2006. 2007…
January 15, 20072006 ended about 15 days ago and 2007 has begun.
I’m finding myself rather busy this year, with a few different things going on.
1. I’m doing my first century of the year on March 03, 2007 in Death Valley. : i’m feeling like i’m in decent shape for this but i’ve got to keep working. Amy got me a stationary trainer for my bicycle for the days that it’s raining/etc and I need to get some training in. I have ridden the bike to work in the rain, but it seems to be really hard on all the components so I’m not sure whether i should/will continue this. The trainer allows me to get a fair workout in when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
I did my first 50+ mile ride last saturday, it felt good to get out there and push a bit. I can definitely feel a difference from my first 50+ mile ride in the summer. I’m stronger and my body is quite used to the riding now. I picked up a brooks saddle after the Davis Century and i REALLY like it. Its hard as a coffin nail, but i don’t have the chaffing problems i had before during a week of commuting.
2. I’m taking a class at DVC this spring: I was talking to an old friend and she asked me “what are you gonna do when you retire”. I thought about it for a moment, i’d never considered the question before, and replied “I think i’d like to go get a college degree in something”. This stuck with me for a while, and one day i kinda realized, well i don’t have to wait till i retire to go to college, i could just take a class or two a semester and enjoy the process i don’t have to get into “school mode”, and quit working etc. So starting this spring i’m going to start working through my general education requirements. I declared my major as Mathematics when I applied, as I’d like to throw myself at something that isn’t directly computer related but is applicable if necessary. Plus i’ve always wanted to be able to understand the math in Knuth’s books.
3. Looks like i’m going to be making a go at climbing Mt. Shasta this summer. I’ve talked to a couple of people who are also interested and it looks like it’s a go. So after the Chico Wildflower Century on April 22, i’m going to switch over to hiking mode and get ready for that. Probably do some hiking up in Yosemite, Sonora Pass, Mt Diablo to get prepared for that effort. Should be a good time and definitely a clear goal. Either one makes it to the top, or one does not.
4. Contracting stuff continues to grow, lots of work to get done in the first month of the new year, going to be a bit of a challenge to balance everything out but I’m hopeful that I can keep everything moving forward. I would like to be at a point where I can do contracting part-time when/if i get accepted to a 4-year institution.
5. SimplyAlerts.com is slowly being finished, going to get this completed in the first quarter and hopefully I can get some interest in it. If not, well, i’ve learned a ton about php, smarty, perl, postfix, postgres, etc. It’s comparable to the functionality provided by redalert.com, or will be, and i have some cool ideas to implement once the base is in place that would make it MUCH cooler than redalert, and i think i can offer it cheaper.
