1. Check progress of my Resolutions
In order to help ensure I'm working toward my goals, I resolve to check in with my New Years Resolutions every 2 months or so. I hope this will will keep me on track, because too often these types of resolutions are made with the best of intentions, and then ignored or forgotten within weeks.
2/3/09 UPDATE: This is my first official check-in... on track so far with resolution #1.
7/09/09 UPDATE: Looking at the date of this update... EPIC FAIL :(
12/25/09 UPDATE: Looking at the date of this update... EPIC FAIL AGAIN :(
2. Lose weight
The holiday season has had its toll, and as usual I've gained a few pounds. In order to get myself to a more appropriate weight I resolve to drink no more than 1 soda per day, avoid overeating, and be more conscious about the food I eat. As of January 1st I have begun recording my weight each morning like I did last year to track progress. My initial goal is to weigh in at 175, and then from there I intend to go down to 170.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I'm not recording my weight every morning, but I have stuck to the 1-soda-per-day limit (with allowance for a couple extra on weekends), and I have lost a couple of pounds, but I'm not down to 175 yet.
7/09/09 UPDATE: After a while I had cut that 1 soda per day limit down to 1 soda per week, plus a couple on weekends. I routinely weigh in around 172 after my morning shower, so it appears I'm on track with Resolution #2!
12/25/09 UPDATE: At one point this year my scale actually read as low as 165... so good job Seth!
Lately though, especially since the frisbee season ended, I've been putting on the winter weight again, and I'm back at or above 180 :/ Looks like it's time to re-up this resolution and get back on the wagon with soda rations and eating less brownies!
3. Scheduling
I am notoriously bad at time management, and recently I have been especially bad about scheduling. I have forgotten things, and double booked myself. This is unacceptable, so I resolve to keep better scheduling practices through the use of calendars, a scheduler, or simply writing things down.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I missed another chiropractor appointment last week, but other than that I think I'm starting to get organized a little. We'll see how (or if) that maintains.
7/09/09 UPDATE: I did a TERRIBLE job preparing for my summer vacation in Seattle, and I paid for it... literally. Plane tickets are expensive when you buy them 2 days before traveling! Also, car rentals cost a fortune, and I realized too late that you can save on some fees if you don't rent from the airport location. Next time I hope to do better.
12/25/09 UPDATE: With the exceptions noted above, I think I've done an OK job scheduling and not forgetting things this year. I'll try and maintain that through next year.
4. Finish Game Designs (Prototyping)
I have a lot of game designs that I've started, some of them are really almost "finished" - to the point where I could play them and see if they're any good. Some of these have been around for a couple of years now, and its about time I get them finished up. So I resolve to complete prototypes and play the following designs:
- Hot and Fresh - A game about pizza delivery and traffic laws. This is at least 2 years old, and is ready to test except I need to make a game board and some cards.
- Dynasty - A game about the spread of culture in ancient China. This is almost as old as Hot and Fresh, and will be ready to test as soon as I come up with a list of technologies which players will research (like gunpowder and the compass)
2/3/09 UPDATE: So far I've not even thought about either of these two games :(
7/09/09 UPDATE: Still no movement on either of these projects... EPIC FAIL :(
12/25/09 UPDATE: Still no movement on either of these projects... EPIC FAIL AGAIN :(
I did manage to start another new game idea though, and take on someone else's game as a development project for eventual publication by Tasty Minstrel Games.
5. Game Publication/Submission
I'm trying to get a game published, and I've finally started that process. I'm learning about it as I go, so it's taking a long time because I'm not sure what I'm doing. In order to stay on track, I resolve to submit Wizard's Tower, All For One, and Winds of Fate to publishers in an attempt to get one/some/all of them published. I further resolve to enter a game in at least 2 game design contests: KublaCon in May and Hippodice in November.
Last year I failed to enter a game in Hippodice, but I did get Terra Prime to a company who intends to publish it. As part of this resolution I intend to follow up with that and see what I can do to aid in that process.
2/3/09 UPDATE: So far a lot of nothing has happened on the publishing front. I still intend to enter the Kublacon game design contest and Hippodice.
7/09/09 UPDATE: Well, with regard to publishing, Terra Prime and Homesteaders are being published. Success!! My good friend Michael decided to start a publishing company (called Tasty Minstrel Games) to publish them. I believe Tasty Minstrel will be publishing Wizard's Tower next year as well. So that's good...
However I have made zero progress (with zero effort) on the rest of this resolution. I neglected to enter the KublaContest, and I have not even though about sending any games to any publishers. I have not even tested the new version of Winds of Fate yet! In that respect, this resolution also gets a FAIL!
12/25/09 UPDATE: Still no movement on any of these projects... EPIC FAIL :(
6. Cut down on TYPOs
I never learned to type properly. I type fairly quickly, utilizing a lot more fingers than a lot of people who never learned to type, and I know about where the keys are (they are, after all, in the same place every time). But for the most part I look at the keyboard when I type rather than the screen and as a result, I can easily make a mistake and not notice. I'm usually in a hurry, or just impatient, and I seldom check what I've written before clicking send, publish, post, or just hitting enter. I hate making typos, and it would be painfully easy to avoid if I just slow down a bit and look at what I've written before I post it. I resolve to significantly reduce typos and spelling errors. And while I'm at it I will reduce the number of inappropriate or unnecessary commas, apostrophes and quotation marks I use.
What worked the last time I tried this was counting typos and each night doing 2 push-ups for each typing error. I intend to do that again.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I have been doing better about typos, and I was also doing push-ups every night for a while. I've stopped doing that though (I should start again!)
7/09/09 UPDATE: My typos are down. I often miss a "y" nowadays, but I think that has more to do with my keyboard.
12/25/09 UPDATE: I feel like my typos are down, but I often notice them later when reading something I've posted... still, for the most part I think I've done well with this resolution (though I haven't done a push-up in months)
7. Blog weekly
I've got 2 blogs: this one, and another about games and game design. I have not been posting as frequently as I'd like in them, so I resolve to make a minimum of 1 blog post each week in each of my blogs. I believe that this will encourage me to do more than simply blog... I think it will help keep me on track with resolutions, with my game designs, and other stuff like that.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I have been slacking on posts, especially in the game design blog. I haven't been doing much in the way of game design lately, which is too bad because that's what I told myself I'd concentrate on while I was out of work :/
7/09/09 UPDATE: Looking at the date of this update... EPIC FAIL :(
I haven't been blogging very regularly in either blog. Hopefully I'll rekindle this resolution.
12/25/09 UPDATE: Looking at the date of this update... EPIC FAIL AGAIN :(
I haven't been blogging very regularly in either blog. I will be re-instituting this resolution (or one like it) for next year.
8. Read books
I don't read much. I like to watch TV and movies, even bad ones, because I like the stories and I like to see what happens next. I have some books I've never gotten around to reading, and as long as I'm out of a job I don't see any good reason I shouldn't sit down with a book once in a while. I resolve to spend a minimum of 1 hour each day reading, at least while I'm unemployed.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I bought several books, and ended up reading one I already own and have read. It turns out I didn't even like it as much as I had remembered. I need to start on another book now.
7/09/09 UPDATE: Thus far I have not been reading at all... EPIC FAIL :(
I did just buy a new book - one a friend said she couldn't put down. I read it on the plane and am about 128 pages in (out of 500 pages). It's OK so far, hopefully I'll finish it. The book is called The Mysterious Benedict Society, and is kind of a children's book (the way the Lemony Snicket books are children's books).
7/09/09 UPDATE: Thus far I have not been reading at all... EPIC FAIL AGAIN :(
I didn't even finish The Mysterious Benedict Society.
9. Clean yard
Sometime last year I cut down a tree that was in my yard, and bits and pieces of it are piled up in my yard, drying up and probably causing a fire hazard. I have been meaning to get rid of it, but I'm not sure how to do so - and it's easy to ignore since I don't see it very often. I resolve to clean up my yards - both front and back - to get rid of that junk, other trash that's accumulated, and weeds that are rampant.
2/3/09 UPDATE: Brush and Bulky pickup service happens in about 2 weeks, so now's my chance to get rid of that stuff!
7/09/09 UPDATE: I did get my yard cleaned up and Brush and Bulky took all that crap away... SUCCESS!
12/25/09 UPDATE: At a fundraiser I bought the services of the women's ultimate team... services of (a) house cleaning and (b) yardwork. They did a terrific job on my house, and they did great weeding along the street... I had hoped to get more weeding done, but what was done was done well.
I myself have not done a thing to maintain my yard - I don't know if that is what the resolution was supposed to be about though, so I don't know if I care.
10. Be less selfish
I resolve to be less selfish. I've been feeling selfish lately, so I decided to add this nebulous, abstract item to my resolution list.
2/3/09 UPDATE: I'm not sure if I've made any progress on this or not. I am not feeling as selfish as I sometimes have, but I might just not be thinking about it.
7/09/09 UPDATE: Still not sure about this one. I don't feel any less selfish than ever, but I also haven't been feeling particularly selfish either. Again, maybe I'm just not thinking about it as much.
12/25/09 UPDATE: STILL not sure about this one. I don't feel any less selfish than ever, but I also haven't been feeling particularly selfish either. Again, maybe I'm just not thinking about it as much.
Edits:
2/03/09: Edited to post updates
7/09/09: Edited to post updates
12/25/09: Edited to post updates
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