Back and Forward Again

January 4, 2015 · Unthoughts

Sure, sure. Every year I do this little ritual of looking back over the past year to reflect on what was good, bad, interesting, boring, useful, or somewhat less than useful. After that I look forward to pick out a few things to focus on for the coming year. It's not the most exciting ritual, but it's mentally necessary.

Looking Back - 2014

2014 was generally a good year. Let's take a look.

• I kept the same good job for the full year, making two years straight at the same company. As volatile as the job market has been, I'm happy with this.

• I finished up teaching at FRCC. I've been teaching there for about 8 years I think - Game Design, 3D Animation, Photoshop, Capstone. I've had great students and learned a ton, but it's time to get back to doing some things. Time is never our friend, is it. I'll still be on the advisement board and help out when I can with mentoring my replacements, but I won't be actively teaching for a while.

• Reading more was important to me this year and I was able to read more for recreation than I have in the past. Not a ton, and a lot of sci-fi and cyber books. I left out the software manuals and blog series. They don't really have interesting titles. I also left out the real paper and binding books that I've read and that don't show up in my Kindle app. I tend to give them away and forget I've read them.

  • Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power (In progress, good but slow.)

  • Relativity: Special and General Theory (In progress, good but denser)

  • Post Human Series Books 1-4

  • Enders Game

  • Speaker for the Dead

  • Xenocide

  • The Sirens of Titan

  • Dune

  • Cyberpunk: Stories of Hardware, Software, Wetware...

  • Freedom

  • Mona Lisa Overdrive

  • How the Scots Invented the Modern World

  • Ready Player One

  • Sword of Fire and Sea

  • Rocket Surgery Made Easy

  • The War of the Worlds

  • The Time Machine

  • The Information: A History, Theory, Flood

  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

  • Sherlock Holmes: Complete Collection

  • Neuromancer

• Not as many movies this year, even though LilF is getting older and interested in more movies. I've missed a ton that I'd love to see, but here are a few I've seen, some with LilF, some with the beautiful Aimee:

  • Guardians of the Galaxy

  • Big Hero Six

  • How to Train Your Dragon 2

  • Captain America: Winter Soldier

  • Xmen: Days of future past

  • Lego Movie

  • The Nut Job

  • Horns

  • Pompeii

  • Rio 2

  • Maleficent

  • Video Games: The Movie

  • BoxTrolls

• We were able to go to ComiCon in Denver this year which was a blast!

• Watching the World Cup this year was amazing.

• I was able to travel some this year, but again, not nearly as much as I'd like. Aimee had a ton of trips this year, but me not as much.

  • Company retreat to Berekley, CA

  • Family weekend to Seattle, WA

  • Conference in DC

  • Los Angeles

  • Snow Mountain Ranch

  • Dreamforce in San Francisco, CA

• Concerts - There have been a bunch of great shows and festivals this year including Tellerpalooza, UMS, Westword Music, Higher Ground, FoCoMX, Bohemian Nights, and Riot Fest. I haven't kept track of all of them this year, tho. Check on Greeblehaus.com for photos of the ones that I've been to as well as the ones Aimee as been able to shoot.

• What else, what else... There's been a lot going on here at home and around our family, but it's tough to keep it all in mind for the full year. Which brings us too...

Looking Ahead - 2015

I'm looking forward to 2015. It should be a good year. A lot of the craziness of the last few years with health and work has seemed to stabilize, so we are ready to mix things up again this year! There's a razor's edge between comfort and terror that is fun to glide.

Some random goals in no particular order:

• Help LilF and Aimee find the direction and people they want to be. They are both in amazing times of change and growth. I'm here for them.

• Figure out  how to cook more, both by making time and learning how to cook things. It really shouldn't be that difficult. LilF wants to cook more too, so I can rely on him for encouragement too.

• Take advantage of work flexibility. Travel more, see more, do more. Not expensive stuff, but just see and experience more. The world is out there, and cries out to be revealed.

• Keep getting more and more input from more places. Reading, movies, music, lectures, events, podcasts. I always need more input.

• Output - Create and build. Tired of having so many ideas that grow fungus. Fanplan, BandBeef, Pick the Weather, Live Streaming, Unity games, my music.

• Support local music more this year. I didn't get out to see nearly as many gigs as I wanted. We have a great scene in Denver that is well worth getting out for. I also want to do more to help the SpokesBuzz crew and other such entities. I don't have to start from scratch for everything, do I? Most things, but not everything. :)

• Be physical. Skateboard, bike, run, ski, wrestle, box, something, anything. I'm getting rounder by the second.

• Drink good whiskey. Drink less, learn more. Denver Whiskey Club FTW.

And one of the most important things I need to do is make sure the people I care about know about it. Family, friends, bar buddies, concert crew, and more. All you wonderful people are the ones that I learn from and grow with. I look forward to another year with you all!