The first few days of my holiday have been pretty crazy and as a result I’m starting to get ill for Christmas.  No matter, there’s time off to recover and if I can just relax a bit, maybe I’ll get better.

So last year I wrote “For the new year: 2009 roadmap” and I guess a similar one for 2010 is due soon.  Looking back on things makes me a little sad, and from the crap I’ve had to endure recently, I’m somewhere between wanting to punch something and curl up in a ball.  While there is much to be said for the curl-into-a-ball approach, I don’t have the necessary support (if you want to come hug me and tell me it’s all fine, then I’ll gladly retract) to foster such an apathetic cry for attention.

Alas then, I must consider how to proceed in 2010 and the Christmas break will be an opportunity to do that.

I now realise that the choices you make now affect the rest of your life.  A lesson learned for 2009.  Choose wisely, for good or bad, make the best of what you have.

1. What colour is your parachute?

Fluorescent orange so aircraft and rescuers can see it.

2. Who moved your cheese?

Did you move my cheese?  You put it back!  Did you say please?

3. Where’s Waldo?

Here.

4. Are you my mother?

Nope.

5. What’s happening to your body?

It’s getting older and fatter.  I need to stop being ill so I can go exercise again.

It’s all working :)

Being as geeky as I can get, I had my callsign validated for EchoLink right away and this evening tried Clive’s EchoLink node MB7IAD-L (265297). After installing under Wine (Ubuntu), I tested the link and found I could easily transmit a well readable signal the 20 miles at 1W. Alas, no one answered my call.

Made another call on the 2m repeater GB3DA, complete with ACK, however again, no replies. Booo!

Likewise, calls on 145.500 were un-answered.

A little disappointing, but it’s only day 1 and I did call rather late. There’s always tomorrow!

1. What does it take to get you to grab the mic and sing in a karaoke room?

Alcohol

2. What does it take to get you to give up a whole Saturday to hang out with people you don’t like?

Love

3. What does it take to get you out of bed without your hitting the snooze button?

Fun

4. What does it take to get you to take someone else’s turn at a really unpleasant task at work or home?

Anger

5. What does it take to get you to eat something you really dislike?

Health

1. When did you last drink something out of a glass bottle?

Spa weekend where I had mini glass bottles of Coke.

2. Whose energy would you like to bottle for those future listless days?

Probably Josie or Liz when they’re excited.

3. How many plastic bottles are there in your shower, and what’s in them?

In my flat I had one or two for shampoo and shower gel.  At home there are loads, mainly gifts from Christmas :p

4. Who in your life could be described as lightning in a bottle?

I wouldn’t say, at risk of them exploding :p

5. You’re playing Spin-the-Bottle with your sixth-grade classmates. When it’s your turn, to whom do you want the bottle pointing?

Given that 6th Grade is Year 7 in the UK, no one.  I went to an all boys school.

Become more financially stable

I set out two main financial decisions to make in 2009:  Clear student loan and dent mortgage.  I did look into both these decisions and have done neither.  Have I done nothing?  Absolutely not.  Analysis has helped me make other financial decisions which benefit my stability as a whole.

It’s going to be a hard year.  Work aren’t paying any bonuses this year and the economy is set to slump even further.  It’s a long road for the UK to get anywhere near stable and the housing market, which is of very personal interest to me, is besides one or two blips which the media never cease to take joy in reporting, not getting any better.  The warmer weather is lifting spirits for now, heaven help us in the darker months to come.

Progress satisfactory, continue working hard.  Evaluate:  Live for now vs. save for tomorrow?

Improve skill set

I had two goals here:  Learn to fly and continue piano lessons and I’m happy to report some progress.  Back in December I wrote  that I wanted “to make 2009 the Year of the PPL“.  That’s what I’ve done.  I made my first flight for the PPL on the 24th January and since then have flown 15.5 hours.  I’m told progress is going well, and I’m still alive so I must be doing something right :)

And piano?  I said I needed to restructure to give me more time to practice.  I think I was too unrealistic here.  I’m still very busy and continue to find it difficult to fit in my practice.  Progress has been ok, but a little slow for my liking.  I know I can do better but I have no idea how to allow it to happen.  Nevertheless I took my Grade 1 practical exam last Thursday and eagerly await the results.  My teacher informs me I am allowed two weeks rest only.  Then it’s on to Grade 2 :p

Progress good, start work on PPL theory for exams, keep pushing the piano for now.

Improve health

Head bows in shame here.  Health is always the first thing to go when you’re put under pressure.  I said I’d do two things here:  Get fit and No junk food.  Who was I kidding?  I type amongst Coke cans and beside about 20 bags of crisps.  Uneaten, but it’s only a matter of time.

Seriously, I’m killing myself.  Eating rubbish, not exercising, getting up at 6am and not going to sleep until midnight will lead me to an early grave.  I feel fatter, I feel sicker, tired, I get colds.

Something needs to happen here.  I’ve done two things this evening (partly they reminded me to write this review) to get fitter.  I bought a unicycle as a new skill to learn that I can try to master over the summer months.  It should provide at least minimal exercise.  I’ve also enlisted some help to get to the gym.  I’ve never been to a gym.  Swimming pool yes, but never to a proper gym to use the equipment.  If it comes off, I’ll make every effort to go and get fit.

It’s still not enough.  I need to start taking care of myself.  Above everything else I’ve written about here, it all means nothing if I’m sick.  I’ve had long running health problems that are finally being addressed and will see me visiting the ‘top dogs’ at Royal London Hospital in two months.  Going into hospital last week is what has really hit home.

Progress fair, must improve as a matter of, well, life and death.

Improve work environment

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting…
[If... Rudyard Kipling]

I thought I could improve the company and improve myself.  I’ve done one at the expense of another and it hasn’t been in my favour.  Persistence has won out so far this year and I’ve introduced some things to the company which I’ve fought long and hard for.  Everyone seems to be enjoying the benefits except me.

From an idealistic standpoint, it’s good to watch everyone using techniques and tools which you’ve worked so hard to introduce and build, but at the same time crippling not to be able to use them yourself.  Like the inventor of the motorcar, forbidden to drive.

For the rest of this year I need desperately to improve my professional skill set.  It’s starting to turn this way and I only hope it continues and isn’t too late.

Progress fair.  Work hard.  Remember to expect something in return.

I’m learning something important this year.  Take chances while you have them.  “Have happiness while it’s here”.

1. What kind of out-of-school lessons did you take as a kid?

Hmm, I guess I took violin for a while at school, though was never very good at it.

2. What valuable lesson did you learn this past week?

Things don’t always turn out as bed as they seem.  Sometimes good things happen.

3. Who in your life really needs to be taught a lesson?

Don’t we all have something more to learn?

4. What kinds of lessons would you love to have a private teacher for right now?

Hmm, tricky…  Cantonese maybe?

5. What steps have you taken to lessen the impact of these rough economic times?

Paying attention to economics and my finances for a very long time.

Now, 30 minutes left of work then I’m off home to pack a suitcase for Prague tomorrow!  I’m going with someone special :)

For a number of years I’ve run a hosting company.  The products and services are exceptional, great value and I can take pride in what I’ve created.

However, hosting is not expensive (to the customer).  The cheapest we sell is £36/yr.  Yup, per YEAR.  I’ve spent more than that on a single night out.  If you want something a bit meatier, for your business maybe it’s £60/yr.

We charge in quarterly instalments and I’m sick of chasing payments of £9.

It gets even sillier when discounts become involved.  The margins on a £3/mo package are so ridiculously slim that I simply can’t offer a financial discount without losing money.  Why do I do this to myself?

Well.  When I started, it made sense.  The market was different back then and we had budget hosting cornered.  Smaller payments meant smaller losses if a customer left and had more financial stability overall.

I can tell you though that this model simply doesn’t scale.  Reseller hosting has always been my most profitable and most rewarding area.  I can focus on providing stable, high availability, high quality services to other businesses to help us both grow.

Time to rethink.