They say after you fall from a horse, the best way to recover your composure and confidence is to get right back on. I think so it is with writing, maybe the only way to start writing again is to…start writing.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Maybe even too much. Most of the time I have been thinking about my blog and where it is headed or not headed, as the case may be. I’ve got so many things swirling around in my head, and I’m trying to learn new things, that by the time I get around to deciding to write, it is like now 11 something p.m., and well my energy level has been that great lately. So I usually just succumb to my desire to get a decent night’s rest and head for bed. I’ve also been beating myself up daily because I have not been writing. I want to create a schedule where I can plan to write more often, but I’m just baffled on how I can find the time. So now that everyone is asleep, I’m climbing back into the saddle and hopefully I can shake off the rust and figure out how to make that schedule. It is my great desire to make that happen. So I’m sure I will find a way.

So on this long Thanksgiving weekend, I thought I would start by just listing a few things for which I’m thankful. Here it goes:

• God’s presence in my life
• My beautiful family, especially my four girls
• Great friends, even if many of them I don’t get to see as often as I would like
• Many great new friends that I’ve met this year: Gil, Jose, Dan, and Joseph
• Speaking at 3 major industry conferences
• SNAP’s brief success on SourceForge.net
• Being selected as an Enterprize Business Idea winner

So in many ways, this has been a phenomenal year for me. However, there are still some things for which I’m full of sorrow. I believe that we must also enumerate the things that bring us sorrow. We must because they also define who we are. Most of us carry them upon our backs most of the time, so it is important that we also acknowledge them as well. Hopefully, by forcing ourselves to open the door that should remain closed – we learn. We learn from what brings us sorrow so we can appreciate that which brings us joy.

• The premature loss of Francisco Gregory Martinez (”Paquito”) on March 20
• The United States’ continued occupation of Iraq
• The tailspin into chaos here in Puerto Rico from: corruption, greed, snobbery, egotism, jingoism, nationalism, politics, drugs, murder, …
• Making only $0.91 from Google AdSense
• Losing my focus in a fog of SNAP challenges and Web 2.0