Another new year! I caught the Times Square action on ABC last night, just as the ball was falling. I didn’t see Dick Clark at all, but he was narrating. It was clear that the stroke he had affected his speech to a minor extent. I only stayed tuned in for a few minutes. I then made a few phone calls to wish people a Happy New Year.
Now that 2005 is over, I can say that it was officially my most travelled year thus far. I flew 45,900 miles on United in 2005, which means I was a mere 4,100 miles short of reaching Premier Executive status. I also managed to pass the 200,000 miles flown lifetime on United.
I had set a goal one year ago today to try and do more writing. I wanted to attempt to write 100,000 words for the year. That’s about 400 words per workday, or maybe 15 short stories for the whole year. I didn’t even come close. I wrote 2 new stories 2 new stories, totalling perhaps 10,000 words. I made 9 submissions this year and, of course, had 9 rejections. (Among those 9 rejections, however, was a near miss from Sheila Williams at ASIMOVS.)
I read 35 books this year, totalling 5.3 million words. 2005 closes out 10 full years of tracking what I read. Today begins the first day of the 11th year and for the first time I can now ask, “what was I reading 10 years ago today?” and get an answer. As it happens, 2006 is also 10 years that I’ve been keeping my diary (although the real anniversary isn’t until April 6).
The company softball team had a better record this year than last year. We went 3-7, but those three wins came at the end of the season. I think we’re going to do even better next year.
I was supposed to buy a house in 2005, but decided to wait one more year. That means that 2006 is the year of the house hunt.
I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions and don’t plan on starting now. But I really would like to make more of an effort at writing this year than I did last year. I think I have 2 or 3 strong story ideas and so it’s just a matter of sitting down and writing (always easier said than done).