My Year in Review

Well hello friends and Hivians. Yes, its been a great awhile since my last appearance here on Hive. The mind hasn't been up to all tasks these last few months. Its been a combination of being busy and little tad of mental exhaustion. Asides from that 2025 has had its joys and challenges. So for today I let you know or remind you of some of those ups and downs.

Last year the New Year started off rather difficult for me. December fiances were tough and I had to delivery drive for some extra funds. A lot of this was due for car repairs. I don't know about you but December is the one month that tallies the most expenses.

Just a few days into 2025 my son's car had issues. It was determined that the repair costs exceeded the value of the car. Within a few days we found a newer ride for him. At the time he was full-time college student so I told him I would take on the car and insurance payments under the condition he pay me back for the car payments. He was looking for a part-time job.

A few weeks later my son made a very unwise decision. He went out with friends and drinking was had. He later decided to drive and he got caught. Fornately no one was hurt nor were there any damages to vehicles or property. This event caused a ripple effect for him as well as some for myself.

He ended up withdrawing from college and would have almost certainly lost his full-ride basketball scholarship anyways. I wasn't really hard him but did tell him that things were going to be tough for him but eventually would get better. I took the following week off from work to do some extra delivery driving because I knew I would have to pay for some of his court related expenses. A sad moment as parent seeing your kid given an opportunity and losing it. A few months later he found a full-time job. Not long after working he paid me in full for the car payments, court related expenses,and took over car insurance. Of course not being able to drive I am his ride to and from work on many occasions. The good thing is I think my son learned from this mistake.

A hard and bit of a sad start to 2025 but things did get better. I had a planned trip to Las Vegas in February to surprise my brother who I hadn't seen in 17 years. It was a great time getting away and catching up. This would be the first of three trips I actually took an airline flight to get to.

In September I took another trip to Boston. This time I got to see my other brother who I hadn't seen in 36 years. Also got to meet some nieces and nephews that I have never meant. I did quite a few things on this trip and it was a good time away. I even knocked something off the bucket list. For the first time I actually swam in the ocean.

A few weeks ago I went to Richmond, Virginia. The thing I enjoyed was the weather. When I left Omaha it was negative 2 degrees Fahrenheit and it was nearly 40 degrees there. Now it wasn't tropical but a good difference. This trip was work related because I went there to attend a week long class. I didnt really do much there as I used the time to really rest up. I did go out to eat a couple of times. Believe it or not I took no photos and only captured one video of some of my classmates playing volleyball.

I did make it up to South Dakota twice, once to see one of my brothers who came in November. It would have been three times as I was going to go up there for Christmas but found out I had to work. Anyways, this particular brother is the one who I hadn't seen in 17 years but this year alone I have seen him on three occasions. We also have plans to meet up in 2026 maybe in Los Angelos, California. That would be cool as its one of a few states that I haven't been too yet.

I ended up doing quite a bit of fishing this year. A lot of spring and summer fishing. Really didn't get out in the fall season here. I mostly targeted Crappies, Bluegills, Bass and Trout. I really wanted to go after some whiskers (Catfish) but never found myself doing.

A few weeks before I went to Boston we had one heck of a wind storm. We had a lot of tree damage and some down power lines. One of the branches broke off a tree and landed on my car. It caused many sizeable dents on my car roof and caused a spider web on my windshield. Thank God for insurance. The repair shop actually had to install a new roof. The good thing is it got fixed when I was in Boston.

Had some ups and downs for sure this year. One in particular was really grueling and took some time to recover from both physically and mentally. That was the 40+ day government shutdown. For that period I went without my full-time check for 3 pay periods. I decided to bite down during this period and delivery drive some 60 hours a week. It was not an easy task and took its toll on me. Fornately I made enough to keep up with expenses. It was a good day when I finally got back paid for the time away.

I did not delivery drive for a solid two weeks after I got finally got paid again. I'm back to driving once again because February 1st marks the next possible government shutdown here. I don't have much hope that it will be smooth sailing. Heck nothing has really been solved with why the last one went on so long.

A few hours here and there. I havent really done more than 20 hours a week other than this past week. Last week I had a really good driving experience. On Christmas Eve I was planning to drive about 8 hours because past experience shows you can do well on this day. Well $335 in just over 3 hours I decided to hang up. During that time I received a $70+ and $220+ (Personnel Best) order. I felt this was a nice early Christmas present. After the $220+ order I celebrated with a rather loud Woohoo once I drove a distance away. I received some other decent orders this week making my hourly rate in the $38 range. I tell you I have had some 40 to 50 hour weeks driving where I didnt make what I did in just 24 hours.

Really just some small gatherings for the holidays this year. Above Christmas tree is one at my work place. Most of the decorations are mine which is ok because I did not put a tree up at the house this year. My boss decided to have an office Christmas party this year at his place. Good food, games and a gift exchange.

This year felt like so much happened. How things can go from good to bad back to good so quickly. It just shows no matter what happens something good will eventually present itself. Sometimes throughout the year it flies by while other times it goes slows.

Well this is my wrap up of my 2025. Many highs some lows but that really is life isn't it? Take in the good and let the bad fade! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and is hopeful for a great new year ahead.

Until next time and hopefully a lot sooner than last! Take care :)