Goals update 8

1. Read 75 of my own books that I've never read before. I'm down to 48 now. I don't think I'll get to updating this again before I get back from Ireland, so my goal for next time is 40. I'm hoping to be down to 20-25 left by the end of summer.

2. Watch all of the movies I own and have never watched. I had 22, but then I went and bought a bunch at Blockbuster and that put me up to 30. Originally I wasn't going to count anything new that I bought, but I'd like to get it to zero, and it's still quite doable at this point.

3. Complete 12 video games. 11 to go...still. I need to put more time into this one; I keep playing nothing but Rock Band. I started Valkyria Chronicles though and I really like it, so I'm sure I'll be playing a lot of that. I'm also going to get back to Phoenix Wright during lunch when I'm at work, so I can move on to the next game and maybe Chrono Trigger. I'll probably get a lot of time in on my flights in a few weeks as well.

4. Travel. I leave for Ireland in 19 days, and I'm starting to get really excited. I'm also starting to freak out a little because I don't have many plans finalized. I did spend a good bit of time on it this weekend, and I've at least got a place to stay all but one night. Plans for what to do during the trip are coming along as well. So there's that, and then Christian's again for Labor Day. I'm trying to get a trip to Ohiopyle in between those two, and maybe a weekend in Erie. We'll see how it goes!

5. Continue to learn Japanese. I've been looking over my books and notes every 2-3 days, but like I said last update, I'm taking a bit of a break from this goal. I'm making sure I don't lose everything I've learned, but trying to spend the majority of my time on other things.

6. Finish one of my Nano novels. My writing time has suffered a lot lately, but I'm still getting bits done here and there. I'm not sure whether I'm actually going to complete this goal, as I keep jumping between all three of my novels.

7. Write every day. I'm doing this for the most part - barely. Most days I'm lucky if I get more than a paragraph or a few lines of dialogue, but I suppose that's a paragraph or some dialogue that I hadn't written before...

8. Let other people read my writing. Still no progress here.

9. Clean out my stuff, and get organized. The end of June is in two days so I'd better get my ass in gear if I want to actually be done by then. Somehow I don't see it happening. The end of next weekend is realistic though, and if that doesn't work I will certainly be finished before I head off on vacation.

10. New wardrobe. I have my closets about halfway cleaned out, and I have a good idea of what I need to get. I'm heading to the mall Wednesday I think, and then probably again over the weekend to start buying some things. I definitely need more summer work clothes. Also have to decide in the next couple of days what (if anything) I need for my trip.

11. Exercise 5 hours per week. I'm not sure that I'm hitting 5 hours. I'm fitting in a small workout most days but I'm probably doing half an hour or 45 minutes instead of a full hour. I'd like to exercise more but I'm happy that I'm at least getting something in even though I'm incredibly busy.

12. Save money, and learn to manage my money wisely. I'm still doing well with this one. I'm sticking with my budget for the most part and reworking it when I want to buy something, instead of just taking money from savings because I can. I'm hoping to come back with quite a bit of money after Ireland and then start building my savings some more. I'm looking for a netbook right now, and am going to need a stand for my new TV, but other than that there's not much I'm going to be spending on.

13. Eat healthy. This has gone really well for the last few weeks (though I've slacked the past 2-3 days). I'm eating a lot of fruits and veggies instead of junk - though at times I am thoroughly sick of it and just want some chocolate. I'll keep working on this but I'm very satisfied with my progress so far!

14. Photography. I got a zoom lens, as well as 3 new special filters. I have both of my bags and a tripod. I've started looking through both of the books I bought as well, and experimenting a bit with the camera. I only need a few more things before Ireland - namely memory cards and a spare battery. I might get a remote and another filter or two if I have the money. So at this point I'm just learning as much as I can before my trip about the various settings on my camera, and how I can use them to get better pictures. Once I get home I'd like to start learning how to edit the pictures I've taken, so that will be my next big project with this goal.

15. Adding another one - this one will probably only last a month or two but I need to make a conscious effort on it so I'm adding it as a goal. I need to make more time for myself. Since Jay moved home I'm out all the time - I go out with him, I go out with Danielle, I hang out with both of them, I do things with other people. If I'm not out I'm on the phone with multiple people. I'm extremely stressed and when I do get some time to myself, it's filled with necessary cleaning, errands, and trip stuff. I need to make some more "me" time - time to just relax and read or play a game. I think it'd go a long way to helping my stress levels, and has the added bonus of helping me get through more of my books, movies, and games. So I'm going to try for an hour a day now - one hour (and it doesn't have to be all at once) where I turn off the phone and just do something I want for fun. We'll see how it goes.

Whew! Overall I'm pretty happy with all of these, though a few definitely need some more work. I probably won't do another goal update until I get home, though I may post a regular entry sometime before then. If not...well, expect A LOT of pictures upon my return....