SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Dramas, please.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:22]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:24]
Alright, John. This is life with a twist of lemon, and every year on this podcast, as long as this podcast has been around, which has been probably one year too many,
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:33]
we discuss
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:35]
We're coming up on our anniversary episode here. This might be the anniversary episode.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:39]
Oh, really? Okay. Well, there you go. So exciting stuff. But what what I would say is we we always cover New Year's resolutions. Right? Because I think as much as we talk about Marvel, even though it's not a Marvel podcast, meat and milkshakes
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:52]
and Max. Right? The four ms. Moneys? Oh, five. Five. Yeah. But I mean, we we also have like this, I don't know, kinda like
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:01]
self betterment angle that we work on sometimes,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:04]
whether it comes in through money or or New Year's resolutions, finances, etcetera. Like, all all that stuff. Right? So Right. I don't even remember how many episodes back ago, we promised that the next episode, we would discuss New Year's resolutions
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:16]
and It was at least three. Thankfully
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:18]
thankfully, it wasn't a resolution to
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:21]
to talk about New Year's resolutions. Nonetheless, here we are, and I think the time has come, John, for us to discuss
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:28]
our New Year's resolutions. Now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:30]
to to level set here, the idea originally was that we would do like a midway point evaluation of how we fared with our news resolutions.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:39]
Right. So now we're a little over midway, but, you know.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:42]
And we like to call them goals, not resolutions.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:45]
Oh, that's right. Didn't we we had a whole episode where we talked about We've we've had a couple episodes on that. Just look for episodes in January.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:54]
I guess I guess the premise though, if I were to summarize, is is, like, we wanted a target
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:59]
to hit. Right? That was why we framed him as goals, or I framed him as goals. I don't even remember.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:04]
Right. I don't know. But you can go back and listen to that. Yeah. There was there was a really profound deep discussion about it at some point in time, I'm sure. It was right up there with what makes a grilled cheese a grilled cheese. Hey, now. That's that's vintage life of the twisted lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:19]
And I'm still right, and everybody else is still wrong. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:23]
do you do you have your new year's resolutions handy?
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:26]
I do. My So
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:28]
I had four and a bonus.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:30]
Four and a bonus. Alright. Well, John, let's level set because I don't remember
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:34]
what your goals were.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:37]
So why don't you tell me? Alright. So it was read 14 books.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:43]
Be better about reaching out to people, one contact a month.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:47]
Start making wine. Rate code three days a week. Bonus, go on vacation.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:52]
Alright. So let's start with that first one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:55]
Read 14 books. I'm gonna pull up John Kollmeyer here on Goodreads, and we'll see how many books have you logged.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:03]
I think I've completed
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:04]
four
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:05]
currently,
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:06]
but I am halfway through number five.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:08]
Okay. So do you feel like you're on track or behind?
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:13]
So I feel like I'm probably two books behind.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:17]
But two of the books that I've read have been longer than I probably was expecting.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:21]
So I can always make that up if I wanna go read through Narnia again.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:25]
Alright. That's
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:27]
Narnia is almost like cheating though. Right? Yes. Usually that or Harry Potter are very quick to get through. So if I'm falling behind, then that's what I do in November and December. But I've been working my way through
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:40]
Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon cycle
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:42]
because I started reading that
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:45]
first one which is named Taliesin when we decided that we would name our puppy that we were getting Taliesin.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:51]
So I'm currently in the third book of that five book
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:54]
cycle, I guess. Which for for those not familiar, that's a boy dog's name, not a girl dog's name, which I have been consistently confused about.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:02]
Right. Yeah. But Taliesin
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:05]
was a bard and a he.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:09]
It's all great to me. No. I I you know, now that I've calling Welsh.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:14]
Welsh. That's even worse.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:16]
So now that I've been calling him Tal,
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:18]
it's easier for me to think of him as a guy. Plus, I've seen him and he's I've seen him pee on my floor. So it all it all works out. That's true. Okay. So what were the what were the big books that kinda threw you off? You you was it the the Taliesin one?
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:31]
Yeah. So I
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:32]
read Merlin
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:34]
early on and then I read I'm currently reading Arthur.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:38]
So those are close to 600 pages each. So Okay. Probably double what a book should be. You
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:45]
it says the Tolkien fan.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:47]
You were working your way through the Iliad at one point, weren't you?
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:51]
That was a long time ago. I abandoned that like three years ago. Oh, well, for what it's worth, John, your Goodreads profile says you're still currently reading them.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:00]
Probably still have a bookmark in it. Alright. Well, there you go. Am I also still reading Robin Hood? I think I got close to reading Robin Hood, but Robin Hood gets kinda boring after a while. Yeah. I gotta tell you, that's one of those, like, classics that I just am not interested in, you know. I I I would like to be, but I'm not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:18]
So the other one was reach out to people.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:21]
Right? Those are second goal? Yeah. I think that I am on track with this. I haven't actually tracked it very well, but some months it's reach out to somebody and never hear back from them. Other months it's reach out to high school friends or people I haven't talked in a while.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:38]
Usually that's via phone call.
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:40]
Occasionally it's been a Facebook message or something like that if I don't have their current number. Okay. Alright. And so is it a different person each month?
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:50]
Generally,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:51]
the only
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:52]
double was I'm trying to reach one of my favorite high school teachers,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:56]
mister Dorr,
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:58]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:05:59]
I haven't been able to reach him yet. So I tried that a couple months. Okay. So, dear listener, if you happen to know mister Dorr,
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:06]
who taught he's not an active teacher, current teacher. Right? He's retired. Yeah. Okay. He is a retired teacher from
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:13]
some Lutheran high school. Which Lutheran Luther high school. Martin Luther high school in Greendale, Wisconsin. Greendale, Wisconsin. So if you know
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:20]
mister Dorr, please I have two phone numbers for him. So Okay. I've left messages.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:27]
Now now see now now we're at that point where he just doesn't wanna talk to you. That's what it It's possible. Let let I doubt that. Let's let's level, John. What grade did you get in this class?
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:36]
Hey. I got the theology award, man. What's a theology award? I don't know. It was a senior
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:42]
awards. Basically, people who have excelled in different subject areas get their award at the end of the their tenure in high school.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:50]
I have a plaque somewhere. Okay. Is that Hanging like on my wall. It's is it is that like the saber of boldness? I've heard that's a pretty big deal.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:58]
Sure.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:59]
No. You're to say no. It's better because
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:02]
it's it's for young aspiring
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:04]
individuals,
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:05]
not grown men who have to create rewards for themselves to feel better about their their lot in life.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:11]
Alright. Well, so that's cool. What what prompted that? Do you remember?
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:15]
Prompted reaching out? I think it was just 2020 and being isolated from everybody.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:21]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:21]
Now did a bunch of people that I haven't talked to in years. So If if you text message somebody, does that count?
SPEAKER_1 [00:07:28]
It would if it's somebody who I don't talk to regularly.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:30]
Okay. Alright. Well, that's fair. That's fair. I, you know, I I remember feeling somewhat inspired by this particular goal of yours, And then quickly, you know, I was I felt this rush of realization that I just don't like people, and so
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:46]
I wasn't really compelled to reach out. But I do think sometimes, you know, like I have these moments where there are folks that I knew really in high school,
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:55]
that I have not kept in touch with, and I I might know what they're doing, but, like, I wish I could say hello, you know? Right. But I'm now so I'm 18
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:05]
years. Good gravy. That hurts to say out loud.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:08]
Removed from the last communication with some of these people, and so it seems a little a little weird to me. And, like, that seems like too much time. Maybe I'm maybe I'm totally off base, and maybe this is just me, but yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:21]
So it can definitely be awkward.
SPEAKER_1 [00:08:25]
But, you know
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:26]
So overall it's worth it. So you've had a few you've had a few awkward moments? And just like, I don't know,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:33]
I guess somewhat awkward. It wasn't a completely failure or anything like that. It's just like, what the heck are you doing John Colmire? One of those moments? Yep. Pretty much. So I I was actually reflecting this the other night with my wife because I had in high school, I had a few friends, not girlfriends, but they were like they were they were women. Right? Who I was very close with. And just like reflecting on how awkward it would be today
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:58]
to reach out to them. Right? I I because they're married Yeah. That's like you know That's like a whole different thing. I know. I I did I did reach out to some female friends from high school, but like I was at their weddings and stuff like that. Yeah. See, this I've got I've got almost twenty years of of gap and I think it'd just be strange.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:17]
And not that, I'm not I'm not like pulling a Mike Pence rule here. I just think that, you know, a grown man reaching out to a a grown woman that you haven't talked to in twenty years.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:29]
I think if that happened to missus Lemon, I would be scratching my head being like, what's what's the deal with this guy? Like, you know Right. Tell me about this character. So maybe that's my insecurity. I'm I'm willing to own that, you know, but it is what it is. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:42]
I now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:44]
some of these were high school classmates. You had a teacher. Any other like I actually talked to two teachers
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:50]
and reached out to
SPEAKER_1 [00:09:52]
basically a pastor in the Milwaukee area whose kids went to high school with me, but he got me into making wine. So I talked with him. Oh, there you go. Good deal.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:01]
Here, I thought I got you into making wine, but whatever, John. It's alright.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:06]
I You actively did. He introduced me to the wine making process You years
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:12]
know, I
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:14]
I did reach out to a teacher a number of years ago. I probably have told this story before,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:18]
mister Tamayo,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:20]
who was a bilingual education teacher at my elementary school.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:24]
This is a really gratifying thing I did for me, at least.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:28]
I reached out and I was like, hey, I just wanted to let you know that you taught me how to build my first website. And by the way, like, I'm a software architect at a Fortune 500 company now, and
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:38]
that's that's because I was inspired by you, you know. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:42]
I Did he remember who you were? Yeah. He did, which surprised me. I even opened up the I I sent it as an email. Was like, you probably don't remember who I am. He's like, no. I remember exactly who you were. So you're making little Star Trek It's the last thing. Because, like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:56]
for
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:56]
people who go through high school, it's very easy to remember all of your teachers.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:01]
But like teachers who have been teaching for thirty years and have different classes every year, it's impossible. They see they see tons of people. Yeah. You know, and I I thought through
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:11]
like who who would I want to actually talk to or say hello to. And it's not it's not like a huge list, but one that I would have loved to have
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:19]
reached out. I I've actually tried to find this teacher and I I just can't.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:23]
It's my first grade teacher, missus Masterson.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:26]
Missus Masterson
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:28]
was my
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:30]
my teacher when I had my first heart surgery. Right? And so she
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:35]
was just incredibly kind and understanding. Came and visited me in the hospital, which was not close because we went to a specialized hospital at the time for all of this. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:45]
it turned out at time she had a she had a pacemaker, so she had, like, been through the rigmarole. Right? So here I was a seven year old having no clue what was going on. And I don't know where missus Masterson is today, but I would love to just like send her a card and say, hey,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:00]
thank you, you know. So Right. But another
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:04]
one that comes to mind is is my geometry teacher,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:07]
mister Gimri. Oh. Yeah. So I
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:11]
he he just was a he was a great guy. He was very inspiring. I was a terrible student for him.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:16]
But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:18]
you know, he he left an impression on me. So I don't know. Anyway, I'm all over this. I have a fun story about geometry.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:24]
I got an a on a test that I never took.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:28]
Wait. How how does that work, John?
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:32]
I have no idea. Like if I got somebody else's grade or if he thought he lost it or what. I got an a on a geometry test that I never took. Did
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:42]
you tell him?
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:44]
Did you tell your teacher? No. Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:47]
Math wasn't my strongest subject in high school. Yeah. Oh,
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:51]
man.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:52]
Okay. So we've got two down. What was your third?
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:56]
Start making wine. Done. You did that one. Yeah. I I think that actually went pretty pretty well too all things considered. Yeah. So I've given bottles to a couple people and they have all liked it. And I know when people say I made homemade wine, like that usually sends up a bunch of red flags.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:13]
But these people who are actually wine drinkers have enjoyed the wine. We tasted it together and like
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:19]
they were both good. So in August, I might actually
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:24]
buy another kit and get it up and running again. Although, I have to
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:28]
avoid the week that I am in Indianapolis for beer kegging. Yeah. Oh, and there's I've got I've got news on that front. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:37]
yeah. You know, I am really glad you jumped into this. I think this was our technically, this is our second batch. We've only made two batches of wine.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:45]
I enjoyed it the first time, and it's a lot simpler,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:48]
I think, than
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:49]
brewing beer. So that's why I thought you might be into it.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:53]
Less hands on.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:55]
It it is in some ways. I mean, like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:57]
wine is more involved the day after you you make it, whereas beer Right. Like, it's a pretty intensive,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:03]
you know, assembly that first day. But, you know, it's teach teach his own.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:08]
Different strokes, different folks, all that good stuff. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:12]
good deal. Alright. So I don't think we need to belabor that one because we've discussed this on the podcast many times. Yep. What would be your number four then? Fourth was write code three days a week, which has been an utter failure. Okay. I have coded
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:24]
on and off. I also started playing with swift playgrounds, which I think I'll count.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:30]
Yeah. Absolutely. Three days a week. I think I have months of just
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:34]
not doing anything. So Okay. So have you have you thought about revising this goal to something maybe less aggressive?
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:41]
I have not. But what would you suggest, Stanley? Well, I mean,
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:46]
just once a week, maybe would be a good starting point. Yeah. Like Write code once a week. Yeah. And then Change that. The question From here on out? Yeah. Sure. There you go. Starting Monday, July 26. And I wouldn't put any crazy parameters around it. Like, you just said that, you know, like, playgrounds might count. Playgrounds absolutely does count. I would totally do that, and and embrace the the new life you have on this wonderful iPad that you bought. But Yeah, man. So I'll have to revisit the iPad at some point too. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe the next episode.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:14]
There you go. The the the other question I have is just like, how do you track whether or not you've done that?
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:20]
So it was
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:21]
GitHub
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:23]
activity in their chart,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:25]
but
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:26]
what that doesn't work with SwiftFill at playgrounds or if I'm writing code at work or anything like that. So So I'm gonna embarrass myself in a minute when I reveal how I don't use the thing that I'm going to advise you to use. So but but just That app? Yeah. Suspend
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:42]
suspend judgment for a moment. You should download the Streaks app and do just set up a Streak for
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:48]
code once a week, and that doesn't matter whether it's on GitHub, on an iPad, or for work, or whatever. You just mark it off, and then you've done it. There you go. I've actually this app, I've gotten to the point now where I'm now using this to track the kids showers because, you know, bathing bathing with three kids is is a the struggle is real. We'll just say that. So great app. I'm gonna talk about how I do it horribly in just a bit. But alright. And then your bonus was vacation. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:15]
I went to Indianapolis
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:17]
and we had a lovely
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:19]
week basically
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:21]
with the Lemon family. So I'm counting that.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:24]
I didn't work.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:26]
Yeah. You did. I don't even remember seeing you with your laptop open now that I think about it. I don't think I worked there. I did open the laptop in Louisville
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:36]
but
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:37]
yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:39]
But
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:40]
I did for sure book a vacation vacation for twenty twenty two Oh.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:46]
In March over spring break. And you'll see what I have sitting on my desk from when I booked it still, Stan. That's a passport, John. That's a passport, which means I am leaving The US. Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:58]
So do you wanna do you wanna make the big reveal on what your plans are? Because I know what they are, but I I don't wanna So
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:04]
I
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:05]
booked a Disney Caribbean cruise for missus Kollmeyer's
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:10]
spring break week since Disney confirmed that at least the dream is actually sailing again. Okay. And they actually have pretty
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:19]
what I think are
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:21]
responsible
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:23]
health
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:24]
practices in place.
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:26]
So there's a whole video on that if you're interested. Alright. You should link that in the show notes. So how how many days will you be on the boat? So it is a four night cruise. So we get on Monday afternoon and we get off Friday morning. Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:39]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:40]
you are flying down there or you're drive down? We're
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:44]
flying to Orlando. No. I don't have time to drive with a one week Okay. Spring break. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:50]
Good deal. Is missus Kollmeyer excited?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:54]
As far as I know,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:56]
she has been on a cruise before, not a Disney cruise,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:59]
but I think that I'm probably more excited about this than anybody and you keep making comments about that because I never get excited about anything. Well, it's it's just amazing to me how infatuated you are with going on a cruise, and I it's just not it's it's kinda honestly, John, it's a little out of character for you.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:19]
Maybe.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:20]
Alright. Good deal. Well, I think I mean, that sounds like all in all pretty good progress. I think if most people had four out of five of their New Year's goals
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:30]
either on task or completed, they would be pretty happy with themselves. We'll see what happens with the book thing, because I am tracking behind on that. But Yeah. But you're at least you're you're aware. And you're you know, big books I think this is I am actively reading again, so that's good. That's Sometimes I've missed a couple weeks, but
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:46]
Alright. So looking at my list, I I posted a whole blog article about this in '20 and and the way I frame this, I I came up with the things I wanted, and then missus Lemon
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:56]
drew it out in, you know, nice writing,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:59]
and then she, like, put a border on it, and I put it up on my wall so it was in my face the whole time. Right? Because I didn't wanna I didn't wanna miss out on them. Now, I don't know that I've been as effective as you, so we'll just talk about this.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:14]
I started off Hey, you're big ones. I think you're doing alright. Yeah. I am. I am. Admittedly. So I the way I frame this is I had five things that I said, in 2021, I want to. Right? These are things that I wanted to accomplish. They're, you know, goals. Easy goals or straightforward not easy. Straightforward goals. So the first was to get the vaccine. I did that. Was super stoked to get the first shot and the second shot, and I put my little I got my COVID vaccine stickers on my sheet after I marked them off. Good to go there. Alright?
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:42]
Next one was show how show yeah. Excuse me. Show John how to brew beer. And I actually accomplished that over the fourth. Right? We talked about that. That was great.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:52]
I had see my mom and dad, which I was able to do
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:56]
I think it was we waited three weeks after I got my second shot,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:00]
and I was cleared to go see dad at the nursing home, go inside,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:04]
mask off, and have lunch with him, which was awesome.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:07]
So check on that one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:09]
And your mom just visited you too. Yeah. Was for the second time actually. So mom's been down here twice. You know, she was there with with dad. It was nice. We just like hung out and talked for a few hours.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:20]
Nice. Fourth one, take a family vacation, which I did do. Done. We rented the RV, went to Tennessee. Good to go there. Talked about that on the podcast.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:28]
The last one is to take another family vacation, which I'm gonna do a week after we record this. I don't know when this releases, because I can't keep track anymore. But You'll be on vacation when this releases. Okay. So so, dear listener,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:41]
I by the time you hear this, I will have completed my main five goals because I will be I guess, maybe I shouldn't say this. Is it safe to let people know that I'm not at home?
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:53]
Does anybody listen from Indianapolis?
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:55]
Yeah. There are people from Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:57]
Alright. Anyhow We could always delay it a week. I digress. So so the point is I I'm doing a second family vacation. We're gonna do a rental up in Michigan and just relax and
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:09]
not have to time our showers
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:11]
or,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:12]
you know, empty out a a gray and black water tank,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:15]
which which is fine for one vacation, but not for two. So that was my my in 2021 I wanna do list. I got most of those going. And then I had continued to do daily things. Right? So
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:26]
reading scripture and and doing our family devotions. I think we're on track there. Right about my day, I am on track there. I think in all of 2021 here, I have missed maybe ten days where I didn't capture something down,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:38]
which is pretty good. Like, I don't I don't necessarily need to hit every day,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:42]
but, you know, I have I have, like, broad strokes of what's going on in my life. And then Reid, which I actually I had a really strong start, and then I slowed down a bit here
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:52]
recently, but I've been picking back up. Too many video games? I don't know if it's too many video games or just other stuff going on, but,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:58]
you know, I
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:00]
I'm trying to think. Last year, I read,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:03]
like, one book per week of the year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:06]
As of this point, I have read 24 books,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:11]
and I am I'm on track to finish the twenty fifth one, probably this week. So like, it's not bad. Right? But but I know we are
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:18]
also past the halfway point for the year,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:23]
or we're week 31, basically. Right? So I am if if you're
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:27]
wanting to do one book a week, I'm six weeks behind. Now, you know, I don't know that that matters. I I talked a little bit about this last year, like, just wanna keep reading. I think I've maintained that. So I'm I'm gonna own that one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:38]
Those are my continue to do daily. Now, I added then three things that I wanted to begin to do, and this is where I have just completely messed up.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:48]
So I put that the first one is get out of bed in the morning.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:51]
Yeah. You like moved your phone to the dresser or something like that, so you had to actively get up to Yeah. But I moved it back. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:59]
So because it was too annoying. What what I found is that there were things that I would
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:05]
like, I don't know. I'm just making excuses. But like if I was reading,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:08]
you know
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:10]
Yeah. I would have to like get out of bed and, you know, the winter it's kinda cold and then like I'm toasty warm in my bed because I got the heated
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:18]
mattress pad and like all that, and so it just it wasn't working for me.
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:21]
So why did you wanna get out of bed in the morning to begin with, Stan? Well, the the the struggle I have is that sometimes I wake up
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:28]
and I will just lay there. Right? Yeah. For like a long time. Like an hour, hour and a half, maybe two hours at most. So if I wake up at 07:00,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:37]
right, which is usually when I wake up,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:39]
I I it is Some today.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:41]
Yeah. Today I was up early.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:43]
Wait. What did I text you around? 04:45.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:45]
04:03AM
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:46]
is
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:47]
so 05:03 your time? Yeah. So I you know, I've been I've been up. I've been moving around.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:53]
But but I like, today. Right? So I I woke up at 04:45,
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:59]
and I stayed in bed until probably about
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:03]
six. Right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:05]
I read. I did other things, but, like, I was I was in the horizontal position. I really wanna be in the vertical position when I get up. So I have gotten Missus better Lemon doesn't get annoyed with you? You don't wake her up or anything? Oh, dude. She sleeps so hard, like, she doesn't even know. In fact, she woke up at, like, 08:30 today. She's like, where where's Stan? She's texting me, where did you go? You know?
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:27]
But but I I have done better about getting up out of bed, not as good as I wanted to. And I I don't I think this is purely a motivation thing, and I just have to get into the right mindset where it's like, I'm gonna I'm gonna physically get up and go. And
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:42]
lately, it's been food,
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:44]
the need to eat that drives me to get out of bed. I've just been waking up hungry.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:48]
So I've not been eating as much in the evening, like, which is which is probably good for me. I think it's not intentional. I just haven't been doing it, and thus wake up a little hungrier, so I gotta get up and get going. I don't know. Yeah. So I'm not sure what actually getting out of bed in the morning gets you.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:04]
It was what? Churchill who would stay in bed till, like, one papers,
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:08]
do his correspondence.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:09]
I I think for me, there's there's
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:13]
I I don't I don't know. It's like a personal satisfaction thing to just, like, not be in my bedroom and to be
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:19]
somewhere in some kind of productive mode. Because when I'm when I'm laying in bed just, like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:24]
you know, staring at the at the ceiling or whatever, like, that I don't feel good about that time. Right? Fair enough. So that's what that was. And and I would say, like, I'm doing about
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:34]
it. That's that's kinda where that's at.
SPEAKER_1 [00:25:37]
Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:38]
Alright. Then I had biked two
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:41]
ten mile rides starting in May per week.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:45]
Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:46]
I have not come anywhere near that. I think I think maybe I had one week where I pulled this off.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:51]
In fact, I haven't even ridden my bike in a few weeks.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:54]
I understand. Yeah. I don't and I don't know what it is. I don't because
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:58]
I like I prefer riding when it's warm. Right? So I I always have this excuse that I don't wanna rush things. So that's usually my
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:04]
my excuse is that it's like 92 degrees outside. I don't wanna start. Like, if I'm in shape and going,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:11]
then that's fine. But to actually start riding when it's 90 degrees outside doesn't sound fun to me at all. Yeah. I see, I it doesn't I I I think I enjoy that more. I I just enjoy the the warmth, the the sweat. Maybe the thing that that stops me is the the sweat part, because after I cycle,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:30]
I I probably have to take a shower. Right? Like, when it's this warm out.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:34]
And so it's just that it's a there's a time commitment. There's an element there. There's, like, additional laundry. I always take a shower in the morning, so I never take a shower,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:42]
you know, at night, and then don't take one in the morning. It's just not my routine. Alright, Stan. Here's what you do. Okay. Get out of bed, get on the bike,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:49]
come back and take a shower. I I mean, that that would probably that would probably be the right thing to do. Whether or I could actually accomplish it, I don't know. You know, when when I was riding all the time, I did get onto the road pretty early on Saturdays. I would get on, like, 08:00 ish. Right? Because they wanna be too early, you know, just because
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:07]
if something happened to me, missus Lemon would not even hear her phone ringing, you know. Right. So I I don't know. This this one bums me out. I would like to have been in a much better spot than I am with this one. But it is what it is, John.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:19]
And then the last one was practice the clarinet twice a week.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:23]
Yep. And for those that don't know, I
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:26]
decided to get braces
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:28]
in, I don't know, late February, early March. I don't even remember now.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:32]
But
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:33]
to the whole story here is I want an implants done where I have had a fake tooth for most of my life, and I have to move one tooth and spend a pretty aggressive
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:44]
set of adjustments on the braces. And so I I did do this for a while,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:50]
and even more than twice a week. The the candidly,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:54]
the adjustments have just hurt like a mother of pearl,
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:57]
and I
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:59]
found it very uncomfortable to play. So I didn't plan that. I wasn't expecting that to be a thing when I wrote up this list.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:06]
So I'm not happy about it, but but the the gist is, like, I've been taking a break while while these braces are doing their thing.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:15]
Yep.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:17]
So I could see that.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:19]
Now you did start.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:21]
You have, like, some code logic puzzle thing that you've been doing pretty much on a daily basis. Right? Yeah. Not not so much last week, but I I was for for a while. I I kinda took a break last week, but I plan on getting back into it. Yeah. Just trying to like
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:34]
so with my job, right, I don't I'm not always in code, and when I'm in code, I'm not always doing hard stuff per se.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:41]
And so just to like keep those skills sharp, I've been spending time on leetcode, leetc0de.com,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:48]
which I actually kinda like. It's it's nice. It was not on my new year's resolutions list, but it's something I've been trying to just do. I think
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:56]
rather than every day, I'm probably gonna move to,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:59]
like, weekdays or something,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:01]
you know, just to to, like, try and channel and focus it a bit. But I think it's a good way to you know, missus Lemon does a logic puzzle every night before she goes to bed.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:09]
That's yeah. That's her thing. She's she's got these apps where she does these logic puzzles.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:13]
And so I think for me, this is a logic puzzle in code essentially. But I would rather do it shortly after getting up than, you know Right. Vice versa. But
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:24]
there you have it. Yeah. I mean, I think Overall, I think it's a success.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:28]
Yeah. I I would say both of us, we've managed to like, you know, be somewhat somewhat on target. Did you out of curiosity, I've I've made this thing I put on my wall. Did you do anything to like put your goals in front of you?
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:38]
I did not. No. I actually had to go back into the show notes and look them up. So So yeah. It's it's purely accidental that you're successful.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:46]
Well, I mean, like, going in with twenty twenty one knowing that I wanna read a lot and I wanna contact somebody once a month helps. Sure. Sure. I I made a point of putting this is the first time I've ever done this. Like I said, missus Lemon made a little picture, but they've they've been in my face every day. So when I walk into my office, I see them. They literally sit behind my monitors, so can see them all day. I do think that helped, and it has been extremely satisfying
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:11]
to mark off the the, you know, the big five,
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:14]
you know, as I've gone through. Now, here in a couple weeks or whatever whenever this releases, I don't know, I I may or may not be traveling if you live or care anywhere near Indianapolis.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:25]
But
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:26]
I don't know what I'll do after I complete them, because I'll have lost that satisfaction. So I gotta think through that. But I Right. And you still got a lot of year left. I do. I yeah. I really do. So I like the idea of having them visible. I like them
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:40]
I like the ceremony of marking them off.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:43]
I just gotta think of, you know, like what what
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:46]
to do now that I'm almost done. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:49]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:50]
Alright. Alright. So I was I was gonna say, this is kinda last pitch. I I love this Streaks app. I actually I I do use it, just not for the things that I had marked down as begin to.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:00]
And I actually don't use them for my continue to do daily either for for other reasons. It I just I just don't need to, because they're they're so ingrained now into what I do, and and the right about my day thing, day one reminds me. But the Streaks app, I I really do think is a valuable little app that everybody should check out, because it allows you to track habits, essentially. Right? Things that are implicitly recurring,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:23]
and it will track your streaks. Right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:27]
Where you do them, you know, x number of times in a in a row or whatever. And and I just think it it, like, is a a really well done app where you can organize these in sheets so you can group them. Like, again, I've got the the kids, you know, bathing routine on a separate sheet.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:43]
Nice. So anyhow, that's that's my plug. Check it out, and John's gonna get it and plug in doing
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:49]
his coding writing code. Yeah. There you go. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:53]
alright, man. I I'm pretty satisfied with New Year's resolutions in this episode. I'm glad we finally
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:59]
get to mark that one off. Yeah. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:02]
Alright, my friend. Until next time, Later,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:06]
Stanley. This is Stan Lemon, reminding you to help control the spread of COVID nineteen, and go get a vaccine.