2010 Year in Review

 Well 2010 is all but over at this point and I'd like to take some time to review the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year:

• Build a site using ASP.NET MVC 
  
• Build a site using Ruby on Rails
  
• Create a basic game using the XNA Framework
  
• Use WPF to create a CarPC application with 2 plug-ins: 
  
  • MusicPlayer
  • Podcast Listener 
    
• Complete 5 freelance projects
  
• Read 12 books

Wow, that was a much more lofty set of goals than I had realized.  I did manage to cover the 12 books, so that was a win.  I did also get a handle on the ASP.NET MVC framework and used it to write the SportsPools website that manages our yearly NFL King of the Hill contest.  I also completed 2 freelance projects.  Alright so that puts me somewhere around 2.4 out of 6 or 40% successful.  That's not great but I did have a lot of success in my personal life that kept me away from these goals.

So what was more important than these arbitrary goals you ask?  Well I started a new job, purchased a home for the first time and I also got engaged (all within 3 months). Between working on the house and beginning to plan for the wedding, my goals definitely started flying out the window.  I think setting goals for myself has been a way to keep me focused and on track.  I'm planning to hash out another post in the next few days to declare a few goals for 2011.  Knowing that I have a wedding coming up, I think the 2011 goal list will look a bit skimpy compared to this list, but the things that I didn't get to are certainly hanging out on the "Someday" list.

It's been a great year and I look forward to many more.

Cheers,
Brent