I suppose now is the time were we should be looking back at the past year to study our success and to learn from our failures. To be honest I'm not sure that's a very easy task. Heck, it seems hard enough just to identify events that might qualify in either category. However I think one success for me has been my increased involvement in my community. I created the website whyhuntington.com last year and because of that I have met many great people and have had the opportunity to help on a few different projects. I've also had the chance to speak with the media in terms of the local newspaper, television stations, and our university radio station about what I think are the positives in Huntington and how we can address some of the negatives. I doubt my voice carries much weight but it's been cool being able to share my thoughts on the subject and perhaps, slightly, help set a direction for positive change.
My efforts to get involved and help bring about change are also the source of one of my failures this year - my effort to join the Cabell County Board of Education. I am glad I tried and I think my primary effort was well executed I think I could have handled the pettiness of the process much better. I should not have lost my temper with Ted Barr (RIP) who was, at the time, the board president. Regardless of what I thought of his tactics I should have kept my cool and expressed my opinions in a more constructive way. I'm not sure how I could have done that but I believe I could have done better.
Another big victory for us was getting a better handle on our finances. While we are no-means perfect at saving money we have done much much better. This started a couple years ago really when we decided to take half of any pay raises or sudden windfalls we got and to put those directly into a savings account that is difficult to tap into. Sadly, we've tapped a few times anyway but at least, at this point, we have something in savings. A nice plus to saving half of these bonuses is that you still get to enjoy the increase a little bit while at the same time you are saving money without feeling any pinch. This is a tactic I want to teach the kids in the upcoming year and, since they have no expenses, I'd like them to start saving half of all income they receive - or maybe I'll get them to save 40% and have them find a charity for 10% that they can donate to each year.
All of our financial preparations couldn't have come at a better time because as 2009 comes to a close and we approach a new decade our family is deep in a period of uncertainty; specifically concerning Lisa's career. Her company was purchased earlier this year and after the merger happened no personnel decisions were immediately announced. Instead we were told we had to wait until January 8 to find out her fate. Thus we are looking at the new year as a time of change more than we normally might. If Lisa does get laid off she has decided that she would like to try and be a stay at home mom. This will cause us to seriously escalate our efforts at living life more frugally as her income will be sorely missed if we continue to live as we do. However, we think it will be possible based on what little information we have at the moment.
In November I hit my 10 year mark with Strictly Business. It's pretty amazing to me that I've lived anywhere this long let alone worked for the same company for such a big chunk of it. I don't technically hit my 10 years of full time employment until May or June but it's close enough for me. It is nice having a sense of job security right now more than ever!
So that is last year - what's up for next year? First off I'm thinking of running for the Board of Education in a real election. Lisa's job situation will have a major impact on that decision so I'm still holding out on throwing my hat in the ring. There are, I believe, 3 seats that will be up for election so I feel like my odds might be pretty good. I am also hoping to help the Tree team for Tomorrow get the tree planting progressing. We raised a bunch of money but so far we haven't actually planted any of the seedlings yet. I am also considering getting involved, somehow, in an after school computer program at Shannon and Emily's school. It is just an idea I have floating in my head so I don't know if that will happen or not but it's something I'm tossing around.
I would very much like to get more involved in the girls lives than I am currently. I feel like I am just a weekend dad and that bothers me. I'm not sure how or when I will be able to do that but it is, beyond making sure I stay employed, my biggest priority for the upcoming year. I'd also like to get my aches and pains healed up so I can start riding my bike and maybe playing frisbee again. I know, there is only so much time in a day so I'll probably not get all of this done to my satisfaction but I want to make an effort of it.
Finally, I want to finish the few home repair/improvement projects we have started in the past. These include, but are not limited to:
- Bathroom Drywall Repair
- Back Patio Repaving
- Secret Door Trimming
- Kitchen Floor Trimming
- Upper Patio Trim
- Bottom Deck Handrail Replacement
I hope to get a few of those done in the first couple months of the year. Hopefully I'll have reported the good news that I finished them here on my blog by April!