Looking back at 2013 and ahead to 2014

Happy New Year! The time of year we use for thinking about the person we want to be and look back at what we did in the previous year. Being someone somewhat interested in tradition, I figure I'll join the pack.

Last year was the first full year I had without my dad. He passed away due to cancer late October, 2012 and adjusting has been weird at times. Last January, I ran the WDW Half Marathon with Wendy, saw many runners wearing bibs in memory of loved ones and decided then that I wanted to run the NYC Marathon in his honor. I had already qualified via 9+1 in 2012 but at that point was unsure about running it. Seeing people running in memory of someone was touching and I realized I could do that for my dad. Wendy and I ran it together, raising over $5000 for the American Cancer Society in his memory and finished in under 5 hours (4:55:22 to be exact).

Wendy and I tied the knot (or as my dad would say, I became an "Honest Man" - I never quite worked out exactly how he meant that). That was fantastic. Family and friends came to celebrate with us and we had the biggest party in our honor that we'll ever have. We said our vows, proved we can waltz, partied, drank a lot, and still managed to get up in time for a 5am flight to Hawaii. Oh, and I finished moving the last of our stuff from the old apartment the morning of the wedding. Which leads me to...

We found a new apartment! We're now at the top floor of a tall building in Brooklyn Heights, giving us fantastic views of the city and a second bedroom for the future. New apartments need new furniture so we have a new sofa bed for guests, a larger TV, some shelving, and ordered a geekchic table for delivery late this year. I have to say it's been really easy getting used the views and the additional space here. We've traveled a lot, visiting Disney (running), Vermont (skiing), Hawaii (honeymoon), the Finger Lakes (wine tasting), Indianapolis (Gencon), and Belize ("regular" vacation).

So 2013 was a fun, busy year for us. I think the only low-light of the year was that my eczema seems to have gotten worse. 2014 is looking to be similarly busy. Instead of listing our plans (where would be the fun in that?) I'll do the traditional thing and list out my resolutions and goals for the year.

• Read 20 books - Normally, this wouldn't be hard. However, I'm determined to make 12 of those books be Wheel of Time books and one of them Words of Radiance. 13 giant books with reportedly a large variance in quality. I don't expect the other books to be nearly as large so I should make them up. I plan to track this via Goodreads.
• Track ALL the things - First of all, I mean to track various stats about my health (weight, blood pressure, and heart rate to begin with) but also the minis I paint, the books I read, the maps I draw, and the pace I can push myself to run at. To keep myself honest on these, I plan to check in with another post once a quarter talking about it.
• Write, paint, cook! I plan to write a blog post every 2 weeks and I've been kicking around ideas for D&D modules and more generic RPG supplements. This year I aim to get one of them written up in PDF form and submitted to rpgnow.com (even if they end up being free). I also want to paint a mini at least once every 2 weeks and cook once a week.
• Improve my fitness - I want to PR in a 5k race and lower my resting heart rate. I also want to be able to run the Empire State Run-Up in 2015, meaning I'll have to train for it in the fall of 2014. Toward both of these goals, I plan to work out at least twice per week.
• Eat alone at most twice per week - I've fallen into a bad habit of eating at my desk most days, telling myself that I'll get work done. But that's just a lie I tell myself. That's not the healthiest setup and is a little anti social so I'd like to break out of that habit.

I plan to track these regularly and post about them once a quarter. Look for another post in April looking back on how I'm doing with them and if I've made any adjustment to my goals.