When I started writing this, my intention was to stay away from the regrets and resolutions that permeate most blogs around the first of the year. What I found was…perspective. Too much reflection or projection makes your vision blur; I like the balance here.
Starting from today, it’s easy to glance back and see a long line of footprints winding through 2009. It was an interesting year; one with many “firsts” actually. It would be impossible to list all of the new paths and directions, but here are a few:
On the Move
I lived in Nebraska for 23 years before moving to Springfield, Missouri last September. The change has been amazing in more ways than one, and I’m excited to see what happens next.
Hackintosh
For my next trick: I’m typing this on a Dell netbook running Mac software. It was a bit frustrating to get working, but has had very rewarding results! It’s amazing how well Snow Leopard runs on such a tiny device…definitely nice to get things in one location smaller than my Bible.
Intentional Reading
While I’ve always loved to read, this year I made a more conscious effort to re-literate myself. I figured there are plenty of opportunities if you look for them; I ended up finding time for an average of roughly 4 books per month. Not a bad start…
Polyphasic Sleep
I attempted this feat while living with a few friends early in the year. My efforts met with mixed results, but it was a very interesting experience! Go look it up sometime…it’s pretty incredible.
Got a Job
I have been freelancing for years, seldom working at an actual location for any period of time. This has served me well, but when I got down here the projects seemed to freeze. I decided to go full-time at a local business fixing and building websites. I’ve never had formal instruction in this area, but so far it’s going rather well.
Devorak
I risked a new keyboard layout over the summer; I really liked what I found, but also saw that it was something I need to keep working on. I never took typing, but it was probably a lot of fun to watch me try to figure out the new configuration.
That sums up some of 2009. There are many more things I could write about, but I’d like to keep this fairly short. Rather than list things I’m “going to do” in the coming year, I’d like to ponder 2009 and suggest improvements:
Writing
This is my favorite one to think about: putting pen to paper. I was writing regularly through a good portion of 2009, but near the end of the year the stories never really left my notebooks. I’m not going to make any promises – why speak for tomorrow when today isn’t over? – but this is near the top of my list of “things to keep doing” in 2010.
Studying
I’ve made it a point to not list what I’m studying online, whether that includes history, Bible topics, or new languages. That said, I think there’s a lot we can learn when we study things together, so I may try to expound on a few topics later this year.
Working
I like where I work, though the hours and schedules are a bit interesting. Having freedom over my work schedule is amazing, don’t get me wrong, I just find myself wanting to do more than coding all day long. I’m not sure what it needs quite yet, but I think it’s safe to say I’ll soon find a way to re-order some commitments and work hours to allow for other projects.
Training
No details here just yet. I want to actively offer more of what I know to others, however that looks. I’m no Einstein, but I do have a gift of figuring things out; seems like I really ought to be archiving more of those efforts!
Reading
While 48 books is a nice number, I made the decision to focus on that too late in the year. Starting now, however, I know I can attain a better number; I’m going to use 5 books per month as a starting point (60 for the year) and see what happens. This will keep me on my toes, but it’s always worth making time to read more. (Note: I may have something new to share on this very soon…check back if the idea of reading en-mass appeals to you!)
That’s all for now! Be safe and have a great holiday today – I’ll swing by later with a tray of cookies.