2024 has been kind of all over the place. I finished my sixth year at CDOT. My wife is still with the Department of the Interior (but has moved to the Office of the Inspector General) and is an Air Force Reservist stationed at the US Air Force Academy. My first born started her senior year at D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School. My second born started 10th grade at D’Evelyn Junior Senior High School. My first born had an internship at the US Air Force Academy in the Astronautics Lab. She continued with the Dakota Ridge Civil Air Patrol and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. My second born continued to take advantage of drop in volleyball and started volunteering at Children’s Hospital.
My dental health has been stable, but my physical health is in decline. I gained 10 pounds during the year. Surprisingly my blood pressure and cholesterol have improved, but my A1C has gotten worse.
Both of my daughters again decided to host birthday parties at the house. My wife did not have a birthday party. I celebrated by going out for billiards.
We again traveled quite a bit this year. We were in London for New Years (1), I drove to Abilene, KS in February (2), I drove to Cheyenne, WY in March (3), the girls were in California for Spring Break, we went to Scottsdale for a family reunion in May (4), we flew down to New Orleans in June (5), I flew to Philadelphia for a funeral in June (6), I flew to Las Vegas for a concert in June (7), we drove to Guernsey, WY in June (8), I flew to Kansas City in June (9), the girls went to Missouri and Louisiana for college visits in September, I flew to London in October (10), we flew to Tampa for Christmas (11). The Josephs/Contractors came to visit in March, Mom came to visit in April, Tanya came to visit in June, Rishil came to visit in September, India family visited in September. That is a lot of traveling and family coming to visit.
Professionally I have stayed in the Traffic Safety & Engineering group, but it has not been going as well. I have continued with training and field work visiting Delta, Johnstown and Lakewood.
My community involvement has stayed low. I did volunteer at Volleyball keeping the scoresheet for the JV games. I attended 56 AA meetings and still do not have a home group or a sponsor.
In terms of hobbies, I continue to broaden my horizons. I have continued with the Garage Gym Build. I have stuck with endurance training with two RMRR events and the Littlefoot Triathlon. I participated in Bike-to-Work Day for the second year in a row. I lifted in the Spring and Fall GGC setting a lifetime best 762.5 pound total. I continued with Highland Games throwing in Elizabeth and the Colorado Scottish Festival. I upped my Grip involvement participating in Rolling Hills Grip Challenge 2, Dub’s Grip Challenge, Rocky Mountain Grip Challenge and king Kong. By far the biggest uptick has been All-Round Weightlifting. I formed a club, traveled for National and International competition, hosted an event, hosted a venue for multiple hybrid events and accepted leadership positions. Archery has slowed down a bit with only 9 sessions (down from 22). I also dabbled in Backgammon, but it didn’t take. One of my bigger debacles was buying a Glock with the intention of getting involved in USPSA. I paid $30/month for a Blu-Core membership and never used it. I did play a little more poker with 4 casino outings and 1 home game.
No religious involvement year to date.
We had (3) ski days during a Thanksgiving week trip to Keystone.
I had (3) days in the Coral Seat including the 4th of July bash.
Similar golf to last year with a few trips to the driving range.
Numismatics was up relative to last year. I attended (9) meetings of the South Suburban Coin Club, (5) meetings of the Denver Coin Club (DCC), went to the DCC show and the ANA show, purchased (3) dimes, (1) half dime, (2) quarters, (2) Gupta Dynasty coins, (1) Mughal Rupee, a buffalo nickel, and (2) medals. I also purchased (1) dime book, (3) reeded edge half dollar books, (1) dollar book, (3) Indian coin books, (1) Canadian Coin book. The capstone was presenting on dimes at the South Suburban Coin Club meeting.
I read (2) books last year. Killed by a Traffic Engineer and Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do. Both were non-fiction work related. I started a few others including Chamber Divers, Goerner the Mighty and The Complete Keys to Progress.
I had some big purchases this year including a Concept2 Bike Erg and a Torque Tank Magnetic Sled. I bought some more ROC-MO plates, I went nuts on grip with Grippers, Contest Implements and Misc items, I also bought a Highland Games Heavy Weight. No real favorite purchase as they are all thinly used. In terms of rarity, the Scott Preacher Bench is a gem, the 9 pound York roundhead in the wild was exciting and the Dragon’s Tooth implement was a gem. Personal items include some Purdue fan gear and a single speed bicycle.
In terms of home improvement, we tackled the big expense of having a second air conditioning unit installed. That was an important task. We also had the handyman touch up exterior paint. We also got a new toilet for the half bath.
Most unusual in terms of purchases were vehicles. We purchased in 2024 Subaru CrossTrek in March. The intent was for Nisha to have a car to learn on. It would also be my primary vehicle as my Jeep was pushing 10 years and 100,000 miles. The 2011 Subaru Legacy was totaled in June. As a replacement, I decided to buy a 2007 Subaru Impreza in August. The Impreza turned into a money pit which I eventually sold in October. In the meantime, I bought a 2012 Subaru Legacy in September and I feel like this will be a good vehicle for me. Diya has been driving the 2024 and Nisha has started to learn on my Jeep.
Gupta Family Trust established
The Kansas City Chiefs repeated as Superbowl Champions. Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. James Sprague won his first CrossFit Games and Tia-Clair Toomey repeated as champion after taking a year off for the birth of her daughter.
Donald Trump took the White House and the Republican party took control of the Senate and House of Representatives. It will make for a chaotic 4 years.
Diya continued to tour colleges, took (and retook) her ACT and SAT, applied to a number of colleges while also doing a Civil Air Patrol encampment, going to Girls State and attending Band Camp. Nisha has been going to drop in volleyball and volunteering at Children’s Hospital.
In the Spring Diya was on the Track & Field team specializing in Pole Vault. Nisha played tennis and was the doubles 2 pairing on the JV squad. In the Fall Diya was a section leader of the 3A Championship Marching Band and Nisha played volleyball on the JV squad. They both did Mock Trial again.
Best Wishes for 2025!
