Year number twenty-nine. Last of those innocent and ignorant twenties. Time to start standing taller and flying straighter, or so I hear. A good as time as any to look back and see what I want to work on for the next twelve months. Let’s start with a quick recap of last year’s list:

• More road trips: While I did go back to DC for the first time since 8th grade (if only for a night) and a very relaxing Thanksgiving in upstate New York, I actually traveled less this past year than the one before — excluding round trips to my old stomping grounds around the Jersey shore. I’m still committed to travel more; now I just have to go out and do it.
• More time to write: Small gains have been made here, but so small as to be almost negligible. But then again, that goes in how you quantify what’s been started. At least now all those random ideas are starting to form some kind of framework in my mind. It might take me the next 10 years to write the kind of something I’d want to share with the world as real literature and not just blog-drivle (like this, for example), but at least I’m starting to see some shapes in the fog.
• Painting in the park: A dismal failure. Complete lack of trying. I hang my head in shame on this one. At least for now the New York skyline is safe from my brushstrokes of unspeakable evil. Back onto the board for this year.
• Struggle with my back account: A given that it’s not exactly where I want it (i.e. flush with cash so that I could live comfortably on some tropical island), but at least I can say that I’m well on my way to being totally debt-free before I turn 30. I know a lot of people only wish they could say that. From here on, I have to keep in mind that it’s okay to spend your money today, but that I’m going be hanging around the game of life for a while so I better be able to pay for the last few rounds as well.
• Increase the circle of friends: While I was less in doubt about this actually happening, it never ceases to amaze me on just how hard the task of human relations is. Still, I’m happy to say it’s getting easier, and the people I’ve met up here are some of the best I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. They’ve helped me to grow more than I thought I could in such a short time, and I just hope that I’ve given them back something equally as good. And what’s more, I think that it’s helped me in actually relating to my older friends better.

Reflection is a good thing, but now it’s time to gaze forward and see what mile markers I’ve got set for the next year:

• Practice, practice, practice: In the past few months there’s been a big resurgence to the musical side of my creative life. My associates and I have some definite plans on publishing our own songs within the next month, and seeing where this part-time rock star thing leads, if anywhere. But for me to truly be able to do what I want in this arena, it’s time that I admit that I need to learn it all by the book. Last month I started piano lessons, which I’m enjoying a great deal. What I have to do is consistently make the time to practice, so I can actually improve. And before long I want to add in drum lessons as well. I fear that my do-it-yourself style has imparted some nasty habits that need to be undone and corrected before I can progress. No more half-assed attempts: if I’m doing this, I’m doing it right.
• Back to healthy: That massive weight loss I wrote about so proudly has been 60% undone as of this writing. On top of that, I seem to be stuck in the mentality of reacting to problems instead of preventative maintenance. I have the health and dental, and I know if I shed that extra luggage from my frame it’ll help a lot more than just my ego. Time to fall back in line with diet and exercise. Definite hiking and biking falls into these plans, but sit-ups and pushups are going to have to figure into the equation as well. Maybe come fall I’ll be brave enough to get myself to a gym somewhere?
• Order in the court: I’ve been showing some real obsessive-compulsive tendencies since the start of the year, at least where files are concerned. Not only did I finally get a handle on all those household bills, important papers and the like that had been sitting around my apartment in piles for far too long, but I’ve started to get a similar amount of control over all the things lurking in my computer. I like being able to find things. I want more of this order. I want to sort through all those cabinets and boxes full of junk and make it so I can find things again. Right now I’d say I’m about 20% there. Let’s see if I can get that up to 80% or so before the year is out. Doing something with all my ticket stubs and random keepsakes is near the top.
• Building in “me” time to my web work schedule: There is one thing that I do have to say is in desperate need of change: this website. And all my other websites. I think I’m done freelancing for a while until I can bring these personal expressions of myself onto par with my skills and my life as it exists now. You have no idea how embarrassing it is to be a professional web designer and still be using an out-of-the-box templated design on my personal soapbox.