Rapp Strategies Rundown – January
What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: With a big late January push, we finished The Americans (great last season) and are now spending the cold evenings with Ted Lasso, Your Honor and The Mayor of Kingstown. Pretty surprised that Top Gun: Maverick got a Best Picture nod, as it seems to suffer from the same fate as Star Wars: The Force Awakens – too much redux. Gene Hackman turned 93 this week … how do you even start to pick his best performances? I’d say The French Connection, The Conversation, Hoosiers and the under-rated Runaway Jury. Highlight of the month was a Roseau vs. Warroad high school hockey doubleheader. Katy Comstock of Warroad is one fine hockey player for the Warriors.
Rich: January was highlighted by the baby shower we hosted at our home for Sean Oyaas and Rosie Griffiths. Around 50 people gathered and expressed their joy for the baby due to arrive in March. We’ve been to several weddings/showers in the past year with mostly Millennials in attendance. This generation has impressed us with their intelligence, warmth, kindness and ambition. We know there are lots of problems in the world, but we have renewed confidence that they have what it takes to address these challenges.
The lowlight of the month was the predictable Vikings’ loss to New York in the first round of the NFL Playoffs. To quote Yogi Berra, it felt like deja vu all over again.
Todd S.: To survive the bitter cold days, we tried some family favorites, including board games, movies and a few trips to the local bowling alley to embrace our inner Lebowski. For the record, we’re a few years away before the dudes can watch the Big Lebowski.
Jodi: A New Year’s Eve weekend in San Diego led to one discovery -- it does indeed rain in Southern California. Nonetheless, we embraced the Mission Beach lifestyle, biked to La Jolla, stumbled upon harbor seals, and ate an incredible avocado curry. My first month at RSI has been its own adventure – a fast pace, collaborating with our team and clients, and exploring (…getting lost in) the skyways. Atomic Habits by James Clear was a great read but putting the practices in play is a bit challenging. Now that the Vikings are out of the playoffs, I have turned my attention to the Wild and hoping for a better outcome. British television is keeping me entertained right now, with Slow Horses and Criminal on regular streaming. A bit tired of the below zero temps, I’ve begun counting the days until summer weekend trips to the lake become the norm again.
Sean: Cold weather but warm hearts in the Oyaas household as we inch ever closer to baby Oyaas joining the family. We went from having an empty room wondering how we’d ever get enough baby items to our entire house overflowing with onesies, diapers and a plethora of yet-to-be-built furniture items that are sure to cause me infinite headaches. A big shout out to Rich Forschler (and an even bigger shout out to Kari Breen) for hosting our first baby shower late in January.
Outside of wrapping up our birthing class, Rosie and I kept busy by finishing up Hacks on HBO and starting The Last of Us, both of which satisfied our TV cravings. I was unfortunate enough to be present for the inevitable disappointing end to the Vikings season, but while they took the loss, I had a blast with my brother-in-law who somehow always happens upon amazing seats at the last minute (let’s just say he knows a guy). Spent even more time at US Bank Stadium taking in the Governor and Lt. Governor’s Inauguration celebration – it was fun to catch up with the old boss! Yoga, soccer and of course, shoveling have keeping me active in this freezing weather – doing my best to keep the pounds off ahead of the baby’s arrival.
Anna: Anna is ringing in the first months of 2023 with her new baby boy, Owen. We wish the Shay family the very best!
Cullen: After a perennial Vikings’ playoff loss and more dismal winter weather, a tropical trip was sorely needed. I joined Lauren and her family for a week in Costa Rica, first near the jungles south of Platanar, followed by a few days on the Pacific Coast in Playa Potrero. We packed in plenty of hiking, swimming, rafting, ATV riding and pina colada drinking – only to return to eight inches of fresh snow in Madison.
Long flights did give me an opportunity to make a dent in my ever-growing reading list. I finished The Anthropocene Reviewed, A Darker Shade of Magic, The Woman in the Window and The Guest List. I particularly enjoyed Anthropocene, which read like a natural blend of the author’s CrashCourse videos (inarguably the only reason I passed the AP U.S. History test) and his uber-emotive young-adult novels. Four out of five stars.
Kaylee: This round, I’ll sum up my month with two activities: Cross-country skiing and ice skating. While January sadly meant it was time to take down my Christmas tree, I was thankful to have lots of snow and fun activities to get me through the most depressing part of the season. My neighbor introduced me to a nearby skating rink where I’ve now become a regular and a laughingstock for all to see. Needless to say, I’m not as coordinated as the five-year-olds there. I am, however, enjoying getting my sea legs — or should I say ice legs — under me.
Will: I got out to the ski hill for my first trip of the season. Even though I haven’t skied since the start of the pandemic, things came right back to me. My friend who was raised in India and California came along and tried to learn how to snowboard at the ripe age of 22, which kept me from being the shakiest on the slopes. I celebrated my brother’s birthday with a trip to Shamrock’s. While they might not be in popular contention as the home of the original Juicy Lucy, they might still have the best one.
The highlight of the month was the long-awaited conclusion to my collegiate journalism career, when I was awarded 2nd place for Investigative Journalism at the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Convention for a story from Fall 2021. Seeing my former colleagues for dinner and taking home some recognition for our team was absolutely worth the wait.
