Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

So, as I exercised this morning, I thought about this question:

Where do I see myself ten years from now?

This is a question teachers, parents, and mentors asked me a lot when I was in high school. I had no answer, really, other than maybe “rock star” or “congressman”. But I decided to draw up a laundry list of where I want to see myself in ten years. What’s yours?

1. Career:
   • A leader in the field of systems administration and Internet data security, probably not making money hand-over-fist, but providing a stable, upper-middle-class income.
   • Making a few percentage points more in salary than I do now
   • Carrying a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, with a music theory & composition minor
   • Carrying a Master’s degree, not sure what in yet (Hey, I haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up!)
   • Having a small, but successful portfolio of music that I sell for commercial usage
   • Produce at least two or three CDs full of music for family, friend, and modest commercial (preferably with an indy publisher) release.
2. Personal:
   • Fit and trim, in better shape than I was when I was twenty (which won’t be hard, I’m in better shape now than when I was twenty; at twenty, I was 220 lbs and totally out-of-shape on a mission in California)
   • Self-educated to the point that I can carry on an intelligent conversation with at least modest familiarity with the subject matter on nearly any topic
   • Improved singing voice, with a range expanded at least slightly larger than it is today, with better resonance. I think vibrato is permanently out of the cards for my voice, though 🙂
   • Be able to program fluently in C, C++, Python, Perl, Bash, and Lisp
3. Family:
   • By this time, Sara will be on her way to college. I hope to have a modest nest egg to contribute towards her education, but we will expect her, and our other children, to pay their own way in college or achieve scholarships if they wish for higher education.
   • Have improved our little home to be a beautiful piece of paradise. Small, but functional, homey, and elegant.
   • Be more in love with my wife than ever before.
   • Be out of debt, or as close to it (sans mortgage, probably) as possible.

I reserve the right to adjust my list at any time in the next ten years 🙂 But it might be useful to look back on this blog ten years from now and see where I am versus where I thought I’d be…