December 31st, 2009
In a way befitting of this roller-coaster of a year, this last week has seen its highs and lows. As predicted, Jen is once again unemployed.. That became official last Wednesday, the twenty-third. And while it is discouraging news, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. That day was followed by a fun-filled Christmas Eve with some friends, a nice dinner and an excellent movie. Christmas Day found us traveling to my sister’s house in the North County. We had a tasty home-cooked dinner, exchanged gifts and hung around. Jen spent some time holding my sister’s new baby. I played Nintendo Wii Bowling for the first time. That shit is fun and highly addictive. I’m looking forward to trying out some other Wii games in the future. Then, on Saturday, Jen received not one but three pieces of mail from the California EDD. None of them contained good news. But, do they ever? I came to the conclusion over the weekend that, I make enough money that we won’t go homeless and/or hungry. If there’s no money beyond that, then anyone else expecting money from us can just get in line or go away. (Sadly, I doubt any of them would choose the latter option.) Yesterday, we gave away our old TV. That opened up the log jam in such a way that we could begin the Big Room Move of 2009/2010. We should finish with that over the weekend, and I’m excited about it. Having our studio and living spaces in separate rooms should make for a more harmonious, productive and fun environment around here.
I’m not a fan of New Years resolutions. Just before the end of last year, I made a to-do list of things I wanted to get done in 2009. Looking over that list, I’m proud to say that I was able to scratch off most of the stuff listed there. I’m going to make a new to-do list for 2010. Some things will be carried over from last year’s list. Some things from that list are no longer relevant. Most of what’s on this year’s list is new. Also, last year’s list was made up of tasks with concrete end points. This year’s list will be more about setting (and hopefully attaining) certain goals, and some of the items may be kinda vague.
- Weight loss: I did lose some weight in 2009. I still need to lose more, but I’m lighter than I’ve been in years. At my last weigh-in, I came in at 235 pounds. I’d like to get to 215 by the end of 2010. I feel like this is a moderate, healthy and (most importantly) reachable goal.
- Paint the air conditioner support structure: A holdover from last year’s list.
- Video production: Spend more time on video production. Explore possibility of creating new Phantom Power Media YouTube channel for all of our videos. Get 100 YouTube subscribers on either this new channel or my existing channel. A small goal, but a good one to start with.
- Work/finances: Continue to save money and pay off debt. Hopefully, not make any more debt. Launch side business doing local Macintosh computer work/service. Refine “professional” sides of Phantom Power Media to help attract multimedia/web freelance work.
- Self-promotion: Do more of it. As long as its in ways that aren’t harmful/destructive/douchey.
That’s all I can think of for now. I may add more to the list as time goes on. Overall, I’m looking forward to 2010. I think I’m a better person than I was a year ago. And I hope to be doing even better a year from now.
Anyway, Happy New Year, everybody.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
I really hope Jen finds a new job soon! Congratulations on your weight loss and good luck reaching your goals for 2010.
December 29th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
[...] end-of-the-year time. As has been tradition here over the last couple years, I’m going to make a list of things I’d like to do/achieve in the coming year. This [...]