Zaengleverse in 2020

The number of times we’ve heard the words “uncertain,” “unprecedented,” and “toilet paper shortage” in the last nine months is mind-boggling.

Despite the many challenges this year brought, we didn’t want to lose sight of our core mission to Be Nice, Do Good as a team. Nor did we want to overlook the positives that happened during this unusual year. With that in mind, we asked each Zaengster to wrap up the year by reflecting on the good things that came out of it. Read on below for our stats and personal reflections from 2020.

Here’s to the new year! May 2021 truly be precedented.

Zaengstats for 2020

• 3 new Zaengsters

• 2 new Zaengster babies

• 141 team standups

• 650,341 lines of code

• 3,604 bugs squashed

• 7,158 emails sent

• 14 client + internal projects

• 1 website shipped in 4 days (a new Zaengle record!)

• 4,583 cups of coffee

• 3,042 support tickets resolved

• 40 blog posts

• 702 social posts

• 352 fun Zaengster questions answered

• 601 Sparks drank by Phil

• 306 bookmarks saved by David

• 704 Zoom meetings attended by Patrick

Philip

2020 was a year to survive, and we did it! I'm increasingly grateful for being able to work from home: the highlights include lack of commute and being present for the highs and lows of parenting. I love that my two boys come to visit me in my office multiple times a day. Sometimes they even bring snacks. Also, I paid someone $1 on Twitter to write a summary of me based on my Twitter timeline. Best investment of 2020.

David

Today is March 30354894, 2020 and wow 2020. What a terrible year. But also what a good year for certain things. For example, I joined Team Zaengle! And in a full attempt at brown nosing, I must say joining Team Zaengle has been the greatest decision I’ve made since the day I bought a battery powered lawn mower. 2020 has given the introvert in me an easy excuse to shun the world and hunker down at home. And my wife and I welcomed our furry baby into our family, Whittaker the dog!

Rachel

One of the positive things that came out of this year for me was spending more time learning foreign languages. I’m far from fluent (yet), but I now have a decent elementary understanding of both Spanish and Italian. Evviva!

Jason

Among many other things, this year sparked reflection about priorities and how we spend our time — I was grateful to spend more intentional time with my wife and kids, and focus on things that increase health (mentally, spiritually, and physically). We also moved into a new house and got a new puppy!

Ahmed

For me, the best thing that happened this year is we had our first baby. That's very joyful for me. The second thing is I got a game-based laptop where I had the chance to play all of the saved games I wanted to play. And the last thing is definitely joining Zaengle as I am enjoying the environment and working with the nice people here.

Patrick

2020 was a year for endurance and balance. Enduring days of pretending to be a kindergarten teacher while balancing professional obligations. From explaining what seemed like one national crisis after the next to an inquisitive six-year-old to enduring unending political ads, and constant worry about my vulnerable loved ones getting COVID-19, this year has taken a toll. But as the end draws near, I'm struck by how profoundly fortunate I am on all fronts. My wife and I welcomed our fourth child this year, we both enjoy a stable career and have been able to work from home, and I've spent more time with my young family than I would've been able to in any other circumstance. While it's been trying at times with the ups and downs of parenting, I think I'll look back on it one day as one the greatest blessings I've been given.

AJ

I started 2020 with no job and little direction. I reached out to an old friend, who took a chance on me and believed in me even while the world seemed to be falling apart around us. Because of that action, I’ve been able to enjoy many things during the chaos of 2020. I’ve been proud of the work I’ve been able to accomplish with Zaengle. And I’ve been grateful for the time I get to spend with my family, observing the growth of my three, now four, children. 2021 will undoubtedly bring new challenges, and thankfully I learned a lot about myself this past year and how we can tackle them together.

Jesse

2020 has been surprisingly a good year for our family. Of course it has had its difficulties, but the travel and social restrictions have allowed us to grow closer and spend more time together when we otherwise would have been running in all different directions. I've particularly enjoyed watching my family developing interests in hobbies: my son is becoming an avid fisherman, my wife pulled out her sewing machine again, and my daughters are experimenting with all kinds of baking... yum for me!

Logan

This year I have grown so much in my coding abilities. I had the chance to head up the development on a project for the first time and bring a lot of the moving parts together. I have also had the opportunity to grow my skills as a co-worker this year with things like communication, dependability and pushing through when things get hard.

Emily

2020’s been a roller coaster. And I’m not much of a thrill-seeker, so I’m happy this ride is coming to an end soon. This year has certainly had positive notes though. I’ve had a lot more time to work on my hobbies in recent months. I started the year with 6 houseplants and have grown my collection to a whopping 63+ now. (Plus I only killed 7 plants along the way!) I baked more cakes than I’d care to count. I refined my 42 Spotify playlists. I spent more time outside. I re-learned how to get comfortable with slowing down and relaxing.