Status update:

• Video game design: a bit of progress. Started working on my pixel art. Downloaded the Game Maker source of Banana Nababa to fiddle with; I imagine this will serve me better than any tutorial as I'm a hands-on learner. Played lots of games, though I can't say my game design goals were always in mind.
  
• Music: unfortunately, little progress. Reserved Hanon at the library; intend to get sheet music and guitar training books when I go there over the weekend. Played some exercies on the piano.
• Programming: significant progress. Picked up a C++ book, and have already finished 1/4 of it.
  

First order of business: establish my goals and hobbies for the next year or so.

• Video game design: I plan to get into video game design on two fronts, indie platformers and first-person shooters. General goals: level design, good gameplay mechanics, designer-player interaction, art+music+writing.
  
  • Indie platformers: learn Game Maker, pixel art, and tracker-based composition. Analyze various indie games.
    
  • First-person shooters: learn Hammer, some of the other Source SDK tools, and 3D modelling. Analyze various first-person shooters.
  
  
• Music
  • Composition: analyze various compositions and pieces.
    
  • Performance: learn guitar and practice piano.
  
  
• Programming: learn C++, dynamic linking, and the Windows SDK. Work on some open source projects. Review Berkeley notes.