Holy shit. I remember this thing. I seem to be on a three month cycle for updating it.

So, let’s recap that last post:

Things I hope to happen in 2008:

Train successfully and finish the Ironman. I still haven’t mentally committed to this one yet. I did a sprint triathlon this past weekend (300m swim, 10mile bike, and 5K run). It went okay but I was disappointed with how I performed since I’ve basically been working out six days a week for the last nine months. Hell, maybe I’m just tired.

Pay off all credit cards. Slowly getting there. It had to take a back seat when I bought my Trek road bike. Very delish.

Learn to trade the Forex market well. Sorta gave up on this for now. Investing doesn’t hold my interest as well when I don’t have real money involved, so I guess I’m finding out that I’m intrigued by the risk, not by the actual learning process.

Buy a house that can also be used as an investment property in the future. Eh. I don’t know where I’m going to be within the next four to six months. No use in taking on that measure of responsibility until I have a better idea of what I’m going to do with myself.

Take some Finance classes. I can’t really remember why I wanted to do this.

Learn more about starting my own business. Yes. Totally kicked ass on this one. I’m starting up an online fiction workshop slash writing contest called The Fiction Wheel. (www.thefictionwheel.com b/c I'm too lazy to href.) It should be live within the next week or so. Send an email to thefictionwheel@gmail.com and let me know what you think.

Continue the awesomeness with Betsy. =] *sigh* This, very sadly, ended before it could be continued. Like how a network pulls your new favorite show halfway into the season because the numbers just aren’t high enough. There are days, like today, where I’m still really down about it and can’t stop thinking and things keep going through my head. Like how the last song you hear on the radio gets stuck on replay in your mind. And there are days I’m totally fine with it and acknowledge that it was probably for the best. Like how Pepsi Clear went away before I was ready for it to go.

Damn. September since my last entry. How the time does fly.

I suppose it’s sort of ridiculous to post anything here because I’m sure no one even checks it anymore. I’m not sure if anything of significance happened in October, Betsy and I went to Boston to visit her family over Thanksgiving, and then I spent two weeks in Baltimore for work in December. Christmas occurred, so did New Years, and now it’s the start of another twelve month cycle.

Things that happened in 2007:

I got a job after being unemployed for seven months.
I sold a house.
I moved to Blacksburg.
I got into the best shape I’ve ever been in.
I trained to run a half-marathon.
I signed up to do an Ironman triathlon in Nov. ’08.
I paid off a huge amount of debt.
I met Betsy. =]

Things I hope to happen in 2008:

Train successfully and finish the Ironman.
Pay off all credit cards.
Learn to trade the Forex market well.
Buy a house that can also be used as an investment property in the future.
Take some Finance classes.
Learn more about starting my own business.
Continue the awesomeness with Betsy. =]

Whoa, hey, update time.

I’ve had a job related soul-searching week. (Don’t I always?) And I haven’t really found anything. (Do I ever?) Well, I shouldn’t say that. I did come to the conclusion that I could A) Suck it up and keep doing technical writing for a while longer because I could technically pay off my credit card debt within a year, or B) now that we have a roommate and some of the financial responsibility has been taken off me, I could take a rain-check on getting the debt paid off and go find something different for a while that would pay less, but might be more rewarding/interesting/challenging.

A seems like the more logical choice that would lead to a better future, but B is the one that provides the more immediate fix. And looking for the immediate fix like that has been my burden forever. It’s so hard for me to set up goals that are attainable, but require me to be patient and maintain motivation. If I can learn how to get away from the “now” factor, and not get discouraged when the “now” doesn’t happen right “now”, I might be able to get myself to where I want to be.

And where is that?

No idea.

So since that last motivational posting, I sent out a few query letters and had one agent respond that she wanted to see sample chapters, so it’s a start. But, that’s like being in California and taking one step toward walking to Florida, where you then have to get on the Space Shuttle and fly to the moon. Still, it’s a start.

I also did standup comedy again for the first time in 3 years here at a club in Blacksburg. And, I’m about 99% sure that I rocked the freakin’ house. I got a great reaction out of the crowd and got some great laughs. I was really nervous, but strangely enough, not as nervous as I was when I was doing it down in Virginia Beach. I think mostly just because I knew I had *some* material that worked and that I could get a few laughs. I need to talk to the MC about when I can get some more time on stage. And maybe track somebody down with a video camera that can film it for me.

In another crazy “hey let’s change life around” move, I took a Motorcycle Safety Course this past weekend. Stealing one of the instructor’s jokes, I’m now “certified to go 15mph in a parking lot.” All I have to do is carry my certificate to the DMV and I can get my “M” stamp on my license. I’d like to get a bike if I can come up with a couple extra grand. And maybe like $20 for some training wheels.

What else...oh, I ran 8 miles for the first time a couple of Saturdays ago. That’s nothing huge, but when it’s your longest run ever, it kinda blows you away. I hadn’t eaten well, and it was hot, and I’d had a couple of beers beforehand, but I only stopped twice -- once to relieve myself and once to chat with Betsy when I saw her biking out on the trail. We’re looking at a half-marathon sometime in March in Virginia Beach. Piece of cake. =]

Betsy made an excellent point the other night, and it really struck me hard. I was whining and complaining as usual about how technical writing has never really been my thing and I’d like to do something else with my life, and I was whining and complaining about how technical writers are usually the first to go when layoffs abound since we’re not in a “revenue generating position,” and that I live in fear of losing my job again since it’s [basically] happened to me twice now.

And she says, “If you’re going to live without job security, why not just be a novelist?”

That really was a lightbulb moment. I’m sure some of you have said this to me before, in countless attempts, but this was right-place, right-time.

So, I started sending out query letters to agents again. I figure I’ve already got two complete novels sitting around, I might as well keep trying. I can find a publisher somewhere.