Oh bother. Another year gone by. This one seemed to sneak up and pass through quickly.

It was exciting and frustrating all in one. Betsy and I did a lot of stuff this year, most notably having our house built. We also hosted a number of dinners and parties, spent time with friends and family, cooked a lot of meals, did more than our fair share of moving, got promoted, lost a friend and our grandpa, made new friends, welcomed little Selah into the family, went to the beach a lot, went to Seattle more than a few times and generally stayed very, very busy.

On Sunday, we topped the year out by buying a new car. We couldn’t take driving our gas-guzzling truck around anymore, so we traded her in for a shiny, newer Toyota RAV4. Not really a sexy car, per se, but highly practical, cost efficient and fun to drive.

What does 2010 hold? Hmm. Hard to say. But, in the spirit of eschewing dumb traditions, I have opted to forgo any sort of “Resolution” planning in exchange for a motto:

Organize. Normalize. Make it Happen.

I know, sounds cheezy, but it’s far from. The big, stressful purchases have been made. It’s time now to make something of what we have into a system that works. THat’s not to say it’s not working now, but it feels chaotic and underutilized. So, that’s where the Organize part comes in. Take all that chaos and make some sense of it.

Then, all of the things in our lives that seem to just be completely unpredictable and wacky – I’m getting those under control to – hence the “Normalize” part of the equation. It’s time to turn the volume down on the crazy nights out and bring up the level of those quieter, sometimes very important things in life – like reading, school, etc.

Above all, in order to make any of this talk even have a chance at becoming a walk, the “Make it Happen” part is in order. Just a subtle reminder that all the best ideas and intentions must be procured to mean anything.

It’s a nice way to bring in the new year without the dread of having self-committed to a long list of undesirable tasks to accomplish. I feel like I have a direction for myself, and the details will reveal themselves when the time is right.

So, out with the “Two-Thousands” and in with the “Twenties”.

Right?

Gregster: Resolved

Not enough sleep leads to shitty blog entries.

This shall be no exception.

A fun weekend was had by all. Sunday night, Bets’ burned her index finger really good on some molten sugar (she made some lovely Peanut Brittle). That kept us up late tending to it. It didn’t help that we just don’t get tired on Sunday night the way that normal people do.

Running out of time on my self-imposed 1 hour lunch break. Lots to do today. Wednesday is the last day in the office for me until next year. Going out of town for a few days after the Holidays are done with. It should be fun this year – we’re having most of the family over to our house for Christmas.

Gregsta’

Breakfast this morning consisted of waffles with Nutella, whipped cream, pears and caramel from the critically acclaimed Waffle Window. OMG. SO FRICKEN GOOD! (Yes, I just used ‘OMG’ in a serious sentence on this blog. Wanna fight about it?)

Can we say ‘Sugar Rush’? Yeah. That’s me right now. Let’s see what I’m doing right now:

1. Posting to Blog
2. Upgrading an SQL server at my office
3. Backing up files on my laptop
4. Sorting papers
5. Cleaning Glasses
6. Listening to Pandora (heavy metal, of course)
7. Updating iPhone apps & music

I should have waffles more often. Thank you, waffle window!!!

Gregster’

Friday is finally here. I’m intently staring at the screen as if I’m writing code or a memo (and really, I prefer the code over the memo most of the time.) Nobody dares peek around at what I’m doing. I would snap them in two with my ninja skills.

Vacation starts next week on Thursday. Part of me wants to call in sick all week, seeing as I have topped out saving up sick leave (we’re capped at 80 hours saved at a time).

Much has yet to be done on our Christmas planning and implementation project for 2009. It’s a formidable project with an almost unattainable deadline.

Back to the REAL grind.

Gregsta’

Today is challenging me to keep from tossing people out the window. Very specific people, but a substantial quantity of them.

I’m finding that my current challenge is somewhere between not caring and requiring that of which does not exist to get my job done in an efficient manner. Talk about rock and a hard place.

Christmas is coming and I’m taking almost 2 weeks off. Fuck, yeah.

That should give me time to start working on the ol’ Resume and business endeavors that I have wanted to get off the ground for some time.

Lets hope that Facebook doesn’t side track me as much as I think it will…

Gregsta’

I wonder sometimes what I would do without the Internet.

There are so many ways to waste time and avoid getting anything done. I’m looking at videos of different programs that “solve” all your computer needs. Dropbox, BumpTop, Launchy. God. Why didn’t I think of these. All simple, easy to use, single purpose programs that completely eschew that which we IT people think is important.

Good times.

Gregsta’

Last night was my Ballet devirginization. Yep, I went to see the Nutcracker with Betsy and a few close friends. It was pretty amazing to see what the super-traditional side of entertaining looks like. I so seldom expose myself to the arts these days, for fear of disappointment and lack of interest.

Man, you’d think I grew up all Emo as a child.

I’m guessing the stereotype of Male Ballet dancers being predominantly gay is likely true. Quite of a few of the guys up there looked to be about as gay as they get. Not that I care. Just an observation. Wanna fight about it?

The audience was all white. The only non-white people were on stage, and sparse at that. Lets face it, what self-respecting American minority would bother going to see the Nutcracker? It’s about some rich white kids, a freak-show and a LDS induced dream. Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to appeal to a Korean family so much.

The snow and freezing rain that was forecast for Portland never materialized. I’m glad, quite frankly. I’ll be fine with a little snow when it finally rears its ugly head. But the freezing rain and ice? It can just F’ off.

Time for some Yuletide planning!

Gregsta’

Here we go. Friday!

Hmm. Nothing else to say. Very focused.

Gregsta’: Out

Here in the PacNW (that’s slang for the Pacific Northwest), we’ve been seeing some cold temps lately – down into the teens during the day and night. Now anyone in a regularly cold climate will tell you that’s nothing.

The difference is, as homes and transportation get more “efficient”, their ability to withstand unseasonably cold (or hot) conditions fails miserably. Two examples this week in our new “Energy Efficient” home.

1. Our furnace is set to blow air really hard and as a result, the super efficient fire box can’t get up to temperature. The manufacturer also claims this “extends the life” of the unit.

2. The pipe feeding one of the shower heads froze in the master shower. Apparently there is a pipe that’s exposed in the attic right in front of an eve vent.

In both cases, the contractor is coming out to fix the problems and make it right.

Busses in Portland are squishing people closer and closer together (seats seem to be losing leg room) and creating a really uncomfortable ride for passengers in the winter. Lets face it – in the winter, we’re bundled up and have quite a bit of insulation around us. As a result, we need more space to occupy on the bus. Not a problem on lightly traveled routes, but if you have to commute for work every day on a heavily utilized line, it can be aggravating as hell.

Working from home today. Lots to do.

Gregsta’