to Beavercreek to spend a nice couple of days with the family.

The second half of 2022 hasn’t seen John traveling across the US, but he’s been keeping himself busy in the Bay Area. He’s been to Santa Cruz for a couple of long weekends, spent a day here and there in Half Moon Bay (pumpkin season mostly - he and his friend Erin tackled the local hay bale maze...minotaur and all). And he’s been hiking up and down the hills and beaches of SF. A friend visited this fall and they had a two-day Wine Country adventure. The holidays will be busy with as many markets, fairs, parties, and events as John can pack in (a lot!).

John and Colin headed north in October to spend a long weekend with friends in Guerneville. They murdered every song at karaoke and had a blast doing it. And there is always a bit of nostalgia felt on Colin’s part since he spent many a childhood summer staying at his great aunt’s house in nearby Rio Nido.

John and Colin will be heading up to Portland for a few days to celebrate Christmas with the Daly-Colwell crew at the end of the year.

So we’ve kept busy!

Always remember to be kind, make informed decisions, and take a little time for yourself.

Love,
John and Colin