Despite everything 2020 has thrown at us this year hasn’t been all bad. In fact, everything Covid-19 and election-related aside this year was actually really good to me.
Travel
I started out the year with quite a bit of travel. I started in Switzerland for a quick business trip which lasted a week. Then, back for my birthday, and off to Europe again (this time for fun).
I joined a couple of coworkers in flying out to Italy. We swiftly made our way to Rome and saw everything from the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum. I bought myself a fancy Italian overcoat as a “treat yo’ self”.
After a couple of days bopping around Rome my coworkers and I jetted off to Malta where Nexthink was having its annual kickoff. We had an incredibly fun time seeing Malta. Valletta was my favorite. The architecture was incredible.
Marketing Employee of the Year
While in Malta for Nexthink’s kickoff, I was honored as Nexthink’s Marketer of the Year alongside a number of other incredible employees. After 3 years of incredibly hard work for the company, this meant a tremendous amount.
I received a beautiful award made of Maltese glass that now sits in my living room.
We ended the Malta trip by renting an AirBnb in Valleta for a night or two.
Great trip.
More Travel!
Soon after returning from Malta I had another work trip to London in early February to lead an ABM summit. Again, it was for work, but we were able to squeeze in some fun as well!
Finally, after returning from London Kat and I immediately made our way to Miami for some R&R. Upon arriving we were immediately upgraded to a suite on the top floor of the hotel we were staying at (WHAT), and got some nice bottle service to kick our vacation off.
We got some sun, ate tacos (even a couple of cricket ones), and tried to relax. Many margaritas were drunk.
Covid-19
A week after coming back from Miami, Kat and I started to see newsflashes that Miami had just broken out with the novel Covid-19 virus. It was also the first time that we had started to hear rumblings about the impact this new virus might have on the country. Lockdowns… yikes…
That’s when it clicked for us.
After my travels early in the year to Switzerland, Italy, Malta, and London I came back with a wicked cold. I thought it was just the typical cold you get from travel stress, but as an antibody test would later tell me… I was one of the first people in the country to contract Covid-19.
It makes complete sense now.
- When I was in Rome I was getting winded walking up a flight of stairs.
- I almost passed out on a flight from JFK to Boston because I could barely breathe.
- In Miami I was downing a bottle of Delsum a day.
- At one point I called my parents panicking that I had lost my sense of smell (before we knew this was a symptom).
- I even went to urgent care to get my nasty cold tested.
At this point you might be thinking… “this asshole was flying all over the goddamn world spreading Covid”, and you’re not wrong.
My only defense is that at the point I had contracted COVID-19 the news was still reporting on it being a Chinese virus that hadn’t made its way to the US yet, and when I went to urgent care the doctors didn’t even make mention of Covid.
As far as I knew it was just a shitty cold.
Knowing what I know now it’s likely that I was a super spreader. I feel guilty about this, and my quarantine behavior since the country has gone into lockdown has been exceptional thanks in large part to Kat who keeps me in line.
All of this goes to show that the virus was most certainly in the US earlier than we think and the response to the virus was seriously delayed. This allowed people like me to circulate in the population for months.
Welp
Lockdown Weight Loss
In March we went into lockdown, and to be honest, it wasn’t much of a change for me as an introvert who worked from home 2-3 days a week. The only change was that now I was working from home 5 days a week, and Kat and I couldn’t go out on dates as frequently.
On the bright side though, working from home afforded me the opportunity to go on long walks at lunch. In fact, I took advantage of this opportunity so frequently that I ended up losing 15 pounds over the next couple of months while also developing a seriously embarrassing farmer tan.
Depression
Lockdown wasn’t all good though (even if I am delighted I lost weight). Like many, I think this year has taken its toll on me mentally. In February I was already struggling with SAD, as I do most years. However this year it was especially bad. Moving into lockdown didn’t help.
At the beginning of the year, I went back on Zoloft to help with depression, and Ritalin to help me focus on work since I was now fully in an environment rife with distractions.
The Zoloft no longer worked for me, and I switched to Prozac halfway through the year. I’d never had Prozac before, but within the first day I notice a marked improvement.
After 6 months on the drug, I still notice how much more positive and active I am. The positivity alone has changed my life for the better.
I don’t think I would have made all of these changes to my meds if it weren’t for lockdown.
Projects, Projects, Projects
With the extra hours in the day not dedicated to commuting I was able to start paying attention to some of my side projects. Some of these included:
… and many others on my project page.
Stackie Award
As it so turns out…. I submitted one of the projects mentioned above into the running for an award, and it won!
I was honored with a Stackie by Scott Brinker in October!
After years toiling in the martech landscape, this was THRILLING to me, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
At this point, I’d won two awards in 2020 and was brimming professionally.
What else could happen!?
VP of Marketing
Well, turns out my professional achievements hadn’t stopped yet. I officially made the move from Nexthink to a startup called Codecov.
I was devastated to leave my team at Nexthink, but brimming with excitement at the opportunity to lead marketing at an early-stage startup like Codecov.
At this point, I could not be more happy with the move. I’ve already revamped their website, and made significant improvements to the marketing operation. 2021 will be amazing!
Conclusion
All in all, 2020 wasn’t so bad. I had some great professional achievements, went on some great trips, and managed to withstand the Covid lockdown with the best of them.
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