Chuck Milam

Looking back at that post about Swatches, I am a little embarrassed about it. It’s weak. Confession time: That post’s content was actually a short off-the-cuff E-mail reply sent to Jane Q. Public, and I pretty much just cut-n-pasted it from my E-mail sent folder. I guess I was just stretching to add something—anything—here to keep from blogfading. (Is that a word? I was thinking of the term “podfading.”)

I like to say that I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions, but I think it’s funny that I end up doing them anyway even if I don’t declare them as such.

So, as they say, if you want to achieve a goal, make it specific and write it down. Here is my list of goals (not resolutions) for this year:

1. I will update this blog at least once a week. Surely something of interest will happen around here every seven days. Even though I tried to blame facebook and twitter for my lack of posting here last year, I need to post here more often. Let’s face it, 140 characters isn’t the best way to improve one’s writing skills, and facebook is mostly just a 24/7 class reunion. Sometimes this free-form blog format is the best for what I want to say. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some things happened in 2009 that helped me to get out of the house, step away and look up from the keyboard, and start to enjoy my life here. I shudder to think where I would be or what I’d look like today if I continued down the “post-grad-school come home, flop into the Lay-Z-Boy and spend hours on facebook/twitter” path I was on. Now, I’m spending more time in the real physical world, outside of the Interwebs. This gives me more material to write about instead of just posting inane status updates like “Watching the corn grow.”

2. I will get back into shape. While I’m not in terrible shape for a guy my age who does manage to keep up with play as a high school soccer referee, I could always do better. See, there’s a little something bugging me: I missed a chance at going to the FBI academy because I applied with less than three months to prepare and couldn’t get myself up to the physical standards before I ran out of time due to my age (Cue: @janeqpublic with an “Oldie Twobuckles” comment). This has always kind of bugged me. I’m not bothered that I didn’t go the FBI route.  I think it’s because I couldn’t pass the physical tests at the time. I think if I can just get to the point where I know I do meet that standard, I’ll be happy. Also, it will help with soccer and hockey work to be in better shape. Ok, I also have to admit, I want to look better, feel better, and just plain feel better about how I look. I don’t want to end up on hotchickswithdouchebags.com. Because seriously, have you seen @janeqpublic? Rawr.

3. I will lose the weight. Obviously, this is a positive side benefit of getting back in shape as described above, but diet is also a key component of the weight loss process. I’ve been inspired by some friends, some of which have lost over 35 pounds in just a year. The challenge of living in this part of the country is not only the high-calorie food; it’s the rituals that are attached to the consumption of food. Special occasion? There must be a huge spread of food! Lots of desserts! Deep fried everything! No big deal, if it’s not an everyday thing, right? Well, what makes a special occasion down here? Anything. Tuesday. My solution: Eat less, do more, and make use of the calorie counting apps on the iPhone that really help with the dietary reality checks.

4. I will get moving on the IT Certifications again. I admit I slacked off last year after I got the CISSP, but the market is more competitive than ever and certifications are in vogue again as a means to differentiate job candidates. At the very least, it’s time I knocked off the one certification in particular that I’ve started/stopped on for five years now.

5. I will start and keep up with a budget. It seems that every year I say “I’m going to use Quicken to track my expenses and I’m going to keep up with it…” and then I quit after a month. This year will be different. I’m considering some major moves this year that will simply require that I make a written budget plan and stick with it. Which finally leads me to the big one…

6. I will stop living in fear. What? Yeah, I said it. Time to stop denying that I’ve been living in fear for the last few years. I’ve come to realize that losing my job while having a mortgage over my head really did a number on me. I had mostly given up on things like owning a house and having a wife and kids because I was scared to take the leap. Not. Any. More. I’m going to get back to living life, because someone showed me it’s all worth the risks.