2010 Goals Update: April 17

Not looking so good. But it is not the end of the world. Can’t change the past, only the future, yadda yadda.

Let me see where I’m at.

• Pray more: pretty much fail at this so far, but working on it. With my spiritual director, I’m making some awesome changes in habits and perception of my own self.
• Read a lot more: while I am reading more, it is not a lot more. I do still spend too much time on the computer when I should be (and would like to be) reading.
• Continue to learn Spanish: have not progressed on this at all, other than logging into livemocha.com a couple times during lunch break.
• Journal more: I’ve done this more, but not on a regular basis… usually in bursts over a couple days.
• Work on personal projects more: this I have worked on, but have not produced anything of substance but for the purpose of the goal, I am doing it. I could do more, but I haven’t failed this one.
• Structure my life and time much better: I stated this was the most important goal for 2010, but probably one I’ve spent the least amount of time on. I sorta just do what I feel like after work. I think structure is important but being off the computer doing things is the real key. I do still intend to work on this and have the tools in place… just need to use them on a regular basis.
• Minimize my life more and keep things uncluttered: still need to do this. There are still a few things I intend to get rid of (like 4 black garbage bags of clothes) and books I don’t read or care about keeping.
• Keep a food journal: I haven’t done this at all… even when I attempted Veganism during Lent. I need to go to the grocery store on a regular basis for this to make sense, otherwise it’s generally one big meal a day and I’m not hungry at other times.

I did end up having some positive things happen/come up over 2010 so far.

• I am making an effort to leave my computer and go outside more, with more social interaction activities.
• Understand what Veganism is all about and there’s a lot of things that can be made from soy beans.
• First impressions about people can usually be wrong, getting to know people can open up an interesting new person in your life that you wouldn’t have expected.
• I decided I want to write a novel(s) and have added it to my list of personal projects. One is a werewolf novel and one is a D&D type novel. The goal is to not just write one, but write one to get published. It is an imagination and creative outlet.
• My job at my current employer is more structured with goals and deadlines working very well for me and my employer. Single focus small goals over shorter time periods make everyone happy… and everyone is on the same page with expectations and such.
• I realize more now that I am not good at keeping in contact with people, probably a character flaw or habit, I have no idea but it seems to be more than a theory now. I need to figure out how to fix it (probably has something to do with keeping in contact with people more).
• I tried to go back to Linux as a workstation full-time again, and ended up going back to Mac OS X. There are many reasons, but most importantly it made sense for me personally to do it. It may not be applicable to you, and probably isn’t.
• I got a credit card (my first one ever) and working to build some credit history (I don’t have any).
• Saving up to buy a car (my first one ever) and hope to have one in July of this year. Yes, I do have a license. No, I really don’t want a car but need one to go to night school.

Goals for 2010

A bit of a laugh, sure… BUT THIS TIME I’ll do them… for longer than 3 months.

• Pray more: Something I really need and want to do.
• Read a lot more: I have many books that I’ve started and never finished. Of all the time I’ve spent catching up on shows and movies in 2009, I pushed books to the back burner. 2010 is where I’ll flip it around and read most of the time instead. During Lent in 2009, I mostly watched movies and tv shows (from “giving up” internet usage at home) during my idle free time. How much is “a lot”? I am not sure, but if it’s a time where I’d usually be watching a show or movie then it’s that time I should be reading instead.
• Eat better and exercise regularly: This is probably the #1 goal people make every year (of which gym owners love). I really need to do this before my weight starts being damaging to my health. Smaller portions, more “clean” foods (no processed foods), exercise at least several times a week of something significant, etc.
• Continue to learn Spanish: I really would like to speak and read Spanish. With the internet and learning materials available, it is really just a matter of applying effort.
• Journal more: This is a healthy thing. I also happen to love pens and paper, of which I have more than enough of both. Time to do something with all the fancy notebooks and pens I have.
• Work on personal projects more: I really need to use my personal time to better help myself. Part of doing that is to engage in my own personal software and other projects for my own good.
• Structure my life and time much better: I am one of those people that works really well in structured environments. I also am wide awake as soon as the alarm goes off. This just comes down to setting out a stricter structure for my life and what I spend time on, so that I can do the things I want and not just end up “wasting days” of my free time and wondering where all my time went with nothing to show for it. This is probably my most important goal for 2010 as it’s a foundational goal that only can help the others.
• Minimize my life more and keep things uncluttered: While much of my possessions are very minimal, I do tend to be very cluttered with what I do have. There is great value in just de-cluttering and minimizing my requirements and possessions more. I think this will have an overall good impact on not dragging/holding me down.
• Keep a food journal: This is something that may be a pain to keep track of, but it is a great idea. I will just have to develop a habit of keeping track of this information. This is not something that I intend to make public, it’s just for my personal health.

2009: Thankful For And My Life’s “Best Of”

2009 was a year of many changes for me.

Most are not physical. I haven’t lost any weight, in fact I’ve even gained some. I haven’t purchased many possessions, all the new permanent items I’ve purchased could fit in a backpack. I still live in the same place and I still do not have a car, which I am content with. I don’t require/desire what I don’t need (for the most part) and I am happy with that.

The most important possessions one can have cannot be owned or purchased.

Here is my personal list of things I am grateful for in 2009:

• Turning 31: After the shell-shock of turning 30 has passed, I am not comfortable in where my life is and the direction I wish to continue. I feel that I can achieve what I want from life. It is not so scary and uncertain, yet will be full of challenges and risk.
• Reception into the Catholic Church: Not something one would have thought 2 years ago, but here I am. On Easter Vigil in 2009, I received baptism, confirmation, and communion for the first time. I couldn’t be happier with this decision. I had a year before I could do this (my conversion story started on Easter 2008). This is the greatest thing to ever happen to me in 2009 and one of the best things to ever happen to me in my entire life.
• Joining the Knights of Columbus: This is a great organization. I love it. If you are a Catholic man, you should check it out (it isn’t just for old men).
• Friends: while I do live sort of an isolated life, I am grateful for the friends I do have. They may be few (mostly due to my lack of reaching out and making a solid effort to continue communication and such), but it is nice to have others out there that honestly care about what’s going on with you.
• Catching up on SciFi shows and movies: This one may seem sort of silly, yet part of my character and personality requires imagination fuel. I watching all of Star Trek: The Next Generation, all of Babylon 5, all of Deep Space Nine and season 1 of the original Star Trek series. I also watching other SciFi movies that I missed out on. While I still have two seasons of the original Star Trek series to watch, I can do it in 2010. I love imagination fuel!
• My health: true, I am overweight, but it hasn’t caught up with me yet. My complete physical shows I am in great health and even better than average. I still have never had a cavity and have no health issues. Hope to lose the weight in 2010 before it does catch up with me.
• My job: My employer is doing well, and so am I. The company is growing greatly, even more so in this economy and I am enjoying the ride along with it. With my job being a software developer that tends to make work processes require less humans, it does help the company grow without needing the scale humans at the same rate as revenue. I never meant to write code that replaces humans, but it is my job and it’s interesting.
• Social Networking contacts: I have met some really interesting and great people via social networking such as Twitter, Plurk and Facebook. While I may not categorize them as my real friends, it is a nice in-between of random people and friends. It is a community and I appreciate it. There is real value there.

Cisco: Goals, Lab and Learning

Goals

First thing’s first: get a CCNA (a core short term personal goal)

I also have additional goals that depend on getting this completed and reusing the lab equipment investment. These goals are getting additional Cisco certifications down the security path. So, CCNA+security and CCSP.

Learning

I’m going to be sticking to official Cisco books and software that isn’t cheating oriented or Cisco emulation.

• Books:
  • CCNA Official Exam Certification Library (Exam 640-802), Third Edition
  • CiscoKits.com CCNA Self-Study Lab Workbook 640-802
  • CiscoKits.com CCNA CRAM Sheet
• Software:
  • Boson simulated test questions (included with Cisco CCNA books)
  • iPhone app “CCNA Exam Prep”

Lab

Not the greatest, yet enough for CCNA right now. I’d like to have another switch, and a router or two that support more features. Yet, right now what I have is more than enough for what I know or need. Will build up when I know exactly what I need and when I require it (no wasting money on impulse buying). Probably need more devices that can run 12.4, for IPv6 and such.

• Routers: 2 x 2514, 2 x 2501
• Switch: 1 x Catalyst 2924 XL