Concern

To summarize 2008, I should focus on the positive things that happened to me this year. I mean, many things in my life didn’t go the way I would have liked, but I don’t want to lose sight of the things that did go well for me.

New job.

Early this year I quit my job at Seagate, who bought Mirra, the poor little start-up that couldn’t, and joined an absolutely amazing group of people at Pacific Biosciences. It really is incredible, this opportunity I’ve landed on: it’s not only a chance to have some real impact on the world, and make some money doing it, it’s also a genuinely amazing team of people. If nothing else, I have to remember the privilege I’ve been granted, to be in this position.

Master of Science.

I finished the Master of Science program in Computer Science at UCSC this year. It took four years to do this, going to school part-time while working. It’s probably not all that great, or significant an achievement, but I do think I grew as a person because of this experience. Plus, I did this not only without amassing any debt, but actually did rather well financially, since the shattered husks of tech start-ups did still pay off a little in 2004 2005.

New apartment.

I made a significant upgrade in my living arrangements this November: the apartment next door to where I was living — both are in large Victorian-era houses, right in downtown Santa Cruz — became available, and because I was renting from the property manager already, I got first shot at it. It’s an incredible upgrade: I went from a largish studio (500-600 square feet or so, I think), to a full two-bedroom apartment (easily 800 or more square feet). This new place has lots of storage space, where my old place had almost none, and everything is much larger. It’s more expensive, of course, but not dramatically so, especially given how much better this new place is.

Made new friends.

This was pretty important to me. This past year I became much more social than I have been, and as a result have made a handful of new friends that I like a great deal. In general, I think I’ve made a lot of progress on not being as shy and insular as I have been. This is still a big mountain I’ve got to climb, but I’m making progress.

New President.

I wrote about this already, but it feels so amazing and relieving that we elected Barack Obama as our next president. I’m hoping (and, feel like it’s OK to hope) that in 2009 we’ll all improve ourselves.

Now, for a list of things I’d like to accomplish in 2009. I don’t tend to make resolutions, but I think it might be helpful, if only to go through the motions.

Hike more.

I’m privileged to live where I have handy access to some of the most beautiful hiking spots in the world, and I have barely taken advantage of it. I’d like to change that, starting this year. People in the Bay Area or around Santa Cruz who are reading this, and want hiking buddies, should contact me. Also, project Sifter is a neat little online community, and the Santa Cruz locals have organized a few hikes recently.

Start jogging.

I was never that much of a runner, but I do need to exercise more, and I want to see how well I can develop my stamina. I will take it easy, but I want to take on this challenge.

Learn to solder.

And generally, learn how to hack electronics.

Get a girlfriend.

‘Nuff said. I’ve been a bachelor for a fucking long time, and want to end that.

Hack more free software.

I’ve done less and less free software hacking, since GNU Classpath started slowing down, and I don’t like that. I really hope I’ll be able to do more free software work as a part of my job, but even if that won’t happen, I should try working on some project that deserves attention. Watch this space.

Take more pictures.

I should stop being just another asshole with an expensive camera he never uses, and go out and photograph stuff. It’s not going to get me fame or fortune, but it’s a nice way to add to the dialogue online.

Drink less.

I don’t drink a lot, and I don’t usually drink too much when I do, but it’s probably a good idea to do less of it anyway. The shame here is that bars and nightclubs are generally good places to meet people, and I’ve met a fair number of great people while having adult beverages. There must be some other way to meet new people, though, and I should explore that.

Eat better.

And by this I mean not only less meat and things that are bad for my body, but also just eat better food. There’s a wealth of restaurants in walking distance that I haven’t tried, and I ought to expand my palate as much as I can.

Go to Burning Man.

I’m not a “burner,” and do poo-poo the event a little, but hell, it was actually fun when I went in 1999, just the camping-in-the-desert aspect of it. A decade is a nicely queer period of time to be absent from something, too.

Gain a rank in Aikido.

I’ve been going to Aikido classes here in Santa Cruz, and have found it challenging and uplifting. Attaining some real skill here, and gaining a rank, would be a great accomplishment.

Turn 30.

This one should happen without much intervention, but as I enter my thirties I want to be in the best physical and mental shape as I’ve ever been.

Some probably more off-the-wall ideas, which might be more long-term:

Move to San Francisco.

At some point I think I will have to leave Santa Cruz and move up to the big city. Notionally, I’m going to give it another year, at least long enough to go through my current lease. I should also be more honest about why exactly I’m staying here, and move on, figuratively and literally speaking.

Start (or join) a hacker space.

This conflicts a little with the previous one, but I would like to see some kind of hacker space here in Santa Cruz. Helping to start something like this would be awesome.