Recap of 2019 and Resolutions for 2020

Recap of 2019

My Daughter Was Born

In January of this year Uma Roy Greenfeld came into this world at 8 lbs 5 oz (3770 grams). Words cannot express the sublime joy I feel watching her grow and learn. The changes and disruption to my life has been outmatched by just how rich my existence has become.

Being a parent of a newborn has changed my thinking. It's driving some of the plans I share with Audrey Roy Greenfeld for 2020 and beyond. More on that will be posted with the new year.

Click the image above to see more photos from my daughter's first year.

My Father Passed Away

Theodore "Ted" Greenfeld passed away in June at age 84. I learned a lot of life lessons from him - there's so much to say. Soon I'll post the eulogy I wrote for him, and publish his writings. Below is a photo of him by the Chesapeake Bay in the 1980s. He loved the water, especially the beach.

I Travelled

Ghana, Africa

I went to Africa for the first time! I was there to attend the very first PyCon Africa in Accra, Ghana. What a wonderful experience - I enjoyed the people, sights, and food. Click the image below to see my photo journal.

New Zealand

I returned to Wellington, New Zealand to give a keynote at Kiwi PyCon 2019. Audrey gave a keynote there in 2011, which means if we follow the pattern my daughter Uma will give a keynote there in 2027. In any case, it was so much fun reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.

Kolkata, India

I went to India for the first time! This was a family visit for the holiday of Durga Puja. Uma was a special guest everywhere on account of her name, which is one of the names of the goddess Durga. It was a delight to be connected to the Hindu portion of her Bengali ancestry.

Yucutan, Mexico

Since it's so close to me, we've gone to Mexico every year since 2010 and 2019 was no different. This time it was to the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula to visit Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum. We even took the time to visit PyCun, the Cancun Python group.

USA

Within the USA I visited upstate New Jersey, New York City, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

I Ate Coconut

For most of my life I've been allergic to coconut. In the past few years eating coconut has been less of an issue for me. As of my trip to Ghana in August of 2019 the allergy is gone. I'm excited, this opens up a whole new world of food possibilities.

I Like Static Typing

In 2004-2005 I nearly stopped being a programmer due to frustrations with J2EE-style Java and static typing. Nothing against Java, it just wasn't for me. Python was Introduced to me at NASA in the summer of 2005 and kept me in my chosen career, in large part due to its typing. While I dallied in Golang six years ago, the typing made me unhappy.

Well, in late 2019 I participated in hackathons using both Kotlin and C#. To my surprise I had tons of fun. The C# is especially empowering to me, as it means I can write games and apps with the Unity3d platform.

Embraced Fitness Again

For a number of years I haven't been consistent with staying in shape. My weight went up and a lot of my clothes stopped fitting. Of greater concern is I want to be a strong, fit role model for my daughter. So in late 2019 I really jumped back into fitness, starting a mix of Yoga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). The Yoga helps with some nagging injuries and the BJJ allows me to express my competitive nature in a healthy way. If I visit your area or you visit mine, let's roll as friendly competitors.

Yes, my clothes are fitting again.

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Resolutions for 2020

I know everyone doesn't do this kind of thing, but I always do.

Travel to New Places

It's been years since I've been anywhere new within my own homeland of the USA. Time to see something new. My dream would be to do it in an solar-powered electric vehicle or comfortable public transit, but anything will do.

Stay on Track for Fitness

Inspired by being a new father, I'm going to continue this trend. Each week I'll put in at least 5 hours of vigorous exercise a week spread betweem BJJ, yoga, cycling, and other activities.

Write More Books

Starting this month I plan to release both fiction and non-fiction works. Stay tuned here or on the roygreenfeld.com blog!

Make Video Games

I first got into programming to make games. Having rediscovered the fun of making games, it's only fitting that I return to those roots. Leveraging the Unity3d platform means I can create games that friends and family can enjoy.

Get Over My Fear of Heights

A limiting factor for me has been that I'm scared of being more than 10 feet off the ground. I can handle it in buildings and planes, but the fear is still there. And everything else terrifies me. While this may be a good survival instinct, it's meant lost opportunities on more than one occasion.

What I don't want to do is pass on that fear to my daughter. A healthy respect of danger is one thing, abject fear is not.

To combat this fear in 2019 I walked on transparent flooring, climb ladders, and stand closer to railings. I even used VR devices to help myself combat this fear.

In 2020 I'm going to go further. I'm going to take up rock climbing and find other ways to push myself.

Improve the World

If you think this last resolution was inspired by Uma, you would be correct. I want to improve the world for her and the future generations who share this planet with her.