2010: Looking Back… and Going Forward

“New Year's Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” (Mark Twain)

-----

So, how was 2010 for you?

For me, it wasn’t that bad. Could’ve been better. Could’ve been worse. But as the ball dropped in Times Square, ushering in a new year for every person on the planet, I decided that I needed to reflect on what I said I would do in 2010 and whether I actually did it. At least that way, I can start my own scorecard. You might want to do the same. After all, how can progress be measured if no one is willing to see what happened the last time, right?

Losing Weight

According to many articles that I’ve read, the number one resolution for the new year is (surprise) to get physically fit. This, of course, is why gym memberships surge at the beginning of the year and then become wastelands by Valentine’s Day. Gyms know this, though, and they count on it as a business model.

I wanted to lose weight and be more physically fit. I have a gym membership. See the correlation?

So, how did I do? Well, I lost 40 pounds, then gained back 20, then lost 5. I can wear a 38 (which for now counts as my skinny jeans). I dropped an X from my short size, though I still have two more to go. My back, which has issues due to herniated disks, stopped me from going all out, but I can at least say that progress was made.

Result: Did It!
2011 Promise: Lose more.

Learn a New Language

This usually falls in line with learning something new, which on average is the seventh or eighth resolution on someone’s list.

How did this work for me? Let’s put it this way… if I had to leave the country because the Girl Scouts have placed me on their Top Ten Most Wanted for my comments on Twilight and Bella Swan in particular, and had to pick out a country that I know I could survive in because I know the language, I’d have to go to Canada. The English-speaking side.

Result: Epic Fail!
2011 Promise: Try Again. Rosetta Stone, here I come!

Get Rid of Debt

Debt is the monster in our closets and under our beds. It is the primary cause of many people losing their bloody minds. It destroys marriages at the same rate as affairs. And it isn’t going away, especially in this economy.

Earlier last year, the CARD Act was passed by the government as a way to help consumers on the path to get out of debt. Of course, it required the banks to play by the rules. Instead, they made getting credit harder, reduced the limits on thousands of users or take the cards away, raise the interest rates, and even do things like eliminate free checking accounts (the lesson: when you own the ball and you don’t like the rules, you can say screw you, take the ball and go home).

But I digress. How did I do?

Well, on one hand, my credit card debt is down. My savings went up… and down… and up… and down… and a little up. But my house is still underwater (owe more than it’s worth), so it’s kind of a toss up.

Result: Middle of the Road.
2011 Promise: Get off the middle of the road and teach the kids how to do it earlier than I learned.

Go Someplace I’ve Never Been Before

I’ll keep this one short. Went to Kennedy Space Center for the first time (yay!) and St. Petersburg, Florida (yay!) to see my niece and her hubby graduate law school (triple yay!).

Result: Did It!
2011 Promise: Do it again. Duh!

Write A Book

Sigh. I really shouldn’t go here, but I must.

I was bad. Very, very bad. I really want to start this one.

Alas… I didn’t do it. Not one word. Really. I mean it.

I did write a few articles for this blog, but that was to get the ideas flowing in my head. And they are… but I did not put them on paper, where it counts. I even signed up for NaNoWriMo, hoping that it would force me to write, but I let other things get in the way. I can forgive myself a little, only because my back also caused a lot of problems which even using the laptop didn’t help.

Result: Fail (not an Epic Fail, but still)!
2011 Promise: Get off my [censored] and do it! And no, a blog doesn’t count! But I will be putting out more articles this year. So far, I’ve got the technical ones started. It’s called I Pwn You! and I hope that it helps many of those out there with making your technical lives a little easier. And if not, then I hope Canada will accept me. I Pwn You! will start… oh, that’s right, I already started it! Stay tuned for more articles on Wednesdays.

Overall, I did okay. My #1 resolution for 2010 – Live To See 2011. Did It!!! Big win in the books!!!

Progress is the measuring stick by which humanity is judged! So what did you accomplish? If you did something, then congratulations. If you didn’t and you’re still alive, then it’s not too late.

If you didn’t and you’re dead… and you’re reading this article, just keep in mind that the shotgun is fully loaded.