So, what's been going on? I'll pull a Taco with this one and give you a run-down:
- Just got back from a vacation at Myrtle Beach. I'm not a fan of tourist traps, but nothing beats a [very] cheap and easy vacation.
- Petyr (the "Little Man") is learning to talk by leaps and bounds. He's learning both English and Chinese (and Spanish, but I don't really count the TV as a teacher) so he's keeping everyone on their toes. He hasn't quite reached the "Why" phase, but is in what I can only imagine as the precursor, the "What's That" phase.
- I'm getting ready to start on at least two new projects at work, that should be fun.
- I'm currently reading two books:
- The Cryptonomicon - I'm re-reading this as I was in the mood for a psuedo-techno-thriller-sci-fi-intellectual thing. It's a pretty good book by a very decent author. I'd recommend it.
- The Four Hour Work Week - This one deserves some explaining. Generally, I'm not into self-help/motivational/non-fiction type books. This was lent to me by a friend who -- after hearing about how I've come to this place in my life and my plans for the future -- indicated that I strongly resemble to author. So far, I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book. The first 3/4 are pretty good/useful/interesting. Basically, it's about a guy who rather than swim upstream, decided to dig a series of locks and dams to forge his own way. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't seem to have enough time on their hands or whose had an idea for a small business venture nagging them.
- I'm working on automating bits and pieces of my life in an attempt to free up time for more fun stuff. Based on some ideas that I've been kicking around and reading the book in 4.2, above, I've decided to take some steps towards dragging myself into the 21st century. We're going to give automated bill payment a try. Also, I've been using my debit card nearly exclusively for 10 years. I'm going to try to transition over to a credit card with some kind of benefits (points/miles/cashback -- haven't decided yet). That should make it easier to track my expenses, I can pay for everything in one transaction (i.e. pay the balance of the card on the 28th of the month), and I'll get some kind of kick-back.
- Tim Ferriss has some great advice on learning new languages. Most of what he says is stuff I always figured, just codified. I'm going to China in Q2 of next year and doing some independent travel. I figure it'd be a good idea to learn a bit more mandarin than, "Where is the bathroom?"
- I was considering becoming a pimp (getting my PMP certification). I ran through a practice test in the back of a book at B&N and got nearly every answer correct. The down-side (other than the fact that the test is around $500), is that I need to have a documented 4500 hrs of project management time. I've been doing my own project management for about 6 years, but am not sure I can document it.
- I've been slacking-off and not getting my MCPD (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer) certification. I'm pretty confident that I have the necessary knowledge -- I just don't test well. Maybe I'll take the plunge and just take the first test. It's < $100 for me, so why the hell not?
