I turn 25 in 10 minutes. Last year at this time I was thinking “I turn 25 in 1 year!” They say that the only thing guys have to look forward to after turning 21 is 25 because we get the holy grail – a drop in car insurance. Well let me tell you, 24 was a hell of a year and if life continues to move this fast I don’t see 25 disappointing either. To recap 24…
It’s difficult to put the last year in perspective on a blog I started this year. The readers here are mostly people who know me and therefore know a little about my past. To say the least, my life until I turned 23 was quite chaotic. Being 24 was definitely no exception either. So to summarize, here is a list of the top 5 things that happened to me while being 24:
- I became a father… this is a real life changer for the uninitiated. And the most joyous event in the world! I love my little girl so very much and I’m constantly in awe of her power to grow and learn.
- My wife and I bought a house – this was also a learning experience and kind of a scary thing to go from not worrying about much to having a HUGE debt put on the table.
- I lost a job that I thought was very good and ended up in a job that is so much better. Hindsight is always 20/20 and looking back, I was suffering in the cesspool of IT stagnation before I came to my new job. The new job is wonderful and I am learning and improving every day, and giving back to the rest of the team as much as possible.
- I made some really good friends after a couple hard years in the Bryan/College Station area in near total isolation. To those friends – thank you for being there and may we have more good times to come!
- I got back into the Linux/Open Source world and realized how much I missed truly hacking around with everything at my fingertips. I still enjoy .NET and the Microsoft technologies but there’s power in prying open a kernel to look under the hood.
- I converted to Test Driven Development and began utilizing design patterns in my code fully for the first time. My previous employers did not trust that this methodology would work, but after going there, I’m staying. TDD and design patterns have made my code MUCH better.
Well that’s about it for 24. The three biggies up there devoured time like I’ve never seen it go before. So now I’ve been looking at planning so I can make sure to hit goals on a yearly basis. So in that spirit, here’s my list of goals for the big 25. These span the gamete of life for me:
- I want to know Linux inside and out again like I did in the late 90′s. I was damn good on any linux machine and the rust has grown on that skill to the point where I feel mediocre at best. This will change this year as I’m dedicating myself back to linux and VMing most of my Windows development stuff. I want to have a single, redundant hardware platform finally to do all of my R&D on.
- I want to fix up and ride my motorcycle more. My father had a motorcycle and used to pick me up from school and I got the taste of wind in my hair and freedom in my spirit. That needs to come back with a vengeance! It should also teach me some money management skills because fixing up a Harley isn’t cheap.
- I want to learn several new programming languages and learn them well. Python, Ruby, and PHP are at the top. OSCON and my active development should take care of PHP for the most part. Python should be fun and there are plenty of applications for that. Ruby is a maybe. I’m also interested in polishing up my C skills on linux so I can get into things such as hardware and kernel hacking again. And I’m of course going to continue using my C#/.NET abilities.
- I would like to finally finish putting touches on my automation/SC concepts and implementations at work so that everyone in the office can work seemlessly and efficiently without relying on brittle processes. I want to be able to walk into any linux/windows platform and know how to automate my development efforts with ease.
- I want to spend time with my daughter and teach her as much as possible. She will be turning one in October and this is a vital time in both our lives to solidify our relationship. Maybe getting involved with a daddy/daughter group would be a good outlet for this growth?
- Going along with #5, I would like to learn to balance my work and home lives a little better. I’ve had a vicious battle raging internally about how to use my time. Do I push hard at work to meet financial goals early so we can breath easy later? Or do I sacrifice some of those financial goals and spend that time bonding with my family? I love my wife and my child but it’s a different world here, and one I’m still very new at, and I need to learn how to do a better job with that.
- I’m going to lose some weight! At the height of my martial arts endevours, I weighed 140 lbs and was in great physical and mental shape. Right now, I feel like a fat slob at 200 lbs, and it is draining on my spirit, mind, and body. I have to find something – some outlet – to get back in shape and refocus. I really think that will help all the above goals as well.
- I want to improve my house. One of the reasons I wanted to buy a house was to put some TLC into the place. We have a great house but I always look to improve anything I deal with. Some of my projects include planting a garden, improving the driveway, wiring the house for cable/cat-5, and reducing our carbon footprint through home improvement projects.
- I definitely want to get to the family ranch more. I connect with nature there and it brings a sense of the world to my finite world at home and at work. Walking among acres of old trees and cattle help me establish that time was here before, it is now, and it will go on in the future. I should leave both the prsent and the future better than I found it. Taking at least a trip once every two months (probably on my motorcycle!) is on the schedule.
- Finally, I would like to have at least $5,000 in a long term investment account by this time next year – be it an IRA or bonds or something else. After seeing the last year literally fly by, it’s time to start thinking about when that time will no longer be available to set these goals.