2005 – The year of the Rooster

As the last few minutes of the year are upon us, now is the time to reflect upon the year that was 2005 and to consider how many of those new year’s resolutions need some adjustment. 2005 was an interesting time for me, it was the first year where I began to feel happy about my longer term plans and to set some specific goals. I entered the year as I leave it, still quite the singleton but on reflection am not as bothered by this as I might have been a year ago. Over the past year, I’ve realised that I enjoy flying around the world and that there is a wealth of knowledge and adventure out there. I would never have considered myself interested in climbing this time last year, nor would I have found myself deleting cheesy pop music from my ipod.

So, in 2005:

  • I visited the US and Canada a few times, visiting 11 US States and one district, as well as spending several months in Canada (across 6 Provinces) and deciding that I will emigrate to Canada when that becomes practical (Project Canada).
  • I wrote approximately 100 pages of articles for several magazines, spoke at several conferences, co-organised other events, and signed a book contract.
  • I changed my day job once and got more into the kernel than I had been previously – I published a few small patches too for things like 64-bit MTD, floppy and block fixes as well as doing a lot more PS work behind the scenes.
  • I took up climbing, went camping in Quebec in the winter and made some great new friends.
  • Lots of other stuff.
  • Overall, I enjoyed 2005. There are always ups and downs in life, but that’s a universal. My primary new year’s resolutions are actually pretty straightforward:

    • Lose some weight, exercise and climb more.
    • Save and apply for Canadian immigration in 2006/2007.
    • A few other more private ambitions.

    I hope you all have a good holiday. See you in 2006.

    Jon.

    Leave a Reply