Sunday, April 25, 2010

Goals Update 5

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks since my last update, already. This year is flying by, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

1. Go back for my bachelor's degree.Just waiting and crunching some numbers here. Still on track with everything.

2. Design and get my second tattoo. Guess I should really get started on this one. I haven't been able to come up with anything yet but I'll keep looking around for ideas.

3. Photography, part 3. I have most of my photos organized now. I'm still looking for hard drives but I won't be buying any for a couple of months.

4. WriYe. I managed to get mostly caught up on this, and then I went to Florida and didn't write a word the entire time I was gone. So now I'm back to being about 14,000 words behind, but I will probably catch up again within a few weeks.

5. Write in journal at least once a week. I wrote twice in the last two weeks. I have a lot of personal stuff that I need to work out, and writing helps with that, so I will probably have no problem keeping up with this goal.

6. Save money. I know that I said in the last update that I wasn't going to be making any more large purchases, but that's changed. My laptop is dying so I will be ordering a new computer sometime this week. I'm hoping to not hit my savings too much, but I'm not sure yet how much I'll be spending. As soon as I get my computer I'm going to work on getting up to 3 months salary in my savings account.

7. I want to go see at least 12 different concerts/shows this year. I have 5 so far, and will be going to see Macbeth this weekend. I also found out that Young Frankenstein, The Producers, and Phantom of the Opera will be coming to Pittsburgh so I'm hoping to see one or more of those. Also, the summer concert series in Greensburg will be starting soon so I'm looking forward to seeing some of those bands.

8. Read 30,000+ pages. I went on a bit of a reading binge over the last week, and now I'm up to 13,768 pages. I'm going to try and keep the momentum going so I can get through some of my backlogged books, so this number will probably continue to go up quickly.

9. Write 52 new blogs. I've actually started a few different blogs already - they just need to be edited and published. I have one for DO this year, and I'm also working on some reviews for books and games.

10. Music goal. I haven't listened to anything new the past couple of weeks, and I'm holding off on getting anything else until I get a new computer because then I have less to worry about transferring over. I'm still looking for ideas though, because as soon as I have the new computer set up I'm going to try and download another half a dozen or so artists to try out!

11. Watch 100 different movies. Watched a few more movies, and I'm up to 40 now.

12. Learn more in general. I still haven't finished any of the nonfiction books I'm currently reading. I'm going to try and get through one or two of them before the next update.

And another update, finished. More blogs coming later this week!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Goals Update 4

I know it's been a really long time since I've written one of these, or any blog entry for that matter. I've had a lot of personal issues lately and just haven't had the time or the interest in blogging. I'm going to reevaluate the goals I have and take some off completely due to everything that has been going on. I'm going to be looking for a new job and trying to get school situated, and I'm not going to have the time for a ton of extra stuff. So here goes...

1. Go back for my bachelor's degree. Everything is filled out and submitted. I don't know for sure if I am going to be able to work this out financially, but I will see what I can do. For now I'll leave it on the list.

2. Design and get my second tattoo. I still want to do this, even if I haven't spent any time on it in the last 6 weeks. Plan to get back to it now, and still have plenty of time to work it out.

3. Photography, part 1. I haven't decided if I am going to keep Project 365. I've still been taking pictures, and I'd like to continue to do so, but I think the daily requirement is too much. I don't have the time to set up pictures every day, and I don't really want to just start snapping whatever for the sake of having a picture. I think this one is off the list and I will just make an effort to take pictures as often as I can. I will still post pictures, including some of the ones I've taken over the past several weeks.

4. Photography, part 2. This one is off the list as well for now. It's going to take a lot of time and money to do a photography book properly, and I don't think I can get it finished and do it well. This is still an eventual goal of mine but I'm not going to put any time constraints on it.

5. Photography, part 3. I haven't done any work on this, but I will be keeping this goal. I can't afford extra hard drives yet so I'll keep trying to get my current pictures organized for now.

6. WriYe. I'm a bit behind on this again but only by about five thousand words. I'm going to keep this goal for now because it's important to me. However, I may have to cut it from the list eventually, or at least cut back on the total number of words for the year. We'll see how it goes.

7. Submit writing. Taking this off the list, though it may eventually come back. I don't have the time to devote to it right now.

8. Write in journal at least once a week. I've done this a few times, though I doubt it's been once a week. I'm going to try and get back on track with it.

9. New hobbies. Taking this one off the list. I'm trying to devote most of my free time to working out school, and trying to hunt for a new job. I'm going to continue with the hobbies I have and possibly try some new things as they come along, but not going to try and force them in when I don't have any spare time.

10. Miniatures. This is another very time-consuming goal that is coming off the list. I'm going to work on them when I get a chance but it will probably be fairly sporadic. I have the paints though so it will happen eventually, and I will be sure to post pictures as I go.

11. Save money. For now I'm going to work on getting my savings up to 3 months salary. I'm not making any larger purchases for now unless it's necessary. I will hopefully be able to hit that within the next couple of months.

12. I want to go see at least 12 different concerts/shows this year. Up to 5 so far (Wicked, went to see a local band with my friend Tina, Red Herring, Gaelic Storm, and Holst's The Planets). Still aiming to finish this one, especially as there always various free or inexpensive concerts and shows in the area.

13. Donate to charity. This one is coming off the list. As much as I would like to do it, with my current job situation I am trying to be more careful about saving money. I'll probably still donate here and there but can't commit to a certain amount every month.

14. Read 30,000+ pages. Up to 10,229 pages now. This is probably the one goal I have no doubts on. Will keep plugging away, and probably finish early.

15. Write 52 new blogs. Obviously I've done nothing with this one. I'm going to keep this on the list though and give it a shot. It's early enough in the year that I can probably catch up, and it's something I'd like to do.

16. Music goal. About halfway done with this one. Found some new music I really like, but still need suggestions for more new bands and artists, so keep them coming!

17. Watch 100 different movies. Up to 37. I'll keep this on here but I have no idea if I'll come anywhere close to completing it. We'll see!

18. Learn more in general. Two nonfiction books down, still ten to go. I'm in the middle of another three. I have some catching up to do here, but I will keep at it.

Looks like I cut about a third of the goals off the list. I would have liked to keep them, but circumstances have changed, and I would rather concentrate on completing the goals that are most important to me instead of trying to keep everything and failing at them.

Will hopefully blog again soon. I leave for Florida on Thursday so I may blog while I am waiting around in airports or sitting around Mark's place when he's at work. At any rate, I'll hopefully be much more active on here, and soon.