Goals for mid-2010

I must admit I felt a twinge of envy today when I read an email from a colleague that he was attending the Canadian Green Building Council seminar in Vancouver for 2 days this week. My wife and I walked through the Athletes Village on False Creek one evening this past week and I was reminded of what a model of conservation this development has been billed as. I’ve heard it’s supposed to be one of the ”greenest” new communities in North America.

I’m still interested in doing something along those lines, but lately I’ve been putting very little effort into researching avenues of further education.

Let’s see what’s been keeping me busy the last 6 months:
- Our kitchen renovation finished in January
- Our beloved spaniel, Shelby got sick over Christmas and died in January
- We got a new spaniel, Tannah in February from the Cocker Spaniel Rescue of BC (Cloverdale)
- Dog obedience training (Beginner)
- Vancouver 2010 Olympics
- 2010 Paralympics; we attended a sledge hockey game
- I attended a one day Sustainable Architecture Symposium in Vancouver
- Easter weekend; Michelle and my Aunt Sandy came to visit from 100 Mile House
- We had a weekend away in Seattle
- We researched and bought a new car
- We sold the Honda
- I investigated the feasibility of re-financing our mortgage with a different lender; lots of calculations regarding potential net savings
- We watched some of the hockey play-offs until the Canucks bowed out in the 2nd round
- Sun Run training
- Dog obedience training (Advanced Beginner)
- Sun Run and Mother’s Day (on the same Sunday)
- Fund raising and bicycle training for the Ride To Conquer Cancer
- We attended a wedding in Edmonton for a weekend
- Shauna’s parents (from Winnipeg) stayed with us this week
- The Ride To Conquer Cancer 2010 is approaching in just over a week as I write this post.

OK, so I guess I haven’t just been sitting on the couch; except for watching hockey, that is.
Some ideas to explore over the next 6 months should include:
- Read the course material hand-outs from the Sustainable Architecture Symposium that I attended a few months ago
- Are there any courses I can take towards some sort of Green Building Council designation?
- Green roof specialization.
- How about Living Walls?
- Who’s the big name in town concerning this stuff?
- Vancouver Heritage Foundation continuing education night courses.
- Photoshop Elements: practice more on my own or find a night school course to take? Keep in mind I currently have version 5, and I’m not keen on upgrading to v. 6 or 7.
- Find a blog to follow regarding current developments in photo enhancement software.
- Find a blog to follow regarding current developments in green roofs, living walls, etc.

I remember from a career planning-type seminar I attended once that one of the best ways to evaluate and/or implement a major life and/or career change is to write it down; make it real, not just a wishy-washy “someday” dream.

Now that it’s recorded in black and white, complete with a date, I feel that I’ve made some progress today.