Happy New Year: Welcome 2020

It's the New Year, 2020, and it's my fervent hope that it will be an even better year than the one before. I hope you understand though that it is your own efforts which will make the most difference to your life this year. You need to take an active role to make change, on all levels, and apathy is the enemy. And when we combine our individual efforts, we can accomplish even greater change. However, it all starts at the individual level, when we take control of our own lives.

For example, in 2018, I encountered some health issues which adversely affected some of my activities that year. So, in 2019, I made significant strides in addressing those medical issues, including losing about 30 pounds. My health improved and it didn't interfere with any of my activities in 2019.  I know that I must continue working on my health issues, to ensure that the quality of my life continues to improve and improve. It is within my control, the life decisions I make.

In 2019, there were a number of highlights, including my journey to the Republic of Croatia, exploring its wine, food, history and culture. I learned so much, had lots of fun, and ate and drank plenty of delicious food and wine. You can read about my explorations in my 25+ articles in All About Croatia. I also visited New Hampshire a couple times, primarily exploring the area around Wolfeboro, dining at a couple excellent spots.

For 2020, I'd like to travel more and there are a few possible destinations I might visit, such as New Zealand in the summer. We shall see if any of those trips coalesce or not. I'll likely return to New Hampshire too, exploring more of the Wolfeboro region. I also look forward to making my annual pilgrimage to the Seafood Expo in March. I need to do some more local explorations too, to neighborhoods, towns and cities which I haven't spent enough time visiting, such as Jamaica Plain, Quincy, and Watertown.

This New Year, I'll continue to explore more niche wines, such as from regions including Croatia, Moldova, Hungary, Georgia, Greece, and more. I have some new Sakes to sample as well, both from Japan and the U.S. I hope to continue with my Mind of a Sommelier series, where I interview local sommeliers about their wine lists, wine pairings, and more. These interviews have been extremely popular, so it's more of just finding local sommeliers willing to participate. I also hope that Adam Japko brings back his blind wine tastings.

In 2019, I wrote a number of historical food/drink articles, especially delving into their origins, including The First American Source About Carrot Cake,  The Origins of American Chop Suey, Krug Champagne: Early History in the U.S., the three-part Water Doughnuts: Some Bagel History, More on the Origin of the Everything Bagel, and the two-part Historical Tidbits About Baijiu. I also significantly revised and expanded some of my prior historical Sake articles, including A History of Sake Brewing in the U.S., Historical Tidbits About Sake in the U.S., Early History of Sake Brewing in British Colombia, and A History of Sake Brewing in Brazil.

My favorite of my historical articles was my extensive five-part series, The First Restaurants in Boston's Chinatown, providing plenty of fascinating details about the history of Chinatown and its restaurants. I refuted the myth of the first restaurant in Chinatown, and provided numerous references supporting my analysis. This year, I'll be revising and expanding this history, and I already have over 20 pages of additional references and new information for that expansion. I'll also write some other original, historical articles, about different foods and drinks, and we shall see what develops.

If you have enjoyed and found value in these historical articless, then please consider donating to me through Ko-Fi. Gaining access to some of the newspaper archives that I use for researching these articles isn't cheap and every donation makes that easier for me to do. I appreciate any support my readers can provide.

As 2020 progress, I'll also be open to opportunities, as no one can really predict what might arise over the course of the year. I seek inspiration wherever I can, from magazine articles to friend recommendations. And sometimes you stumble upon something cool just by exploring an unfamiliar neighborhood. I hope 2020 brings some pleasant surprises.

What are some of your plans for 2020?