2010 Annual Review: Year of Transition

Photo: Sunset at the foothills of the Western Ghats in Ujire, India

We cannot kill time here on Earth. It's the other way around: Time kills us. And we never know when that will happen. It could be tomorrow or this time next year. For all I know, this could be my last annual review.

Last year, the Year of Realization, I recognized that I was letting time kill my sense of purpose and direction. I was ignoring what my intuition was telling me in return for social validation and the security of a familiar lifestyle.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

This was the year I threw off the bowlines. I flew away from the safe harbor that I had called home for the first 28 years of my life and I caught the trade winds of reality. I explored places that I had previously only dreamed of, witnessed extreme inequality, and discovered millions of people who needed help. Continue reading →

Year in Review: 2009

This year has been one of self-discovery and of asking myself what I should do next with my life. It has been one of learning and big decisions.

I discovered the importance of nose breathing, went cold-turkey on black coffee (more than 11 months now!), started studying the Navy SEALs (an unrelenting source of physical motivation), took a firearms course.

I discovered some incredible bloggers who have inspired me more than words can describe and whose tweets from various exotic places continue to inspire and motivate me. Most notable are Sid (connected through HN), Amber (connected through Sid), and Colin (connected through Amber’s blog comments). Amber and Colin’s dramatic transition to a nomadic lifestyle motivated and inspired my decision to take the steps necessary to make my own nomadic lifestyle transition a reality.
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Best Posts of 2009

As the year wraps up, I look back through the archives and pull out what I consider to be my best writing for the year. The purpose of this "Best of 2009" list isn't to showcase the most popular posts, but rather my personal favorites, generally based on creativity and the quality of writing. If you have any favorites that you think should be on this list, I'd love to know about them!
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2008: Year in Review

For the past few years I have been writing a end-of-year review summarizing major events or changes in my life that occurred for that year as well as reviewing the resolutions I had set at the beginning of the year. I have found the process of writing these reviews extremely helpful for my own personal advancement. Having such reviews to look back at the years also helps me see where I could have improved and what things I considered important. If you have a blog, journal, or even a diary, I strongly encourage you to do something similar.

This past year seems to have brought the greatest number of changes to my life, as seems to be the case for every year that passes (a good thing, I think). Changes on the material level have been equally as great as those on the personal level. Continue reading →

Year in Review – 2007

The year 2007 was a very big year of adjustment for me. It was the first time I had lived so far from my home town. Working full-time at Aerva while still owning the three properties in Lowell really pulled me back and forth quite a bit and the stress of dealing with broken water pipes and deadlines at work really tested my ability to handle stress.

Here are the results of my 2007 New Years Resolutions: Continue reading →

Year in Review – 2006

This year, as previous years, has passed by faster than ever.

My web hosting business, akmai.net, is still doing well. I have picked up several new clients, including several sites for Aerva, the new company I am working for (more on that in a minute). A few months ago I upgraded the hosting server from a shared VPS account to a full fledged dedicated server. Previous performance issues have disappeared and I'm now able to offer even better hosting packages. Continue reading →

Year in Review – 2005

I missed the 2004 review, but I decided that I should keep up with writing a review each year, mainly because it helps me keep track of my progress as the years go by. It feels as if January 1st, 2005 was just yesterday, and here it is, January 1st, 2006! I guess the reason it passed so quickly is because I've kept myself so busy.

My web hosting business, akmai.net is moving along nicely with about 15 customers. I have no plans to expand it, simply because I have so many other things going on right now. The computer consulting work keeps me busy. I signed up on ComputerRepair.com and I've been receiving a couple of service calls every month. Continue reading →

Year in Review – 2003

Well, its been quite an eventful year this 2003 has. It came and went as fast as I had imagined it would. We waged war on Iraq (no surprise), caught Saddam in a hole (yay?), and lost the Beagle 2 Mars probe (damnit).

At the beginning of this year, if you recall, I made a list of New Years resolutions; quite a big list in fact. Below, is that list again along with a summary for the ones I accomplished and an excuse for the ones I did not. Continue reading →