Like a lot of people I had big plans for a new lease on life that I was going to start in January. I brainstormed and hung my list here. At the time I didn’t think any of it was out of reach or impossible and I was mostly right. I’ll start by listing my to-date wins.
Wins
Running – I’ve been running a *ton* this year. Completing the Monument Av. 10k Training Team, running that race (with a less than successful result) and the Carytown 10k, and now on the Half Marathon Training Team means I’ve racked up a bunch of miles. I like where I am with my running. My pace isn’t as fast a I’d like but it’s not something I dread before I go out and do it. I have also gotten better not questioning the point is of a 5 mile run. Even if it doesn’t feel like the best thing ever it’s also not the worst (besides, suffering in 95-degree heat isn’t the best time to have an internal debate about the philosophical merits of physical exercise).
Facebook – I hesitate to call this a win because it’s still just goddamn Facebook. But I’m doing it, engaging with people socially online (like they do these days), and it hasn’t killed me. I almost only use it on my phone so my experience hasn’t been the magnificent hassle the desktop experience seems to be. The #1 reason I joined was to keep tabs on my oldest daughter, now a teenager, who I assumed would be all up in the Facebook. I was wrong. She is all up in Instagram so my Facebook efforts have not generated the gains I was hoping for. There has been some benefit to being on Facebook, I’ll admit, but I don’t know that I like it, if you get my meaning.
Computer Repair – This one was 100% win. My goal was to bring a small HP laptop I rescued from the bin back to life, and I did it. The first series of repairs required the replacement of the heat sink and the fan. The parts were relatively inexpensive and the repair was surprisingly straightforward. The second phase of repair involved replacing the display. It was not an inexpensive part and a much more complicated process. There was a lot of functionality that I had to be sure was connected cleanly. It was a terrific confidence booster when I powered it on and all of it worked and then didn’t burst into flame.
Gardening – I’ll take half a win on this one. I didn’t pay as much attention to plant selection and tending as I planned but that was because the rest of family was gung-ho as hell when it came to planting. We always have unrealistic expectations when we plant the garden (symbolic representation of my of expectations for what I hope to accomplish in a new year?) so the garden gets overcrowded and eventually ignored when we’re in full-on mosquito season and it’s 90 degrees all the damn time. The half-win comes from my successful hop planting and harvest for the Hardywood Brewing RVA IPA. First year bines tend to produce limited cones so I’m excited to see what grows in 2014.
Table Top Games – This goes in the win column for sure. It’s tough to get room in the schedule for late-night outings because every morning is an early morning these days so I only got a couple of game nights in at Adam’s. There is plenty of year left and I see another couple, at least. It’s still not something I spend cycles on outside of the table but I like hanging out with the guys and drinking beer.
I’ll be back soon with some Losses and not-really-a-tie-but-something-between-a-win-and-a-loss.