So, I’ve been reflecting a lot recently on myself and how I’ve grown or degraded in the past year or so.  It’s strange how much an environment can shape your perspective on things.

Hits:

• Web Development: I was able to accelerate in ways I never thought possible this year for my technical skill sets.  If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be completely proficient in Flash, PHP, WordPress, CSS, Dreamweaver etc I woIould have thought you were a lying sack of isht <– see what I did there?.  But alas, I can honestly say that I’ve been presented with a number of challenges and opportunities this year that I’ve become very proud to have overcome and grow from.  I’ve also had a lot of sidework which is always good to know you’ve got a skill that is desired, I’m looking forward to anything new that comes my way and looking forward to the future.
• Europe – made it back to Europe on a magical trip with my friends this past fall. It’s always fun to have that sense of adventure, which I think a lot of people lose as they get older.  Yes, sometimes getting lost and not having any idea of whether you’re going to make the flight back can be stressful, but if it’s not sketch it’s not fun.  Honestly glad to say I spent almost $2,000 altogether on a vacation… kind of.
• Laid back – some of the good times this year were pretty low key to say the least. Compared to years past one might say that 2010 was pretty boring… but I am okay with that. There was a lack of going out  partying until 2 am, waking up and then doing it all again the next day for the typical “weekend warrior routine.” Maybe it’s just a sign of getting older, or maybe I just don’t care enough any more, but I honestly don’t mind it if I don’t go out during the weekends much any more.  Good times come in many colors shapes,  sizes… and netflix movies.
• Tennis –  after college it becomes a little hard to find a routing and pick up new hobbies.  I used to play tennis pretty competitively in the old glory days of high school  (which seems like a lifetime ago), so this year I joined a few tennis leagues at the Gates Tennis center, and Colorado Athletic Club.  It was actually pretty fun to get back in the swing of things!
• “Dating” – LULZ
• Skiing – learning a new skill is always fun… kind of.

So, now that we got some of the good things out of the way, here comes the crazyness of 2010:

• Burnout – I’ve worked at the same place for 2 years now.  It’s been a wild ride, I’ve made some badass things, I’ve been really challenged.  But at the same time, after being a one man show for a lot of the stuff produced, I’m getting so sick of the politics and corporate culture going on around here. I work by myself for 9+ hours a day in my cold office (nice view though), I have no friends at work, the only people I talk to are my boss and coworker.  My motivation has been skewed, my attitude has shifted, and overall, I view myself as becoming considerably  “colder” than what I once was two years ago.  I’ve become quite self reliant to figure a lot of things out, but I’ve felt a little bit mentally exhausted at everything that is being thrown my way. To be honest, after seeing the working world, and the monotony of day to day life my contemporaries experience; and how long they’ve been in the game, it’s apparent how depressing it really is in the corporate world.  Not to say that it’s worse than the alternative though, I feel very very fortunate to have this gig, but it’s just a little disheartening.  I am not sure a new job would really cure my woes, I just don’t like the concept of working your ass off for little reward.  Oh well, maybe marxism might be a better alternative…  I do feel really grateful to have this position though, there are ton of people my age that are quite a bit less fortunate so I really try to consider that as much as possible.
• Hit and Runs – What the F()CK happened to my car in the months of January – May??? I had 5 hit and runs in 5 months.  One of them did leave a note, thankfully.  Probably just a sign of the times.

2011 is looking bright and clear however.  I’ve got a few pending goals that will definitely shape it to be very interesting.

Good luck to us all in the new year of the rabbit!