New Beginnings
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
It’s that time of year when everyone decides to stop smoking, or to lose weight, etc. As a rule, I don’t make resolutions. They just don’t work for me. I am, however, constantly making goals for myself. I am a planner by nature, so I derive lots of joy from thinking about the future. I have some very specific goals for the upcoming year. They are in four categories:
Work and Career
· Go to at least 2 lectures per month. I work at a university, and there is a different lecture just about every day on something interesting. Going to these will broaden my knowledge and allow me to think about things outside my field, which brings me to the next goal:
· Read enough relevant background and research literature to be able to propose an independent project. I have the technical skills to be able to do a project, but I am new to the field. Through the university, I have access to a great many journals, books, and as stated above, lectures. Even if my project is not selected or funded, getting to the point of being able to propose one is the real goal here.
· Make career contacts. I’m going to have to do some informational interviews. I’ve known what I wanted my career to be since I was 14, but I honestly haven’t sought out real people who are doing this work. I’ve mostly read about them. It’s time for that to change. I need to get as complete a picture as I can before committing myself to over $100k of debt.
· Classes. I changed my major a couple of times in college, and as a result some (er . . many) of my prerequisites fell through the cracks. I have to take these before I apply to grad school.
Health
· Transition into clean, organic eating. The documentary Food, Inc really jolted me into wanting to be much more conscious of the things I consume. I also know that I can’t do it overnight, so by the end of the year I want to be mostly if not completely organic and sustainable in my food (as well as other areas of life).
· Complete the Couch to 5K program. I started it sometime last spring, but never got past week 3. I never liked running or jogging, but I now realize that it was because I was always one of the slowest people in gym class and the teachers always blatantly favored the more naturally gifted students. I realized about two years ago that when I can go at my own pace, I really enjoy the act of running. There’s a connection I make with my body that is just sublime. This has to wait until it gets a bit warmer, though. I may like jogging now, but I hate cold much more, and the roads/sidewalks around here are basically iced over.
· Spend time outdoors hiking/trail walking. There are so many options here it’s crazy. I’ve already found some beginner trails and I’m totally excited for it.
· Lose 35 out of the total 50 pounds I want to lose. Notice how this is the last bullet point. I don’t want to do the top three things so I can lose weight. I want to lose weight so that I can do those things and more. I’ll have to do a separate post detailing my weight loss plan.
Money
· Streamline my banking accounts. I’ve already done most of this. I’m transitioning to using the credit union affiliated with my employer. I also am using Mint to sort of track everything in one place.
· Commit to saving at least $350 every month. That’s the bare minimum, but since my expenses are low and I’m not all that spendy, I’ll probably save more. I need to rebuild my emergency fund and then start saving for a fabulous trip somewhere warm in 2011.
Extracurricular
· This blog, of course! So far it’s been more of a personal diary, but I think I now want to reach out to the online community. To do so, I’ll have to have a bit more focus and spend a little more time crafting each post. I do look forward to doing it, though. Also, I’m toying with the idea of doing a vlog once in a while later in the year. I really think it’ll be fun.
· Volunteer. I have to find a clinic to volunteer in. I totally miss it.
· Write a short story or two. The only reason I haven’t done this yet is fear. Not skills or lack thereof. Just confidence. I can write a research paper (or blog post!) like no one’s business, but when it comes to fiction, there is a mental block so solid that it might as well be a physical one. I’m dismantling it once and for all this year. I am fully aware that my first story is most likely going to be just dreadful, but the great thing is that no one else has to see it! J
So that’s my to-do list for 2010. Looking at it all together like this, it seems like I’m heaping way too much onto my plate. However, a year is longer than it seems. Each of the items is more like a baby step in becoming a better Tazmaniantigress. I know from past experience that trying to do everything at once will only end in disaster, so I’m coming at this at a more measured pace. I’ll update periodically on my progress.
What are your goals for the upcoming year?
Decade in Review: Highlights
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009As it is the next to last day of 2009, I thought I’d do a little review of the past year. Then I realized that it’s actually the end of the decade! So this is my attempt at a mini-memoir of the past ten years. To be quite honest, I tend to keep the past in the past and just move on. As a result, much of the decade has been lost in my memories. The important stuff, however, remained. Here are the highlights:
(In my mind, middle/high school is measured in school years, so sorry if it’s a bit confusing)
2000: Remember the Y2K scare? Well something similar is coming up in 2012. Be prepared! Actually 8th grade wasn’t very special. Middle school was just a long streak of indistinguishable trauma.
9th grade: Sept. 11, 2001 was at the beginning of that school year. Nothing and no one was ever the same. This was also the year I decided on my career. Surprisingly, it hasn’t changed. Though my proposed path has definitely become more windy and twisty, it stays the same.
10th grade: I joined debate and tennis. This was huge for me. I only did it because I needed extracurriculars for college apps, but I ended up really enjoying myself.
Summer ‘04: I got my first job this summer at a local pharmacy. For the first time I had my own money! I can’t describe the freedom I felt. Even then I didn’t go crazy with the spending. I mostly bought food and the occasional outfit. It’s not that I’m a natural saver or naturally thrifty, but it’s an ingrained trait in me not to spend money that I don’t have. I will go without until I have money. Then spend most of the money I do have, after all bills are paid, of course. It’s not a destructive habit, but perhaps a bit dysfunctional. I am nothing if not a work in progress. 
I also began to volunteer at the local animal shelter. I.Loved.It.There. It was the best time of high school for me. I wish I had done more volunteering in college, but the shelter was inconvenient to get to in the college town without a car. 
12th grade: Sometime during senior year I bought myself a car. It was a little red thing that was a bit finnicky but I loved it dearly. I had to sell it when I left for college, though. It wouldn’t have made the trip cross-country.
Of course, I got accepted to my top choice college, early decision, no less. I don’t think I’ve said what college I went to. I don’t think I’m going to. Pseudo-anonymity, and all that.
2006: The second half of my freshman year was amazing! So many small, good things happened. I don’t actually remember most of them, but it has left me with a warm fuzzy.
I did get an on-campus job. Once again, I had money, though not much, since they put caps on the allowed number of hours worked.
Also that year, I totally fell in love with music. I had of course liked music before, but it was always whatever my parents listened to, or the top 40 stuff on the radio. A friend of mine introduced me to an app that let users download music from others’ ITunes libraries (don’t judge, you know you did it too!). It began with AIR, then Massive Attack, then Basement Jaxx, and when I actually listened to Daft Punk’s Discovery, it was over. Here is music that is more than catchy noise. This is music that tells my story.
2007: I went to Peru.
2008: During this year, I was mostly trying to pull myself together. I found the most amazing and supportive mentor and lab to work in, and found a focus for my studies and future career.
2009: Well, you know that story. If not, read the blog. In brief, I graduated, moved back home, moved out, got a job.
A mini-memoir of the past decade. These are the things that I believe have made the most impact on me. Of course, some things may have been left out, but you get the idea.
What are your memories of the past ten years?
P.S. This is my 100th post! Looking forward to the next 100!