Whoa, we're in the future

All right, so 2008 was an interesting year. There were a few firsts:

-I went camping for real for the 1st time. Yeah, it was at an actual campsite and not all by ourselves in the woods, but Pam, myself, and the kids went and had such a great time that we went two more times after that. I found that as long as I have enough beer, I can enjoy anything! :-)

-I saw Nine Inch Nails live! For whatever reason on their last tour, they didn't come anywhere near Wisconsin, so Pam and I were able to go to Cleveland (an awesome city) and see them and then also go to Grand Rapids (a not so awesome city) on our anniversary to see them again.

-The Brewers made the playoffs for the 1st time since 1982. Technically I was alive for that but obviously I don't remember. Sadly, I was unable to get tickets for the playoff game (hopefully I won't have to wait another 26 years). However, I did see a game near the end of the season where the Brewers needed to win to still have a shot at the playoffs. The took a 1-1 tie into extra innings and then Ryan Braun launched a walk off grand slam to win it. I still get teary eyed thinking about that because it was so awesome and I got to share that moment with Pam and the kids.

-I actually dieted successfully for the first time in....ever. I helped a team win at the DOC in a biggest loser competition, and I lost about 30 pounds. I took December off (too much stuff going on) but will working out and eating right again in January.

-I got a PS3 and have barely touched the Wii since then. Sorry Nintendo, but I want to play real games :) Real Games in this case are Half Life 2, Resistance, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3, and Oblivion.

-I got TV again. This time through Dish network which is less ass raping than Charter Cable

-I would say George W Bush isn't President anymore, but that's technically this year's good thing.

Some bad things happened too:

-My grandfather's cancer came back and he had to go through another round of chemo. It looks like it going alright but this time it's affecting his body more, including losing hair. Here's hoping it stays gone for good (the cancer, not the hair)

-Despite the stellar play of Aaron Rodgers, the Packers won't be going to the playoffs. Oh well, maybe we'll get a good player for the defense in the draft.

-I crashed the Escort during a snow storm with a nice dent in the rear quarter panel. The car's not worth it to the insurance company to repair so it looks like crap yet.

-I broke my tibia (shinbone) high up by my kneecap. That put me on the shelf for about 2.5 months and I was unable to do much for exercise or anything else.

-The kids broke my DS and I haven't yet bought a new one (for reasons you'll see below)

-The bathroom floor leaked for 3 months because I couldn't get on my knees to retile it (although I did finally get it done)

-My cholesterol is hella bad so I have to change my diet to get it down.

-Pam and I spent a bit too much money on the credit cards, so now we have to frugalize our lives to pay them off

-The economy sucks and Pam and I would both like to get new jobs for various reasons but probably can't because of the economy

Anyways, I made these 4 goals for 2008 (I don't make resolutions as they are stupid) In red is the progress I made
1) Stop eating so much. I'm getting too much out of shape and I need to slim down

This was a failed goal for most of the year until about September. I just started taking it seriously. I exercised more and ate less and actually lost 30 pounds. If I had started sooner, I could have lost more.

2) Stop spending so much money. Or at least spend it better, no more gas station goodies, etc.

This goal is a definite FAIL. While I think I did I better job of cutting down on my gas station purchases (although when gas drops by $2.00, it's easier to justify the extras), we spent more than we had and will now be paying for it in 2009

3) Quit being so lazy

I definitely think I passed this one. I've refloored almost the entire 1st floor of the house, pulled all the bushes out of the lawn, remodeled the bathroom, went on the 3 camping trips, 2 out of state trips, and did just about everything Pam asked me to do. So yay me!

4) Try being a better person.

I'm not even sure why I put this one there. Better how? Better lover? Fighter? Worker? So I'm not sure what to say. I think I've improved as a person over the last year, so I'm going to say that I hit this goal.

For this year I'm going to make my goals more specific so I can tell if I'm hitting them or not.

Goals for 2009:
1) Get down to 250 pounds. I'm at 335 right now so this might be a hard one to break. However, I dropped 30 in three months so if I can make it work over a year then I should be able to hit it. I'm checking out webapps traineo and The Daily Plate to help track and monitor my goal

2) Watch the spending and pay down at least 2-3 credit cards this year. We'll be dropping our tax rebate on the credit cards this year but we'll still have a bit to pay off over the year. I think with some planning we can do it.

2a) Get a better grip on the finances. Pam is the one who does the checkbook around here. She does a good job, but she can only make spending decisions on what she has in the book. I need to make sure I get her all of the reciepts right away so there's no clusterfucks like the one in the checkbook now. When I tried reconciling the checkbook to the bank statements, I ended up with an extra $200 in the checking account, so obviously we've fucked up somewhere but where? I'm trying the free program gnucash and also the webapp at mint.com to help organize and track where all the money is going.

2b) Cut down on eating out - 1 case of soda a week for me, eating out once every 2 weeks, or worst case, once every week. No more goodies everytime we go to Walmart. Just looking at December's spending it does add up

2c) Make a budget and gasp! Stick to it.

3) Organize my life better. That is to actually plan out things better and not be so scatterbrained all the time. I've been using Remember the Milk.com for about a month now and this is probably the longest I've stuck with an actual goal creation and tracking system. When things get put on there, they get done (not always on time, but they get done), and that's been doing wonders for my homelife as well.

4) I'd like to try going a whole year without missing work unexcused. Last year I think I abused my call ins a bit too much. Now I know it's not acheiveable (especially because I was late today) but it's definitely something I need to work on or else I'll be in the breadlines.

5) I WILL get my A+ cert this year and maybe work on an MCSE and/or Help Desk Inst. certifications. I need more ammo for when/if I DO look for a new job.

And I think that's it. I don't want to overreach although there's tons of more things I'd like to do this year, it should keep me busy.