Thursday, June 28, 2007

Goals Accomplished!

FOUR of them.

#2. Race in an alleycat and bring home a prize. I participated in the Time Bomb team bike race June 16th, and my team took fifth place. Fourth place didn't stick around for the prize awarding ceremony, so between the three of us we bagged two bottles of wine, a lovely decorated inner tube ("like lace panties for your bike" he said), and some toe-strap holders.

#9. Have a picnic. On June 22nd several of my friends and I had a picnic at Stanley Park's Third Beach. It involved homemeade falafels, hula hoops, and a raccoon (ugh). We're planning on having more beach picnics throughout the summer.

#19. File tax return by June 31st; use refund towards student loan payment. Well, this is half done. I filed today. Only two months late! I can expect my refund in about a week or so, at which time it'll get sent straight back to the Receiver General of Canada. How appropriate.

#22. Surprise James with something romantic. On June 17th was the Commercial Drive Car-Free Festival - all sorts of artists, musicians, booths, performers, etc. take over the main street through one of Vancouver's more notorious neighbourhoods. James was looking at a particular teacup; the potter was there doing some carving on un-fired ones and selling finished ones. He decided he couldn't afford one at that time though, so after he went home I went back and bought him one. He was really thrilled with it.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Putting them all together

1. Write a will, including a living will, funeral arrangements, etc.
2. Race in an alleycat, and bring home a prize
3. Finish all the writing for my church website, and get it online
4. Make at least 10 beaded items (e.g. bracelets)
5. Make one new contact who can help influence my career path each week for one month
6. Update résumé to include present work experience, and new skills and objectives
7. Donate hair to locks of love – once it reaches waist length, chop it to chin length
8. Register as an organ donor
9. Have a picnic
10. Make at least one batch of soy yogurt that tastes good, with at least half homemade soymilk
11. Make at least one batch of tofu entirely from scratch
12. Have a temporary corset piercing at a formal event
13. Make and post energy labels for St. Oswald’s, and work with the church committee to develop and meet energy reduction goals
14. Schedule a church retrofit consultation, and work with the church committee to implement recommendations as possible
15. Drink 8 glasses of water each day for 2 weeks straight
16. Digitize CD collection
17. Visit the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
18. Attend an opera, symphony, or ballet performance
19. File tax return by June 31st; use refund towards student loan payment
20. Teach someone to knit
21. Go sailing on two separate occasions
22. Surprise James with something romantic
23. Conduct an inventory of my possessions; sell or donate anything I don’t need and itemize any valuables
24. By a Macbook in about January 2008
25. Pay off student loans by Dec. 31st, 2007
26. Develop an emergency fund with $1500
27. Take a camping trip to Oregon; save $500 for camping gear
28. Visit my immediate family at least twice, and my mom’s and dad’s sides of the extended family at least once by July 2008
29. Become employed in any of the following fields: linguistics, social science, fibre arts, environmental or charitable work
30. Develop and implement an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald’s
31. Finish Learn to Ride and Learn to Race
32. Grow a garden and harvest something edible from each patch that I plant
33. Go in with some friends on buying/picking local produce in bulk, and preserve it via canning, drying, or freezing
34. Obtain at least 50% of my food, and as much of my non-food as well, from within 200 miles
35. Limit computer/TV time to 7 hrs/week, except as needed for job/grad school hunting
36. Practice mediation for one half hour, three times a week
37. Practice writing regularly – one short article per month and morning pages three times a week
38. Read all the books currently on my shelf or the 100-best list that I have not read yet
39. Knit a sweater
40. Have a Buy Nothing Christmas
41. Save $100 a month to buy a digital SLR
42. Go snowboarding at least three times during the 07-08 season; learn to carve
43. Spend at least five days working with Habitat for Humanity
44. Choose a social scene to study and begin participant observation/research
45. Knit something with yarn I’ve handspun on a spinning wheel
46. Run 10 km.
47. Bike 150 km.
48. Practice taking pictures on a weekly basis and have prints made of five of my best
49. Sew one whole outfit for myself
50. Learn to dirtjump; be able to do a clean run on medium-sized tables
51. Practice stretching to improve flexibility 15 minutes a day for one month
52. Take a beginner open water scuba diving course; save $35 a month for it
53. Go rock climbing three times; become certified to belay
54. Spend twenty evenings playing board games
55. Have one meal per week with all ingredients from within 200 miles
56. Do the Master Cleanse for 10 days
57. Eat everything in my freezer
58. Use stash yarn for every other project I start; do not buy new yarn unless ready to cast on with it
59. Limit dining out to 15% of food spending
60. Make laundry detergent, glass cleaner, and shampoo
61. Compile a cookbook
62. Register for a yoga class at a gym or community centre
63. Vote in every election I’m eligible to
64. Develop an investment portfolio
65. Keep a monthly budget
66. Clear Nicole’s Trail at Burnaby Mountain
67. Do a collaborative painting with James
68. Get bike- and knitting-related tattoos
69. Attend knitting group four times a month
70. Learn to do nose wheelie pivots
71. Change working hours from 9-5 to 8-4
72. Get insurance settlement taken care of
73. Renew passports
74. Get a driver’s license
75. Do an outdoor suspension in summer 2007
76. Donate 10% of my income to a church or charity of my choice
77. Have half-hour spiritual reflection time three times a week
78. Bake all my own bread, except for fancy occasion bread
79. Visit a different church in Vancouver every week that I’m not at St. Oswald’s until I find one to attend regularly
80. Develop a crafting space
81. Watch all the Oscar Best Picture winners
82. Make wine
83. Reduce carbon emissions by 90% (from the average North American level)
84. Go on a week-long bike or canoe camping trip
85. Take a pilgrimage
86. Through-hike the Appalachian Trail
87. Begin a master’s degree in Linguistics
88. Get my legs tattooed
89. Grow hair out to waist length
90. Take the train across Canada
91. Increase net worth by 20% in 2009
92. Spend 6-8 weeks in East Africa doing humanitarian work of a linguistic nature
93. Become familiar with the real estate market to facilitate the eventual purchase of property
94. Learn to skid (on my fixed-gear bike)
95. Complete 5 random acts of kindness
96. Attend a taping of A Prairie Home Companion or The Vinyl Café
97. Audition for Jeopardy
98. Have a raw-food-only week
99. Learn to dance with a partner (swing, waltz, salsa, whichever!)
100. Get CPR certified

You may notice I added a few at the end. Had to get up to 100, you know. Huzzah! Updates on progress to come.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Defining Medium-Term Goals

Quick review - these are the goals that are going to take a year or more to complete, or about six months to a year's worth of salary.

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail. This is something I've wanted to do for a few years. From what I've read, most people find it takes 6-8 months, and $2-3k. Of course I mean the entire trail.
Refefined goal #1 - Through-hike the Appalachian Trail.

2. Get a master's degree. Finding my dream job in the field of linguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, etc. pretty much requires at least one graduate degree. This will definitely not be done in 1001 days; the earliest I could possibly finish a degree would be in May 2010.
Redefined goal #2 - Begin a master's degree in linguistics.

3. Get my legs tattooed. I have a design in mind for both my legs from ankle to knee, and an artist in mind as well. Think of this one as commissioning a custom painting from an excellent artist, and the cost (several thousand dollars) will not seem quite as staggering as it did initially. I have yet to look at my finances to see how I can budget it in, but that will be part of my action plan.
Redefined goal #3 - Unchanged.

4. Do some bike touring. This is about the same as #7.
Redefined goal #4 - Deleted.

5. Grow my hair out to waist length. So I can donate it to bald kids, of course. What's to redefine?
Redefined goal #5 - Unchanged.


6. Take the train across Canada. Ridiculously expensive but I've heard it's an amazing trip and well worth it. I adore train travel. Budgeting details to come in a later action plan posting.
Redefined goal #6 - Unchanged.

7. Go on a human-powered camping trip. I realize that goal #1 (Appalachian Trail) is an example of this. I was thinking bike or canoe, though. And I was also thinking a significantly shorter trip than 6-8 months. Maybe a week. This is a short-term goal, and henceforth will be known as Short-Term Goal #74.
Redefined goal #7 - Deleted.

8. Go on a pilgrimage. This is really also a short-term goal, so I'm off to edit that post, again.
Redefined goal #8 - Deleted.

9. Increase net worth. Been over this one already. I'll see if I really do manage to double my nothing in 2008, then we'll talk about 2009.
Redefined goal #9 - Deleted.

10. Travel to Africa. I'd like to spend about a month or two, ideally, doing some humanitarian work. Literacy work maybe, I enjoyed studying that in university. I visited Tanzania when I was 17 and really loved it there, I'd like to return to East Africa.
Redefined goal #10 - Spend 6-8 weeks in East Africa doing humanitarian work of a linguistic nature.

And while I'm at it, let's go over my long-term goals, even though they probably cannot be accomplished in under three years:

1. Buy some property. It's mad expensive around here. I believe that at this point, with the Vancouver real estate market how it is and my life being how it is, renting is by far the better choice for me. I'm paying $425 a month, and a condo costs $300k nevermind an ugly townhouse. It's a no-brainer. But I would like to look into buying some real estate, in some other non-Vancouver (sob) location. It would have to be semi-rural anyway because of goal #2.
Redefined goal #1 - Become familiar with the real estate market to facilitate the eventual purchase of property.

2. Farm some property. I am a fiercely independent and as stubborn as a donkey, and I don't like having to rely on other people when I can reasonably do it myself. So to that end I really would like to grow as much of my own food as possible. I'm not talking commercial farming at all - maybe more along the lines of a very large garden that could adequately supply a family or two. Uh, I'd also like a couple sheep. Fibre arts you know.
Redefined goal #2 - Deleted, but only because it's not in the scope of this project.

SHAZAM! I've already finished some of my micro-goals, so I'll be posting updates on them.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Super-Size Clearly Defined Short Term Goals, Part 2

36. Develop an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's. See #7.
Redefined goal #36 - Deleted.

37. Have all-local meals. This could probably be integrated with #11, but that would make it too wordy.
Redefined goal #37 - Have one meal per week where all major ingredients are from within 200 miles (spices can be an exception).

38. Spend a weekend in silence. I think this is probably something that comes out of my "practice meditation" goal, so I'm going to amend #13 to include this.
Redefined goal #38 - Deleted.

39. Do the Master Cleanse. I've tried this twice and never managed; the first time I planned quite poorly just before a move and decided it was a bad idea and the second time I got quite sick on the second day and had to bail again. I'd like to give it one more go.
Redefined goal #39 - Do the Master Cleanse, for 10 days.

40. Eat everything in my freezer. Often when I make a big recipe I freeze at least half of it and I've accumulated quite a bit in there that I've sort of forgotten about. I don't mean things that you keep in there normally like peas and perogies, I mean frozen leftovers.
Redefined goal #40 - Unchanged.

41. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Whoops, how did this end up in here? See micro-goal #17.
Redefined goal #41 - Deleted.

42. Decrease yarn stash. Oh, that lovely mess in my closet. As knitters go, I'm actually pretty good with the stash. I don't buy 20 balls of yarn because it's on sale without even having a project in mind. But there is a lot of yarn in my closet and just the other day I saw a MOTH in there. Oh, when I said "eat everything in my freezer" I also didn't mean yarn, because that's where my yarn is now. Damn winged insects. Anyway...
Redefined goal #42 - Use stash yarn for at least every other project I start, and do not buy new yarn unless I'm ready to cast on right then.

43. Increase net worth. mmmmmm money. I've never done an "increasing net worth" exercise before, so I don't even know WHAT kind of percentage to shoot for. Paying off my student loan will put me in the black of course. What percentage increase is going from -4000 to 0, anyway? Well. I'll avoid the question and direct this goal towards 2008 then. If I start out with nothing I should have no trouble doubling it. haha! That was a joke.
Redefined goal #43 - Increase net worth by 100% in 2008.

44. Eat out less. I already don't eat out very much compared to some of my friends, but I do want to keep it as low as I can.
Redefined goal #44 - Limit dining out to 15% of my food spending.

45. Make laundry detergent. Google it, there are plenty of recipes. I've already made my own tub & tile abrasive and all-purpose spray cleaner; there are a few more I'd like to try.
Redefined goal #45 - Make laundry detergent, glass cleaner, and shampoo.

46. Make less trash. This necessarily falls under #73.
Redefined goal #46 - Deleted.

47. Compile a cookbook. This can include family recipes (veganized of course), ones that I've come up with on my own, stuff I've picked up from friends, etc.
Redefined goal #47 - Unchanged.

48. Take up yoga. This one's a no-brainer! Reduce stress and improve strength and flexibility.
Redefined goal #48 - Register for a yoga class at a gym or community centre.

49. Vote in every election I'm eligible to. This involves alerting the US government to my presence actually, I haven't lived there since I was 8 and I guess as far as they're concerned I don't exist? We'll see how that goes, anyway. Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal ones are all easy.
Redefined goal #49 - Unchanged.

50. Develop an investment portfolio. This will happen after my loan is paid off. I'm looking at several options - RRSP, GIC, S&P, RBI, VCR... I get so confused. But not for much longer!
Redefined goal #50 - Unchanged.

51. Keep a monthly budget. I'm using PearBudget right now actually, and it's working quite nicely. At the end of the month it should show me some nice charts.
Redefined goal #51 - Unchanged.

52. Clear Nicole's trail at Burnaby Mountain. Ah, my old nemesis. This is an advanced one, and my first time mountain biking I got lost and ended up on this trail. I shit you not, I sat down to cry. I'm going to do it without putting a foot down. Stunts are optional though where a bypass is available.
Redefined goal #52 - Unchanged.

53. Do a collaborative painting with James. We found a nice canvas on sale, it's still blank, and that's a shame.
Redefined goal #53 - Unchanged.

54. Get a bike-related tattoo. Gotta have street cred. And yarn store cred while I'm at it, they can be the same goal. Not necessarily the same tattoo though.
Redefined goal #54 - Get a bike-related and a knitting-related tattoo.

55. Get a knitting-related tattoo. See above
Redefined goal #55 - Deleted.

56. Attend knitting group regularly. It's on Monday nights, and the other one is every other Friday. I like them both but don't go as often as I'd like to, and so I don't get as much done as I'd like to.
Redefined goal #56 - Go to knitting group four times a month, minimum.

57. Learn to do nose wheelie pivots. It's where you grab your front brake and your rear wheel comes up, then you swing the rear end around 180 degrees, and take off in the opposite direction. It looks rad.
Redefined goal #57 - Unchanged.

58. Get up by 7 every morning. This is really quite necessary if I'm ever going to accomplish #59.
Redefined goal #58 - Deleted.

59. Change working hours to 8-4 instead of 9-5. Simple. If I can drag my ass out of bed.
Redefined goal #59 - Unchanged.

60. Get insurance settlement taken care of. I was hit by a car while riding my bike a couple months ago. I expect that I should have the case settled within six months. Don't want to rush that, though.
Redefined goal #60 - Unchanged.

61. Renew passports. I have a US and a Canadian passport to get renewed. The process for the latter is about to get easier, and I am so happy about that.
Redefined goal #61 - Unchanged.

62. Get a driver's license. ACHTUNG ACHTUNG I am doing this under duress. I don't drive and don't really want to, honestly there's no need and I am getting along swimmingly without it. But I suppose it's useful anyway...
Redefined goal #62 - Unchanged.

63. Do an outdoor suspension. I loved my first one, it was an incredible experience even though it was in a small dark garage. I think doing one outside in the summer would be amazing.
Redefined goal #63 - Do an outdoor suspension this summer.

64. Tithe 10%. Church or charity of my choice.
Redefined goal #64 - Unchanged.

65. Have morning devotions. You know, this kinda goes along with my "practice meditation" goal but it is somewhat different. Also it doesn't need to be in the morning.
Redefined goal #65 - Have half-hour devotional time three times a week.

66. Bake my own bread. Just like my momma taught me.
Redefined goal #66 - Bake ALL my own bread, except for fancy bread on fancy occasions (but try to do that myself too!)

67. Find a church in Vancouver. My regular church, St. Oswald's, is rather far away since I moved after finishing school, and I can't make it there every week. I'd like to have a second regular church.
Redefined goal #67 - Visit a different church in Vancouver every time I'm not at St. Oswald's, until I find one to attend regularly.

68. Develop a crafting space. This might have to wait till I get a laptop, because right now my behemoth of a computer is occuping the desk space where, say, a sewing machine might like to go. But I do want to have a little storage area and a desk/table for working on crafty things... sewing, beading, knitting, whatever.
Redefined goal #68 - Unchanged.

69. Watch all the Oscar Best Picture winners. Self-explanatory.
Redefined goal # 69 - Unchanged.

70. Read all of Shakespeare's plays. See #15.
Redefined goal #70 - Deleted.

71. Read "100 best books." As above.
Redefined goal #71 - Deleted.

72. Make wine. This can be in my own house if I invest in all the equipment, or in a U-brew establishment... maybe the latter and if I like it the former? Doesn't really change the goal - cheap booze!
Redefined goal #72 - Unchanged.

73. Reduce carbon emissions by 90%. I still haven't fully grasped the magnitude of this goal! Read more about it here. Holy crap it's ambitious. I love it. Note that this doesn't mean a 90% reduction from my current level, but from the average North American level.
Redefined goal #73 - Unchanged.

74. Go on a bike or canoe camping trip. A week is a good duration, I think. That's really all I need to say!
Redefined goal #74 - Unchanged.

75. Go on a pilgrimage. I'd like to take a trip to a religious site, probably one in the contemplative tradition (e.g. Iona or Taizé), and spend some time there. It's just as much about the journey there, though. It's kind of tough to put a timeline on this one; as granola as this sounds I feel like it'll take as much time as it needs and go where it needs to go.
Redefined goal #75 - Unchanged.

And with that, short-term goals are ready to get done! huzzah.

Clearly Defined Short-Term Goals - Super Size Edition!

Last week I took a sick day and was busy catching up on the following day. No more neglecting! I'm going to get through my short-term goals today.

1. Buy a laptop. I'd like a Macbook, and I've been told that there will be a significant OS upgrade in October. So buying one before then might be a bit silly. Perhaps it would make a good Christmas present for myself? Who knows, I might find a good post-Christmas deal.
Redefined goal #1 - Buy a Macbook within about 6-7 months time (i.e. by January 2008).

2. Pay off student loans. This is my single most important short-term financial goal and happens no matter what, at the expense of all others. By the end of THIS YEAR.
Redefined goal #2 - Pay off my student loan by Dec. 31, 2007.

3. Develop emergency fund. This will be a fairly small one. I don't have any large assets (house, car, etc.), I don't have a spouse or dependents, and we have socialized health care in Canada so anything medically necessary is paid for straight out of my taxes. We also pay into Employment Insurance every month (well, those of us being employed above the table do anyway) so if I lose my job, I would be at the EI office in a hot minute and would have something to pay the bills while I find a new job. I think $1500 is enough. I'm partway there, and have it stashed in an account earning about 4.5% yearly.
Redefined goal #3 - Develop an emergency fund with $1500 in it.

4. Take a vacation to Oregon. My boyfriend and some of his cousins and I are planning a camping trip on the Oregon coast this summer. This will also be an opportunity for me to pick up some of my own camping gear, which will be needed in order to accomplish a few of my other goals. For this one I don't think I'll need much more than a tent and cooking stuff.
Redefined goal #4 - Take a camping trip to Oregon; save $500 for camping gear.

5. Visit my family. I live in Vancouver, BC. My parents live in Kentucky, my sister in Tennessee, my dad's family mostly in North Carolina (except one brother in San Fran), and my mom's family all in Pennsylvania. It's hard for me to visit them both in terms of money and time off from work. Nevertheless, I would like to do it more, and I would like to visit some of my extended family as well. It's been two years since I saw any of them.
Redefined goal #5 - visit my immediate family at least twice, and my mom's and dad's side of the extended family at least once each in the next year.

6. Get a job doing what I love. My degree is in linguistics, and as far as I can tell, a good portion of the jobs are in academia - which is fine with me! Though I think it's probably impossible for me to end up as a professor within the next three years, what with no Master's, nevermind a PhD. There are other things I love doing though and other fields I would be happy to work in, and they include fibre arts, environmental advocacy, and various kinds of helping people (poor people, kids, whatever).
Redefined goal #6 - become employed in any of the following fields: linguistics, social science, fibre arts, environmental work, or charitable organizations.

7. Become actively involved in environmental advocacy. I think that to do this, it's probably best for me to focus my energy in one particular place or topic. With that in mind, I think this goal should be merged with #36, since I can focus my energies on a particular place: my church.
Redefined goal #7 - Become actively involved in environmental advocacy by developing and implementing an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's.

8. Finish Learn-To-Ride and Learn-To-Race. These are courses at the local velodrome, and I've finished two of four. Easy!
Redefined goal #8 - unchanged.

9. Grow a garden. I tried some containers last year without a lot of success, but I think I needed some more container-friendly vegetables or something. I'm trying again this year and I want some results!
Redefined goal #9 - Grow a garden and harvest something edible from each patch that I plant (so far, I have carrots, squash, zucchini, peas, beets, tomatoes, salad greens, peppers, and some herbs).

10. Preserve food for the winter via canning/drying. Self-explanatory, but this can probably be merged with #29 - get friends together to visit farms - since in my mind they are pretty much related, I wouldn't do one without the other.
Redefined goal #10 - Go in with some friends on buying/picking produce in bulk from local farms, and preserve it via canning, drying, or freezing.

11. Buy local. I think this is really important for several reasons, and you can look them up easily for yourself. It just needs a little more definition regarding how much and how local. Also, this includes stuff I grow and make myself!
Redefined goal #11 - Obtain at least 50% of my food from within 200 miles, and my non-food from within 200 miles where possible (i.e. an affordable option exists).

12. Spend less time on the computer. I think this can be modified to include any screen, including the TV. How much is 'less' though? I think I'd be happy with very little computer use outside work, seeing as I already stare at the damn thing all day.
Redefined goal #12 - Limit my computer/TV time to an average of one hour per day outside work (except as needed for job and/or grad school hunting).

13. Practice meditation. I find this really helpful, especially when I'm trying to simplify my life and reduce stress. Ideally I'd like to practice this daily, but starting small is probably the better plan. This may include mindful knitting!
Redefined goal #13 - Practice meditation for one half hour, three times a week.

14. Write more. I enjoy writing and do it well, and I did develop some of the discipline needed while at university. However I haven't kept up with it. I've written a few short articles for my church newsletter, and I've been asked to submit one to the monthly Anglican newspaper. I'd also like to get in the habit of "morning pages" - just stream of consciousness, the object is simply to fill two or three pages.
Redefined goal #14 - Practice writing regularly - one short article per month, and morning pages three times a week.

15. Read more books. I think an excellent start would be the ones on my bookshelf (including Shakespeare's complete works). I also found a list somewhere of the 100 best classics, some of which I've read and all of which I'd like to. This actually encompasses goals 70 and 71 as well.
Redefined goal #15 - read all the books currently on my shelf or the 100-best list that I have not read yet.

16. Knit a sweater. It has to be wearable, and by 'wearable' I mean it gets worn, regularly. Not that I would knit anything else, of course. My days of "Gauge swatch? I don't need no stinkin' gauge swatch!" are over. I even have a few specific possibilities in mind, but I'll leave it open for now.
Redefined goal #16 - Unchanged.

17. Have a Buy-Nothing Christmas. And by "nothing" I mean no consumer goods - obviously if I make something I might need raw materials. For example tonight I am going to make a batch of mint jelly to put aside, and I need some pectin and an alarming amount of sugar.
Redefined goal #17 - Unchanged.

18. Buy a camera. I would LOVE a digital SLR. I love taking pictures but don't have a camera. I've been borrowing James' SLR but I'm terrible at getting film developed and don't want to pay for it anyway. I think my budget will top out at $1000.
Redefined goal #18 - Save $100 a month; buy a digital SLR.

19. Go snowboarding. So much fun! I've only been twice. Must go more. Also, must improve skills.
Redefined goal #19 - Go snowboarding at least three times during the 07-08 season. Learn to carve.

20. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. I did this while I was in school and unfortunately, I don't get automatic spring breaks anymore so weeklong trips to California are not that possible. But spending a Saturday at one of the build sites in the Vancouver area is definitely possible.
Redefined goal #20 - Spend at least five Saturdays working with Habitat.

21. Research an ethnography. I thought about merging this with my "Write more" goal but it's really quite separate. Ethnography is by far my favourite subject and I really enjoyed researching and writing one while in school. Bonus points if it's eventually published. But right now I just have to get started.
Redefined goal #21 - Choose a social scene to study, and begin the participant observation/research.

22. Start sewing. This one is necessary for accomplishing #30.
Redefined goal #22 - deleted.

23. Learn how to use a spinning wheel. My local yarn store has classes. However I'm merging this with #24.
Redefined goal #23 - deleted.

24. Knit something with my own handspun. See above - I'm specifying a wheel as opposed to a drop spindle, which I can use already.
Redefined goal #24 - Knit something with wool I've handspun on a spinning wheel.

25. Run 10 km. Easy.
Redefined goal #25 - Unchanged.

26. Bike 100 km. Also easy! All you have to do is bike 50 km in one direction and leave yourself no other option for getting home. However this isn't really much of a stretch for me anymore, I did 73 in one go a few weeks ago, and that was fully loaded. I think my panniers weighed twice as much as my bike! So I'm going to say 150.
Redefined goal #26 - Bike 150 km.

27. Take pictures and get some prints framed. After I get a camera of course. I have a couple friends who are excellent photographers, and I'd really like to work on my skills and get a few nice prints made. I think they make great gifts as well.
Redefined goal #27 - Practice taking pictures regularly (i.e. on a weekly basis) and get prints of five of my best.

28. Practice networking. I already went over this in micro-goal #7 really, though it is also a short-term aspiration as well.
Redefined goal #28 - Deleted.

29. Get friends together to visit farms. See #10.
Redefined goal #29 - Deleted.

30. Sew one whole outfit for myself. I haven't decided yet if this includes underwear yet, but I'm leaning towards "why the hell not?" I don't think this will include shoes. Socks yes. They'll be knitted though obviously.
Redefined goal #30 - Unchanged.

31. Learn to dirtjump. I have a badass dirtjumping bike and it's high time I started getting some air on that thing.
Redefined goal #31 - Learn to dirtjump; be able to do a clean run on medium-sized tables.

32. Improve flexibility. I used to do springboard diving and could pretty much just fold myself in half. Ahh to be young and nubile again.
Redefined goal #32 - Practice stretching in order to improve flexibility for 15 minutes each evening.

33. Go scuba diving. Vancouver is great for this, or so I'm told. If I save $35 a month, I can take a beginner open water course with 10 dives in less than a year's time.
Redefined goal #33 - Take a beginner open water scuba diving course; save $35 per month for it.

34. Go rock climbing. How many outdoor sports have I mentioned already? Vancouver is a mecca for pretty much any of them. Anyway, rock climbing. I think there's a course I can take somewhere so I can be on the other end of the rope as well. I'd like to try it up a proper rock face and not just an artificial rock wall, but let's start in the shallow end here.
Redefined goal #34 - Go rock climbing three times; get certified to belay.

35. Play board games. Come on, free entertainment! Well, once you own the game anyway, and between me and my friends, I have access to many. Not that I watch much TV to begin with, but I'm trying to come up with even more alternatives.
Redefined goal #35 - Spend twenty evenings playing board games.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Continuing with the clearly defined micro-goals

11. Have a picnic. This one's easy.
Redefined goal #11: unchanged.

12. Make (soy) yogurt. I've been reading over some very clear directions and it's something I've always wanted to try. Commercial soy yogurt is a) expensive and b) gross. At first I was thinking it should be entirely from scratch, but reading that over she says the best results come from part homemade and part commercial soymilk, so that's what I'll do. Also, it has to be edible.
Redefined goal #12: Make at least one batch of soy yogurt that tastes good, with at least half homemade soymilk.

13. Make tofu from scratch. Same as above, but I'd like to try it with all homemade soymilk; I have a feeling it won't matter so much as with the yogurt since tofu is supposed to be kind of bland all on its own.
Redefined goal #13: Make at least one batch of tofu entirely from scratch.

14. Have a temporary corset piercing at a formal event. Well, if a suitable formal event occurs in the next just-under-3 years, anyway! I've been thinking about having one done for my [hypothetical] wedding, and it might freak people out but damnit, it's MY day and I'll do what I want! And if a suitable formal event doesn't come up, well.... I'll throw a formal party just for the hell of it.
Redefined goal #14: Unchanged.

15. Make energy labels for St. Oswald's. The Anglican church provides a spreadsheet you can download, plug in some numbers about your square footage and utility bills, and it churns out graphs and charts showing how much of which energy is being used where, and there's a space for setting energy reduction goals and so on. This goal is just missing the implementation once the labels are made.
Redefined goal #15: Make energy labels for St. Oswald's, post them in the church, and work with the church committee to develop and meet energy reduction goals.

16. Schedule a church retrofit consultation. Similar to the above, you can get schedule a workshop through the diocese to go through your church and suggest ways to improve your energy efficiency - window inserts, weather stripping, solar panels, etc. As above, though, there needs to be some follow-through with this goal.
Redefined goal #16: Schedule a church retrofit consultation, and work with the church committee to implement recommendations as possible.

17. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. I'm wondering what a good term is for this to become an established habit - a week? a month? Let's split the difference. I'll go for one in the morning, four at work, three in the evening.
Redefined goal #17: Drink 8 glasses of water each day, for 2 weeks straight.

18. Digitize my CD collection. Easy! all it takes is some time...
Redefined goal #18: Unchanged.

19. Visit a museum. I'd like to visit several actually, but let's just start small. There's one in particular I'd like to visit.
Redefined goal #19: Visit the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

20. Attend an opera, symphony, or ballet performance. No further work needed here.
Redefined goal #20: Unchanged.

21. File tax return. Yes, I'm well aware that April 30 has come and gone. I just... argh! I don't owe so it's okay. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But yes, it needs to get done. Also, it can be amalgamated with 22, which is my single most important short-term financial goal.
Redefined goal #21: File tax return BY JUNE 31, and use the refund towards paying off student loans.

22. Put tax refund into paying off student loans. See above.
Redefined goal #22: Deleted.

23. Teach someone to knit. Anyone! I have several friends who have asked me.
Redefined goal #23: Unchanged.

24. Go sailing. I've only done this twice in my life. I'd like to double that. It may be hard since I don't own a boat or have any friends who do, so this depends on wealthy friends-of-friends. Maybe my to-be-developed networking skills will help me!
Redefined goal #24: Go sailing on two separate occasions.

25. Surprise James with something romantic. Depending on your definition of "romantic" I may have already accomplished this when I bought him a new road map, since his was barely usable anymore. But I can do it again. Something romantic I mean, not buy him a new map again.
Redefined goal #25: Unchanged.

26. Get rid of all the junk/clothes I don't use/wear anymore. It's taking of my closet and breeding under my bed. As long as I'm conducting a thorough investigation of what all I own, I'd like to catalogue any valuables while it's still managable (i.e. while I have very few of them!)
Redefined goal #26 - Conduct an inventory of my possessions, selling or donating what I do not need and itemizing any valuables.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Clearly defined micro-goals

Back to the baby-step goals! These are the ones that should be completable with about a week's work. I'll go through them in sets of 10 or so, as I have time.

1. Take shorter showers. How short is short? For me, 10 minutes would be a stretch, but it's possible if I don't have to shave that day. However, this is necessarily part of short-term goal #73.
Redefined goal #1: Deleted.

2. Write a will. This one's pretty easy, however it includes a couple other sets of documents that aren't part of a traditional will.
Redefined goal #2: Write a will, including a living will, funeral arrangements, and other instructions to my family in the event of my death.

3. Race in an alleycat. This one needs no further definition, and will be accomplished on June 16th actually. Though I am thinking about amending it to include some winnings. I feel like that is partially beyond my control, as I don't have any influence on other entrants, and I'm not about to start hiring someone to break people's legs. But I can for sure do some more training and get more experienced. So with that in mind -
Redefined goal #3 - Race in an alleycat, and bring home a prize.

4. Make church website. My boyfriend James and I are in the middle of designing a website for my church. I'd give you a link, but well... I can't right now. ha! It is coming along though, I understand the design is done (that's James' end) and so what I need to do is finish writing... whatever needs to be written!
Redefined goal #4 - Finish all the writing for the church website, and get it online.

5. Go to the farmer's market. It's that time of the year, and I'm trying to buy local as much as possible. However, I've observed that one of my other goals is "Buy Local" and shopping at the farmer's market (there are several excellent ones near me) is part of that. So I'm scrapping this, but it will show up in an Action Plan later.
Redefined goal #5 - deleted!

6. Do some beadwork. I bought a nice bead kit from a friend and enjoy making jewelry, but I've neglected it a bit in favour of its nicer older sister, knitting. I'd like to make a few things for small gifts, since I prefer to keep my jewelry stash fairly small.
Redefined goal #6 - Make at least 10 beaded items (e.g. bracelets).

7. Practice networking. I am seriously considering starting a job search within the month, and I'd like to make some contacts who can help me out. I could amalgamate this into my medium-term goal of finding a job in my field, but I think it is important whether or not I'm looking for a job, so it stays on independently. I've also been unsure of whether to include this goal as short-term or medium-term or what, but I think I will leave it here since making a new contact is easily doable in a week.
Redefined goal #7 - Make one new contact (who can help influence my career path) each week for one month.

8. Redo my résumé. Obviously necessary when one is planning on job shopping, and honestly in the sector I work in, it's a good idea to have it always up to date. In my opinion it's a pretty good resume, well-formatted, concise, and effective. There are just a few things about it that need to be updated in light of my present job.
Redefined goal #8 - Update résumé to include present work experience, and new skills learned.

9. Donate hair to Locks of Love. I did this once already, dropping TWO FEET of my flowing tresses, and it felt so weird I'll just have to try it again. It's just not long enough yet.
Redefined goal #9 - Once my hair reaches waist length, chop it to chin length and donate it to Locks of Love.

10. Register as an organ donor. In British Columbia, this is done through a separate agency and has nothing to do with your driver's license or anything else, though you do need a valid CareCard.
Redefined goal #10 - unchanged.

Setting well-defined, measurable goals

Here's the blurb from Triplux, whence this goal craze originated:
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.
So now, my next task is to make sure all of my goals are specific, well-defined, measurable, realistic, and stretching. In the next few days I'll be going over them all once more, since it's quite obvious that none of them are any of those things right now.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Category 4: Long-term goals

I can guarantee these will not be accomplished in 1001 days, but I thought I'd include them for fun. They are:

1. Buy some property; and
2. Farm it.

Next step - rewording my big huge list and quantifying everything!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Category 3: Medium-term goals

These are the goals that will probably take more than a year to accomplish (including saving money). A much smaller list than the short term goals!

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail
2. Get a master's degree
3. Get my legs tattooed
4. Do some bike touring
5. Grow my hair out to waist length
6. Take the train across Canada
7. Go on a human-powered camping trip
8. Go on a pilgrimage
9. Increase net worth
10. Travel to Africa

Category 2: Short-term goals

These are the goals that I've identified as short-term, that is, they can be accomplished in one year or less, but would probably take more than a week (though there may be some overlap with the micro-goals there). Some of them (e.g. #13) are not so much things that can be accomplished as habits I'd like to get into. Again, these are fairly vague and ill-defined, but that will change soon.

1. Buy a laptop
2. Pay off student loans
3. Develop emergency fund
4. Take a vacation to Oregon
5. Visit my family
6. Get a job doing what I love
7. Become actively involved in environmental advocacy
8. Finish Learn-to-Ride and Learn-to-Race [programs at the local velodrome]
9. Grow a garden
10. Preserve food for winter via canning/drying
11. Buy local
12. Spend less time on the computer
13. Practice meditation
14. Write more
15. Read more books
16. Knit a sweater
17. Have a Buy Nothing Christmas
18. Buy a camera
19. Go snowboarding
20. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
21. Research an ethnography
22. Start sewing
23. Learn how to use a spinning wheel
24. Knit something with my own handspun
25. Run 10 km
26. Bike 100 km
27. Take pictures and get some prints framed
28. Practice networking
29. Get friends together to visit farms
30. Sew one whole outfit for myself
31. Learn to dirtjump
32. Improve flexibility
33. Go scuba diving
34. Go rock climbing
35. Play board games
36. Develop an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's
37. Have all-local meals
38. Spend a weekend in silence
39. Do the Master Cleanse
40. Eat everything in my freezer
41. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
42. Decrease my yarn stash
43. Increase net worth
44. Eat out less
45. Make laundry detergent
46. Make less trash
47. Compile a cookbook
48. Take up yoga
49. Vote in every election I'm eligible
50. Develop an investment portfolio
51. Keep a monthly budget
52. Clear Nicole's trail at Burnaby Mountain
53. Do a collaborative painting with James
54. Get a bike tattoo
55. Get a knitting tattoo
56. Attend knitting group regularly
57. Learn to do nose wheelie pivots
58. Get up by 7 (at the latest!) every morning
59. Start working 8-4 instead of 9-5
60. Get insurance settlement taken care of
61. Renew passports
62. Get a driver's license
63. Do an outdoor suspension
64. Tithe 10%
65. Have morning devotions
66. Bake my own bread
67. Find a church in Vancouver
68. Develop a crafting space
69. Watch all the Oscar Best Picture winners
70. Read all of Shakespeare's plays
71. Read "100 best books"
72. Make wine
73. Reduce carbon emissions by 90%

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Category 1: Micro-goals

The next step in my planning process is categorizing my big fat list of goals. These are the goals which I've identified as "micro" in size - that is, they can be accomplished in about a week. Not that all of them will, of course. I mean in a week from when I actually start working on it. There is some overlap between these and short-term goals, as some of them are ongoing things. #7, for example. Many are still quite vague and poorly defined, but I'll work on that soon!

1. Take shorter showers
2. Write a will
3. Race in an alleycat
4. Make church website
5. Go to the farmer's market
6. Do some beadwork
7. Practice networking
8. Redo my résumé
9. Donate hair to Locks of Love
10. Register as an organ donor
11. Have a picnic
12. Make (soy) yogurt from scratch
13. Make tofu from scratch
14. Have a temporary corset piercing at a formal event
15. Make energy labels for St. Oswald's
16. Schedule a church retrofit consultation
17. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
18. Digitize CD collection
19. Visit a museum
20. Attend an opera, symphony, or ballet performance
21. File tax return
22. Put tax refund into paying off student loans
23. Teach someone to knit
24. Go sailing
25. Surprise James with something romantic
26. Get rid of all the junk/clothes I don't use/wear anymore.

Values

When making goals it's important to keep your values in mind. Last month, I attended an Environmental Justice Camp in Victoria, BC, sponsored by the Anglican church. One of the things mentioned in our discussions was an idea on why some environmental initiatives haven't taken off so well. A friend mentioned that the more effective organizations were those where values were most important - for example, saying "We value the importance of urban green space" and having goals and strategies (community gardens, say) come out of that. Trying to get people to do something (use less gas, for example) doesn't work if you or they don't know why it's important.

With that in mind, I've thought a bit about the things I value in life, and checked over my list of goals to make sure they're compatible. They all were, in fact most were just sort of an unconscious outflow.

I value my faith most, and it informs the rest of my values and goals.
My family, including James
Building friendships and community
Justice - not exploiting others, no matter how distant they may be
Peace - resisting violence in any form
Stewardship of creation
Good health
Enjoyment of life
Making things with my own hands - this is really an intrinsically valuable thing for me, quite aside from any financial benefits
Having the time to enjoy friends, family, and hobbies
Being financially stable and out of debt

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

First draft list of my goals

Here's my list of goals as I first wrote them down, duplications and everything. Since I am not actually done with the rewording and clarifying process, I am still adding more as I think of them. When I get to the final list, duplications will be eliminated, really similar ones amalgamated, and any that are in themselves necessary steps in accomplishing another goal will also be eliminated.

1. Hike the Appalachian Trail
2. Take shorter showers
3. Buy a laptop
4. Write a will
5. Pay off student loan
6. Develop emergency fund
7. Take a vacation to Oregon
8. Visit my family
9. Get a master's degree
10. Get a job doing what I love
11. Become actively involved in environmental advocacy
12. Finish Learn-To-Ride and Learn-To-Race
13. Race in an alleycat
14. Grow a garden
15. Make a website for my church
16. Get my legs tattooed
17. Do some canning/drying etc. this summer
18. Buy local
19. Do some bike touring
20. Spend less time on the computer
21. Practice meditation
22. Write more
23. Read more books
24. Knit a sweater
25. Have a Buy Nothing Christmas
26. Buy a camera
27. Go snowboarding
28. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity
29. Research an ethnography
30. Go to the farmer's market
31. Start sewing
32. Do some beading
33. Use computer less
34. Learn how to use a spinning wheel
35. Knit something out of my own handspun
36. Run 10 km
37. Bike 100 km
38. Take pictures and get some prints framed
39. Practice networking
40. Redo my resume
41. Grow my hair out to waist length
42. Cut all my hair off and donate it to Locks of Love
43. Register as an organ donor
44. Have a picnic
45. Get friends together to visit farms
46. Make (soy) yogurt from scratch
47. Make tofu from scratch
48. Sew one whole outfit for myself
49. Learn to dirtjump
50. Improve flexibility
51. Take the train across Canada
52. Go scuba diving
53. Go rock climbing
54. Go on a human-powered camping trip
55. Play board games
56. Have a temporary corset piercing at a formal event
57. Make energy labels for St. Oswald's
58. Schedule a church retrofit consultation
59. Develop an environmental stewardship program at St. Oswald's
60. Have all-local meals
61. Spend a weekend in silence
62. Go on a pilgrimage
63. Do the master cleanse
64. Eat everything in my freezer
65. Drink 8 glasses of water a day
66. Decrease yarn stash
67. Increase net worth
68. Build an emergency fund
69. Eat out less
70. Make laundry detergent
71. Make less trash
72. Replace lightbulbs with CFLs
73. Compile a cookbook
74. Digitize my CD collection
75. Take up yoga
76. Visit museums
77. Attend an opera, ballet, or symphony
78. Vote in every election I'm eligible
79. Develop an investment portfolio
80. Travel to Africa
81. Keep a monthly budget
82. Do a weekend bike trip
83. Clear Nicole's trail at Burnaby Mountain
84. File my tax return
85. Put my tax refund into paying off student loan
86. Do a collaborative painting with James
87. Get a bike tattoo
88. Get a knitting tattoo
89. Teach someone to knit
90. Attend knitting group more often
91. Learn to do nose wheelie pivots
92. Get up by 7 every morning
93. Start working 8-4 (instead of 9-5)
94. Get insurance settlement taken care of
95. Renew passports
96. Get a driver's license
97. Do an outdoor suspension
98. Give 10% of my net income to charity
99. Have morning devotions
100. Go sailing
101. Get my bike all fixed
102. Bake my own bread
103. Find a church in Vancouver
104. Surprise James with something romantic
105. Develop a crafting space
106. Buy a home
107. Watch all the Best Picture Oscar winners
108. Read all of Shakespeare's plays that I haven't read yet
109. Read all the books on the "100 best books" list [I have it at home somewhere] that I haven't read yet
110. Make wine
111. Get rid of junk/clothes I don't use/wear anymore

Starting out & overall action plan

At the end of May 2007, I was inspired by The Simple Dollar (originally from Triplux) to create a set of goals for myself. It's actually 101 goals in 1001 days, but that doesn't make for a great URL. I believe that I have a good chance of accomplishing most (if not all) of them by Feb. 22, 2010 (a Monday, if you want to know).

Here's where I'll document it all. This was my action plan:
1. Write out a list of goals - just a draft, whatever comes to mind, fill as many pages as necessary
2. Go over the list and sort it into personal, financial, career-related, etc.
3. Classify the list into mini, short, medium, or long-term (the long-term ones, and possibly a few of the medium, will not get done in 1001 days)
4. Go over the list again, rewording, clarifying, defining, quantifying, etc. so that each goal is measurable and well defined
5. Make a final list
6. Develop specific action points for each

It's probably a boring blog topic (and there are many others with the same theme floating around the internets as well!) but the idea behind the blog is just to keep myself on track. But if it helps you out too, that's great!