New Year - New Decade

The "Rear View" is over and out. Now with the turn of a page on the calendar, I am looking at a new year, and a new decade. It's a unique time to consider.

Ten years ago here on this blog I did the same thing. I looked ahead, set some goals, and had hopes. My life was so very different back then. There were two, now defunct, websites I worked very hard at. There was a brand new one that I had no idea would become my primary focus within the next four years. I ran one of the legendary gravel events in Trans Iowa, and I had a "day job" I never really ever talked about here for several reasons.

Now, looking at the future, I have a focus on my next stage in my family life. My two children will set off on their own adventures in life. What they do, I have no idea right now, but I want to be present in that. My wonderful wife will be by my side, I hope, all through this time coming up. Our lives are bound to change, what with my new chapter professionally which is going to happen soon. (Stay tuned)

But I want to focus now on the blog here. I've mentioned it before, but I'll have 15 years under my fingers here in May. There should be something to mark that occasion with, so I am going to come up with a few items of merch to put up for sale to commemorate the occasion. This will be a one-time, limited offering. I don't like to monetize the blog here, and I don't want to offer merch for sale on a regular basis, because, well........it wouldn't be special then now, would it?

Over the years I have found you, the readers, like the series, like the ongoing "Trans Iowa Stories" series. I'll find ways to keep stuff like that coming. I also found that you folks like the adventures I go on, the images, and the tales that go with those. So, I want to get away from home more in 2020. I want to ride in more interesting places and report on that here.

My professional life will be a part of the story, unlike in the past. There will be a shift here as well. My past at the old shop is a tale I could tell, but...... yeah..... That's touchy. Not for myself, but for the former owner of the shop, who, shall we say, is a difficult personality to portray in anything other than a dim light. I know I mentioned back when I left that shop that I might get into the details around that, but......nah. Better left unsaid. Besides, it's a very negative thing to deal with and I won't be bringing that into this blog. Which explains why I almost never spoke about my place of work here in the past.

My hope is that with a new opportunity, I won't be reticent to give out more details on my life at work. My immediate goals are to be able to get employed again and be comfortable with my employment situation, unlike before.

I'm hoping to diversify in the coming years also. I am dinking around with guitar amp servicing and repair. I want to mess about with music recording at home. I've mentioned the podcast thing. Art is another avenue I want to explore more and share here. So, the bicycle thing will always be number one, but perhaps a glimpse into other aspects of Guitar Ted might be fun to have here on the blog in the future.

As always, I am very grateful to you for reading this and my other posts here. I am always open to suggestions and ideas, criticisms, and any constructive comments you may want to share. I started out here almost 15 years ago with a lot of enthusiasm and not much knowledge. I've learned a lot along the way, and I want to continue to keep learning more.

Thanks!
Guitar Ted

Starting tomorrow will be a three part series on the "State Of The Gravel Scene - 2020".