Oh My God and All That

I am an advocate of change. It is human nature to perpetuate change, although not necessarily in the human psyche to always be ready for it. In 2011 I forced change in my life and ended up in a better place for it. In much of 2012 I have stumbled face-first into change. The way I see it, character is built by how well one handles unexpected change. I would say I have been somewhere in the middle of "extremely well" and "kind of poorly" so far this year.

The second-half of 2012 was supposed to be a well-paced mix of studying new technologies, developing a few small webapps, and getting some extensive writing finished. Instead, thanks to significant changes at work, I am forced to re-focus my efforts on professional studies and development. To say the least, I have been mentally exhausted at the daunting months ahead of me.

All is not lost, however. I have completed a few major projects for 2012 in the past few weeks as well. I transitioned my old Ubuntu web server to a Windows 7-based box. I can now develop and deploy websites and webapps on a speedy, powerful server that I have complete control over. My first major project on the new server is coming online this weekend: Recipe Library, the update to my old PHP app Recipe Manager. This is an ASP.NET MVC 3 re-write of the old app, featuring a simple interface and a responsive web design. It is slick.

I have also been caught up by the long-time self-imposed challenge that seems like it will finally come to fruition: a full thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. I have spent several hundred dollars in the last month buying gear that I will be using for a 2012 or 2013 hike. As long as the stars align I may be able to take off for Georgia next spring and spend four to six months hiking through the beautiful eastern United States.

But that is then and this is now. Plenty of studying is in my future. With the cooling temperatures comes more hiking as well, and I am looking forward to a nice blend of the professional, the academic, and the great outdoors.

B3 out.