A quick look back at my resolutions reveals a mixed bag of success and inspiriation. As a reminder my list looked like this:
I generally don’t like New Year’s Resolutions but a new year also brings the thoughts about what new things we might want to explore or accomplish: So here is my list. I reserve the right to update this at any point.
1) Try a new local restaurant I have never been to each month.
2) Keep up with at least daily updates on Twitter.
3) Help my team write really good development plans for 2009.
4) Camp at least 4 times this year. (Hurrah for new camp stove).
5) Try a new beer each month at our regular WAP (Work Avoidance Program).
6) See a new foreign film each month (thank you Netflix).
7) Install a new floor downstairs.
Help John learn to drive my car before he gets his permit. (Hurrah for manual transmissions)
9) Help The Service Project become a vital ministry at our church.
and the long shot….
10) Get off the continent.
And how did I do?
1) Try a new local restaurant I have never been to each month. This was the best resolution ever, I highly recommend you try this one yourself. New restaurants are born each month and it keeps you from being in a rut, at least foodwise.
2) Keep up with at least daily updates on Twitter. - Well not so good on this one, but if you add Facebook to the mix then success. Not sure that is such a good thing though.
3) Help my team write really good development plans for 2009. - So so, some of them reached for the stars, others still can’t grasp the concept. A year of lots of changes though, and I think a stronger team than ever.
4) Camp at least 4 times this year. (Hurrah for new camp stove). – Utter failure, not one camping adventure last year. Sad face.
5) Try a new beer each month at our regular WAP (Work Avoidance Program). - Success but harder than it sounds. Since WAP occurs at one of three places each month it was hard to find things I hadn’t tried yet. But never the less a success. I discovered Smithwicks (and that it is pronounced Smiticks), love it. I discovered I hate Chimay Trappist Ale. Yuck. And that Stella Artois is way overblown and nothing to get your panties in wad over.
6) See a new foreign film each month (thank you Netflix). – Mixed bag, I did well the first part of the year and saw some great films. Nine Queens from Argentina. Children of Heaven from Iran. Pan’s Labryrinth from Spain. Character from The Netherlands. Mananagar from India. All great films and mind expanding. I recommend them all. Think I need to renew this one.
7) Install a new floor downstairs. - YESSSS! Thanks to the Mattman. Men I highly recommend you plan and do a big project for your honey. I will do wonders for your sex life.
8. Help John learn to drive my car before he gets his permit. (Hurrah for manual transmissions) - Well he can start, stop and shift from 1st to 2nd but so far he is afraid to drive a manual, oh well.
9) Help The Service Project become a vital ministry at our church. – Not so great on this one. We lost alot of steam on this one this year. Not really sure why. This next year I really need to find a new place at my church home. Couples group? Outreach? Not sure yet. Your thoughts?
10) Get off the continent. – Not yet, but at least I am headed to the other side in 10 days.
And now for 2010:
1) Try a new local restarant each month. Huge success, gonna keep it up.
2) Learn to cook Indian food. Curry, Rice, Raitas. Bought some books today for inspiration.
2) Camping twice this year. Okay let’s scale this back and see what happens. It looks promising. The J’ohnson’s are at looking at Memorial Day for the annual trip to Yosemite. Hope it pans out.
3) Bartend an event. I want a new challenge and a chance to work on my muddling skills.
4) Finish The Prisoner series from Netflix before the new series debuts. Only have about 12 episides to go. So one or two a month should do it.
5) Persue a grad degree this year. Thinking about Human Resources. Let’s see what is possible.
6) Get new planter boxes for tomatoes and peppers built. Matt, hint hint.
7) Go one month as a vegetarian.
Take a once a week sabbaitical from the internet. I pick Sundays.
9) Okay try this again, one foreign film per month. I think I need to print this list so I can remember and be inspiried.
10) Read 25 books from my Shelfari list.
Joanna, whom I met in my most recent job, is in the very unsexy high tech field of capital equipment. Joanna is about 15 years older than me. I can remember the first time I saw a computer, it was in a very large room at my university and we had to feed it cards to get our statistics data out of it. This was closely followed by the arrival of brand new Apple Macintosh personal computers that our school was testing. Before I even laid eyes on the giant Vax at school, Joanna was working in a lab at Intel hand processing 2 inch wafers that would become the precursors to the 8086 processor chip technology. She has the most amazing stories to tell about the early days in Intel. And the most fascinating mind who loves to discuss things like Jazz music and early California history. 
Alison is almost her complete opposite. 15 years younger than me, Alison never really knew a life without computers. Finishing high school in 3 years with one abroad in Argentina, she graduated valedictorian but was not admitted to Stanford because she did not have 4 years of high school class work. She instead chose NYU and entered the medical program but quickly discovered she didn’t really want to be a doctor. Switching to computer science, she let her analytical skills run wild. Employed by Netscape pre IPO, and having served a stint at a major cell phone provider bought out by one the largest cell phone companies in France, Orange. She most recently serves as head of technical support for a large email security provider. Alison is the most intelligent and yet compassionate (they are sometimes mutually exclusive) woman in business I know. She completely understands what technology can bring our a crazy over connected lives and utilizes it to the fullest but not at the expense of personal relationships and personal fulfillment.
