2010 Wrap-Up

I kick off every year with my resolutions for the new year, and then I recap them here just to keep myself honest. So without further adieu, how did I do?

• Keep up the Health kick – Well I wanted to keep the weight down, and possibly drop to 175. Well until the end of the summer I did pretty well. I played softball in the spring and really enjoyed it, and can’t wait to play again next summer. My body at 40 takes a little more maintenance, but I can make it happen. Now, this fall, our schedules made it so we ate late at night most nights and didn’t have much time for exercise. So I’ve gone back up in weight now to 200. Annoyed about it, but mark my words, I’ll be back to 190 by Lotusphere for sure.
• Really do more with my photography THIS year – I did do more, but never kept up the 52 Weeks project. I think I got about half done. On the other hand, I joined NAPP (the National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and joined up for Kelby Training to learn how to do more with Photoshop and Lightroom. In addition, for my birthday I got to upgrade to the Canon 7D camera. It’s got a lot more power, and I’ve already put it to good use photographing my daughters plays and gymnastics meets. So not as much progress as I would have liked, but it did get better than last year.
• Do NOT let the new managerial responsibilities disrupt my family – I think I did well with this one. I’ve really tried to keep work and family separate, and I feel I’ve done a pretty good job. Now there were some periods that were a little rough, but I think you’ll always have those. I’ll always strive to be better, but as long as all my girls know how much I love them every single day, life is good.
• Watch a little less TV – I rocked on this one. The wife and I eliminated a ton of shows we watched, and also some of them were cancelled which helped. We resisted the urge to try all the new shows, and some that we did we ditched after a couple episodes. So less TV means more time for other things including family, photography, gaming, etc.
• Blog more – #FAIL I actually blogged less this year than last year by a couple posts. But including this, I think I was still around 60. Facebook and Twitter have really taken up most of my posting time. So this still is a diary for me, and helps me document a lot of what is going on. You’ll see a good uptick in January/February surrounding Lotusphere again, so we’ll see if I keep it up or not.

So as with most resolutions, I didn’t do very well, but this public shaming will hopefully help motivate me. 2010 had some definite ups and downs, but myself and my family were healthy, I’m gainfully employed at a job I love, and really I can’t ask for much more than that.

This year had a lot of things packed in. Gramps passed away. Project #PDL started off 2010 with a bang, and I ended up in Vegas a couple more times. Once for my fifteenth wedding anniversary, and another for a wonderful Defcon weekend with close friends. I then ended up in St Louis for IAMLUG, where I also met up with some college friends I hadn’t seen in person in about 15 years. My friend’s cigar shop had to move locations, and then the new location lasted about 6 months before being robbed and shutting down. This paved the way for me to set up a man cave in my back house, which was accelerated by flooding due to busted water pipes. I ate a lot of sushi, listened to a lot of music, vacationed in the Wisconsin Dells and got a new tattoo. 2010 had some highs and lows, but I came out the other end a better person, with a better outlook on the future.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful, safe, healthy, and joyous 2011.