Is It 2021 Yet?

March 13. I remember it like it was just 249 days ago.

Trying to articulate what this year has been like is a fool's errand. Any plans we had for 2020 were tossed out with the bathwater. I've never been an effective long-term planner but the Year of Coronavirus made it nearly impossible to forecast and I can't imagine I'm alone.

Before we get to what's coming up, a brief retrospective:

• Lost my job in March
• Worked for Putney Student Travel as a Residential Life Instructor in July
• Took a much-needed vacation to Utah to observe the national parks in all their glory and wonder in August
• Worked for Putney Student Travel again in October.

And here we are.

In between the highlights, I checked a couple of books off my list, added more books to the list, and (re)learned that the planet is burning and our response as a country continues to be laughable. As if social unrest, job loss, and a global pandemic weren't enough to unleash utter chaos, our consumption of natural resources is speeding up the ticking time bomb that is the climate crisis. Needless to say, it's been a tough year.

On the bright side, Buddy Ruski reached a few milestones:

• The Buddy Ruski Show, to date, has 14 episodes and one special video interview, all available on the streaming platform of your choice.
• We launched a second podcast feed entitled "Buddy Pass" with the first episode also available for streaming.
• Buddy Ruski became an official Limited Liability Company!

You take what you can get.

Without getting into the minute details, I want to express my gratitude for you, the readers and listeners, who have stood by me through this unpredictable, unprecedented year. I turned 30 in October! For years, I've told myself age is just a number, which would be true during any other year but this one. It hit me hard. All the grand, existential questions came crashing down around me as I tried to convince 18- and 19-year-old teenagers what to do with their lives as they learned about the irreversible damage we're doing to the planet. It's the one thing they don't want to inherit from Mom and Dad.

But the prospect of pushing this project forward always kept me afloat and your encouraging emails, texts, and phone calls put wind in my sails. So now it's time to set off again for uncharted waters. 2021 promises to be a better year than 2020 and it's up to us to take advantage.

Starting next week, you can expect to have your favorite newsletter in your inbox again every Monday. We have a lot to catch up on! For Patreon subscribers, you will find new updates on the page Tuesdays and Fridays. For non-Patreon subscribers, let me do you a favor.

As things start to fall into place, I'll share more about the new brand logo we've been working on, new podcasts in the early production stages, and a broader content vision for next year. Keep checking out the site for new material to chew on over the holidays. They make for great distractions from politics and your Uncle Johnny's newest conspiracies.

Thanks for tuning in! Until next time.

Cheers,
Justin