Virtute.org

Well, the year’s winding down, and I’ve got a few thoughts about where I am now.  I thought I’d write them down to compare down the road and see how I change.

Favorite sports teams remain the Colts (NFL), Jazz (NBA), Cougars and Vols (NCAA Football).  I also like watching the NY Giants and keep my eyes on the Steelers. 

Musical taste is mostly the same, except I started to really like some varieties of country music.  That’s a change few people might have seen in the younger me, but I realized I was just being ignorant.  New artists added to my favorites are Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Carl Jackson, and so forth.  Doubters ought to give Steve Earle’s Guitar Town a try.  I’m still digging in here, and might find more that really astonishes me.  If I had the money, I’d buy a pedal steel guitar and learn to play.

The year before I came to appreciate Synth Pop/Dance Pop (OMD’s Sugar Tax should probably be required listening before you dismiss this genre).  Again, the younger me had some contempt for this genre, but I’ve become a little more open as I get a little older.  I think that the social pressure is off now, so I can listen to whatever I want.

So, for the past year, my most listened to artists were U2, Belle & Sebastian, Counting Crows, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Steve Earle, Dire Straits, Paul Simon, OMD, The Cure, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Van Halen, and Bon Jovi (in that order, according to Last.fm).  My favorite track was Strangers When We Meet, by David Bowie.

I read a few new books, but not as many as in previous years.  Other media took over, I’m afraid.  I read bout the Six Day War and I read Paul Johnson’s Intellectuals.  I read Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian and Richard Price’s Clockers.

I’ve registered for school starting in January to finally make real progress on a degree.  In past days, I roamed around taking whatever I felt like.  I figured I would do Marketing, since that’s where I’m working these days (in Web Analytics). We don’t have the money for tuition, but I suppose no one really does these days.  Like everyone else did, I’ll figure it out and do my best.  I’m a little late to the party (I’ll be 32 when I get rolling) but I guess it’s time.

I built a shed (with a lot of help from my dad) in the backyard.  We weren’t playing around, either; it’s 12′ by 12′, with a loft for extra storage.  All sweat work from the ground up.  It still needs siding; the weather turned (and money got tight) as we were finishing up the roof.  It’ll wait until spring.

At work, I do pretty well.  This is perhaps the first job where excellence doesn’t come easily.  At eBay, I was the top performer in my department at one point (out of some 120 people) and earned a lunch with Meg Whitman.  At Omniture, I’m competent, but the quality of the team is very high.  It’s good to have new challenges.  If you don’t mind me indulging myself, I’ll name-drop some of my clients this past year: Samsung (UK and North America divisions), Nintendo of America, Honeywell, Rosetta Stone, Corel, DigitalGlobe, Delphi, and Visteon.  Just so people know my job is important =).  Anyway, I enjoy the work and get better at it with every month that passes.

I bought a piano finally.  I picked up a Yamaha CP33, which is pretty brilliant.  I also began learning Reason and doing some composition work on some of the songs I wrote when I was younger.  Most of those I just had words and chords for, but I’m filling in the orchestration for a few of them.  I’m getting better at that with time too.

I haven’t upgrade my computer in ages.  That’s a huge change from the younger me.  My video card is at least four generations old, and my motherboard is out of date as well.  I did get a new monitor at some point, though.

The biggest changes are with the family.  Having children changes a man.  So many other pursuits (all the above, really) are much smaller compared to the hope and worry that I do right by the children.  I never watch the Jazz live these days, because the games fall during story time with the kids.  My prayers have changed a lot as well to asking for wisdom and patience and for protection for my children.  Any activity I made a priority in the past can be interrupted or pre-empted at any time.  It’s different, and it’s good.  God is trying to make a man out of me, and I’m trying to go along with the plan.

Anyway, a long post.  In a week or so I’ll post some hopes for the new year.