Thirty-eight
This is almost two weeks overdue, but I wanted to keep these entries going. If last year was a year packed with new things, this year was one marked by paring down and slowing down:
- I stopped teaching online. The folks at MCAD are wonderful, and I have left the door open to return at some point. But teaching a fifteen-week course was a very big time commitment (can’t automate grading!) and I decided I should spend more of that time with my wife and children.
- Jordan and I stepped back from leading our weekly community group at church. On the other side of that decision, though, Jordan started working part-time with the church, doing administrative tasks as well as coordinating teams during the Sunday service.
- Amelia finished kindergarten. She also ran a 1.5-mile race, the Chestnutwold Chase. She continues to be a voracious reader, to the point where I’m seriously considering a Kindle for her.
- I started working through a Unity tutorial with Amelia, and we’re almost done with creating our fairy shmup.
- Sophie moved into a room with her big sister, and every night Amelia reads to her.
- I wrote two pieces with net magazine, and this Spring I started writing a column with A List Apart.
- We took trips to Maine and Chautauqua.
- I got promoted to Technology Director at Bluecadet. My proudest moment so far is helping formulate an apprentice program and seeing our first two apprentices get hired full-time.
- I submitted a couple of talk proposals. None of them got accepted, but I’m trying.
- I resuscitated my Flickr account, and started posting there regularly again.
- I also redesigned this blog, focusing on just type and images. I finally sorted out responsive images so that I can start posting more pictures.
When I think of the past year I think of decluttering my schedule. I stopped watching hockey regularly (that freed up lots of time in the Fall/Winter/Spring). I’ve stopped watching a lot of TV. I slowly pick through shows on Netflix/Amazon, at a rate of about an episode per week.
Instead, I’ve spent more time writing. Since the start of the year I’ve kept a pretty consistent journal, and I think it’s helped me with the official writing that I’m doing with A List Apart. I think one of the big challenges for me will be writing more consistently in between ALA columns.