New year, new blog

OK, so we're not quite at 2011 yet, but I figured this would be the right time to relaunch the BKBlog. Honestly, I've been awful when it comes to keeping a blog updated. I get all psyched up to redesign it, and then I lose interest. Let's see if I can make a commitment this time.

In the spirit of "New blog, new year," I thought a quick reflection on 2010 would be in order. Considering the fact that I barely blogged in 2010, there's little online record of my past year (if you don't count the non sequiter Twittering I post, that is). The past year was probably one of the most successful years of my life. (I guess all years are successful though. An unsuccessful year would probably mean that you don't have a year following it.) I turned 25 this in 2010, hopefully avoided the quarter-life crisis and instead coming through with three of the biggest accomplishments of my life.

1. Promoted to Sunday editor

Beginning in roughly April 2009, I became the 1A designer for the Democrat and Chronicle, a position I loved. Seriously, if it's possible to fall in love with a job, I was in love with this job. There were times I would hate the fact that I was off since there was the chance I was going to miss some big news story. Plane crashes, Teddy Kennedy funerals, Michael Jackson deaths – I designed 'em all. While the position required me to work nights and weekends, there was an exhilaration in knowing that at any moment breaking news could come along and change everything. Yes, there's a good chance I have issues. But I've accepted them.

Over the summer, we launched a redesign of the Sunday newspaper. Over the past year or so we had redesigned Sunday Business and Sunday Living. Now it was Sunday 1A's turn. We not only changed how we designed the Sunday paper, but we also changed how we thought about it. Overall, the project has been a success and people seem to like the changes. As part of this initiative, the Sunday editor position was created, and I accepted it as my next challenge.

I think the position has been a great addition to my professional maturation. Learning how to manage people and coordinate several sections into one cohesive product was something that will help me on my journey. As executive editor/editor in chief at the Cardinal Courier, I was constantly managing and guiding people and products but this is the first time I've had the chance professionally to do so. Another nice part? I get nights off (for the most part).

2. Moved out of my parents' house

After spending the first 24 years of my life (with the exception of my time in college dorms) living in my parents' house, I finally reached the point in my life where I was able to move out. It just so happened that my college roommate, Ed, was also looking for a new place to live, so we began a months-long search for an apartment. I've been pretty happy with the place we eventually chose, even though there's a no-pets policy, thus keeping me from getting a dog. The dishwasher is also currently broken, but I'm running it even as I type this, hoping that it might kickstart itself back to health.

Living on my own has taught me a bunch of things, one being that I suck at preparing any kind of dinner for myself. I have wild rice, Lean Cuisines and sandwiches down, but sooner or later I'm going to have to branch out into other things ...

3. Lost 30 pounds

Now, I don't want to put words in your mouth (or thoughts in your head), but there's the chance you're going to say that I wasn't overweight. Yeah, I got that from a lot of people. Apparently I either hid it well or people just got used to it. Take a look at this though:

See it now? The picture on the left was taken in October 2009. Not quite sure, but I'm guessing I weighed in at around 200 pounds then. That picture represents Fat Bill. The picture on the right was taken in May 2010. I was about 170 then. Years of poor eating, college-style drinking and lack of exercise got me to where I was at the end of 2009. I'm not sure what the turning point was, but I realized I wasn't happy with how I looked and felt, I was lacking in self confidence because of it and it was time to make some big changes. I started working out. At first it was an adjustment, and I had to ease into it. A mile here, a mile there. By the beginning of the summer I was working out five to six times a week, running four miles a day, and was in better shape than I had been in a long time ... probably in my entire life.

And I'm happy with who I am physically now. I had figured out how to dress to cover up the fact that I was pretty out of shape. See what I'm wearing in the picture on the left? There's a bunch of layers there ... and that picture was taken at a tiki bar on a beach in Florida. Fat Bill wasn't able to wear a V-neck like I'm wearing in the picture on the right. Please understand that I'm not trying to brag or boast in anyway here. I'm nowhere near those triangular guys you see walking around the gym, staring at themselves in the mirrors. But I'm happy. And that means a lot to me. Which is why I saved this big accomplishment for last. Jobs and apartments will come and go, but health isn't something you should mess around with. I was stupid about my health for a long time. Thankfully I finally got smart about it in 2010.

So, 2010 was an awesome year. I accomplished a bunch of things that in some ways I thought were a long way off ... or that I thought I would never finally figure out. Am I content with where I am in life? Well, I'm thankful for where I am. There's so much more that I want to do though. And there are things that I'm going to eventually figure out. Here's to 2010, the year I got started on the rest of my journey ... and here's to 2011, the year I build on these past accomplishments.