27 Wins for 2022

I'm celebrating my wins. You should too!

Hello, situation normies! Today’s post is very special to me. At the end of every year, I try to set aside some time and space to reflect on my wins. I do this for two reasons.

First, Christina is a big believer in celebrating your wins, and I’m a big believer in my wife’s good ideas. Second, the optimism that comes from celebrating my wins makes me a better writer and human. I’ll share my wins in a moment, but first I’d like to expand on that second point, if you’ll indulge me.

It’s easy to be cynical. But if you don’t come by your cynicism honestly, the world provides plenty of ammunition. There’s so much cynical ammunition out there that the slightest bump in the road can send skeptics and realists alike spiraling into an inescapable vortex of cynicism. I’ve seen it happen, and I’ll bet you’ve seen it too.

I think of Situation Normal as an antidote to cynicism. I work hard all week to bring a smile to your face every Wednesday and Sunday. Hopefully, you share that smile with the human beings around you. A win-win!

But humor, just like The Force, has both a Light Side and a Dark Side. The Dark Side of Humor draws you in, like a Death Star tractor beam. It’s fun, at first, like hanging out on Jabba’s pleasure barge. But sooner or later, the Dark Side gets its hooks into you. Best case scenario: you become a soulless goon and deploy to Endor to hunt Ewoks. Worst case scenario: you end up a shriveled shell of a person, grasping for the last thread of your humanity from inside an imperial machine you call your body.

The Dark Side of Humor makes you cynical. It’s a total bummer for you, and for everyone else in the galaxy.

In a perfect galaxy, the Light Side of Humor would be readily available wherever supplies are sold. But a perfect galaxy is a long time from now and far, far away. Also, the Light Side of Humor supply chain has been FUBAR from the jump. A lot of times, if you can even find it, The Light Side of Humor you see in stores is fake. Or, it’s toxic. Or, you pay extra for Light Side of Humor that’s labeled “fair trade & organic,” but you can’t enjoy it because you read an article about how those labels are totally meaningless, so you just let your Organic Fair Trade Light Side of Humor sit in the fridge, until it rots.

See how many ways there are to be cynical?

I see writing as an optimistic act. I write humor from a place of optimism, and since my humor comes from my real life, I need to be an optimist.

But optimism doesn’t come naturally for me. Optimism isn’t easy because it’s always something, isn’t it? Sometimes a stepladder falls on your wife’s nose, or thieves steal your catalytic converter, or thieves return to steal your catalytic convertor again. Or, it’s traffic. Or, the news. Or, some other fucking thing. Everywhere you look, there are threats to optimism.

One thing that helps me make lemonade out of these lemons is to nurture my optimism by stepping back, from time to time, and looking at a bigger picture. Each day may feel like a grind, but if you don’t hold space to reflect on what happened over the previous 365 days, what are you even doing with your life?

Which brings me to the subject of this list. Each win says something about how I live my life, and how that life went in 2022. I’m celebrating my wins to acknowledge how far I’ve come, and to refuel for the journey ahead.

Please join me in celebrating 2022 for the wins! And afterward, I’d LOVE it if you shared some of your wins here on Situation Normal!

Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash

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1. After a two-year hiatus, I returned to yoga.

2. I increased my daily steps average from 8,540 to 9,584.

3. Several things living rent free in my head were evicted.

4. I volunteered my time to the fight for democracy and the rule of law in America.

5. Several friends told me that my civic contributions inspired them to volunteer as well.

6. Afraid that canvassing wouldn’t be enough to push back against fascism, I teamed up with Dennard Dayle of Extra Evil and Amran Gowani of Field Research to save American democracy. You’re welcome.

7. I fell back in love with going to the movies.

8. Knowing nothing about gambling or investing, I made $300 on crypto by spotting the Dogecoin joke early and cashing out before the shitty punchline.

9. We returned to international travel by going to Bali and bringing situation normies along for the ride.

10. I made good on my promise to my doctor to embrace salmon and become an overnight oats aficionado.

11. Situation Normal hit 1,000 subscribers, and it continues to grow at a steady pace.

12. I helped a few friends find writing jobs that pay reasonably well.

13. I read 55 books.

14. Christina and I learned how to make Xiao Long Bao, hummus, Indian street food, and several Balinese dishes.

15. I finally made it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where I had the honor of righting a historic wrong by nominating Warren Zevon.

16. I reduced the amount of time I spend on social media.

17. In our ongoing quest to unplug, Christina and I bought a record player, bought some vinyl, including some Creedence, and subscribed to the print editions of The Economist, The Nation, and New York Magazine.

18. I contributed to the Fictionistas community on Substack.

19. Christina and I turned our youngest nephew, Evan, onto the beauty of snorkeling.

20. We flew to Florida to join family to celebrate Zach and Dylan’s wedding.

21. We visited my mom several times in Las Vegas.

22. I had an fascinating conversation with my mom about Richard Nixon.

23. We took an Alaskan cruise with Christina’s parents and I kept a reasonably good passenger’s log.

24. I showed up “big time” to support Christina, who made a big career move.

25. We joined a local gym, and we actually go!

26. I cheered on my sister, Allison, who received her first Emmy nomination.

27. More than a few times, for no reason at all, Christina and I stepped out onto our porch to watch the sun set over the Santa Susana Mountains.

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Your turn! Tell us about your wins👇

ALSO!

If you write on Substack,

I hope you’ll cross-post your wins!