2007 And Beyond!

Well, the holidays (and 2007) are almost over and it seems like a decent enough point to post about 2007, what I have been up to the past week or so, and about the new year.

2007

2007 was a pretty big year for Em and I between changing clients for the first time in a year and a half , looking or thinking about looking for new jobs, having my company get bought out of the blue and trying to find out about who is signing my paycheck now, pushing through a transfer to STL, Em graduating with her Masters, finding an apt in STL and moving, me living in Cinci without Em for a month and finishing up work at my last client there, flying to STL for a day of interviews and flying back, staring work in STL, Em finding a job here and then finding a really great opportunity for an "real" job too, adjusting to life MUCH closer to our family, missing our friends back in Cinci and me adjusting to not living in Ohio like I had for the previous 6+ years, weddings all over, getting a promotion, beginning to look for a house .....

It was busy.

Holidays 2007

These were a whirlwind of activity. I feel like I have been going nonstop for over a week now. I should learn that my lofty goals for time off never come true and I should resolve myself to the fact that if I get anything done, its a win.

Em's Aunt's dog George tired out after too much holiday excitement

Being in town for more than just a few days meant that we could attend all of the traditional family events plus others and ended up getting to spend a lot of great time with family and friends. I can think of at least 6 different extended family functions we attended over the past week or so, plus numerous smaller get-togethers, meals, and interactions.

As far as Christmas goes, Santa was very good to Em and I once again. I won't go into too much detail of what we each got, but some of the highlights included: several new Wii games, tons of pants for me, a Pujols jersey for Em, the complete work of Calvin and Hobbes, a necklace for Em, new books, 2 1GB USB sicks for $10 via a great Buy.com deal and $10 off your first order w/ Google Checkout, and two sets of Tangram pieces and books for me. Thanks Santa!

Other than family and friend get-togethers, Em and I also took in two cultural events. The first was Wicked on the 23rd. Em and I went with her mom and siblings and everyone had seen the show once before except me and her brother. It was amazing (and according to Em, better than the first). After listening to Em play the soundtrack over and over after she saw it the first time I wanted to go, but man it doesn't do it justice. It really is amazing to see people perform live compared to any type of recording. Also, we saw the performance at the really cool Fox Theater. The place is pretty big and EVERYTHING is extremely ornate and decorated to the max. Its a really cool place to see a show.

I got one picture of the ceiling before the Usher got too close

Next up was Body Worlds 3 at the St. Louis Science Center. My Dad's company is one of the primary sponsors and he was able to get us some vouchers to go see it with Em's brother and sister. All I can saw is WOW and it was INTENSE. I wasn't sure I could handle it, but I was interested and am extremely glad I went. Its such an amazing process and well done. In talking with other people about the exhibit some people are too squeamish to go, others disinterested, and others feel like it goes against there moral/ethical ideals. I think all points are valid, but I found the exhibit to be very tastefully done with respect to those individuals to volunteered to donate there bodies to science. I felt like it showed just how beautiful the human form is and how amazing our bodies are beyond what we can see on the outside. The way everything inside of us works together to give us almost limitless abilities is inspiring. And how disease or poor decisions can wreak havoc on our bodies is frightening.

I have also posted some of my thoughts about the food I ate over the holidays, a new programming project I have stared, and have contributed to and thought about a number of puzzles.

2008

If you know me, then you know I love lists, I have tons of ideas, and while I get many things done, there are countless other tasks and ideas that never quite get off the ground with me. So, in keeping with tradition, I have put together a rather lofty list of goals for myself in 2008 and intend to post them here as a public reminder of what I wanted to do. Rather than extremely abstract "resolutions" I am going to try and come up with S.M.A.R.T. goals which I have a good chance to achieve and which I can formulate a plan to accomplish.

They are, in no particular order:

• Read 6 novels by different authors (books in a series don't count, but are a good thing)
• Read 4 non-fiction, non-technical books (can be on any subject, but not computers)
• Learn 2 new programming languages
  
• Play chess with my Dad at least once a month
• Spend 1 hour each week taking photographs of something, find the best 1 and get rid of all of the rest (the goal being to take more pictures and to try and make the decision process as hard as possible for myself by taking better pictures)
  
• Cook something new that I have never cooked before each month
• Attend a JUG meeting
• Keep up with my "tech blog" and post about something new/interesting at least once a month.
  
• Bike/Hike 200 miles
• Average 2+ workout/physical activities a week for the year
• Buy our first house
• Finish the Spedini Project
  

Some of these goals may seem hard to reach (and probably will be) and others might seem easy to accomplish, but these are what I want to try and do. If I fail to meet one of them, I won't count the year as a failure, but if I don't try, I might.

[EDIT February 10, 2008]

• I have read Foundation Forward and am currently working on the first book along with Harry PotterInspecting A House: A guide for buyers, owners, and renovators.
• I have completed a project with Python and am still reading about it and trying things out
• My dad and I have played chess a few times and I am trying to keep up with it.
• I have cooked a number of new things.
• 2 JUG meetings down, more to go.
  
• I have a ton more stuff to post on tech-related subjects, but am doing ok.
• I have NOT been working out twice a week, but have gone a few times which is better than nothing.
• No house yet, and project Spedini is on hold.