Christmas and New Year’s Week
Happy New Year!
The past two weeks have gone by fast. It feels like just yesterday I was finalizing my plans for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Originally, my plan was to hang out with the family, finish Small Appliance Planet, and start working on Soundbar Planet. Unfortunately, those plans change around 9:00 pm the Friday before Christmas.
As I was working on my site, I got this weird sense of urgency that I needed to take better care of my health. I started thinking about my family, and how I wanted to see grand and possibly great-grandkids. It was strange. Then around 11, my mom text me saying “call me in the morning.” I immediately text back “is everything ok?” and “why are you awake.”
Instead of waiting for her response, I called her and found out that my favorite Uncle had passed away a few hours ago. I was in shock and wondered if that strange feeling was him telling me to stop making excuses and start taking better care of myself.
A Word about my Uncle
Uncle Jackie, “Big Mac”, was
He was a great man who loved his sons, and grandchildren. Whenever we’d go to see him, he would provide updates on how all his sons were going. He did what he could for his sons and grandchildren, including taking them in and being a babysitter/ best friend to his granddaughter.
Before he moved to Atlanta, he lived 30 minutes from us. Every weekend my family (mother, father, sister) would go down to see him and every weekend he had some great story. He looked at me one time, about playing high school basketball, and said “either shit or get off the pot.” For some reason, I think about this quote every day.
It brings a smile to my face knowing that Uncle Jackie, my dad, and Mr. Herman are together once again hanging out, playing cards, and telling the same old stories.
RIP Uncle Jackie, Dad, Mr. Herman
North Charleston, South Carolina
As soon as I heard the news, I knew that I need to be at the service, so I booked a flight to Charleston, South Carolina. I flew out the Friday before New Year’s and returned home that Sunday. The last time I was in Charleston was for my grandfather’s funeral, and it has changed so much over the years. Also, it was about 30 degrees warmer there than in Chicago.
The service was kind of difficult to get through as the death was unexpected, and he had many friends and family attend. Friends and family came from all over just to say goodbye one last time. By far the most difficult part was the final viewing. The viewing was on the way out of the church. I’d never seen that setup before, and his sisters did not take it well.
One of the bright spots of the trip was the after service lunch. I was able to catch up with a bunch of cousins that I hadn’t seen in years, if ever. The highlight of the trip was the group picture with most of the first cousins. While the picture is mostly male, there were a few female first cousins that were unable to make the trip.
After lunch, I headed back to the hotel due to an early flight. I had to return the rental car by 3 am Sunday morning. Side note: the rental car agent should give basic directions on how to start the car. I was given a Kia hybrid and had no clue how to start it. I sat in the parking lot 10 extra minutes expecting the car to “turn over.” Fun fact: hybrids don’t turn over, you just must wait.
Goals For This Week
I have a few goals for this week: including:
- 1 new web hosting client
- Work out 2 more times this week
- Blog posts for: The Security Camera Guy, Learn Kenosha, and Soundbar Planet
- Figure out why my app keeps crashing
- Continue to eat on the Keto diet
Web Hosting Clients
One of the cool things I’ve stumbled on is web hosting. The service I provide give me the opportunity to develop websites, logos, and provide customer service. I’ve done a lot of reading and everything I’ve read states that the first 100 customers are the hardest.
In addition to Craigslist ads and Facebook posts, I’m considering advertising in the local paper.
Workout 2 More Times This Week
My goal for 2019 is to lose 30 pounds. To achieve this goal, I need to work out and stick to the Keto lifestyle. As my doctor said to me, Keto is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. Bread is my weakness, but I must do it if I want to see my kids grow up.
Blog Posts
I just finished my 30th post for Small Appliance Planet, now it’s back to adding content to The Security Camera Guy (SC) and adding new content to Learn Kenosha, and Soundbar Planet. The goal for SC is to add 3 new pieces of content per week. The goal for SC is to have 100 pieces of content on the site and YouTube.
With my previous 2 sites, I just worked on one at a time. This time I’m going to try two at the same time: Soundbar and Learn Kenosha. I’m going to attempt 2 because I think I get bored working on the same site for 60 days. Switching between the two may help keep my attention. Also, I think the LK site may be easier.
Why Does My App Keep Crashing?
The final goal for this week is to find out why my work app keeps crashing. This app uses Webpack, Node, MongoDB, and PM2. Currently, the app crashes every 5 -7 days. I’m not sure why it keeps happening, but this week will be the last week that it does.
Finally, I think the goal for this blog will be to post once per week. I think it will be a little difficult writing about 4 different topics every day. A lot of these posts will be about personal and professional progress.
