This year’s reflections are going to be mostly bad news. Not that I fell too far away from the goals but the most important goals have been stolen away from me. So, we will just start right in.
1. Replace My Current Job.
This is where the biggest problem starts. At the beginning of the year, I lost my job over a refusal to return to office. It is not quite that simple and there is a lot which should not be discussed publicly so that is where it will be left. With the total collapse of the economy, the pretenders using debt to float themselves are starting to realize their delusions are falling apart.
While this might be satisfying to watch, it makes job hunting almost impossible since those people are also most people - and definitely most people in IT and Technology. So replacing my job is no longer just something which I would like to do but something that must be done. With rampant credentialism and brand meaning so much it is hard to compete with someone who has Google and a College name on their degree. Even with completed - and reasonably impressive projects under my belt - this simply is not enough since most places also refuse to pay what people are worth due to them redlining.
Trying to find a new job reminds me just how terrible humman beings really are and how broken and dishonest everything is right now. An example from a meme - which I sadly do believe some people are using - is they are using places like MIT Open Courseware and then including “Have Gone To MIT.” This is ridiculous since obviously you neither went to Harvard nor are associated with it in any way. This is as absurd as me saying “I went to Memorial University” because I completed online classes in Game Design from them. This is more true from certifications via online Learning but those are strictly marked as a Certificates of those sites; for what those are worth at this point. Regardless, this has been a total failure as everything is falling apart and will therefore be the new priority for the new year as well.
2. Drawing As a Creative Output.
I actually did quite decent with this task this time around. I did both a solid amount of drawing and a solid amount of pixel art. The only downside is that I was not very consistent about sitting down to do them. With some reservation, I will not be continuing this as a primary creative output. Drawing is fun and challenging but there is no way I can reasonably make money from this with the skill level I am at. Nor will I have the time to invest in getting to the point where I could compete with others doing this professionally.
3. Scalable Side Gig.
There was literally no meaningful progress on this task. Everything I would like to do is something which others have already monopolized on. The only place I feel I could distinguish myself from others would be via the Data Scientist/Analytics space and I will need to replicate what others are doing for paid projects somewhat first. Then build unique projects with a website which shows off those projects; maybe some mix of data and game design would be helpful at this point. Maybe trying to build an fixed version of Hunt: Showdown’s Match Making Rating System or something.
4. Fitness.
With the loss of a job, there are no more massages and definitely no learning how to fight. These costs money which I currently cannot spend on something which does not make me more money. With respect to the fitness though, I have been doing walks, doing pull ups and running on an exercise bike so there is progress. There is a lack of scheduling and discipline here but it is getting better.
5. Finish Bigger Books.
While I did not finish the books I had planned for the list, I did still read a solid number of textbooks so we’ll call this accomplished. Check one off as a full success!
6. 36 Blog Posts
After checking, there are 31 blog posts this year so I was very close to finishing this one successfully. I am going to call this a win for this year considering how terrible everything else has been going. It’s also a great improvement from the previous year and there is so much that I should and will write about going into this next year.