2010 Resolutions

Happy 2010, everyone! It is shocking how quickly 2009 zoomed by, and it is time for my annual resolutions.

First let's review how I did on last year's resolutions.

Here they are:

1. Work on Brand Clare. Well, I did do this in a limited way. But I now realize that I need to redefine what this is. That will be one of my resolutions for 2010.
2. Upgrade my resume using an online resume site called Visual CV. Nope. Didn't even start. See resolution #1.
3. Learn how to use Adobe InDesign and Dreamweaver. My strategy for accomplishing this was to do it at work. But changes I made in my team's operations made it impossible for me to do much more than hang on there. I don't anticipate I will have much time for more than leading my team this year either.
4. Master enough ASL that I can start taking classes at RIT. I took classes 4 times a week every quarter, had a tutor twice a week, and attended a week long residential program at Camp Mark 7. I feel like I have enough vocabulary to more or less communicate, and I have been able to have meetings with my Deaf teammates without an interpreter. After the holidays, I will attempt to attend Department Chairs meetings with no interpreter. If folks are signing directly to me, slowly, I can usually figure out what they are telling me. This is not mastery by any one's definition of course. But I do feel like I have made some progress here, and I hope that by next Fall I will be able to enroll in another class. Maybe by then I will have figured out what it is I want to study!
5. Finally get my home network setup the way I want. We made some serious strides in the right direction here. This morning I can listen to music streamed from our collection, or the Internet, watch movies streamed via Netflicks, and print. My server crashed one day when Joanne accepted Microsoft updates for it, not realizing that I had earlier crashed it doing the same thing and had vowed never to accept updates without careful research again. But maybe we don't need a server to do what I want. I'm researching other options now.

And these were a couple of "maybes"

6. Buy a mandolin and learn to play it. Nope, not this year.

7. Buy an DSL camera. Yes, I bought a Canon 5D Mark II. Here is a review of it on Ken Rockwell's wonderful site. I have had a wonderful time with this fantastic camera. It is probably the most expensive thing I have ever bought, other than a car, and definitely the thing I have most enjoyed. Joanne and I are planning a trip to Africa for later this year and I am very excited about what I will be able to shoot. My Flickr stream is here if you want to take a look at what I have done so far.

Now on to 2010 Resolutions:

It's obvious to me that I took on more than I could accomplish so I am cutting back a little this year.

1. Review and re-define my personal brand. I'm feeling a little unfocused and unhappy with my direction right now and need to figure out where it is I want to be in the next 3 years.

2. Blog more regularly. I really enjoy this, even if (as I suspect!) it is just me and my nephew occasionally reading it. But blogging does help me focus my thoughts. I am going to try to blog weekly. The summers are the hardest time, when all I want to do is be out in my garden. But let's see if I can't be a little more regular with this.

3. Continue to improve my ASL skills. I have 18 months to reach Intermediate level on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview. This isn't a minor goal, to say the least.

4. Continue work on my Instructional Design Model for Teaching Deaf Adults. I would like to be able to present this at conferences in 2011.