A Look Back to 2019, A Look Ahead to 2020

2019 was a pretty decent year, even with a few bumps in the road. As in previous years, I made a few resolutions/goals at the beginning of the year (LINK); this is how they turned out for 2019:

1. Continue the weight loss/fitness plans: hit 215.0 pounds by April 1st, 205 by Labor Day. This was a success! I officially started a weight loss/fitness plan in 2017; I was at 251.2 pounds on Christmas 2017. I weighed 224.8 on Christmas 2018. I hit 215.0 some time in March of this year (it’s in a post, somewhere) and dropped under 205 before I got to Labor Day, hitting a low of 201.2 pounds! It took a lot of marching and a continuation of a set of small diet changes but they worked!
2. A successful Cincinnati Tradition (CT) season. This was a resounding. success, made even more remarkable by the feet issues of July and August. I only missed 1 full and 1 partial rehearsal weekend (1 for work, 1 due to a doctor not clearing me for it). CT set records for corps scores on the DCI circuit, placement on DCA Finals weekend (7th), and Finals score (87.35, regardless of DCA division). I personally only had one rehearsal where the heart and heat were an issue; other than that, I did pretty well, considering I hadn’t marched in 6 years and hadn’t marched at any show in 11 years.
3. Get a vehicle by April 15th. While I thought this could possibly happen in March, it was a failure.
4. Get “Enter The Cyborg” back up to date, and post more consistently. This was a mixture. I kept relatively consistent during the Spring and Summer but fell back behind in the Fall. We’ll see how this goes in 2020.
5. Finish at least 5 of the video games in my library. This is a failure? but not for a lack of trying. 😉 The games I wanted to finish are in the linked post above. I managed to get a few games of Dragon Age: Origins over 1/2 finished, Prey about halfway done, and some progress on Darkest Dungeon; I also played Pillars of Eternity and Portal. I actually didn’t remember this ‘resolution’ until this morning – I was just enjoying having enough time to play a game or two. 😉
6. Read 25 or more books. I finished 7 and might get #8 finished by New Year’s. Monumental failure. 😉
7. Resolve the Financial Aid Appeal/get (back) into classes. This was a success(?)/success. My appeal for the Spring was denied but I still ended up taking 2 classes – my work actually offered Financial Aid. I ended up with a 3.00 GPA. I did not officially take a Fall class: my Spring class, an On Demand class, ran over into October. I am signed up for 2 more classes in January (one On Demand, one Online), plan on taking 1 class in the Summer, and wrapping up all classes in the Fall 2020 semester.
8. More time for me, fun time with others. This is a mixture/TBD. I didn’t do most of the list in this resolution but I did go to a movie or 2 on my own, took more time for myself, and explored a little bit of Cincinnati.

Resolutions/Goals for 2020:

1. *Graduate from WKU in December. The Graduation will happen, the date is still in question. I wanted to finish this May but didn’t have the money or financial aid to take classes this past Fall. Now, it’s a matter of making sure that I ‘finish the deal’.
2. *Celebrate from February 15-23. This one is just a goal. The time period is a vacation from work but it’s also surrounding the 10th anniversary of my Double Heart Valve Replacement. It has not been easy – and not pleasant, sometimes – but I am just a couple of months away from making it through the first 10 years! By ‘celebrate’, I mean getting out of the apartment… but not just for Team Trivia (which I’m 50/50 on if I’m going that week) or podcast recording (which I’m sitting out); Game Night, I’ll go to at least one of the 2 Fridays in that period. It could be movies, meals with friends (especially dinners), or coffee/drinks with friends – whatever it is, I hope to get a few friends together for something. If it ends up me staying at home and reading, playing video games, or watching Netflix, so be it, as long as the ‘routine’ is broken.
3. Don’t say ‘yes’ as much. I have had a habit, over the years, of trying to please as many people as possible, by agreeing to do nearly everything possible, when asked of me. Some examples include: working extra days or longer hours; committing to stuff after work, when I know that I am tired/sore/the ones asking will back out before the scheduled time; and taking on too many responsibilities. This doesn’t mean that I will turn down every offered shift or skip every online study session; it just means that I won’t commit to everything or go out of way to make sure everyone shows up at something, all of the time.
4. Resolve the CT/foot/travel money issues by the end of April. This may not be totally in my control. I can’t commit to Cincinnati Tradition for the 2020 season until I: a) see what else can be done about the right big toe joint, the right heel, and the right ankle and b) have enough money to get through the Summer Season via Greyhound/Uber/A Lot of Hotels or Purchased Vehicle/Some Hotels.
5. Get to 195 pounds by Labor Day. From my heaviest, I’ve dropped over 55 pounds, down as low as 201.2 pounds; I currently weigh in the 208-211 lbs. range. Tightening the diet back up and getting back to a regular fitness routine (see #4) will definitely help. Labor Day also ties into #4: it’s the end of the DCA season. If I march again, 195 should not be an issue to hit.
6. Continue finding more ‘me time’, ‘fun time’. #2 will play a big part in that. Museums, movies, Shakespeare In The Park, a day/weekend trip (Chicago, Indianapolis, maybe Bowling Green), maybe a visit to Mammoth Cave… it doesn’t have to be expensive (or cost anything) to have an enjoyable time. And I’m going to keep looking for non-work, non-school, non-podcast things to do, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

I still have a few days to add to this list but this is the likely the final draft of the 2020 Resolutions and Goals. I did not add “Get A Vehicle” to the list because I want to try some Reverse Psychology on it. 😉