Resolution Check List!

Ya gotta do these too... Just where did I measure up in 2009 with my Resolutions, and where did I fall on my face?

2009 Resolution #1 - No more wimping out on the commutes!
- I was pretty consistent with my commuting this year, when the schedule allowed. I didn't whine about the roads and I even used my insulated vest that Kristen got me when it got cold enough. However, the schedule was a problem, repeatedly. See, I was part of a mass reorganization of the bike planning regional groups, which meant about 10 meetings, and Kristen is leading the charge to update the city's Comprehensive Plan which meant about 20 meetings, so between that (and tubes in the kid's ears and a million appointments related to that) and the usual delays for Florida weather, opportunity didn't exist to actually do more commuting. I'm going to call this one a Push.

2009 Resolution #2 - Hate them during and love them after!
- This was a road training motivational resolution. For the first part of the year, It worked out well, but then I was witness to a pretty horrific crash (right in front of me), one of those crashes that reminds you that not all riders in a shop-organized training ride know what they are doing, and instead, most don't, and from then on I strangely found other things to do on ride days. The house got a lot of attention this last year, as did the VW, and my closest riding buddy went through a personal upheaval of sorts, and that didn't help me organize myself to participate in events like the MS150 like I'd planned. 6 months of success and 6 months of fail. Call it another Push.

2009 Resolution #3 - Personal Weight Goals 185-190
- After leaving the holidays last year at 200 pounds, I was able to drop back down a bit, but my 190 never materialized. After the holidays this year I weigh 210. I have work to do. Fail.

2009 Resolution #4 - No Beer, No Soda No Fast Food.
- Fail. I brew beer and my kid is addicted to burgers.

2009 Resolution #5 - Be More Optimistic
- Fail. I am the same old grump I was when the year started. Blame the job. My friends though, always tell me how much more mellow I am now that I'm married with a family. I must have been a raging Ass before my wedding day.

The Professional Resolutions - Welding Classes, Cycling Industry Activity, LSAT
Uh...FAIL - Although I DID buy a few GRE books. Hey, my dad didn't learn to weld until he retired from USF! Jacksonville is NOT the place where I want to start any business, so that is more on hold than Fail, and I've ruled out the LSAT. That ship has sailed.

So there it is. Much like everyone else in the USA, I've not achieved the things that I thought would be important this year. Instead, I took three bike trips with my closest friends, one to the other side of the country, invested lots of time in my house and family, tinkered with my bikes and cars and learned to brew my own beer. On paper that may look like a Fail, but all things considered, I wouldn't trade the year for anything.

And that's the biggest measure of a man's time, isn't it?