A Look Back at my 2006 Resolutions

As 2006 comes to a close, it's time to look back and see how I did on my resolutions. :-)

1) Become a dad.

Almost done! ;-) Three months to go, so cross your fingers all stays well! Baby Cedric is due March 17th, 2007! Want the proof?

2) Complete Chess Avatara and try to turn a profit.

Not done. However, Avatara did take a dramatic turn in 2006 when I converted the front-end to Flash. This was SMART. Development accelerated and I was actually able to login and play games on the system and move around and such. Development stopp this summer, however, as I took up a second job to help pay off some debt before Baby Cedric.

Avatara will make a reappearance sometime in the indefinite future.

3) Continue my ban on Wal-Mart. Ban Target. Purchase a membership to CostCo and do my big box shopping there.

I did very well with this. First, I never set foot in Wal-Mart. Check! Secondly, Michele and I want to target about half a dozen times. That's less than once a month. Very good. Thirdly, we did buy the CostCo membership and we loved it! We shopped there once a month for the things we need and love the prices and service.

We'll be renewing this January.

4) Volunteering my heart out to get Bill Winter voted into office in the CO-6 district.

Accomplished...though, Bill Winter was defeated by Tom Tancredo in the November election. :-( Still, Michele and Vincen and I did many yard sign trips, attended a house gathering with Bill held by my boss, and I even generated some support for Bill at our office amongst the less politically inclined.

Twas a good run!



5) Witness the 2006 election results at a Democratic party of some type. :-)

Check. We attended the Bill Ritter gubernatorial election party and it was a good choice, he is our new Colorado governor!!!

6) Read at least 5 political books this year, including My Life by Bill Clinton. (A billion pages!)

Done. Read 9 in fact, including Bubba's 1,000-page tome:

• The Raw Deal :: Joe Conason
  
• The United States of Wal-Mart :: John Dicker
  
• Blinded By The Right :: David Brock
  
• Crashing The Gate :: Jerome Armstrong & Markos Moulitsas Zuniga
  
• Don't Think of an Elephant :: George Lakoff
  
• The Truth (With Jokes) :: Al Franken
  
• The Exception To The Rulers :: Amy Goodman
  
• Against All Enemies :: Richard Clarke
  
• My Life :: Bill Clinton
  

7) Register and consult with CSU (Colorado State University) about finishing my degree beginning Fall '06 -- if it's possible.

Well blows me down...read the story here! I not only consulted with CSU -- I GOT MY BACHELOR'S DEGREE!!!! :-D

8) Be able to solve a Rubik's Cube, from any position, in 2 minutes.

Done! Solved it in a minute and a half just a few months ago. :-D

9) Make inroads into organizing our finances so that our money works for us, not us for our money! I must take at least 3 concrete financial steps -- including retirement plans and investing -- this year to accomplish this goal.

Done! We took the following financial steps:

• Started a 401K.
  
• Opened up a trading account with ScotTrade.
  
• Taken a second job and have reduce our credit card debt to less than a fifth of what it was! We anticipate paying it off within a couple months -- before Baby Cedric arrives. :-)
  

10) Avoid using an InsureWorx paper cup for the whole year! I've been wasteful. I will use my official InsureWorx ceramic cup instead. :-)

Done! I used one paper cup all year, and that was to house some popcorn I grabbed from the kitchen. :-)