Annual Review, Portland Run, Thanksgiving
![portland-butte](https://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/files/2009/11/portland-butte-225x300.jpg)
I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving (fellow U.S. citizens) and enjoyed the quiet internet (everyone else) while the folks over here ate birds and went shopping.
This morning I completed my final long run in Oregon until the end of the year. I made it about 15 miles and thought about all the things that have happened in 2009. It’s a long list, and I could have kept thinking, but 15 miles is about my limit these days in terms of running.
Afterwards I came home and started packing a bag, also for the last time this year.
The Annual Review
Early this week I’ll be headed out on vacation for two weeks. The vacation is low-key by design — no Soviet trains or airport sleeping this time — but I should have the chance to visit at least one new country, so I’ll write more about that if I can make it work.
While I’m gone, regular articles will continue to be posted (of course), but most of them will be in a special “Annual Review” series. Every December I spend a full week thinking about the year that is almost over and planning my projects for the next year. Choosing to get away for a week and carefully consider what I want to accomplish over the next year is probably the most important decision I’ve ever made in terms of life planning and goal-setting.
This year has been so intense (and next year is looking to be even more so) that I decided to take two weeks instead of one. A number of people have asked questions about how the review process works, so this time I’ll be taking everyone through the process as much as possible. I’ll also be sharing a wrap-up of my own year, including lessons learned through business, travel, and life in general.
Quick Business Update
Thanks to everyone who’s been checking out the new UnconventionalGuides.com. I’m really happy with the great work Reese has done over there. The 8% beta test launch code (“LAUNCHTEST”) expires at midnight on Tuesday, the same time when I’ll be heading out for vacation and annual review trip.
We’ve fixed a few bugs, added a couple of new design elements, and otherwise tightened things up. One note: if you wrote in from one of the site email addresses (especially about the affiliate program that doesn’t suck), we didn’t get it. The affiliate program doesn’t suck, but apparently the email forwarder does. Anyway, it’s now working, so please write again if you didn’t hear back. Sorry about that.
The next big store news won’t come until January, when I announce the next product and our first community group.
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That’s all for today. Happy running, happy holiday weekend, or have a great Sunday night otherwise.
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Portland Butte Image by B