The 2015 Retrospective

The Event List

So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of the town…
— Forrest Gump

• I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, a half marathon, and a full marathon.
• Wrote 43 newsletters. Also, I have every one of you to thank to being readers, from the early readers or new subscribers.
• According to my calendar, I’ve had dinner with a new stranger, many turned friends, each week from January to June, on average. That means some weeks may be 2 while other weeks may be 0.
• Watched 29 movies I had not seen before. This is my lowest number in the last decade. Recommendations: Whiplash, Wolfpack, The Search for General Tso
• Read 45 books. See recommendations below.
• Went to a number of Maptime meetups and got my intro to map making. I took on my first freelance gig as a result.
• My friend took me on my first backpacking trip up in Castle Rock.
• Implemented inbox zero.
• A former friend broke up with me. Can’t be all shine in 2015.
• Counter to that, I made up with old friends. Yes, plural.
• Participated in a number hackathons. The exact number eludes me. Didn’t win any of them.
• As I flip through my journal, I’m reminded the first few months of 2015 were riddled with Caltrain suicides. I wrote a newsletter about it, and the death count doubled by the end of the year. Very, very sad.
• Went to Atlanta for the first time.
• My job survived an acquisition.
• A friend and I helped my trans friend through facial feminization surgery. In Chicago!
• Got to watch some excellent speakers. Highlights: Dr. Silvia Earle, Gavin Aung Than, Gretchen Rubin, Elizabeth Holmes, Nancy Duarte, & John Resig. Note to self: Reflection write-ups would be great journal entries.
• Wrote PHP code, released a Wordpress plugin.
• Really got into board games. Recommendations: Viceroy, Exploding Kittens, Sushi Go!
• Visited a few national parks. First time in Joshua Tree and Zion National Park. Obligatory photo at the end of the post.
• Toured the Pier 9 space Finished 3 large paintings, divided them up to 90 recipients, and included typed letters as Christmas cards

The Book List

• The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. Thanks to Helin for the recommendation. Each chapter goes through a different aspect of gift giving, leading up to analysis on the poetry of Walt Whitman and Erza Pound. Perked my interests especially after writing the newsletter post on Nerina Pallot and creativity.
• The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion. An extension of Elle Luna’s Medium post. Mixed with her drawings, it really inspires you to find your “must”. This was my first giveaway from the short-lived giveaways I was giving to the subscribers of this newsletter.
• 40 Days of Dating. I read through the blog. I still picked up this book. On my first read through, I realize this is why I love books. The detail in this book is stunning and it reminds me books are a different medium than the web. Plus, the experiment just draws you in. Two friends who decide to date for 40 days. You can’t stop wondering if they’ll make it past 40 days.
• Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA. Honestly, this isn’t fair to put this on my list. The print copy hasn’t come out in the US yet, so I read it through Audible. I’m a sucker for the history of science. I had no grounding for the pre-cursors to NASA, so this overview made me giddy.

The “Goal”

Last year, I wrote up a list called the “Fuck-it” list. It recognized all the things I didn’t want to do or care about. Instead of a list, I’m going to give myself one goal. Finish research and start writing a novel.

I gave myself this goal 6 years ago, and I accomplished my first novel in 2012. It was about 200 pages and will never see the light of day because of how bad it is. This novel I’m going to write should be publish-able. I’m staying hush-hush about what it will be about. Can’t spoil it for everyone this early on.

Errata

Enjoy this picture I took somewhere between Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

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