New Year

I was buoyed by some comments left on the entry a couple weeks back, and it was good to take a couple of weeks off, and now I think I've found at least a temporary solution for my blogging problem: I've started another blog, one for my whiny personal stories, and if I get the urge to spread too-personal of details all over the internet, I'll do it over there. Otherwise, I just like this too much, so I'll stick with it. And maybe even try to be better.

In the past at New Years, I have taken to writing a long drawn-out entry reflecting on the previous year and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the new year. I'm not going to do that this year. It's going to be short and sweet.

2007 Retrospective: It mostly was kind of a crummy year. I struggled professionally and personally. I was far too busy and the fruits of my labors were far too hidden. I lost track of friends and didn't make enough new ones. I had little interest in dating because nothing in my life seemed to be going how I had planned. I was too hard on myself. But I can still dig out some good things: I finally moved out of the place where I lived way too long, and the move has been good. I went to Costa Rica for a week. I coached a city baseball team to the 3rd round of the state playoffs. I learned a lot of the ins and outs of teaching IB and think I do pretty well with the course now, or at least know pretty well what IB is looking for. I turned 30 and had a great celebration reminding me that I do have a lot of really good friends. And I took three graduate courses, putting me just one course away from a Master's degree.

2008 Goals: I really need to get in shape, big time. I work out often, but I think I need to really increase the intensity of my workouts. Stop trying to read during them. Listen to music, Car Talk, and This American Life on the Nano. I also just want to be more consistent as a teacher. Off days need to be a thing of the past. Focus more on daily objectives; the big picture is there, but the smaller pictures sometimes need more examination. And sure up that classroom management, which either has gotten looser or the kids have gotten more talkative. Finish the Master's Degree and get the $6,000 raise. I also look forward to having a great year coaching, and need to make sure I'm very well planned for it.

That's it. I can't believe we go back tomorrow. In Michigan, all the schools go back on the 7th.