When I look back on my life there are a few years that really stand out, years that defined many that came after. 2001, 2006 and 2011 are big years because they are when I graduated from different levels of school. Buying a house in 2012 and getting a job that year has defined our life since. 2008 was a big year when I moved in with Lindsey. 2017 was a year of big transitions (post Xena post Laurel Lane).
But more than any other year, the year that I feel my entire life I am living today started was in 2010.
In 2010 we got married, which alone makes it a watershed year. Plus I got into the MBA program, I sold my first car, and it could easily be seen as the year of prime Xena. But really what defined 2010 was the skills I built and the actual things I built and some projects I did that would serve us for years after.
In 2010 I was completely focused on my own endeavors. I was king Kodi- probably the world's expert on it at the time- and in this period I did all kinds of testing with Kodi features and capabilities that I would slowly roll out across the next decade.
In 2010 I also built my media servers, and from a practical level they would run and would be used for hundreds of days across years after they went online with few changes. When I overhauled them in 2016 and 2018 my media servers were by far the oldest computers I had in service, and were the longest running computers I ever had in my life. In a little duplex in Odessa with one tv I built a media empire that would eventually stretch across the Laurel Lane house and would be the basis for countless hours Lindsey and I would spend together.
Also in 2010 is when I got really excited about mobile devices, and when I really got into conference realignment. 2010 is when I spent so much of my free time my Lindsey, and so much of our time was taking the dogs for different walks. 2010 is when I taught Xena how to cuddle properly, and when I had to start to cut Brad out from my life. 2010 is when I organized so much of my crap into tubs that we put into storage. 2010 is when I began to let go of my living like a rat lifestyle. 2010 is when we got our first plasma, and when I got the speakers we still use. 2010 had a lot going on.
But really, more than anything, 2010 was the last year in my life when I got to run 100% on what Lindsey calls "Jon Time." 2010 was when I could stay up to all hours working on some project, or when I could commit a large percentage of my brain to me created issues I found myself facing. Every single year since then, and probably every year for the rest of my life it feels like, I have only been able to commit a part of my brain to project problems. And even then I couldn't stay up until 2 am when I always have all my best ideas so some things feel unsolvable sometimes.
What that means is for years I was living off the lessons I learned in 2010, or relying on what I built in 2010. When I faced new problems, the kind that I would beat within a few days within 2010, I have taken months or longer to face and solve them. When solutions I worked out in 2010 no longer worked I would have to wait until there was some time when I could commit most of my brain power to the problem and solve it, which in some cases was a delay longer than a year.
What has really made me appreciate 2010 more than anything was 2018, a year when I finally had to redo so much of what I did in 2010. In 2018 I setup a new house, rebuilt my servers, did things with home automation I could have only dreamed of in 2010, and finally threw away all those 2010 tubs full of crap I haven't really touch since then. The Ox junk hauling guy knows my first name after 2018, and I ran on my time for a few months (much to Lindsey's chagrin). I feel like I will be looking back and admiring what I achieved in 2018 eight years from now like I now do with 2010.
But no time is ever like the first time, and in 2010 was the first time I went from screwing around ideas to real projects and was the first time I planned for a future I wasn't into yet (aka I had my media setup for a house planned two years before we got one).
2010 really was a magic year. It was the year on which I built my post-college life.
But more than any other year, the year that I feel my entire life I am living today started was in 2010.
In 2010 we got married, which alone makes it a watershed year. Plus I got into the MBA program, I sold my first car, and it could easily be seen as the year of prime Xena. But really what defined 2010 was the skills I built and the actual things I built and some projects I did that would serve us for years after.
In 2010 I was completely focused on my own endeavors. I was king Kodi- probably the world's expert on it at the time- and in this period I did all kinds of testing with Kodi features and capabilities that I would slowly roll out across the next decade.
In 2010 I also built my media servers, and from a practical level they would run and would be used for hundreds of days across years after they went online with few changes. When I overhauled them in 2016 and 2018 my media servers were by far the oldest computers I had in service, and were the longest running computers I ever had in my life. In a little duplex in Odessa with one tv I built a media empire that would eventually stretch across the Laurel Lane house and would be the basis for countless hours Lindsey and I would spend together.
Also in 2010 is when I got really excited about mobile devices, and when I really got into conference realignment. 2010 is when I spent so much of my free time my Lindsey, and so much of our time was taking the dogs for different walks. 2010 is when I taught Xena how to cuddle properly, and when I had to start to cut Brad out from my life. 2010 is when I organized so much of my crap into tubs that we put into storage. 2010 is when I began to let go of my living like a rat lifestyle. 2010 is when we got our first plasma, and when I got the speakers we still use. 2010 had a lot going on.
But really, more than anything, 2010 was the last year in my life when I got to run 100% on what Lindsey calls "Jon Time." 2010 was when I could stay up to all hours working on some project, or when I could commit a large percentage of my brain to me created issues I found myself facing. Every single year since then, and probably every year for the rest of my life it feels like, I have only been able to commit a part of my brain to project problems. And even then I couldn't stay up until 2 am when I always have all my best ideas so some things feel unsolvable sometimes.
What that means is for years I was living off the lessons I learned in 2010, or relying on what I built in 2010. When I faced new problems, the kind that I would beat within a few days within 2010, I have taken months or longer to face and solve them. When solutions I worked out in 2010 no longer worked I would have to wait until there was some time when I could commit most of my brain power to the problem and solve it, which in some cases was a delay longer than a year.
What has really made me appreciate 2010 more than anything was 2018, a year when I finally had to redo so much of what I did in 2010. In 2018 I setup a new house, rebuilt my servers, did things with home automation I could have only dreamed of in 2010, and finally threw away all those 2010 tubs full of crap I haven't really touch since then. The Ox junk hauling guy knows my first name after 2018, and I ran on my time for a few months (much to Lindsey's chagrin). I feel like I will be looking back and admiring what I achieved in 2018 eight years from now like I now do with 2010.
But no time is ever like the first time, and in 2010 was the first time I went from screwing around ideas to real projects and was the first time I planned for a future I wasn't into yet (aka I had my media setup for a house planned two years before we got one).
2010 really was a magic year. It was the year on which I built my post-college life.
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