20 Goals for 2014

I've never really been a "New Year's Resolution" kind of a guy.  The one time I DID have a resolution it was to never do a new year's resolution (and I've kept that one for decades).

I point this out because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression.  This is not resolutions, oh no, far from it.  I'm not searching for some high in the sky summit.  I was just young and restless and bored, living by the sword.  So I'd steal away every chance I could to the back rooms, alleys, and trusty woods...

Oops.  Sorry, I got distracted.  Please disregard that last paragraph. 

As I was saying, this post isn't about new years resolutions, oh no, far from it.  It is just that I have a habit of setting goals for the next year during the final week of the previous year.

It may sound like resolutions but that isn't where it came from.  For the second half of my career I always got more vacation that I could take so it was a rare year indeed when I didn't have the last week of the year off.  Having time off gave me time to close the books on the previous year and start planing the new one.  It was driven by vacation.  It was not resolutions.

So...

Here are some of my goals for 2014.

1. Write more than one post per month - My actual goal was to average a post more often than one every two weeks.  I always enjoy writing but just don't make enough time for it.  This year I'm going to track my efforts in hopes that it will drive me to write more often.
    
2. Build storage in the sheds - I currently have more stuff than I have space for stuff.  One of my places for stuff is a storage shed that has no shelves so the stuff is all over the floor.  I want to build shelves so I can put the stuff in those big plastic tubs and put the tubs on the shelf.
   
   (For what it is worth and this isn't really connected to the goal in any way - the tubs of stuff will likely remain on the shelves, untouched, until I die.  Once that happens, Mandy will probably throw them away without opening them)
    
3. Exercise more than an hour more than three days a week - The exercise thing is weird.  I no longer have a boss telling me I need to work some extra hours today.  I always planned to exercise more once I reached this point in my life.  Well, that has not happened yet.  Minimum three days a week.  Minimum of one hour.  It shouldn't be hard.  My time is my own.
    
4. Ride my bike more than a thousand miles - That sound like a bunch when I write it down but if you spread it out over a year it is less than 3 miles a day.  Today is the 4th so I'm currently 12 miles behind!
    
5. Play over 500 holes of disc golf - Think about it, I could knock off this goal and number 3 above at the same time if I played long enough!
    
6. Have a minimum of one evening with the Barret family - You know the drill.  You have these friends you see once or twice a decade.  You always say "We should get together soon".  Everyone agrees but it never happens. 
    
7. Add on to #6: Time with Tuc Goodwin.
    
8. Add on to #6: Time with Jack Story.
    
9. Add on to #6: Time with Jerry Jackson.
    
10. Add on to #6: Go visit Bill Herman (given that I can never get him to come here it seems)
     
11. Float the river - This new place where Michelle and I work is right on the Arkansas river and there are float outfitters all up and down the river.  We need to check that out before the year ends.
     
12. Visit my friends in Seattle - Specifically Chris, Kim, and Dennis.  Every year for a while I've been telling myself I should go but I never seem to get to it.  This year it's a goal.
     
13. Take a vacation out of the country - This is actually a ringer because I've already booked a trip to Honduras and Belize in February.  I'm going to meet with a friend from H.S. swim team and do a little scuba diving.  We're also being joined by some Cookson friends from down the street.  Anybody else want to join us?
     
14. Start a periodic poker game - We used to play poker at least once a month.  Haven't done that for a while.  I miss it.  I want to fix it.
     
15. Play golf @ Flint Ridge - I had plans to do this with my son last 4th of July but he got a better offer and didn't show up.  Guess I'll put it on my 2014 list.
     
16. Denver Poker Game - Back in the day we used to have periodic poker evenings with the guys from work.  Greg Reiman and Ray Ciarvella were staples.  I want to say Scott Boettcher used to be there (but I'm not sure).  Anyway, one of my goals is to organize and travel up there for one of those.
     
17. Visit my brother Bill & my cousin Bruce - They live close to one another.  One in Tennessee and one in Georgia.  Seems like I could knock both of these off in a single trip.
     
18. Clean out Tia's room - Right now we have many much things from our 706 house in one room.  My goal is to clean that room out and make it into a place where we can sit and/or use the computer.
     
19. Deal with my motorcycles - Get them running and either sell them or start using them again.
     
20. Deal with my pickup - Get it out of the shop in Allen.  Either sell it or start working on it again in Oklahoma.
     
21. Build Newbie a Window Seat - The dog loves to look out the window and I currently have two TV trays beside my desk.  I have food cans, jars and boxes of the appropriate height on the trays and a section of my old deck on top of that.  Newbie has a bed on the desk section where he lays and looks out the window.  I need to build something permanent so I can get my Pace Picante sauce and Nestles Quick back.
     
22. Finish my book (and start looking for a publisher) - I've written most of a C# text book.  My book is being used by the High School where I teach.  I say "written most of" because as I teach I find I go back and rewrite parts to cover gaps created by how the students are learning the materials.  I would like to have a publishable version prior to the end of the year.
      
23. Build stairs to the shed - There is a shed in the yard beside the house.  The space between our house and the shed is terraced and I often ponder if I will lose my life taking the giant steps down the terrice.

So there you have it.  20 things I hope to accomplish this year.  I'll put posts out periodically giving status.  Feel free to humiliate and tease me if I drop too far behind in my quest to accomplish these goals.  That will be the accountability part.