1. Go to the dentist twice.
I forgot to sign up in time for dental last year, so I didn't have insurance til September (and Husband added me to his insurance). The other day I finally printed a list of dentists in our neighborhood, so I'm sure I'll get in at least one visit this year, which is a step in the right direction...
2. Buy at least one new lens.
Done! Got the 85mm f/1.8 (used). I also want to get my Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 fixed. I really do need another, wider lens--the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 would be a great one. Next year, I hope.
3. Save up for a D300.
Done! I made my goal in the summer and bought the camera and a lens in early August. I love it.
4. Travel to a new country.
Done! We went to Costa Rica in the spring and had a great time. Oh, and we got engaged. :) We are now making plans for another big trip next spring too!
5. Do a paid photo shoot.
Done! I shot a portrait session in August.
6. Write on blog at least once a week.
Total fail. But this project is an attempt to get over that failure and get back into the habit.
7. Update photo blog at least once a month.
Done so far! I will actually share the link here soon.
8. Exercise at least once a week, at home or at the gym.
Well, I went weeks at a time without working out during the school year. I'm lazy and also I was pretty exhausted.
9. Get a new job. (Not teaching.)
Done! At least temporarily and part-time. Which counts because, as I mentioned the other day, I'm over the hurdle of finding that first job out of teaching. Things are starting to pick up in my main job, which is exciting! I hope I do well.
10. Attend 3 Meetups (for any group).
Not done at all. I signed up for several but either couldn't go, couldn't afford it, or just wasn't interested. But the point was to be more social and meet new people, which I'm partly doing successfully.
11. Shoot a wedding (as first or second shooter).
Done! Second shot a wedding in July! Really want to do lots more!
12. Take a class (photography, Spanish, etc).
Done! I took a street photography class and then a portrait photography class through the Education Alliance.
13. Visit my Grandma.
Done! We visited her and some other family in the Chicago area, after the wedding.
14. Attend graduations.
Done! I had a great time that weekend, celebrating with my younger siblings and catching up with family.
15. Write a real letter at least once a month.
Total fail. I think I wrote one letter to my Grandma in February.
16. Decorate bedroom.
Done! We got a new mattress and bed frame, and I finally got my lovely van Gogh poster (that sat in its holder for three years) in a (cheapy Ikea) frame. We also got all new bedding. We still want to paint.
17. Donate clothes/books once per season.
Semi-successful. Donated in January and this past weekend. I had a big bag of clothes that were too big or that I wasn't wearing, a bag of shoes, plus our two old computers and my old printer!
18. Buy a new computer.
Done! Except even better, a friend gave me an extra one for free. This computer pretty much changed my life! It is SO fast. My old one was over four years old and didn't have much memory. Now I can have internet, itunes, lightroom, photoshop, whatever else all open at the same time and everything still works normally!
19. Knit or crochet a garment.
Hmm. I made a cowl, as well as several scarves, hats, dishcloths. Those don't really count as 'garments' though. I still want to make a vest or skirt, so this is a no. However, I'll give myself a 'pass' if I get through my holiday craft list. Then next year I'll work on a real garment.
20. Some kind of financial goal.
Yeah, no way. I contributed to my Roth IRA every month while I was working, but obviously since the summer I've been trying not to spend or put away money.
21. More freelance photography.
Done! I've done three full portrait sessions! I really want to do more. If you live in the NYC area, I'd love to shoot you (with my camera!)!
22. Do not leave any dishes out or in the sink; wash everything before going to bed.
I have definitely missed stretches out of laziness. :) But I try to be good!
23. See friends once a month.
I added this one later because as noted above, I wanted to be more social. This has been indeed successful! Starting in late spring I met a couple new friends through a couple other friends and I see them sometimes once a week. It's a lot of fun to have people to hang out with. :) We're looking forward to the Thanksgiving gathering this year! And though Ms. M won't be with us in person this time, we plan to see her online. :)
So overall, wow, it's been a successful year! I am happy that so many things have gone well, even through a tough teaching year and crazy transition out of teaching. Not to mention getting engaged and married! I have a lot to celebrate about the past eleven months. This is hard to remember sometimes, with the teaching craziness and then unemployment stress.
There are a number of goals that I will extend or re-do for next year. I'm also working on a "life list," which is another post I'm planning for the month. But I do like having a sort of guide for the things I want to work on--I definitely feel more inspired to work toward them.
Showing posts with label 2010goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010goals. Show all posts
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Goal updates
There are definitely some things I could actually write about, but I'm too tired for that. Instead, I will share updates on my year goals. They've been
First, the positives:
-I have successfully posted here once a week. I think.
-I posted a couple times on my photo blog already this month.
-I have worked out at least once for four weeks of the five (counting this morning for this week).
-I have been making small granny squares to eventually make a blanket (?). So far I've got sixteen.
-I've been keeping my eye out and sending emails about photo opportunities.
-I opened a new savings account specifically for the new camera. (Since a new lens costs about half as much as the D300, I figured it would make more sense to just save for the camera.)
-I signed up for a photography class! It starts this week!
Not so positive:
-I have not been so great about doing my dishes. It's been about half and half, maybe, that I clear everything away.
-I haven't written a letter yet. There are a couple I have in mind to write, but of course I have been too lazy thus far. I still have a week or so for that 'deadline.' Also, I owe some family some presents, that I have completely not gotten or even thought about. Very bad job.
-No progress on the home decor.
-I need to work on my finance stuff and roll over previous retirement accounts. I've put that off for months already.
I'm glad that I recorded these goals. I have them in a little notebook so that I can jot down notes and thoughts and updates. I find they're a lot more real this way and I want to be more successful seeing them written down. Of course, it hasn't even been a month yet, so it's all still pretty fresh. The test will come farther down the road to see if I'm still thinking about them.
First, the positives:
-I have successfully posted here once a week. I think.
-I posted a couple times on my photo blog already this month.
-I have worked out at least once for four weeks of the five (counting this morning for this week).
-I have been making small granny squares to eventually make a blanket (?). So far I've got sixteen.
-I've been keeping my eye out and sending emails about photo opportunities.
-I opened a new savings account specifically for the new camera. (Since a new lens costs about half as much as the D300, I figured it would make more sense to just save for the camera.)
-I signed up for a photography class! It starts this week!
Not so positive:
-I have not been so great about doing my dishes. It's been about half and half, maybe, that I clear everything away.
-I haven't written a letter yet. There are a couple I have in mind to write, but of course I have been too lazy thus far. I still have a week or so for that 'deadline.' Also, I owe some family some presents, that I have completely not gotten or even thought about. Very bad job.
-No progress on the home decor.
-I need to work on my finance stuff and roll over previous retirement accounts. I've put that off for months already.
I'm glad that I recorded these goals. I have them in a little notebook so that I can jot down notes and thoughts and updates. I find they're a lot more real this way and I want to be more successful seeing them written down. Of course, it hasn't even been a month yet, so it's all still pretty fresh. The test will come farther down the road to see if I'm still thinking about them.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Goals for the Year
I've never been one for Making New Year's Resolutions. For one, I don't have any vices that I need to quit, and for two, I'm not the type who wants to make sweeping changes, because inevitably it won't work.
Last year, I was asked to come up with three resolutions for a school thing. I came up with: take a photography class; travel to a new country; and knit something new (like a new garment that I hadn't tried before). Of course, two of those require money, and since I spent more than half the year either unemployed or underemployed, they didn't happen. As for the knitting thing, I was lazy. I'm one of the crafty-in-spurts types, so whatever.
One year in high school, I made myself a list of goals for the gymnastics season. After each meet, I would check off what I accomplished. By the end of the season, I had accomplished almost all of the goals! I felt that I had worked hard and focused, and I was proud.
So I am in favor of goals.
Then, last week, I ended up trolling some amazing photography blogs, and I was inspired but also bummed that I don't have that much photography work. One of them had a list of "100 things in 1001 days." That was really inspiring and interesting to read.
After that crazy shit of this past year, I decided that there are some things I want to work on in 2010. I wrote down a list in a cute little pocket notebook to help me keep notes and thoughts. Here they are!
1. Go to the dentist twice. (I haven't been in three years. So as soon as I get my insurance info, I will make an appointment. )
2. Buy at least one new lens. (I have some money to help from Christmas. I think I will go for the 10-20mm wide angle!)
3. Save up for a D300. (I know. Lots of money. I bought the D80 in December 2008, so I figure two years is a good time to spend with it before upgrading. And maybe closer to the end of the year, the price will go down a teeny bit more. Even used it's a little more than $1,000!)
4. Travel to a new country. (Check! Last week we bought tickets for Costa Rica for spring break!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!! Also, my brand new passport arrived, fresh for another decade of country hopping!)
5. Do a paid photo shoot. (I would love to do some engagement sessions.)
6. Write on blog at least once a week. (There's always so much in my head, but I'm usually so tired and lazy at the end of the day.)
7. Update photo blog at least once a month. (I would love to post the link here, but I'm a fan of Anonymity. Send your email address if you'd like to see my work!)
8. Exercise at least once a week, at home or at the gym. (That's a pretty easy goal. One I've already exceeded for now--I went twice last week and this morning too!)
9. Get a new job. (Not teaching. Yeah.)
10. Attend 3 Meetups (for any group). (I would like to be more social and make more friends. Also this would help improve the work/life balance the right direction.)
11. Shoot a wedding (as first or second shooter). (I want to get better and take more photos!)
12. Take a class (photography, Spanish, etc). (Time is a problem here, with my stupid late hours at school. But I really want to do this.)
13. Visit my Grandma. (Haven't seen her in a few years.)
14. Attend graduations. (Check! Bought tickets home for June! Yay!)
15. Write a real letter at least once a month.
16. Decorate bedroom (frame van Gogh print, new dresser, paint?).
17. Donate clothes/books once per season. (On New Year's Day, I finally donated the FOUR large bags of clothes that have been cluttering my closet and car for the last five months.)
18. Buy a new computer. (I bought this one in the spring of 2006, and the memory is crap. I upgraded it once, but not much compared to today's standards, and I have a second hard drive that's more than half full with tens of thousands of photos and music files. I don't think it's exaggeration to say that I will need a new one.)
19. Knit or crochet a garment. I have been completely obsessed with crochet for the past month. I've made three hats this week. Last night I started a granny square. I want to buy some yarn specifically to make a vest as a start, since it's only two sides.
20. Some kind of financial goal. (I wasn't able to save any money for most of 2009, as I didn't have a real income. I would love to max out my Roth IRA contribution, but $5,000 is a lot in one year. I was thinking about getting my savings account up, with a goal of $10,000. I have about half that now, so it would be a two-year goal at best. I already bumped up my monthly contributions to both savings and IRA. We'll see how the job thing develops.)
21. More freelance photography. (That's not exactly up to me, but I have so enjoyed going out to shoot new things and then seeing my work published in a real newspaper! I will contact the staff there and let them know I'm more available. I can definitely do a shoot every other weekend or so.)
22. Do not leave any dishes out or in the sink; wash everything before going to bed. (I get lazy and feel bad about being a bad roommate; the boy never leaves dishes out.)
I hope to revisit these occasionally and evaluate my progress. It's my hope that making them public will help hold me accountable, so think good thoughts for me. :)
Last year, I was asked to come up with three resolutions for a school thing. I came up with: take a photography class; travel to a new country; and knit something new (like a new garment that I hadn't tried before). Of course, two of those require money, and since I spent more than half the year either unemployed or underemployed, they didn't happen. As for the knitting thing, I was lazy. I'm one of the crafty-in-spurts types, so whatever.
One year in high school, I made myself a list of goals for the gymnastics season. After each meet, I would check off what I accomplished. By the end of the season, I had accomplished almost all of the goals! I felt that I had worked hard and focused, and I was proud.
So I am in favor of goals.
Then, last week, I ended up trolling some amazing photography blogs, and I was inspired but also bummed that I don't have that much photography work. One of them had a list of "100 things in 1001 days." That was really inspiring and interesting to read.
After that crazy shit of this past year, I decided that there are some things I want to work on in 2010. I wrote down a list in a cute little pocket notebook to help me keep notes and thoughts. Here they are!
1. Go to the dentist twice. (I haven't been in three years. So as soon as I get my insurance info, I will make an appointment. )
2. Buy at least one new lens. (I have some money to help from Christmas. I think I will go for the 10-20mm wide angle!)
3. Save up for a D300. (I know. Lots of money. I bought the D80 in December 2008, so I figure two years is a good time to spend with it before upgrading. And maybe closer to the end of the year, the price will go down a teeny bit more. Even used it's a little more than $1,000!)
4. Travel to a new country. (Check! Last week we bought tickets for Costa Rica for spring break!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!! Also, my brand new passport arrived, fresh for another decade of country hopping!)
5. Do a paid photo shoot. (I would love to do some engagement sessions.)
6. Write on blog at least once a week. (There's always so much in my head, but I'm usually so tired and lazy at the end of the day.)
7. Update photo blog at least once a month. (I would love to post the link here, but I'm a fan of Anonymity. Send your email address if you'd like to see my work!)
8. Exercise at least once a week, at home or at the gym. (That's a pretty easy goal. One I've already exceeded for now--I went twice last week and this morning too!)
9. Get a new job. (Not teaching. Yeah.)
10. Attend 3 Meetups (for any group). (I would like to be more social and make more friends. Also this would help improve the work/life balance the right direction.)
11. Shoot a wedding (as first or second shooter). (I want to get better and take more photos!)
12. Take a class (photography, Spanish, etc). (Time is a problem here, with my stupid late hours at school. But I really want to do this.)
13. Visit my Grandma. (Haven't seen her in a few years.)
14. Attend graduations. (Check! Bought tickets home for June! Yay!)
15. Write a real letter at least once a month.
16. Decorate bedroom (frame van Gogh print, new dresser, paint?).
17. Donate clothes/books once per season. (On New Year's Day, I finally donated the FOUR large bags of clothes that have been cluttering my closet and car for the last five months.)
18. Buy a new computer. (I bought this one in the spring of 2006, and the memory is crap. I upgraded it once, but not much compared to today's standards, and I have a second hard drive that's more than half full with tens of thousands of photos and music files. I don't think it's exaggeration to say that I will need a new one.)
19. Knit or crochet a garment. I have been completely obsessed with crochet for the past month. I've made three hats this week. Last night I started a granny square. I want to buy some yarn specifically to make a vest as a start, since it's only two sides.
20. Some kind of financial goal. (I wasn't able to save any money for most of 2009, as I didn't have a real income. I would love to max out my Roth IRA contribution, but $5,000 is a lot in one year. I was thinking about getting my savings account up, with a goal of $10,000. I have about half that now, so it would be a two-year goal at best. I already bumped up my monthly contributions to both savings and IRA. We'll see how the job thing develops.)
21. More freelance photography. (That's not exactly up to me, but I have so enjoyed going out to shoot new things and then seeing my work published in a real newspaper! I will contact the staff there and let them know I'm more available. I can definitely do a shoot every other weekend or so.)
22. Do not leave any dishes out or in the sink; wash everything before going to bed. (I get lazy and feel bad about being a bad roommate; the boy never leaves dishes out.)
I hope to revisit these occasionally and evaluate my progress. It's my hope that making them public will help hold me accountable, so think good thoughts for me. :)
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