A time for new things

It's a cliche to be talking about new things around the new year (which, by the way, most people have already put out of their mind), but I'm encountering many new things all at once. For the most part, I feel pretty good about it.

First off, I start a new job Monday. Aside from paying more than 50% more than my last job, it's different because it's a long-term contract job. It's also not a Web job, but more general programming. A year ago I wasn't really qualified for it, but here I am.

I started a new Web site this week for ASP .Net developers. uber:ASP.Net is really kind of similar in nature to CoasterBuzz, in that it's intended to aggregate news and provide a community. The kicker though is that it gives me a place to write articles about the technology that I once thought I might write for a book. I already have several up there.

In a related effort, I've opened up my source code to my forum software, POP Forums, and I'm pleased to see a couple of people getting involved and helping me improve the code. I stopped trying to sell it because Microsoft went out and put their forum on the market for free, and while it isn't that good (in my opinion), the price is right for a lot of people. I just want people to be able to use it and reuse it, the way I do.

My new volleyball team has their first scrimmage sunday. Truth be told that I'm scared as hell because while I know they're all individually talented, I don't know that I've had enough time to get them up to speed on my system. I hold myself responsible for their success, and I want this to be one of the best years ever.

I'm starting to see the real value in organic food. That doesn't mean I'm eating better, but it is helping me break from over-processed crap. Heck, even potato chips are different. The chips I last bought have fewer than ten ingredients, including taters that were not treated with any kinds of chemicals. Compare that to the average bag of ruffles. The meat is a hell of a lot tastier too. Now if I could just start eating veggies.

Got a new version of DDR, this time for Xbox. So far I really like it, though the real score will be at some point in the future when I get Xbox Live and play other DDR dorks online.

Speaking of exercise, I'm losing weight. Again, it's not so much that I'm eating better, I'm just eating more reasonable portions of everything. Unless I retain water or something, I should be on track at my next weight check Monday to have lost ten pounds since Thanksgiving. That's not a ton, but it's not a race.

All of this new stuff is kind of exciting. While a little scary, it also makes me feel better about myself and I think I'm generally more optimistic. The only real downside is that I sometimes spend so much time thinking about these things that I kind of retreat to my own little world, and that's no fun for your spouse when you're married. I've got to work on that.