The year, by the months:
Some awards, by people/group:
- Politician of the Year- Mitch McConnell- While I hate it, he had the best year.
- Athlete of the Year- The shortstop, #2, Derek Jeter.
- Entertainer of the Year- David Letterman. This marks the end of his last full year.
- Pop Artist of the Year- Taylor Swift
- Album of the Year- Foo Fighters- "Sonic Highways"
- Most Significant Person of 2014- President Obama
The year in pictures:
Farewell, old friends who we have left behind.
I also wanted to give a few shout outs to some great people I dealt with this year. There was my team in Iowa with Anesa Kajtazovic, my team in New Jersey with Bonnie Watson Coleman, my team in New Jersey with OFA, my family who went to a lot of the many baseball games and beach trips, my long time old friends from Palmer and Easton, who have been with me through everything. There's my past co-workers and bosses who did a lot for me, like David Fried up in New York, my fellow alums of the Dodd Squad and Menendez teams, and my time with the PA House and Todd Eachus, many of you I still keep in close contact with. There are my friends in Philadelphia who I see from time to time, and my friends in New York who I like to go see as close to every week as possible. I got to re-connect with friends in Waterloo, Iowa, and around that state, and it was a very rewarding experience all these years later.
A few specific shoutouts here- my buddy Blanker from Bethlehem was crucial to a lot of my success this year, especially in New Jersey for BWC; Bobby, who got his start with me in 2012, for bringing me back to Jersey for this Fall, and getting me to a Notre Dame game; Tom who got me brought back to Iowa for round two, and helped me figure out what was going on; Anesa and Bonnie for not only being great candidates I could believe in, but also being joys to work with; James, Kari, Mark, and Sherrie, for putting up with me in Jersey this Fall and making it a great experience for me; Mike, Connor, Pooja, Dan, Dan, Calvin, Dorckas, Anne, and Rachel for being awesome there too; Majda, Stacey, and Alicia for making a thousand mile trip to Iowa an awesome experience for me (and for that Cyprus Lounge Shirt, Alicia); Conor for bringing me to OFA-NJ, and Monica and Jason for being awesome teammates there for a great cause; Cousin Mike for being the best damn bartender in the Lehigh Valley; EH (she'll kill me if I shout her out more) for being the best lunch buddy (and picking the best places to eat, ever) and advisor on so many things; D-Money, Baltz, Pfen, Strobes, Toddley, Minotti, and all of my long-time, old friends from home who mean the world to me; I know I'm missing someone here, which really sucks, but i'm going to close by thanking my family just for being my family, let alone being great people. Anyone else actually reading this, shoutout to you too, thank you!
This year took me from Washington, D.C. to Marshalltown, Iowa; It took me from Easton, PA to New York City, again. I took stops in places like Morristown and Trenton along the way. I do have to close though by thanking the people of Northampton County, specifically the Democratic Primary voters there, for voting for me to be on the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee for the next four years. I grew up here, I got my professional start here, and on a whim I put my name on a ballot here, spent no money, and 6,000 people voted for me this year. I'm proud of that, if for no other reason than the validation that it makes you feel when your home supports you.
Next year is going to be even better than this year was, and this year was great. I'm sad to see 2014 go. It was one of the best years of my adult life. May 2015 be even better, but we'll get to that in a few hours.
Happy New Year. It's an amazing world.
A few specific shoutouts here- my buddy Blanker from Bethlehem was crucial to a lot of my success this year, especially in New Jersey for BWC; Bobby, who got his start with me in 2012, for bringing me back to Jersey for this Fall, and getting me to a Notre Dame game; Tom who got me brought back to Iowa for round two, and helped me figure out what was going on; Anesa and Bonnie for not only being great candidates I could believe in, but also being joys to work with; James, Kari, Mark, and Sherrie, for putting up with me in Jersey this Fall and making it a great experience for me; Mike, Connor, Pooja, Dan, Dan, Calvin, Dorckas, Anne, and Rachel for being awesome there too; Majda, Stacey, and Alicia for making a thousand mile trip to Iowa an awesome experience for me (and for that Cyprus Lounge Shirt, Alicia); Conor for bringing me to OFA-NJ, and Monica and Jason for being awesome teammates there for a great cause; Cousin Mike for being the best damn bartender in the Lehigh Valley; EH (she'll kill me if I shout her out more) for being the best lunch buddy (and picking the best places to eat, ever) and advisor on so many things; D-Money, Baltz, Pfen, Strobes, Toddley, Minotti, and all of my long-time, old friends from home who mean the world to me; I know I'm missing someone here, which really sucks, but i'm going to close by thanking my family just for being my family, let alone being great people. Anyone else actually reading this, shoutout to you too, thank you!
This year took me from Washington, D.C. to Marshalltown, Iowa; It took me from Easton, PA to New York City, again. I took stops in places like Morristown and Trenton along the way. I do have to close though by thanking the people of Northampton County, specifically the Democratic Primary voters there, for voting for me to be on the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee for the next four years. I grew up here, I got my professional start here, and on a whim I put my name on a ballot here, spent no money, and 6,000 people voted for me this year. I'm proud of that, if for no other reason than the validation that it makes you feel when your home supports you.
Next year is going to be even better than this year was, and this year was great. I'm sad to see 2014 go. It was one of the best years of my adult life. May 2015 be even better, but we'll get to that in a few hours.
Happy New Year. It's an amazing world.
