Happy Birthday To Me!

Its official, I’m 31. Old? Nah. Mature? Hmmm, nope. Ready for what the next year brings me? You betcha!

Thanks to Jessie & West I got an amazing early birthday gift of being an Uncle. Thanks to Crystal, I’ll get an amazing after birthday gift of being a Father. What more could I ask for?

I’ve given it some thought and I’m hoping to that on top of the blessings of becoming an uncle and father, that I’ll be able to accomplish the following in the next year.

1) Be the best father, husband & friend I can be.
I’m certain that the next few weeks & months will be difficult with the lack of sleep and any additional stresses of becoming a new parent. I just hope that I can keep my head out of my ass and be patient with “Uno”, helpful with Crystal and dependable with my friends. I’m hoping all of you out there will keep me honest on this one.

2) Blog regularly.
I’m not going to say blog every day or blog once a week, because I know how spare my time will be. Regardless, I want to keep up this site as a way to keep everyone updated on “Uno” and for me to continue playing with all the fun technology in WordPress. If anyone has tips on great WordPress plugins or a lead on a great customized theme maker, let me know!

3) Read 6 books.
I figure a book every 2 months has to be a reasonable goal. And yes, parenting books will count. I recently read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and am partially through several other books. I hope that reading will give me some material to help generate blog posts to help accomplish goal #2.

4) Make something.
No, not another baby. I’m hoping to work on making something tangible outside my normal work. Maybe its a coffee table, maybe its an iPhone app, maybe its a web TV show. Who knows, but I want to make something, I want to be a producer and not just a consumer. Got an idea or want to work with me on something, let me know!

5) Get my fighting weight to under 200lbs.
Its been quite some time since I saw 190 something on the scale. Ok, its been a looong time. I felt really great last year as I was training daily at the Core Performance Center in Santa Monica for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. I’m hoping that I can work in some regular workouts into my schedule and get back to under 200lbs, which if I recall correctly the last time I was in this ballpark was my honeymoon. Ouch, that’s 5 years ago.

6) Participate in 6 races.
I did 2 5ks and 2 triathlons last year, all were enjoyable. Well, the swim at the LA tri REALLY sucked (I now know more-or-less what it feels like just before you drown) and the 2nd half uphill run at the UniCity 5k sucked as well. Regardless, the feeling of crossing the finish line is amazing. I’m planning to beat my Sprint times at the Nautica Malibu Tri, to aim for the Olympic distance at the LA Tri, to do a duathlon and triathlon with Brian C. down in the OC, and to round out the rest with my friends on the NBCU Race Team (you guys rock!). Plus, all these races should help in accomplishing goal #5. Know of a race in the LA area that you’d like to do, let me know and let’s race it together!

7) Homebrew.
Ok, so this definitely isn’t going to help with goal #5, but I’ve got the supplies for home brewing with the somewhat-ghetto intro-to-homebrewing Mr. Beer kit. I’ve done one batch before back in 2007 or so. If you live in the LA area or are planning to visit LA, let me know and I’ll reserve a special bottle for you!

8) Go to church.
Let the record state that on more than 3 occasions in the last 2 months that I’ve tried to get Crystal to go to a Catholic church out here in LA. Not a Lutheran church where I’d be welcomed at communion, but a Catholic church where I’m not welcome to eat Jesus. Should I consider converting to Catholicism? Maybe. I want to bring some more spirituality back into my life and for “Uno”. Know of a great church in the LA area, let me know!

9) Vegas.
As in, visit Las Vegas. I drove from Bullhead City, AZ to Vegas last year to drop Crystal off at the airport there, but didn’t stay or stop off in the city. I live within driving distance and have for almost 2 years. Its about time I make a trip. Now just to convince Crystal that I its a good idea. Want to hit up Vegas with me, let me know and we can plan it together!

10) Enjoy SoCal, enjoy life.
At the end of the day, I want to be able to say that it was a good day and that I cannot wait for the next. To me, right now, that means enjoying the sunshine & warm weather that SoCal affords me, enjoy outdoor activities, enjoy good food & drinks, enjoy friends & family, and be grateful for all the I have.

Ok, so that’s a pretty good top 10 goals to aim for. If I can wake up on February 25th in 2011 and say that I managed to accomplish each of these, then I’ll be in a pretty good place. So, that’s it, those are my goals. Happy Birthday to me, now let’s start partying and get working on that “enjoy good food & drinks” this weekend… cheers!