nick.org

2007 ended wonderfully, with ~10 days of candy, crying, and spending quality time with the family.
2007 was an interesting year.

It started with:

- Jerry learning to crawl
- Isilon stock @ 27
- Vying for a director's position at work
- A list of goals

It ended with:

- Jerry learning to talk
- Isilon stock @ 5
- Sole director of development
- Having accomplished none of those goals

2007 was a lot of adjusting - adjusting to Jerry's ever growing demands of my heart and attention; adjusting to the thought of not retiring in the next ten years; adjusting to the reality that between Isilon and Jerry, I can't seem to get anything else done.

That being said, I am slowly understanding the value of incremental and consistent effort. This is a major challenge for me, as I typically dream big and fail. There were so many books which I started to read and didn't finish because I didn't put in a consistent few pages a night. My waistline didn't shrink because I couldn't peel away an hour a week (out of 112!) I didn't even bother applying for JLPT level 3 because I didn't learn a Kanji a day - not even a Kanji a week (or month - or year!)

What about 2008? I have less than eight months before I turn 30...

How can I get ahead? I have so many dreams and goals - I'm unwilling to abandon them, but unable to pursue them. Recently (since returning from vacation), Jerry has begun going to sleep by about 8 PM. This is pretty amazing as it gives Eriko and me time to work on our hobbies, relax, etc. We both know how to entertain ourselves - we'll spend an entire evening in silence, completely enthralled with what we're doing. Her presence brings out that inner peace in me.

OK - so now I've got, potentially, two hours - every night - what am I going to do with it? Out of my list of goals, I want to:

• Kernel development - fix some bugs at work?
• JLPT Level 3 - be willing to attempt the exam
• Get in shape - lose the waist (or at least make some progress)
• Read more - a book a month?

Can I find the ability to start all of these? How? Even as I write this entry I can feel the mixture between frustration, excitement, fear, and hope - I don't have an answer for how I take these baby steps.

I woke up this morning with Jerry, used the toilet, and a few minutes later heard the ominous sound of water splashing on the floor.

The root cause of this catastrophe is as of yet unexplained.

Luckily we have a bathroom across the hall (the condo's) which we can use. Unfortunately, the toilet cut-off valve doesn't work completely so I had to hack this up: