2010 - The Year In Review

At the start of this year, I put together a list of seven goals I wanted to attain during 2010. 'Resolutions' if you will. I also posted an entry where I ranted about how unwise it is to create resolutions. Well, apparently I've proven myself right, for I achieved only two (maybe two-and-a-half) of the resolutions I made. When I realized this, I got kind of down on myself. Why wasn't I able to accomplish things I felt were important? What have I been doing all year?

To answer this question, I read back through this blog. What I realized is that the movie Up has the right idea. Life isn't the adventure you plan; it's the one that happens to you. No, I didn't achieve most of my resolutions. But I had some great experiences in 2010, and I achieved some terrific things. To celebrate the close of the year, I wanted to summarize the things I'm proud of in 2010:

1) I'm sitting in zazen on a regular basis, and I've worked through many koans in Mumonkan as part of my growth in Zen.

2) In Hapkido, I was promoted first to my green belt and then to my greenbelt/bluestripe. I've also begun sparring, so I'm getting to the next level of my training that way as well.

3) Jim and I returned to St. John's for a wonderful vacation, including a hike through the interior of the island to see petroglyphs.

4) At work, I took three small accounts and grew them so I have both key pieces of business (ad testing and brand tracking) on all three. One of the accounts is now in the Top 10 revenue generators for the office. At the same time, I was turned around the 'account from hell': a large account that has been losing money and driving employees to quit for over a decade. It's now making money and staff is stable.

5) I got back into reading in a big way. All year I was engaged in reading at least one book. I finished Moby Dick, meaning I got most of the way through a self-assigned goal of reading Herman Melville's novels in the order he wrote them. I also made substantial progress on my goal of reading the 20 novels in Emile Zola's Rougon-Macquart cycle. Five of them are under my belt.

6) I hit the weights on a pretty consistent basis all year long.

7) Over the middle six months of the year, I rode 272 miles on my bike. Not a huge amount of mileage, but it's still pretty good. Saw lots of wildlife and had plenty of time in nature. Plus it's just great to get outside!

8) Jim and I had a saw Lisa Lampanelli live.

9) A robin laid eggs in a nest below my study window, and I watched them hatch and grow.

10) I joined the 21st century with my first real cell phone (a smart phone, in fact), and I'm doing the 'connected' thing without sacrificing my private space.

11) Jim and I investigated the life-changing idea of buying and operating an inn. We worked on a business plan, toured a property we were interested in, interacted with members of the community, and met with Chamber of Commerce. While we decided against the project, it's still something we put effort into and allowed ourselves to be open to. An experience, if you will.

12) I proved my gentlemanly skill at 'holding my liquor' when my team at work went out to a club opening and I downed a glass of wine, a beer, a glass of vodka, three tumblers of Jack straight, and a Starry Night. No foolish behavior (well, okay maybe a little), no vomiting, and no hangover.

13) I was asked by a black belt to drill a group of kids on their kicks during Hapkido, proving to myself that I actually do have the ability to teach kids and nurture them! Very surprising thing to learn about myself as I did not think this was something I was capable of.

14) My bowling average has reached its highest level ever. 125! Okay, so I still suck. But it's the least I've sucked up to this point.

15) After years of little to no creative activity, I've been writing haiku to encapsulate insights I gain from my Zen studies. I'm back in the creative saddle again, and it feels really good.

16) I took a 'vacation to Chicago', where I checked out art museums I hadn't been to in a long time, saw some great underground theatre, hung out with good friends, and had awesome conversations.

17) I eat sushi now!

18) I danced my way through tapings of the Chic-a-Go-Go show with some of my closest friends, and then three of us went out for pizza. The first time we three have been together in person for years.

19) While snorkeling in Panama City Beach, I swam within a giant school of thousands of transparent fish with neon blue stripes inside them.

20) I have kept Zen Throw Down going for almost 2 years. As of this writing, I've had about 3,500 hits.

I didn't have the year I planned, but I had a great year nonetheless! I hope everyone who might read this did too, and best wishes for 2011!