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I broke 100 on a golf course but not on a 72-par course. I'm still proud to have gotten that close, but I missed the target—twice, to be exact.

My 796-day streak on Duolingo came to a screeching halt this Fall. Without international travel on the calendar, my dedication faltered. I switched from Portuguese to Spanish before spending last New Year in the Dominican Republic. Since returning, my drive to practice dwindled, but somehow, I still managed to be in the top 5%.

I journaled and shared online far less than planned, primarily due to competing priorities and insecurities. I'm over the latter, but committing the time and energy to fleshing out my many ideas and thoughts is daunting. If I were to commit to that, I wouldn't have time for anything else. I just checked, and I have 11 draft posts I never even finished.

Honorable Mentions

The year was still full of accomplishments, and I'd be rude not to acknowledge them.

Sobriety

I'm 135 or so days sober. I stopped drinking on August 5th. In doing so, I've found that I do miss the taste of certain alcoholic beverages but find the non-alcoholic alternatives just as satisfying to both my taste buds and my limbic system. I haven't had a brutal headache, bubble guts, or out-of-control inflammation since. I also sorta quit coffee around that time. However, I'm far from caffeine-free. Rather than 2-3 cups of coffee daily to function, I have a protein shake. And on ocassion a soda as a treat or a Red Bull to power the rare long drive.

CrossFit

Regrettably, I let my L1 certification expire in September. I considered renewing it and getting back to coaching kids at a local gym. One gym invited me to provide feedback on their classes and coaches, and I may have been too critical—our mutual interest in working together and my desire to renew the L1 dissolved quickly. If I were to retain the certification, I'd want to use it on my terms, building something for myself. Not willing to transition my professional life wholely to fitness, I recommitted to my home gym efforts. I've gotten back to the fundamentals and training to support my hobbies rather than support competition. I'm eating simply and not overanalyzing macros. I'm down 4% body fat from last quarter. I'm the lightest I've been in January 2020. And I am on the verge of matching my lifetime personal best for a deadlift. Stay tuned!

UX By Us

I founded a user experience-centric consultancy and web development studio focused on short-term support for small businesses and augmenting existing development teams. It effectively rebrands my previous independent efforts from 2005, 2010, and 2020.

As For Next Year

It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm doubling down on last year's intentions and raising the stakes.

More Golf

Forget 100; I will break 90 on a 72-par course while playing at least 1,000 holes throughout the year. I've already played over 800 holes this year, so 1k is reasonable. My wife is getting me fitted for new clubs, improving my consistency. I'll sign up for lessons before the season starts. Clinics through the Black Golf Club will continue to fix holes in my game.

More Spanish

Tell Duo, I'm coming. Y será mejor que tenga mi dinero. I will get back my streak, 365 days of it to be exact. And over the next year, I'll put it to good use somewhere in Central or South America. I don't care if it's just a long weekend via Spirit Airlines, with only what I can fit into a sling bag. I'm going.

More Content

I'm not going to limit myself to sharing online through this medium. I've found joy in making sizzle reels and video journals. I'm looking into publishing some old music and maybe getting back into the practice of making new stuff, too. I'll put more out there and use this blog as a way to organize those disparate creative outlets.

Less Capitalism

Professionally, my intention for next year is to stop blindly supporting capitalism. Whether through my businesses or another, I want to do more work with people and for causes that are dear to me. I want to tackle problems that pique my interest over those that simply pay me well.

Here's to next year. 🥂