2021

Marc Rebillet performing center stage in just yellow underwear. The stage is lit in purple lights and a giant inflatable champagne bottle is behind him. Strippers are sitting on both sides of the stage.
Marc Rebillet performing center stage with a giant inflatable champagne bottle

I like road trips — especially the middle parts: the spaces between major cities where traffic disappears for a little bit and the speed limit jumps to a slightly unsafe number. It's nice. And I haven't really done one since the pandemic began. Until this past New Year's Eve.

My wife and I drove to Dallas for New Year's. We've had tickets to see Marc Rebillet since the summer, but the start of 2022 snuck up on me. It's about four and a half to five and a half hours to Deep Ellum. After we checked in at our hotel, we walked over the venue: The Factory. It was a two-story large rectangle of a building with a balcony section wrapping the stage on three sides. Lit very darkly with purple and pink accent lighting.

The doors opened at 7 p.m., performers began at 8 p.m., and Marc made his appearance around 11 p.m. Plenty of time to grab a few drinks, realize I want a hot dog, realize I might want another hot dog, and slowly meld with the rest of the audience. Dezi 5 had incredible energy and was my favorite opener of the night.

There was a surge of energy when Marc appeared on stage and began his countdown performance until midnight — strutting across the stage in only his robe and bright-yellow boxers. He brought on dancers (possibly local strippers?), sprayed champagne into the audience, and performed classics like "Work That Ass for Daddy" and "Girl's Club."

It was a great night, and another reminder two years into the pandemic that my virtual life cannot replace the boon I get from other people. A risk worth it this time. I give Marc Rebillet's 2021 New Year's Eve performance five out of five stars.

Priorities in 2022

I'm not super big into New Year's resolutions, but here are a few things I would like prioritize throughout the year.

Better Sleep

My sleep quality has been worse since the pandemic started. It could be a few things: inconsistent sleep schedule, not enough cardio exercise, too much light in the bedroom, too much caffeine or eating too close to bed. The plan is to tackle these one by one and see what helps. Hoping to get a handle on it so it's not a recurring topic (like on WheezyWaiter).

Run More

Lifting heavy weights comes pretty naturally to me, but I've taken a break from running for some time. It's easy to see looking back that the times when I had the most energy were when I was running 25–35 miles per week. I want to ramp back up to around that amount and start entering casual races again. I bought some hideous running shoes, so I'm committed.

Favorites in 2021

A quick rundown of some of my favorite things of 2021. Most were released in 2021 but some might not be!

And We're Off

If you made it this far — thank you! One of my unspoken goals is to write more on the blog this year. They serve as textual snapshots to look back on and an unofficial piece of accountability, which is helpful.

Happy New Year,

Josh