Welcome to 2024
2023 didn’t end the way I was anticipating. Throughout December, in between work and other responsibilities, I spent tons of time getting ready for Christmas and New Year’s with my family. We always try to go as big as we can while still keeping things quiet and intimate, and the holidays were shaping up to be just that.
And then I got sick the day before Christmas Eve. I don’t know where I caught up, but somewhere in my travels, I picked up a nasty case of the flu. I spent Christmas Eve on the couch watching Christmas movies, barely able to move and spending the evening shivering. On Christmas Day, I kept trying to dodge fevers, chills, sweats, and the urge to cough while we opened gifts and ate what I’m sure was a delicious prime rib (my taste buds were nonexistent by Christmas night). I then spent the next few days getting rest, taking whatever medications I could find, and doing my best to bounce back.
Because I live in a relatively small house with a big family, I handed my flu off to my mother, who’s still sick as I type this post. My siblings are also all sick, so New Year’s Eve was spent on the couch jamming out to the New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash special on CBS while we pretended to eat pizza and other fixings. Midnight came and we toasted with champagne prosecco, then we all gradually went to bed.
It certainly wasn’t an ideal way to end the year, but let’s be honest: 2023 was an abnormal year anyway. No matter who I talk to, everyone had a challenge, difficulty, or other bump in the road last year. It didn’t seem easy for anyone, and all the international tensions that constantly project from our phones and televisions didn’t help.
Still, I had plenty of amazing things happen to me in 2023 amidst the chaos. It was the first year that I didn’t go a full month without traveling somewhere. Granted, that only counts for two different locations: Las Vegas in January for CES, then New York every other month of the year. I’ve spent a lot of time in different hotels, Greyhound buses, and the streets of NYC seeing everything I can see, and it’s all thanks to what my job as a freelance technology journalist has afforded me. I worked for years without access to events, briefings, or PR contacts, so I’m grateful to have reached the level I’m at.
I also started writing for a few new sites, including ZDNET, TheStreet, and even Country Central (which I’m wildly excited about). Getting to work with so many editors and their teams is a wonderful feeling, and I consider myself lucky to get to write for them.
I’ve also had a fair share of personal victories, like learning more about budgeting and taxes to get my financials in check. And of course, I learned that sitting around a fire, eating s’mores, and drinking six different types of beers with your friends is the best way to spend a summer night (we did this countless times all summer long, I’m not even sure I could count how many fires we’ve had).
And now, we come to 2024. I’m always excited for a new year to see what’s in store, and I’ve got a good feeling about it. I’m kicking it off with yet another trip to sunny Las Vegas for CES 2024. I’m flying out this Saturday, so my recovery efforts from the flu are full-steam ahead to ensure I’ve got the energy to handle the chaos of Philadelphia International. After that… who’s to say what’ll happen?
I’m ready for it all. Welcome to 2024, my friends. Let’s make this a year to remember.
Shameless plugs
Over the past few weeks, a number of projects I was working on went live that I didn’t share all that much, so I thought I’d list them here for all you kind people to check out.
I reviewed Lenovo’s Legion Go portable gaming device for ZDNET… and things could’ve definitely gone better.
I wrote about how good the Pixel 8 is for the money you spend for ZDNET.
I reviewed Motorola’s Edge smartphone for 2023 for ZDNET, and I was pretty impressed by what you get for the price.
I finally had time to finish my review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic for CNN Underscored, and as you’d expect, they are very good Galaxy watches.
I wrote about some tips to follow if you want to get the best pictures out of your Google Pixel smartphone for CNN Underscored.
I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE for CNN Underscored, and it’s… eh.
I reviewed the Google Pixel Buds Pro for CNN Underscored. Yeah, it’s a bit unusual for a review of these buds to go up so late into their lifecycle, but with their new color and software features (and the fact Underscored didn’t have a review yet), I thought it’d be worth diving back in.
I covered Morgan Wallen’s massive accomplishment of having his 2023 album One Thing at a Time reach nearly six billion individual audio streams for Country Central.