Reverb10 - Future Self

December 21 – Future Self. Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead?

Hey, so you turn 32 years old this year. You may think that's old but I'm turning 37 and, you know what, that's almost 40 so quit your bitching. Yeah, your knees are in worse shape now than they were back in 2011 but that's because you still insist on doing some pretty stupid shit. A word of advice, replace the gutters on your house and do it right because that little incident way back in 2008 when you insisted on crab walking along half of your roof line with a small garden trowel in hand to clean the leaves, seeds, branches, gravel and other assorted crap out of them was flat out stupid. You do realize how high up your roof is and that your driveway isn't made of feathers, right?

Don't worry about going gray or having thinning or even balding hair. Trust me, in the next five years you barely add to your rather distinguished collection of gray hairs so quit asking our wife to pluck them with that damn tweasers. She hates it and it makes a terrible fucking mess and we both know how little you like cleaning.

And another thing, quit fretting about your job. The powers that be, even though it doesn't seem like it to you in 2010, recognize you as one of the cornerstones of the company. Even though you see no possibility of moving up -- and instead view your only hope of advancement as moving out -- there is hope. All that crap you're struggling with in your down time will lead to that move up you've been looking for. It's actually going to be pretty big so that place in the country you're always half-joking about will happen. It also seems that you were serious about having an orchard of sorts because the amount of pears, apples, grapes, blueberries and other fruit you sell and give away is pretty astounding. And that stuff you give away finally shows yourself that you have a heart because that fresh produce helps alot of people and keeps plenty of families from going hungry. You don't have to worry about looking greedy because for everything you think you've been handed without working hard enough for, you are now working harder than ever and end the days feeling exhausted but also fulfilled.

Lastly, stop thinking of yourself as a nomad. Those neighbors you have in 2010 will make some damn good friends and even though you do, in fact, move again a few years later it isn't very far and with that place in the country you find yourself doing alot more entertaining and mixing old and new friends will prove to be easy as, amazingly, they all just get along and actually have shared interests.

Just keep your chin up. That hard work will pay off and don't let the downfalls hold you back. Every mistake will actually propel you forward and teach you something. Vague, right?

Reverb10 - Lesson Learned

December 17 – Lesson Learned. What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? (Author: Tara Weaver)

The biggest thing I learned this year is that I can actually find something positive in changes when everyone around me only sees negatives.

Negativity has always been, for lack of a better word, my trademark. I'm not a negative person but for whatever reason I have always found the negative in most every situation. Maybe it's because I'm a pessimist or maybe it's generational. After all, my generation is billed as the first that will not have a higher standard of living than their parents.

But even with always seeing the negative in situations I've managed to keep a positive attitude (for the msot part) and even keep those around me laughing while shining a dark light on the negative. If you can't find humor in something, you might as well be dead, right?

But the past month, from a work standpoint, things have been a bit dark. Faced with an uncertain announcement -- coupled with plenty of lead time before confirming what exactly the announcement entailed -- things got grim. But I asked questions and with those answers actually managed to keep those around me somewhat positive. If you can't triumph over adversity, you stand no chance. Would you rather tackle something head on and try to overcome it or pre-emptively roll over before you've even been defeated?

Another Christmas in the books

Christmas, thankfully, has come and gone. This year was the first that my daughter, now just over two years old, began grasping the concept of Christmas. Her realization that there was a bunch of additional presents surrounding the tree on Christmas morning was almost instant. Her plan of attack was to plow through the wrapped boxes and proceed to drag the fully assembled pink and purple big wheels through the other gifts. Apparently this one item was all she really needed but her peekaboo doll was also a hit and kept her entertained as her two sleepy parents napped in the living room. I've never known the daughter to stay so focused on one thing for so long but that doll kept her out of the refrigerator, it kept her out of the upstairs and it kept her from grabbing scissors, tape and knives out of assorted kitchen drawers.

In short, a doll for a few bucks was a small price to pay for a short nap after an exhausting week and an even more exhausting weekend. Were other parents as lucky with their toy choices that they were able to catch a Christmas morning nap? I sure hope so.

Reverb10 - Body Integration

December 12 – Body Integration. This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

I felt most cohesive this year as we hiked up the Temperance River along Lake Superior. The hike, however short it was, was the most peaceful communing with nature I have felt in quite some time. I don't know if it was simply the change of scenery -- going from a semi-rural Twin Cities exurb to the true northern woods of Minnesota or if it was simply being in a place that was true nature. Waterfalls, trails, crystal blue, unpolluted waters and not having a cell phone ringing or feeling that tomorrow was back to the grind. That hour or two we spent hiking and simply soaking in the raw, natural sights as we traversed rocks and streams was the best I had felt mentally and physically all year long. I hope to build on that one-time feeling in the coming year.

Reverb10 - Wisdom

December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

Wisdom isn't usually something associated with myself but I suppose the even the most inept person breaks out with a wise choice every now and then. I don't know that I made alot of wise choices either personally or professionally this year but even those times when you can't recall something big and important that just screams wise, there's something seemingly small and insignificant that will play out to be hugely wise weeks, months or even years later.

Maybe for me it was in April when my manager went on maternity leave early. Through my own hard work and from the contributions of a team of the best creative professionals I've ever seen we persevered through launching new publications, tackling entirely new ways of handling our work and they sincerely thanked me for rooting them on through three of the busiest months we had ever experienced. They told me that they felt appreciated and that even with an immense amount of work being done they went home not feeling exhausted and stressed but instead feeling happy and looking forward to the next day. In turn, that made me feel accomplished. It made me feel like I was doing something right. We made every deadline and heard zero complaints about people not receiving their projects in a timely fashion.

I then capped it all off by asking for a meeting with a rather new next in command. I flat out asked her about my performance in the past three months and asked if she saw a future where I would be in the very position that I had just filled in on. Her response was encouraging and even now that the days of leaving the office being filled with stress are back and the entire team that I had motivated and appreciated now feels threatened and worried, I am still hopeful that the three month stint I had where I apparently proved myself as a manager will turn out in my favor in the near future. I guess the choices I made during that period were my collective wisest decisions of the past year.

My source and inspiration for wonder

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

My greatest source for inspiring my own wonder is my daughter. She turned two years old only three weeks ago and it's amazing to see what everyday, seemingly normal things bring joy to her. She is amazed by Christmas lights, a helium balloon and will almost uncontrollably dance -- that is the thing that inspires me most. She hears music and begins dancing. She even has different moves which, for a two year old, is impressive being that she has more (and better) dance moves than I do.

2010 goals - part 2

Each year, just as the year begins all full of promise and hope, people feel the need to make New Year's resolutions that will only be dashed in mere days instantly bringing the stench of disappointment and failure just days after that relatively clean slate. I admit that I've done the whole New Year's resolution bit before. Just last year I resolved to exercise daily - even if it involves as few as fifty sit-ups. While it wasn't a complete failure - and it got me back in to jogging during the summer months a few times each week - I didn't exactly end the year with washboard abs but it did make me much more aware of the fact that even brief vigorous exercise can shake off the day's worries and make you feel new again.

So this year I have become more realistic in my goals and resolutions for the new year.

Again, I'm vowing to exercise more regularly. It's far cheaper to exercise than to buy new jeans after packing on a couple additional inches. It makes sense due to the fact that I have the running shoes (barely used) sitting in the closet and that our bikes barely made it out of the storage shed last year. Sure, the whole lack of biking was due to a very young youngster but she's getting bigger and is practically begging to get her sticky little hands on one of those fancy bike trailers so she can get pulled around town. Of course the fancy bike trailer will be more bike trailer than fancy. Let's keep things in perspective - dad doesn't crap gold bricks.

My second goal is to work more on improving the exterior appearance of our now-111 year-old house. The porch is a thorn in my side as I hate the shitty old windows and its somewhat settled foundation giving it an unsightly slope. It's not the most noticeable to passers-by but I know it's there and it's very obvious given that the windows on its ends barely open due to the slope it's taken on over the years. Something tells me that the foundation simply sits on the ground lacking footings. All told, it's probably better (but more labor intensive & somewhat more costly) to tear the sumbich completely off and start from scratch. My parents have graciously donated the bulk of the lumber I'll need which leaves me with concrete, shingles, rubber roof membrane, a door, insulation and 15 windows. The windows are what will financially rape us. That's approaching $2,000 with that alone. Ouch. But if all works out today for my old lady (keep your fingers crossed) we'll continue to be a two income household and that will go a long way.

The third goal is to replace my shitty plastic gutters. Those snap-together jokes need to go away. They are uneven, not fully connected and half full of rook gravel and maple seeds. I will giggle like a little girl if this goal reaches completion.

My fourth and final goal is to build the popularity of MinnPics. The photos I choose to post there receive a fair amount of attention but some have basically heaped praise on the blog. It's intensely Minnesota and if you love the state you live in it's a logical fit to check in your daily routine.

2010 goals - part one

Rather than combine my goals - which I plan on achieving - in to one massive post with two vastly different themes, I'm doing two parts. This one is about my professional goals for the upcoming year.

2010 is already a year of change. I don't have to wildly speculate in saying that my job will look different at the end of the year - likely vastly different than it is today. Change is in the air there but I expect to be doing less in the way of print design than I currently am and far more in the area of online advertising. Yes, I'll be whoring up some of your favorite local websites even more than they already are with ads you'll come to actually pay attention to. At least that's what I want. Of course plenty of paying customers fail to get it. They think they can take what has worked in print or in their - gasp - yellow pages ad and cram it in to a leaderboard and customers will click away to their shitty, stale, broken ass websites. That's my most challenging goal this year.

My second professional goal is to make at least one of my plans reality. I didn't accomplish anything in this area last year but I did make some headway with MinnPics, my photo blog all about Minnesota. While I still want to see more traffic to that I have plenty of other half-baked plans which I've been tossing around for far too long. I actually began one earlier tonight but after a couple hours realized that I need to start with the basics in many areas including PHP, SQL databases and Drupal which I've wanted to teach myself for at least as long as some of my plans have existed. Many of my employer's websites run on Drupal and from conversations I've had I need to learn at least the basics of it.

Now that you're thoroughly bored, my third goal is to conquer the universe and cross breed frogs and humans. Kidding. Just seeing if you're paying attention. My third and final goal is to build my rather meager photography business. That means getting out and capturing more photos and working on my weak areas including portraits and lighting. While I can easily do candids, my portraits look too forced. Maybe it's because I look like hell when photographed that I don't know how to photograph others. Or maybe I'd be better off sticking with landscapes and scenery. But I'm going to force myself to conquer this area and build some sort of business from it.

That's about it for now. Tomorrow you'll get to see my personal goals.

Behold: my big 3 local media predictions

2010 will be a year of insane change in the media world. If you're reading this in the greater Twin Cities area I'll venture out on a limb here and say that the once-venerable Star-Tribune will suffer more than it did in the previous year. There will be a few more layoffs but the big news will be the sale of their print operations. Yes, there will still be a printed newspaper but they will be able to save a few bucks by outsourcing their printing. Look for Media News Group/Pioneer Press, Gannett or - and this one is a longshot - Forum Communications to further consolidate and shuffle operations to absorb the printing of the Star-Tribune.

Even with the glut of changes I see ahead in 2010 this one will be the biggest. It will also mark the beginning of the rise of smaller operators with little to no debt load cautiously taking on larger ventures and finding success. They are used to operating with almost microscopic staffing and making relative miracles happen so this sort of change is a logical happening.

Being a bit of a media junkie, I also see a bunch of other changes including further gutting of Clear Channel radio stations (locally Kool 108, K102, KDWB, Cities 97, KTLK, KFAN and The Score 690) and maybe even an outright sale because, as things are now, they are on the brink of bankruptcy and are one of those companies who are too large to survive as opposed to banks who were billed as too large to fail. But if Clear Channel sells some, plenty or all of its radio stations who's buying? Radio does still work but it needs an immense rethinking to survive. Of course AM radio was written off a couple decades back but it survives today with sports and political talk so radio's future may not be so bleak after all. Their biggest problem is debt. Buyers need to remember they are buying some equipment, an antenna and a license - the revenue is not part of the package.

One last local media change is a certain bastard TV station being sold or vanishing all together. Really, how many people watch WUCW (CW-23)? Outside of a few thousand people watching their 2-hour primetime network offerings, the station's programming is garbage and based on their advertisers I fail to see how they can pay any sort of staff. I realize that any money is better than none but I think that there will be some sort of consolidation here. Shuttering the WB & UPN and rolling them together was the dumbest idea since New Coke because the sum of two zeroes is still zero which is a close approximation to how many viewers the CW has. Now the "network" isn't a complete loss - they occasionally beat "The Jay Leno Show" in the ratings so why wouldn't some other network see some value in a few of the shows the network broadcasts and offer to buy the network at a fire sale price (which I'm sure would work) and use the better programs to beef up their own schedule? Even less-than-stellar new scripted episodes are better than repeats and America is slowly catching on to the fact that nearly everything that could be done in the reality arena has been done.

If even one of these predictions comes true I'll be shocked - and scared. What do you see on the horizon? Is it the grim reaper or the angel of hope? Or is it finally success for MinnPics? Let's hope for the latter because I'd like that one.