Obligatory New Years Post

So, looking back on 2009, a lot of things changed. I started a MA degree in eLearning at the University of Colorado, I published a book, I sold a house and bought a new house, and then I assisted in having a baby (meaning, I was there when the baby started and change diapers after it arrived).



How could I possibly top that in 2010?

I don't know if I can. But here are my personal goals for 2010. (The professional goals continue to be 1) Make money, and 2) Make my employer money.)

1. Be a better dad.

This should be easy. I was only a dad for 10 days in 2009, so the baseline is not that great. I still have to introduce her to country music (that is, the good kind of country music), get her to say "Bah bah," and maybe take a few steps. If she is able to go, "Awwww, snap!" by 2012, I have done my job.

2. Fulfill my 2009 obligations.

There are a lot of side projects I verbally committed to in 2009 and then had to set aside because of all the work, school, and baby commitments. I haven't been blogging as much as I would like. I haven't participated in discussion boards as much as I would like. And, most importantly, I haven't responded to Cyber D, who sent me a draft of his novel and asked for feedback. I have read large chunks of it, but sadly, have not given him the feedback he asked for. This is wrong and should be changed.

3. Pimp my book.

So I wrote a book. It is a good book that serves a vital niche that no other book fulfills. Sales have been good, but no where near enough to buy that island in the Bahamas I've had my eye on. The Mrs. (who is in marketing) reminds me that it is not enough to write the book. I have to promote it as well. So that is what I plan to do while I work on the sequel.

4. Continue my education.

In my quest to be the smartest smarty pants know-it-all in the room, it wouldn't hurt to have a stack of advanced degrees. I am just sayin'.

5. Make a short film.

This one might get pushed off until 2011 or 2012, because of my #1 Goal. I want to make a short film just to say I've done it. I have many scripts to choose from, but I want to do the financing, set design, auditioning actors, directing, and submitting-to-a-film-festival-only-to-get-rejected piece that is essential to being a pretentious artist. Because there is nothing like spending weeks and months on a project that will be over and done with in less than five minutes.

I think it is going to be a good year.