2007 Goals
The older I get the more I realize the importance of having realistic goals. Here are mine for this year. Note that these are realistic given past experience, but not easy to achieve – at least from my current perspective:
1. Housetrain the Dog. We started the New Year off with “Two pair” – a pair of puddles and a pair of piles. While these accidents make me appreciate the wisdom of purchasing a carpet steam cleaner, it needs to stop.
2. Sell a piece. My first sale as a writer occurred way back in 1999, but everything I’ve written and published since has been for free. I need to stop that. My credit card bills need me to stop that.
3. Return to Japan as a tourist. 10 years ago I left that country as a newly-minted parent with no career prospects and a drinking problem. It will be nice to return there, sober, with the Wife and Kid.
4. Stay sober. I don’t like to talk too much of my alcoholism since most people still don’t understand the disease – and so may get the wrong ideas about me when I confess my humility regarding it. However alcohol has snuffed out the lives of people more talented, smarter and generally better than me. Yet I survive. Survival is something to be proud of, just not often discussed.
5. Unbearable Lightness of (House) Cleaning - Out! Out! Out damned clutter! I want to streamline our household to the point that when the decision is made to move we’ll be ready.
6. Achieve a top-3 entry at Worth1000. Ever since I’ve learned Photoshop I’ve become addicted to the raw power of the tool. I’m beginning to discover that photoshopping is yet another way of self-expression, and sites like Worth1000 play host to photoshop geeks like me. This recent entry ranked in 6th Place and stands as my highest so far. The competition is fiercer than one might not think.
UPDATE: 4/27/2008
So did I meet my goals for 2007?
1. Success – I somehow managed to do this for both a Chihuahua (who joined our household in Feb of 2007) as well as the Lab.
2. Failure – Try as I might I still haven’t managed to do this.
3. Failure – As 2007 continued this fell as a priority. Now I hope to do it within the next three years or so.
4. Success – By the grace of God.
5. Failure – It’s an ongoing battle.
6. Failure – I pretty much stopped submitting after writing this entry. I do enough for free as it is that I don’t need yet another waste of time.
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