People change, and life goes on without skipping a beat. The pace at which we rush through life is blinding. As hard as as we may try to slow down and appreciate our surroundings, putting such a philosophy into practice may seem downright impossible.

Our fast-paced consumerist society values the high-speed exchange, yet everyone wishes they could take things slowly and enjoy the simple things in life. But, come on…. who has time for that?

I like to think I could probably make the time. Yet, despite working for myself, making my own schedule, and ultimately being my own boss for the past few years… I’m not entirely sure I can say I’ve taken full advantage of the freedom it’s allowed me.

Don’t make the time, force yourself to
Despite my best attempts, I always seem to take on way more than I should. Whether that’s the workaholic in me making excuses to stay busy, or the true reality of my situation; I’ve always felt I could be putting aside more time for myself and those close to me.

I decided in December to really try and approach this year a bit differently… and (try to) stick to it. I wasn’t really sure what to do or expect, but it had to be done. The desire for change is an important point in one’s journey, but execution and follow-through are what separate the boys from the men. I couldn’t just want the change… I had to force myself into it.

Don’t make changes, make choices
By making a few drastic life decisions, lightening the load, and generally narrowing the focus of my work, I knew I’d be forced to confront things head-on. I may not be quite where I want to be yet, but I’m learning valuable lessons in management and delegation, and appreciating my position in life more and more each day.

Life is a journey of exploration, awareness, and enjoyment. Work hard, and have fun with it. Ultimately, enjoy what life has to offer. I hope as time goes on, I can find a partner in crime that enjoys a similar attitude to life, and experience the more relaxed side of what life has to offer. Can you say extended hiatus to a foreign location? Yes, plz.

Untitled by Tree Sleepers

This year began on a different note than most I’ve experienced. I had been in a committed relationship with my fiance for almost 6 years and we’d mutually called things off in December and were decided to go our separate paths. This is something I had been premeditating for a long time, and we both agreed was necessary.

We had a close relationship for many years but things had changed, and it was ok. As sweet of a girl as she was, we didn’t have the same drive or life goals, and it endlessly wore on us both in a minor but lasting way. Life continues to go on, and I’m sure we’ll both find happiness again.

With that out of the way, the time had come to lighten the load of both my mental and physical responsibilities. I began aggressively getting rid of things I’ve held onto for so many years. Some of the items were old computer parts, aftermarket parts for one of the various project cars, or other interesting and quality items that once held a place in my heart, but had simply become junk to me over the years and needed to be posted on Craigslist, tossed, or given away.

Clearing out old boxes and possessions you don’t actually need or want anymore is a liberating experience. It comes with some element of reluctance, considering most of the things you’re getting rid of were once purchased or sought for a purpose. But, once your mental inventory of things begins to dwindle, you realize how unimportant those material things really are.

Giving away as much of what I can to friends and relatives, if the opportunity arises, has also been nice. New computer projects for some of my tech friends, better sound systems for a friend’s car, etc. If it was trash, it’d go in the dumpster, if it had some value but not worth my time to sell, give it to a friend! For any old clothing or household items furniture, down the hill to Goodwill they’d go.

The “house-cleaning” didn’t just start and end with my home and personal property, however. At the same time, I began to tear through my digital network and begin consolidating the 10 something “Downloads” and “Clutter” folders I’ve accrued over the years and various hard drives, organizing my media and storage folders on the network, and otherwise eradicating any unnecessary redundancy or disorganization in my file storage schemas.

Reducing the number of files I was keeping, organizing the files and folders that were staying, and deleting old project work folders that were no longer active and had since been archived held the same sense of freedom as the physical downsizing. This process, along with a few other network upgrades and changes, has helped dramatically reduce any digital stress or anxiety I’ve experienced over the past few years when it comes to file organization across my systems. That endless worry of backing up file stores larger than most people’s backup solutions, and juggling things across multiple (non-redundant) file systems can take a toll on an IT guy.

The biggest obstacle to overcome was the massively vast scope of my workload and responsibilities. Over the years, I fell into the trap of trying to tackle it all with a limited amount of resources and time. Namely, there only being one of me. Being a homeowner, serial entrepreneur, boyfriend/fiance, driving and maintaining my fleet of cars, and the list went on and on. With a new chapter of life already underway, I’m excited to see what I can achieve with a narrowed focus on my businesses and ventures.

My two biggest focuses are the behavioral advertising tracking platform, eInfer, and my advertising networks.

This world stops for no one, and the clock hands moves forward with a cold lack of sympathy. People are born, people die, people forget to watch the road and slam into the car in front of them. Things happen, and it’s nobody, and everybody’s, own damn fault. This 2008 is wrapping up at quite an accelerated pace and things couldn’t be changing for me any quicker. In fact, I think 2008 has been my biggest year of change to date.

I have gone through so much in the last 12 months it almost boggles my mind. I have had so many experiences, both good and bad. I started this year off with a goal to focus on my own endeavors and stop working so hard to please others. I began this year with a renewed passion for my work, a(nother) new car (Nissan 240SX, S14), an ongoing house-search, and a new outlook for this upcoming year. This lucid outlook on life was quickly interrupted however.

By the end of January, the 240sx had been rear-ended by a girl in a Tiburon (my neck and back still hurt to this day from it, see what being so tense gets you?) and my relationships were headed down the gutter. I had found out my current girlfriend(the mistake) was cheating on me with some pool boy mexican, my ex-girlfriend(the lover) who I still talked to almost everyday and was talking to about getting back together, was having sex with four guys, all of which I knew and knew me. She says it was “a mistake” I say “NO$H!T. I think I’m starting to understand why my dear friend made his decision, some things are just too much to bear. Things didn’t get much better from there..