Yesterday I looked back at my resolutions for 2009, and how I did. Today, as I've done every year for the past several years now, I'm looking forward.
::::::::::fitter
Run a marathon
It's inexcusable that I haven't done this yet. It's been a goal for years. I've run just under 20 miles numerous times. I can do it. I want to do it. I need to do it. I don't know what's holding me back.
Downieville Classic
Harper did this race last year and it looked fantastic. And I don't just say that because she podiumed. I got really into mountain biking in 2009, and upgraded the shit components on my Felt Virtue 3 (all by my lonesome self) to a respectable SRAM x-9 gruppo and cassette, put in a ceramic bottom bracket and Truvativ crankset, crank brothers eggbeater mallets, and tricked it out with more bling than a Zale's counter. Although I still need to improve my technical skills, I think I'm ready for D'ville, at least in the beginner class. Either that or I'll break my ass.
Climb a 14er
I loved climbing Whitney last year and Harper is always telling me how summiting Shasta was one of the highlights of her life. I'm eager to summit another 14,000-foot peak. It has to be something non-technical, but hey, there are plenty of those to choose from.
::::::::::happier
International travel
Every year, I try to make sure I leave the country at least once. I don't always make it. Last year, it was a single, working trip to Toronto. In 2010 I'll go for vacation, ideally to a place where they speak a different language.
::::::::::more productive
WIRED features
I'm mostly a front of the book writer. I had exactly one story in the feature well for Wired in 2009, which was down from 2008, when I had three (one was long-form, the other two were art-driven photo-essays). I want to triple my 2009 output next year and get back to three stories in the well--which means I need to be writing more long-form pitches. (Hi, Jason!) Moreover, I wrote a cover story for WIRED UK in 2009 and shared the February cover story for WIRED with Erin Biba and Pat DiJusto. As an aspirational goal I'd like to have two cover stories again in 2010 (they don't have to be for Wired.)
Pitch Outside Comfort Zone
Nearly every story I wrote in 2009 fell into one of two categories: fitness or technology. Often the stories were at the intersection of the two. While those certainly are passions of mine, they don't represent the sum total of my interests. I'd like to start writing about more and varied subjects professionally, just as I often do personally.
iPhone App
I have an idea for a fantastic niche iPhone & Web app. There's been a market hole for years in a certain area that I can't believe still remains unfilled. I know it won't for much longer. My iPhone Development book, that I've owned for a year or so, still remains unopened. It's time to read it and get to building. Or at least to raise enough money to hire someone to build it. If I don't build it, somebody else eventually will.
10 Year Plan
The publishing industry is completely up in the air. I love my job. It's my dream job. If you had asked me, at almost any point in the last ten years, what I'd do if I could have any job in the world, I would have told you it was to be a contributing editor at a magazine, ideally Wired. That's where I am today. But who knows what tomorrow will bring? Wired is better positioned than any other title I know of to take on the challenges that the next decade will present for the publishing industry. (You've likely seen the demos by Sports Illustrated and Bonnier that show their vision of the future of magazines on tablet devices. I've also seen Wired's. I can't say very much about it, but I will say that I think it's going to blow you away when you do see it, and that I expect it will be a reality quite soon.) I'm certain Wired will be around as we approach 2020. But any writer who isn't already thinking about alternative ways to earn a living (rather than the traditional method of being paid by a magazine publisher, newspaper publisher, book publisher, or even blog publisher) is a fool.
::::::::::comfortable
Live Here Now
We have a fantastic apartment. It's a top floor unit with views of the Bay and Golden Gate Park, an extra bedroom that I can use as an office, and windows everywhere. We love it. But we're also hoping to buy. This may mean moving out of SF and into a surrounding 'burb. (Hopefully not.) Or it may mean moving to a different neighborhood and less-awesome space. Or it may even mean buying a vacation home that we rent out part time, just to build equity. I don't know that we'll make a move in 2010, but I want to have a concrete strategy to go from renter to owner.
::::::::::not drinking too much
The Booze: Under control
I drink too much. It's not causing any problems, but it's not healthy. My wife, my parents, and my colleagues (in journalism, a profession that doesn't exactly frown upon drinking) have all expressed growing alarm with my prodigious alcohol intake. I can't keep drinking booze like it's water. Having said that, I'm off to lunch at Magnolia where they just tapped a new keg of Oysterhead Stout that I've been waiting for since the previous batch ran out last winter. Cheers. Happy New Year.
