As part of Agile development, one of the many important processes is the Retrospective. This is a meeting held by the team at the end of a sprint or a release or some such other important milestone. The intent is to allow the persons involved the ability to comment on what went well, what went poorly, and offer suggestions on what could be done to improve things in the future.
One year ago, I elected to make two significant life changes on the same day. It was completely terrifying time in some respects, yet it was also exhilarating in others. On that day, I decided to both tender my resignation to my employer and advise that it was time to end my marriage. After it was done, more than a few people thought I was a little crazy to be making such big changes at the same time. I plan to discuss some of the things related to my employment changes on this site in the future, but will refrain from discussing anything related to the divorce as that’s private and only two people will ever understand those dynamics.
So, on to the retrospective. I’ve become much more active, have been making better choices when it comes to the food I prepare and eat, and have made significant improvements to my financial situation. I’m sitting down less, I’m reading more books, and I’m getting a consistent amount of sleep. I’m pushing myself to stay organized, and I’ve finally begun posting things on this site again.
In the negative column, I’ve somehow managed to lose contact with a few people who are really important to me, and I’m not sure how to get that back. I would never have expected that a year ago, and it’s still painful today. I also realize that I’ve been more moody and introverted as I deal with the fallout from some things. But I’ve always been like that, so I’m not really surprised.
In some ways, I hardly recognize myself from a year ago. I’d definitely do a few things differently given the chance, but in most respects I’ve made a lot of progress over the past year. There are a few more things that I’ve realized as well, but I have no plans to put EVERYTHING up on this damned site.