New Year's was great, but the timing feels odd. I think it's all because of a deadline next week relating to a major work project. There really hasn't been much of a break for the holidays, and momentum seems still to be building. So it doesn't feel like the page has turned during the usual lull in activity.

That being said, 2005 was a year when things generally became, well, marvelous. It's not to say that every day was ideal, but I have a somewhat counterintuitive notion about success. I think that the more you want things to improve, the more frustration and disappointment are necessary along the way. So, in all things work and non-work, there were certainly ups and downs. But overall, while I woke up on January 1, 2005 with a list of things to fix, I am now looking at 2006 anticipating an even more rewarding year.

On the work front, a couple of key principles regarding my vision of management consulting really came to affirm themselves, but I need to think about how to present this in a way that does not sound like consulting-ese and does not compromise confidential information. Good stuff, though--stay tuned.

As the consulting hit its stride, so did a number of other things. I met some incredibly bright and interesting people both in NYC and in travels to Provincetown, Fort Lauderdale and Puerto Vallarta. My apartment feels more like a home than it ever has (significantly due to large photographs of my niece and nephew). I discovered some great new music, learned a lot about remixes and what separates the winners from the losers, and learned how to play a number of cool songs on my keyboard. (Ten-year projects to figure out two of my all-time favorite pop songs also finally ended.) And all of this happened while relying on the continued seamless excellence of the Verizon Wireless CDMA network.

No specific resolutions for this year, but one thing that stands out on a wish list: I would like, finally, to connect my digital piano keyboard to my computer and dive into the exciting world of scoring and arranging music. Now that my friends include talented professionals who can offer advice here and there, this shouldn't be that hard. (I tried this in 1995, but reading the manual for Opcode software was like deciphering a physics textbook.) We'll see what happens. I'm also lucky to have neighbors that don't complain about my playing.