7 posts tagged “goals”
I just finished Tess of the d’Urbervilles. I didn’t particularly enjoy it despite staying up late to finish it. I had hoped it would at least distract me from thoughts I’d rather not dwell on alone in the dark. Since it didn’t, I’m reluctant to go to sleep just yet. I was meaning to write this blog today anyway so here goes. One thirty in the morning seems a good frame of mind for it anyway.
Last night I looked through my June 2008 and 2007 posts. I was curious to see what was on my mind back then, to see if I have progressed based on the goals I made during the Junes past. Appropriately and amusingly I found that today is the one year milestone of my 101 in 1001 list. I know that’s not really irony, but it’s at least what everyone likes to call irony.
The short version is that on June 9th, 2009 I decided to make my life better. I took an idea from a friend’s Vox and created a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. I picked things I knew I would do, things I knew I needed to do, and things I never would think to do but just might if it meant crossing a number off the list. It was just an idea, a promise that nobody could hold me to. But it was progress for me. I was hopeful.
Then a month later everything fell apart and the list was no longer important.
I didn’t give up on it completely. It just wasn’t something I cared to consider at the time. Up until this early morning, when I took out the original pen on paper list, I had forgotten why I really put aside the list. There’s an item #102. It’s not really a part of the list but an inside joke. I had written the list while talking to a friend. I realize now a good many of the items were thought of because it was something we could do together. It’s too late now. But not for me. I’m still here. These were things that were important to me before, to say I don’t’ care about them anymore would be to say I don’t care about who I am. I’ll finish it.
Here’s the list, with items that I’ve completed or half completed marked out with a line. The rest of the week I’ll blog about the ones with lines. I won’t talk about the others, because I’d just be making excuses. At the bottom of the list I’ll write the completion percentage. I have until March 06, 2011 to finish. Think I can do it?
1. Find my path
2.
Read every book I own
3. Pay off credit card
4. Get a full-time job
5. Create an organizational method for computer/paperwork
6.
Come to terms with all regrets
7. Start cooking on a regular basis
8. Get down to 180
9. Beat every game you own.
10. Finish writing Outlaw of the Heart series
11. Own only clothes that fit
12. Move out of the house
13.
Get a driver’s license.
14. Establish an exercise routine
15. Become a better speller
16. Learn a programming language
17. Learn how to use Flash
18. Bike ride Mt. Charleston
19.
Take a self-portrait jumping into water
20.
Fill up three Moleskines
21. Graduate from NSC
22. Graduate from grad school
23. Take up archery
24. Visit the strip just before sunrise and take pictures
25. Go on a completely unplanned road trip to another state with a friend
26.
Record all home movies to dvd
27. Make a portfolio website
28. Relearn math
29. Relearn chemistry/other sciences
30. Try a new hairstyle
31.
Run the marathon in Arizona
32. Learn how to fix my car
33. Submit a design to Threadless
34. Start playing the saxophone again
35. Learn to play the harmonica
36.
Get to expert on Guitar Hero
37. Make this list into a book
38.
Yoga?
39. Build a computer
40. Go on a date
41. Start gardening
42. Win a poker game
43. Watch every Lost episode in one summer
44. Look suave for one night
45. Film “tape drop 3”
46. Bike ride around town
47. Steal Rick’s hat
48. Sell a design and/or picture
49. Wake up early every day
50. Play kick the can
51. Make a wind chime
52.
Fill bottle with pencil shavings
53. Buy a new bike
54. Draw “When Seth was a kid” comic
55. Go shopping at Ikea
56.
Create an art/computer workstation
57. Learn massage…stuff
58. Rate iTunes songs
59. See the ocean
60. Walk the tunnels at Lake Mead to the end
61. Duel with Ty
62. Compose a song
63. Learn to play guitar
64.
Take a ballroom dancing class
65. Sleep on the roof
66. Read Moby Dick
67. Start going to church again
68. Go to Florida
69.
See Amber
70. Cary Grant marathon
71. See three shows on the strip
72. Go to an art gallery
73.
Learn self-control
74.
Buy a pair of running shoes that fit
75.
Learn how to use an SLR camera
76. Help people without being asked
77. Create a typeface
78.
Practice better water use
79. Animate Birdish-Dragonthing full version
80. Beat dad at Risk
81.
Learn more about Bartter syndrome
82.
Go kayaking
83. Play Croquet and eXtreme Croquet
84. Get a kick-a airbrush tattoo
85. Have someone drop me off in a random spot in town and find my way back home
86. Re-season cast iron
87. Completely watch LotR extended editions (WITH all commentary tracks)
88. Go to five concerts
89.
Wander
90. Join/Invite a near stranger for lunch
91. Roundhouse kick!
92. Get a suit like Creepy Thin Man’s
93. Travel out of the country
94.
Paint room
95. Go into isolation for a day
96. Free space
97. Bring back rope boarding
98. Do a hand stand
99. Drive on the coast
100. Save a girl from the rain
101.Take a break
Alright let’s see how my math is at 2 AM. I’ve completed 12/101 things. It’s been a year so 1001-365 is 636 days.
That means 10% of the list has been completed in …wait 63% of the time? That’s over half. That can’t be right. NO! Duh. That’s how much time is left. So 10% of the list done in 36% of the time allotted. I’m 20% behind if you forget all sorts of mathematical rules.
Yeah. I can do this.
So....
Hi.
....
*cough*
Look I really don't know what to say. It's not just that there's nothing nice to say. If I had good news I'd let you know. But if I had random, neutral news I'd give you that too. It feels like my life has veered into the horse latitudes. Nothing good but nothing I can really add to my list of complaints.
Personally I've managed to go by a month without any new tragedies. Personally. There's plenty going around for everyone else. So it makes it hard to have fun with friends and family. Also I don't have anything to look forward to in the near to moderately distanced future. It's hard to be motivated if you don't have anything to work towards. Speaking of work I'm not feeling very satisfied with my job. But I think that has to do more with the coworkers than the actual job, which I still love. This is sad because Gibson used to be a family.
I'm out of good books to read. I just get depressed when I think about writing the story that now has nobody to read it. I have the drafting table but even forcing myself to paint something didn't have great results. It seems my only enjoyment comes out of driving too fast, shooting stuff and rolling up the world on the Xbox 360. That is if Gibby isn't biting my face because I'm ignoring him.
Wait.
Have I told you about Gibby?
It seems I've mentioned him/her/it. But here's the update.
When he got on solid foods it was amazing. We were able to keep him penned up in the dining room with baby gates previously used for Lily, our boxer. When he managed to climb over them a week ago (which is amazing considering he was immobile a month ago) it was nice to know he could walk around and entertain himself (without Lily thinking it's a chewtoy). Yesterday he managed to beat the baby gate's new placement, granting him free range of the house. Now when he wakes me up at 5:30 in the morning (he still sleeps in a kennel) I just let him out, give him some cat food and then go back to bed.
So far so good, except that he's a freaking psycho. Hands are his favorite chew toy. He'll sit patiently wanting you to pick him up, and when you do he bites until you put him down again. And he has this thing where he just stares at you. I think he's trying to explode our heads. But overall he (or she, not sure yet) is a decent kitty. Especially when it's sleeping.
So....
I have a kitty.
Otherwise life sucks.
Remember this?
Apparently I didn't because I haven't accomplished a single thing on the list.
BUT I have until the end of the month. A couple are impossible, a few would be way too much work, and at least one is going to be ignored for the time being.
I guess that leaves cooking three times a week and doing this outside of the house. Oh well.
I need to come up with a few goals for my updated job description. Inspiration is lacking this morning. I did, however, have the ingenious idea to use Vox for writing my goals. Nowhere else am I more inclined to be as verbose and self aggrandizing as here!
Goals for the 2009-10 Job Term
1. Continue push towards greater self-sufficiency.
While the best workplaces are those who's employees work as a team, I would like to continue my goal to become more responsible for my own work so as to strengthen the overall ability of my department.
2. Develop stock of completed storytime/program ideas to be used and built upon.
It would be helpful to have a reserve of storytimes in the even of a sudden need for one, and so I can take time to further build upon and improve.
3. Better learn the library tools available to both the staff and public.
I have insufficient knowledge of the catalog and database systems available to the public. A butter understanding of these would felicitate any assistance a patron would need with them.
Another great idea stolen by writebrained. Some of these might be related to the 101 list,
but my focus is to work on the tasks that either are nagging me the
greatest or are of more immediacy. Think of it as a warm up to help me
get motivated to really work on the 101 list.
1) you must start around now, end in around 100 days, so by April 30th. you can complete a project that has been hanging around.
And unlike Writebrained, my non-partisan political affiliation gives me more compliance from the minority leaders, despite having voted for Obama. So I shouldn't have too much trouble. (you'll have to read her post to get it)
1. Bring my BMI from "obese" to "overweight". Which sounds like a very unimpressive goal on paper. The Wii Fit board has been very dissapointed by my lack of progress. Oh it doesn't say anything, but I can tell in it's tone of voice everyday when after the body test it exclaims "that's obese!".
2. Design a sort of manual for the library's tech club, in the event that I'm not around when it finally starts.
3. Start a new photo/frame project that involves giving something to all my friends. Maybe a good time for the Wizarrd of Oz project since Frank Baum's birthday is in April.
4. Have a clear, positive trend in my finances.
5. Start doing things outside of the house on my own, or at least by my own initiative.
6. Cook dinner and/or lunch at least three times a week.
7. Finish writing Outlaw of the Heart or Crossed. O.H. has a lot more done on it, but for my first book attempt the full plot is a little ambitious and way lengthy. Crossed is shorter, easier, and more fun to write even though I just have a few chapters done.
8. [CENSORED]
9. Complete the C++ book and all the Adobe Classroom in A Book books.
10. Finish another moleskine.
Overall it doesn't seem like a daring list. Cooking? Going outside? Not very exciting. But these 10 things should (in theory) build a foundation to alter my habits for the better and hopefully for life.
Life keeps getting worse, or so it seems. It's come to a point that I fell I've lost any enthusiasm for future goals and achievement. That's kind of scary. In an effort to kick start my motivation, I'm going to review my 101 in 1001 list and see what I've done. I already have goals, I just need to want to do them. By all rights each of these should have their own Vox, but I'll get to that later.
What I've Done
#19: Take a self-portrait jumping into water- It actually came out pretty good, just have to scan it.
#26: Record all home movies to DVD- I did this a while ago and forgot it was even on the list.
#38: Yoga?- Yeah I did yoga. It feels good if it doesn't hurt. I really should do some more this week.
#64: Take a ballroom dancing class- I already mentioned this one in a previous Vox post. It didn't turn out so well.
#81 Learn more about Bartter's syndrome- Not much to know, really.
#82 Go kayaking- this was done in Massachusetts. I had some awesome pictures but they were lost due to the dumbness of the waterproof camera software.
So that's about 06% of my list and I have....I think about until March 08, 2011. Which is 848 days. Which means I've done 6 things in 153 days, which is 15% of the overall time available.
I gotta pick up the pace!
My goal this summer: Get to a point where I can wake up on a sunny Sunday morning and stay in bed out of contentment instead of reluctance.
