Sunday, July 06, 2008

Reflections of terrestrial tides.

The month of June 2008 has come and gone already. Half of one orbital rotation has been completed and we are our on our way into the second half. As this begins, I think that it's important for me to reflect for a minute on things that have transpired this year. To see where it is that I am heading and to take note on where things need to change in order for more positive outcomes to be realized.

I was blessed enough to receive a job this year that has allowed me to hold true to completing obligations as well as fund my hobbies and personal business endeavors. It can be easy to forget where one comes from and to take for granted what one has when it becomes a part of ever day life and begins to seem less then extraordinary. The perception of course is wrong. It's something that I have to keep in mind as flight through the cosmos continues this year, and something that I think I should remind myself of, each and every day.

Family is also something that can start to be taken for granted. It's important to have family because they are the ones that help to keep us honest, that we share our triumphs and falls with. They are the ones that let us know when we are acting like a fool, even if we can't see it, and that help pick us up after we have had a bit of misfortune. When things start getting comfortable, it can be easy to forget just how important family is. They are the magnetic poles that guide our moral compasses.

Health is an area where I have been lacking in this year. I was doing well with taking care of myself for the first quarter, but once things starting getting a little unorganized, I allowed myself to fall into a pattern of little to no physical activity. This is bad for me as exercise has always been a huge way for me to relieve stress. This could potentially lead to other problem areas, which in turn could effect the other areas of my life that I've already reflected on. This is something that I've been making a note to change in my mind, but haven't really put forth an effort to remedy. If I don't get serious in this area, I fear it could have some adverse consequences.

I have not accomplished as much as I should have at this point with the game engine this year. At first my time was eaten into by other areas of my life such as work. But for the last three months or more, it's been mostly due to laziness and failure to structure my time to be productive. Granted, I have made some headway, but it hasn't been enough. I have failed to set consistent goals and know that I should have been doing more. Dedication in this area is a must if things are to be ready by the end of this year to move forward into what will be the second phase of my business endeavors. (which I will write more in about in the coming months)

I've been thinking a lot about my goals, community, and my future lately. Essentially, I've given myself five years to make it on my own from nothing to indie game development company. At the end of the five year period I plan on not giving up, but instead taking a more traditional method of academia, because at that point I'll have proven that I can't do it on my own. If things don't change, I'll be sitting here five years from now in too much of a similar position. Except I'll be having to take out loans to take a bunch of classes. I don't like being in debt for any reason, especially to learn(something that should be available to everyone if they want it, at an inexpensive cost, if not free)

Over the next few weeks, I'll be working to get back into a productive schedule that includes exercise and a minimum amount of time to work on things. I'm also working to develop a full fledged website and community to surround the game engine also, so time structuring will become more and more important as we come closer to the engine reaching it's first release phase, and the website officially going live.