Looking back at 2008 & How I faired on my resolutions

Looking back 2008 was a very challenging year both professionally and personally.  I stepped out of my comfort zone and went after what I wanted. I’d be lying if I said I did this voluntarily every time.  Sometimes, the situations left me no other but to venture out.  With some planning and some luck I end up where I had hope to be by the end of the year.  Along the way, I met some great folks, made some new friends, became more idealistic, lost faith in the baby boomers,  and gain faith the millennials.  Most of you probably watched this chapter of my live chapter unfold live via Twitter, Facebook, Frienfeed, Tumblr and this blog….whenever I updated it.  The highlights of 2008 include South Carolina primary, 1631 S Streeet NW, ServiceNation Summit, DC Primary,  November 4th, Frat house 2.0, Boston/NH, my investiture, and becoming an American.  I will remember 2008 as the year I decided to get involved.

As for my resolutions,  here is how faired:

1.  Maintain a GPA above a 3.5 -  DONE. I was able to keep a 4.0 GPA.

2.  Read 6 books (outside the classroom) and write about them on here  - FAIL. I did not read six books I think I read 3... Sad I know. This is commitment that I make every year and continuously fail at it.  I'm not really sure why.  I'm an information junkie and I do read a lot but I haven't managed to read books.  I blame it on the amount of reading and writing I have to go school.

3.  Reconnect with 5 or more family members back home - DONE.  I think I reconnected with more than 5 family members.  But I still don't talk to them on the regular basis.  It gets quite expansive to call home regularly.  And Skype does not have exactly have stellar services.  If you're using a software to call Africa or other third world countries, I'd love to hear about it.

4.  Record all financial data for the entire year - FAIL.  I'm going to try again this year. I will be switching to Mint something this month. 

5.  Bring in 10K to 15K through freelancing - DONE and most of the money went to paying for school.

6.  Open an IRA or Home buying fund - FAIL.  Instead, I focused more on the opening and beefing up an emergency saving account.  It came in handy when I was let go earlier this year.  So I'm glad I went that route instead.

7.  Go to 12 museums - FAIL.  I think I went to 2 museums,  I did do more cultural stuff around the city including BSO, Kennedy Center, Book signings and lectures.

8.  Learn Ruby on Rails - FAIL. I don't even have it installed on any of my computer.  I instead focused on learning how to customize WordPress and give it a professional touch.

9.  Be a better boyfriend/Better Work life balance - FAIL.  At some point during the summer, I was working, going school, working on a the Silverman Campaign and doing freelancing.  That's not balance at all.  However, I have become much more organize and learned how to schedule leisure time as well.

10. Get Management Position in IT or Public Policy - I did get a management position at Be The Change, Inc from which I was let go earlier late in the Year  and I’m now at a Public Affairs firm.  I'd say I'm moving towards the right the direction professionally. I've moved a way from a purely technical background which was the real goal here.

I could have done better with my resolutions, but I’m satisfied with my performance.  I’m will my 2009 resolutions up shortly