2010 ...And I'm Already Behind The Times

If anyone were to deem me slow, I couldn't dispairrage the claim since it would apply to me on so many levels. I mail birthday cards out the day after the candles have been blown out; I fail to grasp the punchlines of most jokes until 3am of the next day; and I am easy pickin's for time-share salesmen. So, given that we're one-third of the way into 2010, it should come as no surprise that I'm already behind schedule in getting to this post about the new year. (At this rate, it'll take until April 2011 before I address the part about it being a new decade--that's how I roll ...like a stone covered in moss.)

Looking back at 2009, I could comment on a number of events both universal and personal: the ills of the economy, the two wars with no clear exit strategy, my first wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife, highlights of my kids growing up--the list goes on. It's been a happy year, a painful year, an interesting year, a weird year, a sad year, and overall, a worthwhile year.

2009 provided me a fresh array of challenges, the lessons of which, I am excited to use in facing what lies ahead in 2010. The past, both the good moments and the bad, are beyond changing, but they can be used in shaping future goals.

Last week, my wife and I hashed out our individual and family goals for the year, and when we finished, I thought it would be good to establish some objectives for my blog. When I first started up the Lunchbox, there was no clear purpose behind it and no audience to help shape it. Nearly three years later, that's no longer the case, and am I truly humbled by the readership. Blogging has become a big part of my life, big enough to warrant a plan for the future. So, this is what I came up with:

1. Improve on promoting community with other other bloggers: Some of my ideas on this include having more posts that feature other bloggers through guest posts, and interviews along with increased use of social media to promote others.

2. Streamline the look of the Lunchbox: Part of this has to do with #1 in that the cleaner look will allow me to include more people in my blogroll. (I'm still not done cleaning it up. If you can't find yourself, let me know. I lost everyone when I reformatted it last week.)

3. Remain true to the readership: Last year, I had a ton of posts reviewing products, and, based on traffic, that didn't go over well. Plus the new FCC regulations in this area, to me, signifies a future of greater governmental involvement with bloggers and corporate sponsors. So, no more product reviews on playground equipment and lawn fertilizer. The lone exceptions to this will be books, television shows, and movies as well as stuff from people I personally know.

And that's it. Three is simple, and I can remember them five months from now. On the flip side though, three may be simple but that doesn't make them easy to make good on.

I planned to have all this ready within the first week of January, and then the world got crazy. I was approached about job back in the corporate world, a good friend asked me to go in on a major business venture, and although Sugar Milk might be in production, it takes twice the effort to market it as it did to write it. Add to this the new book I've started on, along with all the day-to-day family stuff, and my above goals are going to be easier said than done. But I'm going to work towards those ends, because it's important.

And one side note: Many of you have been checking in with me on my health issues (no, the other stuff besides the vasectomy), which I've greatly appreciated, but I've been remiss in posting an update for the larger audience. Thus far through all the CAT Scans, the neurologist was able to rule out the potential for an aneurysm (my biggest concern), narrowing it down to either seizures or extreme migraines (with migraine aura). In order to make an official diagnosis the plan was for me to have my brain patterns recorded by wear this turban-like contraption on my head for three days. The only problem to this, however, is the insurance. Even with our deductible met, the cost for this test obliterated our budget, and I had to put it off. In the meantime, I have to manage things through lifestyle changes--better diet, more sleep, regular exercise--which I had planned on following anyway in order to better manage my bouts with depression. I've still had a few more episodes, but overall the lifestyle changes seem help, as they have been less frequent and lower in intensity.

I'll continue to post updates, but for now, it's business as usual. It's a new year, one I'm looking forward to, even though I'm already a little behind.