The 29th Year

October marks the new year for me. Specifically, my birthday is on Oct. 8. Seasonally speaking, it has made sense for me to do my goal evaluation and creation around my birthday. As the temperature drops, the sky changes, and trees shed leaves, and it's an easy time for me to construct new goals for myself. It's also an important time to take stock of the last year and how I achieved, or went about achieving those goals.

- Year 26, Jarrett Retz

Introduction

I knew this year was going to be different. My wife and I were having a baby. This "disruption" in our lives would change so much for us. However, I had a hard time imagining what our days would look like.

What I was sure of was that I would have less time for myself. Consequently, my goals for this year would be affected. My main goal was to be a husband and father, whatever that would look like for me.

Regardless, I kept my list and set, what I thought, were modest goals. This article reflects on the goals I completed, and did not complete, the previous year's goals and other happenings of the last year!

Primary Goals

Double Business Revenue, Again

I've had this goal since I started freelancing. Every year it's renewed because it's an essential aspect of my life! I'll preface this goal like last year, explaining that my revenue or earnings are not incredible. Therefore, doubling it wouldn't seem like a monumental goal if you were to know the numbers.

At the end of my last "fiscal year," I was in a bit of a slump. A few client work projects were stagnant. A shallow point was taking on a new client with a demanding workload, which crushed my leisure time and put pressure on my work with existing clients. I was looking for a way out of the situation.

A New Hope

Thankfully, I was able to escape. I was hired to work for a new client, but there was a catch. I would have to work as a contractor under a larger developer agency. This seemed to contradict my philosophical beliefs about freelancing and independence.

However, my wife was pregnant, and this new contractor position gave me consistency, at least through the pregnancy. In addition, I would be able to pay into the Washington state benefit for family leave. Thus, allowing me to take time off once the baby was born.

Updated Goal Perspective

This new work situation meant I wasn't making money under my business name. Consequently, I can't say that this goal was 100% truly accomplished because the money I earned, although contracted work, was not business revenue.

Fortunately, I'm not that hard on myself. So, despite my earnings not being business revenue, I can't say I failed. More importantly, one of the reasons that inspired this increase in revenue was to open up the possibility of hiring or paying for someone to redesign my business website.

In June of 2022, I ran the numbers and discovered I had eclipsed this goal, earning 9% over my target amount in approx. Eight months.

Pay Someone to Build Figma Redesign Files for Business Site

A nested goal underlying an increase in business revenue was to pay someone to help redesign my business site.

The first step I took to was looking at 99Designs, a contest design marketplace, to create a new logo for my business. I wanted to test the platform and ultimately was pleased with the result.

The results were satisfying, and after selecting a winner, I decided I would also use the platform for the redesign.

I wrote a detailed article on my business blog about the redesign, but in short, it was successful. I worked with a competent and service-oriented designer.

I completed this goal successfully, and I am grateful that I can continue my career into the next year!

Finish Unread Books

The unread books on my shelf were beginning to pile-up. I deemed this unacceptable and resolved to finish them by the end of the year.

At the start of June, I finished Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America, which was the last book on the list that I had not completed. The list was as follows:

• The Federalist Papers Article
• The Expectant Father
• Wanderings of an Artist Among the Indians of North America Review
• All Marketers Are Liars Review
• The Dip Review
• The Practice Review
• Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park

I was fortunate enough to read other books, too, that were not on the list!

• A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horowitz, in which I published a review.
• Captain Gray in the Pacific Northwest

50 Push-ups

I made two physical fitness goals this year that I thought I could accomplish easier, given my situation of being at home, helping my wife, or taking care of the baby this year.

Unfortunately, I didn't accomplish either! The first was the ability to do fifty pushups. I've struggled most of my life with the ability to do a lot of pushups, and that trend continues.

I reached 20 pushups on June 2, finishing with a maximum set of 26 push-ups during my last attempt at the beginning of October.

Therefore, I missed this goal. Still, when I began, I only could maybe do 8-10 good pushups, so the improvement was substantial.

20 Pull-ups

The second fitness goal was twenty pulls up. I've observed that every person that can do a lot of pull-ups is strong. Subsequently, I thought I should try to get to twenty and see what happens.

I prioritized this goal more than the pushups goal but still struggled to reach my number. I watched some helpful YouTube videos, switched my technique a few times, and got a few small pieces of gym equipment to help me.

On June 2, I could do 12 pullups, which wasn't bad, but I hit a significant plateau, and then my max dropped for various reasons. Trying a different training method at the end of August I saw renewed progress. I wished that I had started training in the latter way earlier!

On my final testing day, I was able to do 15 pullups. Like with pushups, I didn't hit my number, but at the beginning of the year, I could only do 3-4 pull-ups. The progress was a consolation prize, but I'll take it.

Finish Side Yard Projects

There are tasks or projects in my life that are unfinished. Some I am okay with, yet others annoy me and hang around in my conscious (it's why I feel like I have to finish certain books that I start, see goal further up in the article). For example, I wanted to tackle a few house projects this year: the west gate, east gate, and side yard by our driveway.

The two gates were about four feet high, while our neighbors' fences were six feet high. I wanted the gates to match the adjacent fencing. Therefore, I set out to rebuild each.

West Gate

The west gate was, of course, more difficult than I predicted. One post was cemented to the foundation, so I had to extend it (instead of replacing it), and the other post hole took four times longer to dig and set than I expected.

After the gate posts were settled, rebuilding the actual gate went smoothly. Also, we had the same stain left over from when we stained the fence, so matching the stain wasn't a problem.

East Gate

After dealing with the west gate, I made size and design concessions on the east gate, making it easier to replace. The most significant concession (or shortcut) was not digging a post hole next to the house. This may need to change when we redo our siding, but for now, it works.

The side-yard projects included fixing our side yard off the driveway, which we had to hand water during the summer and frequently had dead spots when the temperature rose.

Pavers and Sprinklers, Or Not

Initially, we wanted to keep the grass and extend a new sprinkler zone to the east-sideyard. I spent months trying to get our sprinkler company to give me a quote. They never came out, couldn't give me a quote, and referred me to other companies. That wasn't a problem until the only company I could get to come out wanted to charge us close to $3,000 for adding the new zone. That was a hard no.

Needing to get the project done this year, I decided to extend the pavers from the east backyard to the east-front yard, remove the (dead) grass, and put in river rock, which we already had running along the pedestrian right-of-way in front of the house.

OK.

It was a lot of work. I spent time:

• Removing sod
• Digging up dirt
• Hauling away dirt
• Hauling away sod
• Filling in with dirt
• Unloading gravel
• Unloading sand
• Leveling
• Placing pavers
• Hammering in edge-restraints
• Laying down weed fabric
• Ordering and spreading river rock

I started removing the grass in August and I completed the work in mid-September between vacations, babysitting, and family events.

It wasn't what we had imagined at the beginning of the year, but we did it. Thankfully, we were both satisfied with the outcome!

Other House Projects Completed This Year

• Planting a dogwood tree.
• Replacing the door between the garage and the house.
• Paying to have the A/C unit moved to the side of the house.
• Painting and replacing the screens on a few old window screens
• Staining the garden beds
• Having gutters installed

Secondary Goals

No Alcohol in February

This goal is something that I've done for a few years now, and I'm happy to say the streak continues!

Upload Past Hikes & Make Directory on Blog

I added a goal to create a hikes directory on my blog after I made the original goal list. This was something that I'd wanted to do for a while now, but I had not sat down and figured out how I would go about it.

Regardless of all other goals and time constraints, I worked on this. I just needed to work on it. Therefore, I wrote it down as a goal, something I might as well finish. Furthermore, it made me feel less bad about spending time on the project if it was on the goals list.

You can view this directory at https://retz.blog/hikes/.

The hikes appear in chronological order, but the user can also progressively filter hikes starting by state. After selecting the state, the hikes are filtered, and the user can choose an area/location within the desired state with hike information. Finally, they can filter down one more step by selecting the activity for hikes in that state and location (i.e., backpacking).

Each hike can have a host of information. The most detailed information is retrieved from a GPX track recording taken while on the hike. This information includes distance, max-elevation, total positive elevation gain, and more.

Additionally, I add information on the starting location and destination.

If available, I will link to a gallery or trip report on the blog if I add one after the hike.

Finally, one of the more significant features I wanted to include in this update was a 3D map of the GPX track with information on starting location, destination, and interesting places along the way. This is found by clicking on View Hike Track.

The hike track link is an external link that opens up a new tab rendering a CesiumJS map.

Not only does this show the hiking track, but it animates my progress along the track, displaying:

• my location
• the time
• how long had I been hiking at that time
• current elevation
• cumulative distance up to that point

Examining this image, you can see that on Oct. 9, 2021 (the first day of The 29th Year), at ~9:27 A.M., I was entering the upper Enchantments.

The final aspect of this new map display that I want to highlight is my ability to add a location to a hike, using GPS coordinates and providing a picture of that location!

It's not a completed project yet, but I like the direction that it's going in!

Reflections and Updates on Other Previous Goals

I'll note the year the goal appeared in each writing section.

Typescript

Last year (year 28), I wanted to learn Typescript. I've been able to recreate my blog and my business site now using the language superset.

Get Good at Making One Food Dish

Back in year 27, I wanted to get good at making one food dish. It was ribs. Our new schedule, which involves taking care of our baby, requires that I cook more! I've become the defacto chef of pork chops. Also, I used the cast iron a few times this year.

I could always cook steak, which I did for the company this year. In addition to steak and pork, I looked up a chicken rub online and cooked chicken multiple times for friends and family.

Backpacking

I backpacked once this year (year 24). We made it out to Mount Rainier, and I backpacked the east side of the Wonderland trail. I'll link here to the blog post detailing that trip.

Despite going on only one backpacking trip this year, this year was not short on outdoor trips:

• Thru-Hiking the Enchantments in October
• Snowshoe to Mount Spokane CCC Cabin
• Snowshoe to the Centennial Snowshoe Hut on Mount Spokane
• Mount Spokane Summit Snowshoe
• Trip to Heyburn State Park
• Taking walks with the family along the High Drive Bluff or down to the Spokane River
• Hiking "the Knoll" in Lincoln City and the dunes at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Pacific City

Business Blog Post

Last year (year 28), I aimed to write one blog post a week. I'm happy that some of those posts do quite well online! Especially the ones concerning the Python FastAPI framework. I feel the need to write more, not only on FastAPI but about programming in general, so perhaps next year, I'll get back into it.

Girl

My wife and I, the girl I got involved with back in year 24, celebrated our first wedding anniversary with our first child, June!

We returned to Clinkerdagger's, the restaurant above our wedding venue, and June did an excellent job sleeping while we had an early dinner and a drink. Coincidently, our anniversary was on Father's Day this year, so I celebrated my first Father's Day, too.

Being a father can be stressful! June struggled to gain weight the first month, then ran a fever when she contracted COVID-19 at the age of three months. She recovered from both ordeals. There's plenty to worry about but much more to be thankful for.

Appreciation and Family

In previous years, I made goals oriented toward family and appreciation. This year, starting a family, the appreciation and family connections (or reconnections) came naturally.

First, we live close to my wife's family whom we see weekly. They are thrilled to have a baby in the family and want to watch her, thus helping us out a lot. I don't think about it every second, but that kind of support is priceless from close family.

Second, with the new baby, my parents, living out of town, made multiple trips to come to see us. Additionally, we traveled across the state for birthdays so people could see our new baby and us. Next, we went on vacation with family, which creates lasting memories and further appreciation of good times. Planning a family trip in the summer is a tradition (or a couple of trips), and having something to look forward to together makes the vacation special before and after.

Third, my wife and I could both take bonding leave after June was born. It was invaluable to have the opportunity to spend the first few months of our daughter's life focused on her care and our home. Also, this allowed us to travel to see family, some family we hadn't seen for a long time! Apart from spending time with extended family, we took a few day trips: one to Heyburn State Park and the other with friends to Sandpoint City Beach.

Unrelated to having our new baby, my backpacking trip on the east side of the Wonderland Trail was a special event with friends and family. It was my first backpacking trip with my brother. Furthermore, I was motivated to have my mom be a part of the trip because she had mentioned a few years ago—when I did the trip in 2020 on the east side of the Wonderland Trail—how she would love to go on trips and see places like, for example, Indian Bar.

Many events, trips, get-togethers, and weekly dinners seem commonplace or expected. Of course, they are not in many cases! Reflecting on them in this way sure makes that apparent, and it grows my appreciation.

Conclusion

I've become worrisome about missing goals year-to-year. Especially ones I may have achieved if not for a lack of motivation and planning. Listening to Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman on the Waking Up app. was shocking.

I felt like Burkeman explained my feeling of trying to do too much, feeling busier and overwhelmed. Subsequently, I felt worse because the number of things I wanted to do and tried to do was taking away my ability to get each done! And to feel fulfillment by improvement in one task, hobby, or job.

There were a few concepts and advice that Burkeman gave or relayed from other thinkers that I want to use for the following year.

And so, with another life-altering year under my belt, I have much to accomplish before I turn thirty next year. I've been in my twenties for some time now, almost a decade I reckon (ha), so it'll be strange—at the least ceremonial—to transition to a new decade in my life!