The year that is 2006

Again, the end of 2006 has come, and of course I'm in one of those reflective moods again. This blog is the perfect medium to reflect on my thoughts, so I'll write what's happened to me during this year.

2006 for me was all about goal setting. It was about getting out of my comfort zone and doing something totally different. After last year's successes with meeting some predefined goals, I decided to set a few extra special goals which, if you told me a year ago that I was going to achieve them, I probably would have laughed at you in disbelief.

But I did achieve them and I'll elaborate on what they were.

Since the beginning of this year I haven't been on a holiday for five years. It was about time that I went travelling to see more of the world, get to know more about myself and become more independent. In March and April I went on a 3 week trip around Malaysia and Singapore which turned out to be a great time. It was a well deserved break from the humdrum of cutting code. It was also a chance to free myself from my piano responsibilities at church. There was a five Sunday absence. The church folk were definitely suffering! Normally I'd feel guilty about not attending because there is no one in church to replace me to play the piano. However going on holiday only made me more keen to skip church whenever something comes up, like running events that were set on Sundays. Anyway, the holiday was a real life experience. Since going on holiday, I'm trying to make more of an effort to go to other overseas destinations and/or getting around to planning my OE someday.

Self improvement ranks very highly on my list, and 2006 saw the birth of the Orion Health Toastmasters club. I think that is one of the best things I have decided to involve myself in, as it is designed to improve public speaking, confidence and leadership, essential life skills for everyone! And I've noticed a personal change. During meetings, I'm more open to dialogue and I am more extroverted. I laugh a lot more, and my public speaking has improved. This wasn't at all possible without joining the club, and the supportive environment within the club. I will still support the club into the next year and the future...until I finish with the company.

My brother and I started up in property investment. Immediately after getting back from holiday I got introduced to a wild and crazy scheme that will make me rich very quickly. Well not exactly very quickly, but hopefully in the long term it will make me rich! We purchased an apartment, and have received steady rental payments since. This wasn't possible without the help of our parents who used their house as equity to finance the mortgage. Next year, we will take it one step further and decide on investing in other areas. It's something that I should take a keen interest in.

The final goal would be the most significant and the one I am most proud of achieving. Last year I started running. I started out small by doing various fun runs. This year took a more serious turn. I decided to do the Auckland Marathon, which was a massive undertaking! It was four months of hard training and was an example of self sacrifice and denial from certain things that I normally do or help myself to. I even had to forego things like weight training and dancing, which I'd normally be doing if I wasn't running. Running is a solitary sport, unless you belong to a jogging club. I spent most of my mornings and evenings quietly pounding the pavements in earnest, getting my fitness levels to a point where I was confident of finishing 42.195 km. And on race day, I started slowly, had a strong middle, and held on right to the end where it mattered the most. 4 hours 17 minutes and 4 seconds later I crossed the finish line a winner.

Goal setting, like the four above, was the theme for this year. Other things that happened/I have done are:

I finally got my Sun Certified Web Component Developer certification after much procrastination. I sat the exam two days before the Auckland Marathon, which caused me no end of stress, especially when scheduled a couple of days before a major event. So if I decide to do another certification, make sure to not schedule it during an intensive time.

Expanded my piano repertoire to pieces that I've always wanted to play, but was too afraid to learn. This involved more hours in front of the keys, but the effort was worth it. Still not up to performance level, but more or less have the notes under my hand so to speak.

I took part in more running events, as build up to the marathon. I did a half marathon, which was real fun, and an off road race along tracks, forest, and sand. Both events come highly recommended, and was great preparation. I'll definitely do those next year.

Through serendipity, I have moved to a new team within the company. I have finally got rid of the old product code that I've been maintaining for most of the year. It means I get to work on new stuff and work with different people, which is always a refreshing change. I'm now part of a new and upcoming group that will do custom work and also streamline all implementation processes by integrating different products into a solution before deploying to the customer. By doing this, it means that implementation won't have to re-invent the wheel all the time, saving costs and earning money in the process. Good times ahead for the company? This year wasn't a great year for the company as we have put in measures to cut costs through restructuring and freezes. Good times ahead for me? Perhaps; before that I was always grumpy with having to maintain old code or attend to various support requests. I was definitely not enjoying it, so it may be just the thing I need to stay working at my company a little longer.

Now to things which I have failed to do for whatever reason:

During the marathon, I haven't been going to the gym as often. This resulted in wasting $45 per month, and at one time I didn't go for two months. Now I've been steadily to make up for my absence, but somehow I have to keep on going even when training for the next marathon.

I didn't manage to gain two or three Java certificates this year. I only gained one, through much procrastination. Next year, I'll be more realistic about my expectations and only try to gain one certification, mostly in part to my company only being able to pay for one each year.

I hardly read many books this year. In fact apart from reading around five last year, I only read a single book that counted as serious mind enriching literature, not including the many marathon books that I borrowed from the library. And I didn't get into new activity, which I promised myself last year. I wanted to get into DIY and cooking, but these have totally fallen off the 2006 radar.

The beginning of 2006 saw a renewed interest in dancing, but since then, my interest in dancing has been fleeting, mostly due to marathon training, and the fact that I haven't found a regular partner to dance with. Not even excellent shows like Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and the movie Shall We Dance could fire up the Cerocstar inside. On the dance front, it doesn't look good for next year which is very bad, since dancing has made me a happier person. Is this the incentive I need to get back into it?

Again relationships haven't been the focal point for 2006, unfortunately. Because of the activities that I chose to do this year, I didn't find that special lady. I'm not sure whether 2007 will allow me to focus on relationships since there are so many things that I want to do. Cutting back on social activity, e.g. dancing, as well as taking up the lonely sport of marathon running, didn't help with establishing relationships.

So that basically sums up what I've done this year. Overall I've done well in some areas and abysmal in others. Running, travel and self improvement have been good; reading, dancing and relationships have not. Despite the setbacks and disappointments, 2006 has been a good year. I've done some useful and life-changing stuff, my health has definitely improved thanks to marathon running, and work looks like it has taken a turn for the better!

So 2007 will bring many challenges. Right now, my mind is in a jumble deciding what I should really be doing next year, considering what I achieved this year. Should I do this new activity, should I not do that activity? How much time do I need to devote to a particular activity? The remaining days of this year is going to require a serious evaluation of what I want to do next year; hopefully this blog entry is a start to this complicated decision making process. If getting older has taught me something, it has taught me that time is precious and that you should appreciate what you do with it! Apart from trying to continue on with the good work of this year, there will be new and better things that will occupy my time in 2007. As always I will train for marathon events and go to the gym. I would like to get my Sun Certified Java Developer certification, which is going to be a very difficult undertaking. I'll continue practicing the piano as there are so many virtuosic works that I want to learn and get under my belt. And I'd really like to learn new things that I didn't get a chance to do this year, like cooking, DIY, and take part in new activities and sports. And I really want to get back into dancing!

Well I'll leave it there for now. You'll definitely be hearing more from me again in future. I hope that 2006 has made you into the best person you can possibly be, just as it has for me. And I hope that in 2007 you will continue to prosper and be challenged in what you do. Finally I hope that you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Moving Desks

I am finally free from my previous development team. Moving desks sealed the deal. In doing so, I had to transport all my belongs up two floors as I am now elevated to working upstairs.

The upside of working upstairs is that I work with new people and see new faces. The downsides are that it gets very hot during the summer and the kitchen is not as nice as the one downstairs.

A refreshing change since I've always worked downstairs. Best of all I get to work on new things and not have anything to do with the products that I was working on previously.

It may be just the thing I need to stay working at my company a little longer.....

Change in Teams

Wow, this week was a pretty interesting week.

On Monday, my team leader talked to me explaining that after my current tasks have finished, there is absolutely no work scheduled for me. Because of this, the guys at the top wanted me to move to a new team within the company. This new team will streamline all implementation processes by integrating different products into a solution before deploying to the customer. By doing this, it means that implementation won't have to re-invent the wheel all the time, saving costs and earning money in the process.

The reaction? Absolutely stoked! It's about time I shifted teams after being in the same team for two years, and I don't have to maintain the codebase for two dead products, which I've been doing for the past year. From what I can see, there won't be any support issues to deal with, it's new and exciting work, and the work will benefit the company greatly (which brings increased personal satisfaction). Last, but not least, I get to work with different people, so it's all quite refreshing.

Well this week was spent frantically finishing off those remaining development tasks and doing handovers to those poor developers tasked to maintaining the codebase I've been faithfully looking after. I wish them well; it's not a pretty job maintaining stinky product code.

Christmas Party

Our company's christmas party was held last night at Float on the Viaduct. The food was average, but at least it was more spacious, unlike the last two christmas parties where everyone was cramped up like sardines in Santos.

Was an okay night, nothing special really...............