this is the personal blog of brandon quintana.

So New Years came and went. It was funny. We were at Le Colonial in SF on New Years Eve. All of a sudden you look up and people are counting down “3-2-1. Happy New Year!” and it was 2009. It was so quick and it was really a finish to 2008 and how quickly it passed. Looking back at the year, it had it’s ups and downs. My New Years resolution for last year was do more of everything: more work, more exercise, more social activities, more charity. You get the idea. I was able to do a whole bunch of things in a short amount of time. At the end of the year though with about two weeks left I was a complete zombie. I had completely worn myself out throughout the year, but I was able to do more of everything.

For those that don’t know I’m a huge multi-tasker. I rarely find myself doing just one task and I’m not a real big believer in free time. Even the smallest tasks I’m probably doing something else. If I’m watching TV, I’m probably also blogging, cleaning, or doing something other than just watching TV. Even if I’m at the gas station I’m probably posting something to Brightkite, replying to emails, whatever. When I’m a bar or club with friends, probably the same thing. I’ve found myself reorganizing my schedule at times from my cell phone. It’s probably rude, but I’ve had this mindset where if I don’t do it now, it won’t get done or it’s going to be done too late. I always feel that if the opportunity is there then do it then and there. I find myself getting older and forgetful that if I don’t make at least a note, then I won’t remember to do it.

It’s amazing how much extra time I can get out of a day by getting up at 5AM. I always hear people say they can’t do something because they are too busy. I consider myself a busy person. If you need to get more done in a day get up an hour earlier or go to sleep an hour later. Time management has been the biggest thing for me and I guess I’m pretty insane when it comes to it. People look at my schedule and say that’s your schedule with a look like you’ve got to be kidding me. Every day is broken down almost to 15 minute increments on tasks with some tasks overlapping others from 5AM to 11PM. I’ve taken a lot of pride in making sure things get done well and on time.

With that being said, last year I found myself doing a lot of things which I wanted to do, but it was becoming too much. I hit a point where there just really wasn’t enough physical time in the day.  I made it a point to conserve time in some places to fit everything I could into small time increments. It was becoming less productive and more like I was just going to the motions just to do it. That doesn’t mean it was a wasted year by far.

Last year I was able to purchase my first home pretty close to what I consider the bottom of the market. I realize it’s probably still going down even today. Weighing the factors that I was paying rent which was increasing and the amount of tax write off were the two big factors of making the move. I don’t regret purchasing when I did and I think if I had to do it again I would. The only small regret I have is moving farther away from my circle of friends, but since it’s not too far it’s really not an issue. I was looking to make a change in my life and think I made a good choice.

After the move, I went forward and incorporated my business. This was a big step for me. I have been doing web development for many years now and I know my experience is worth it’s weight in gold, even more than fancy degrees and certifications. I made the jump a few years back to do freelance full-time, but incorporating the business made it real. Before it was always if this doesn’t work out I’ll just go back to work as a web developer for some company. This was the first time I really felt that this was going to work out and that this was the direction I want my career to go.

Now that I had the house and the business was doing well, I made another move adopted two small doxy-terrier puppies. Being the person thinking more is better, I thought it was a good idea to get two instead of just one. It’s been a lot of work and pretty expensive, but again no regrets. They’re really great pups. We did about two months of puppy training at Petsmart and lots of training at home. Potty training still needs some work, but overall they’re starting to learn and listen. Living in the suburbs I’m able to take them to the park a lot and hopefully this year I’ll get my backyard in so they can play and run around back there. We traveled to the beach a couple times and I think the dogs just enjoyed getting out.

I think that was the big three that stood out this year: home ownership, business incoporation, and dog adoption. This was mixed in with my normal routines of working, weekend trips, and the usual local socializing. There were also some things I think I should have done but never go around to doing them and parts of the year that weren’t so great.

Taking a vacation for example is one thing I wanted to do. I don’t even remember the last time I took one. It’s probably been a couple years now at least. I did take the usual weekend trips around the area: Vegas, LA, Santa Barbara, San Diego. Even during the weekend trips, I’m never really out of touch with the business aspect of things. I always travel with a laptop and it’s really just like any other day except I’m in a different location. So that’s one thing I’d like to take care of this year.

Another thing that got me little worried last year is the economy hit a recession. The stock market tanked and it was the first time I’d ever been in a big recession with any sort of substantial money in the market. I was less worried about the business because right now it’s so small with very little overhead. I knew there would probably be cut backs, but I figured it was something that we could overcome. The thing that worried me the most of the rest of the world. Going out it’s not real happy times during a recession. Just doing Christmas shopping the malls were pretty empty. Talking to people about the economy made it even worse. People were worried they might get laid off and some were unsure of the next move. For me I try to set things up so the things ahead are pretty predictable. At times like this I think not knowing what happens next is one of the worst feelings in the world. Another big thing last year that I haven’t touched on yet was Barrack Obama becoming out country’s next president. He has his work cut out for him with the economy the way it is and I guess this year we’ll see if he can do something about it.

Some other things that happened were people got married. Some had kids and not in that particular order. I just wanted to say congratulations to those people. I used to think I’m young, but now I think I’m getting older. I turned 26 last year and up until then I thought of myself in my 20s. Now that I’m 26 I feel like I’m almost 30.

So those were the big things of last year for me. I think for 2009 I just want to have a more productive year. I’m sure I’ll still do a lot of things on every given day, but I think I’m going to have to be selective and make sure the things I’m doing count. I know that if I’m spending time on one thing I’m missing out on something else. We’ll just see what happens I guess. So far the next things on tap for 2009 are a trip to Pismo Beach towards the end of the month and Vegas trip Superbowl weekend which is starting to become a tradition. Until then, back to the daily grind I guess.