Jason Lancaster

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. *drum roll……..* My year 2008 goals list:

1. Comfortably climb v7 boulder problems and complete a few v8 boulder problems. A v9 would be nice but I’ll keep my expectations real until I have time to climb much more often.
2. Climb a 5.12d/5.13a route.
3. Complete home renovation and enjoy fruits of my labor.
4. Complete a swing dance routine with Emily.
5. Spend more time practicing swing dancing with Emily (more than our current once a month-if-that allotment).
6. Spend some time mountain biking (since I didn’t at all last year).
7. Backpack in the Smokey Mountains.
8. Visit Ottowa during the snow season to try snowshoeing for the first time.
9. Play guitar more. Specifically begin memorizing more popular songs so I can have sing-a-longs with friends.
10. New idea for a web application and launch of product at Fusion Bay.
11. Turn GiftListIt into a wedding registry and “buying list” site.
12. Save more money (and quit spending it on the damn house!)

I was a little spoiled this year by being privileged to not only have Christmas with my family but to have it with Emily’s as well. “Christmas” to me is both a holiday for family and leeway into a new year, meaning I tend to think of Christmas-time as that time between December 23rd and January 2nd (or about).

After an ordeal getting to Shreveport on the 26th, I actually ended up in Shreveport on the 27th, choosing to spend my night in Baltimore instead of the Houston airport. We spent time with Emily’s parents, grandparents, and friends before leaving for Nashville to spend New Years Eve with her sister and fiancé.

Unfortunately, we had to come home which meant traveling on New Years Day — driving the normally 11 hour but instead 13 hour snow, ice, and accident filled drive back to Baltimore. Arriving at about 4:30am, we made it safe but many others weren’t as fortunate.

I really enjoyed the fact that I made a goals list the start of last year. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before. It was a wonderful reference point into my mindset and thinking at the start of last year. Now I can look back and see where I focused my time and energy and how it differed from what I thought it would be. My goals from last year:

1. Purchase house
2. Renovate and move into house *
3. Come up with a new idea for a web application and execute it for Fusion Bay
4. Launch Gift List It a little before Thanksgiving 2007
5. Successfully climb a 5.11 rated climb
6. Begin 5.12 climbing
7. Successfully climb a V7 boulder problem
8. Do some bouldering outdoors (which I have yet to ever do)
9. Go backpacking at least twice **
10. Try snowboarding

* The renovation process was much more extensive than originally planned. I’m nearing the end but this has actually become a 2008 goal
** While I only backpacked once, I had some other great vacations!

Now that I’m back and things are resuming their normal pace. Like many others, I’m expecting a fresh start on things. One that I’m looking most forward to is a new MacBook Pro which I’m set to receive any day now. I’ll finally be able to run iMovie and create some cool videos. My old computer was too slow to run iMovie so it wouldn’t even install! Stay on the lookout for my year 2008 goals list.