The revelers have hit the street
With pots and pans, their throats complete-
ly knackered from another ringin’ in
Let another new year begin!
—Spirit of the West, “Another Happy New Year”
And a new decade… ish? No, I think that technically only starts in 2011. Still, it’s a rollover. It feels like a new decade. And a pretty interesting year.
- In 2009 I celebrated the one-year anniversary of working with WebTech Wireless (September 15). That was a big deal. My two previous jobs, with ABSU and Waterstreet, lasted 11 and 8 months respectively. And then in November I was laid off. That’s okay, though. Well, it kind of sucks, but I’ve gotten some really excellent experience with WebTech, which I’m sure will open all sorts of doors for me. Plus, I think I have a better idea of what I want to do with my career. Stay tuned.
- In 2009 I went back to school. Not for a degree, but for a BCIT Java class, in the Spring semester. It was a good experience, and I ended up with a 92% grade. Go me! I would have followed it up with more courses, but the one I wanted to take wasn’t available in the fall, and then the whole layoff thing happened.
- In 2009 I stretched my graphics design muscles, creating three new themes for the VGVA Web site (Easter, Fall, and a new Christmas one). More are on the way
- In 2009 I stretched my Web design muscles, working on a couple of other projects, in addition to hacking away at the Team Vancouver site (redesign still not finished as of this writing) and my own blog (ditto).
- In 2009 I read a lot. I’d resolved to read one novel of “serious” fiction a month… and didn’t make the quota. Still, here’s my list for the year:
- Karen Tulchinsky’s The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky
- Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City
- Antonine Maillet’s Les Cordes-de-bois (technically a reread, but I hadn’t touched it since high school so it counts)
- Mark Danielewksi’s House of Leaves
- Michel Tremblay’s La grosse femme d’à côté est enceinte (just started over the holidays but I’m including it here because… well, that list is a bit on the short side)
- Plus assorted fantasy by Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book), Terry Pratchett (Unseen Academicals, Nation), 3/4 of the Mortal Engines series, The Night Land, and a really awesome Star Trek: TNG novel entitled Dark Mirror, where the Enterprise is trapped in the mirror universe and has to deal with their evil doubles, which I found in a box in my parents’ house. Took that one home with me!
- In 2009 I made some cool new friends. You know who you are
And what does 2010 hold for me? I don’t know, but I think it’ll be fun to find out. Being laid off should get me down, but I’m actually kind of excited about all these new possibilities. While I’m looking for work, there are technologies I never learned but would be extremely useful for a Web developer. Flash is top of the list. I’ll figure out the rest as I go along.
Oh, and how about finishing Team Vancouver and NPDemers.net? Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. ASAFP.