2013 Goals: Achieved¶
Tomorrow will be the day for New Year’s resolutions. But today I thought I’d reflect on the goals I achieved in 2013, or at least my progress toward them. All in all it was an extremely productive and daring year.
- Get healthy: December over December, I’ve lost 16 pounds. In 2012, I weighed in at the doctor’s office at 161. I normally think of myself as 150 so 11 pounds seemed like more than small fluctuations. I resolved in 2013 to exercise, eat less sugar, eat more salad, and get my weight down to 140 pounds. For the first four months, all I did was change my diet: I stopped eating dessert and drinking beer every night; I bought the Trader Joe’s ready-made salads which make a great lunch; and I continued eating oatmeal with fresh fruit for breakfast. Beyond that, I didn’t have any rules or guidelines. I sometimes noticed myself binging on weekends but I don’t think it got too bad. In April, I got a bicycle trainer that let me ride indoors. That thing is great. I’ve gone from an average of 12 mph over 15 minutes to 21 mph over 20 minutes. And I reached a high average of 24 mph. That’s twice what I started at! I didn’t reach my goal weight of 140 so I’m going to press on in 2014 to lose another 5-10 pounds.
- Floss every night: I did it! I even like it sometimes now. My gums don’t bleed as they did when I started and I guess my teeth are healthier. I’m kind of bummed to need to continue this but I guess that’s part of being responsible for myself.
- Visit Japan: Shannon and I did it! What a great country to visit. I am fascinated by Japanese culture and particularly enjoy their hospitality and food. Our best photos from the trip are on Facebook. I wrote a little about the language barrier too.
- Square accounts: From 2012 taxes to loans from parents, second mortgages and major home improvements, this was a year of paying off debts. I’m proud to say we’re down to a mortgage and HELOC now and we’ve made a big dent in the HELOC. In 2014, I’m hoping to pay off the HELOC in full.
- Resign Microsoft, start Sole Proprietorship: I did it! Yikes! It still quickens my pulse to think that I’m “flying solo” now. Read about moving on from Microsoft and officially starting my own software business.
- Buy and care for a happy dog! I did it! Her name is Tesla and she is a beautiful golden retriever .
- Volunteer: I’m volunteering weekly in three places now: tutoring AP Calc students at Shannon’s High School, leading a programming club, and being a River Community Church Youth Leader. I didn’t expect to start any of these things specifically in 2013. I just knew I wanted to start volunteering. The experience has been a wonderful way to “give back” and share the things I’m passionate about.
- Publish Python modules: I did it! Two of them! I chose two projects that were small and would let me get a feel for Github, PyPI, and Read the Docs. Learn more about the tribool data type and Python runstats module .
2013 was an incredible year for me. I hope it was great for you too. Here’s to an even greater 2014!