101: Reflections

So, in my absence, a lot of my thoughts pertaining to the blog circled around the 101 in 1001. 

The tl;dr version is: Naturally, like all grandiose goal-setting endeavors, this has technically failed. But there's a nice long read here about the ways in which it did not fail, and how I'm OK with the "failure" this endeavor entailed.

What the 101 has done for me

It had been years since I wrote out a list of all the discrete things that interested me. More shockingly, given that I am a planner by nature, I'm not sure I ever compiled anything resembling a to-do of personal development. I guess my planning was always externally-focused.


But there is nuance. There is grey area. This has only failed in the strictest sense: I will not complete those 101 goals in 1001 days. I'm OK with this. I've been whittling at the list in my blogging absence. Blog silence did not cleanly translate into goal stagnation. I slowed down, yes. My 101 was very ambitious given that the math works out to just over 9 days per goal. I won't accomplish everything on the list. Which translates to...

The 101 was a larger lesson in prioritizing. I had fallen into that classic trap of "Oh, That'd be cool if I could/would..." but, you know, never actually doing anything. Spending a little mental energy to compile all those wishes & wants, and to compare them to each other, gave me more motivation - especially once I looked at the time I had on my hands. The catch to this is that while I have some time, I don't necessarily have energy to match it. I was very gung-ho those first weeks, and there was - to a point - a feedback loop where the sense of accomplishment fueled me even more, keeping the energy going. But that eventually has diminishing returns. There is an equilibrium I have yet to establish where I'm accomplishing things with enough downtime to not burnout, which I struggled with in February. Note I've been talking about time, not money. 

There is, of course, the money prioritization. A LOT of my list demands funding. Whether it's saving for goals, or spending to gain materials/teachers for skills, this is probably the biggest constraint - and the major force in slowing the 101 down. But money as a constraint has brought focused creativity in working around it. In fact, this problem as posed by the 101 has, in part, solved itself with one of the goals buried within the 101: to visit the library more. In one of the bigger "Well, DUH" moments known to man, I remembered that the library (which, for those first 10 weeks, I failed to get to even once), packed all sorts of information for the various skills I'm looking to improve.  Ugh. DUH. So, yeah, weekly library visits - not a problem anymore.

So, I loosened up my ambitions due to time, energy & money. I also loosened up the "101" part. 101 is a large number, even when time/money/energy constraints are loosened. I knew I was simply creating filler toward the end...the last 10ish items in particular. So when I sat down to re-evaluate the goals I had set for myself it was no surprise that I wanted to replace ~8 goals and modify 2-4 more. 

The 101 likely won't continue on as "The 101" in this blog. I just haven't thought up a clever name to replace it yet. Who knows, I'm generally carrying on in the spirit of the 101 either way. 

So, What Have I Done?

-My dancing was going very well, until the studio took their Xmas break. I lost motivation in those couple of weeks. My foot started hurting. When I came back there was a new ballet teacher I don't learn as well under. It's been rough. Same with my flexibility work -  I *was* doing well, but going easy for my foot's sake and getting discouraged overall have undone the progress I was making. But my foot slowly gets better, and I'm finding new ways to dance (namely, Salsa). So I'm on the upswing again.
-Visited the indoor trampoline park

-Mr. Burly & I refinished the master bed together. 

-The home message & planning center is maybe 2/3rds finished

-I'm taking more pictures, even if with just my phone, for the purpose of having pictures in my blog. It's a start.

-The daily journaling has stopped. This is one of those goals that is very conflicting. I certainly have a desire to have a daily record, my memory can be sorta crappy - especially as days seem to blend together. But somehow it seems to take too much energy to write about the day. So, it's just not happening.

-Started my music file cleanup. It happens in fits and spurts.

-I work enough on my German to keep the low-level of ability I have, but I'm not working enough to get better.

-We covered the library goal.

-Visited new restaurants, continue visiting new restaurants

-Reading plenty more, knocked Let's Pretend This Never Happened off my list.

-Actively working on my left-handed legibility

-Building, and tackling, a Bucket List

-Weekly working on wardrobe streamlining/updating

-Going to First Fridays

-Planning on attending GenCon

-We got a couch

-Pinterest-inspired things: my planner, wardrobe cleaning/streamlining/updating, meal planning, a few recipes
-Visited the Eiteljorg (to see Nat Geo pictures), the Indiana State Museum (for the corn-lobby sponsored corn exhibit), the IMA (for Ai Wei Wei)

Look, Ma! I got corn! And a Corn God!

-Oddly enough, started working out, to dvds, in the morning. Something just clicked here. This will be its own post.
-Got back to my rainbow colored hair. (It's rather faded to blonde now, and I think that, while I'll continue color, it won't be as rainbow-ific in the future. But the blonde needs to go, and soon.)

Hey how 'bout another picture? I got this beauty for super-cheap at the neighborhood garage sale!

I'm not creepy at all. And my new owner has no intention of hanging me in the guest bedroom to creep.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

When we last left our heroine, her computer had died. Though she tried valiantly to blog from Mr. Burly's netbook, it just wasn't the same...

Lo, she returns as if from the dead (indeed, she's rather felt as such the past 2 months. The winters of Indiana are cruel [expound upon any place further north, though you may]).

Melodrama aside. It's probably good to be back. I think. I had lots of time to think about my blog while I was away, and will have very little to show for it (in this post, as in the blog as a whole, too). Rather, some things will change a little, a lot of things will stay the same; because, while I entertain fantasies of full-time home-blogging as much as anyone, I totally don't have that sort of initiative. But for the time being, I'm just gonna throw a picture post in here of my five month absence (hint: I plan on putting more pictures in my posts, because popular bloggers say pictures are ALL TEH RAYGE).

So We Begin.

I purchased my very first (hopefully not last) Jonathon Adler item. Yeah, it's one of his super-mass produced items. Yeah, I totally got it on clearance in February. Yeah, it's totally an Xmas ornament when I don't even have a tree. But I love all things ballet and circus, and what better than a circus ballerina? I do aspire to own something more distinctively JA, but this is a start.

I bought an awesome lamp at GWill that just needed the $8 lamp kit replacement and a shade. So, I gave her a good washing, dolled her up with some new hardware, and bought her a brand new ill-fitting dress so that she'd be my new bedside lamp. 

Disproportional is how I roll. Also, this light makes the color of my bedroom wall look awesome.

In October, I saw Coheed & Cambria in concert (Ft. Wayne). They were a Bucket-List band & it was everything I hoped it would be. They had just started touring their new album Ascension (first half of a two-album concept release; Descension followed in Feb). These two albums are half of my top 4 from the band. I could go on a long time about the show, I listened solidly to C&C for the next 2 weeks - no room for any other band in my headspace (with only limited music expansion for the next 2 weeks after that).

I live a better life when a planner is involved, and I'm one of those types that can be a bit obsessive about the planner. This time around I made my own, following this design. I'm liking it. I have way more space than I use.

I will soonishly attempt one of those GWill refashions that are so-oft blogged. We'll see what this little beauty becomes...

And on the subject of sewing*, I picked up some gorgeous orange wool for a pencil skirt.

*I used to sew. Then I stopped. I'm slooooowly getting back into it. First with curtains for the house, and experimental GWill refashions, then some easy-sew patterns. This skirt is some ways away, but damn I love me some orange wool.

My office, while my computer was dead, became quite the mess since it was generally unused. Became one of those dreaded catch-all rooms. The cleaning & reorg (as it is also intended to be "library") has begun. It starts with:

a new wall color. I've tried living with this color since we slapped it up pre-move in July, but it's just too blue. In certain lights it's practically periwinkle. I want a true silvery-grey.



On Feb. 21 I drove 1 hr. 45 minutes in the beginning of an ice storm to Newport, KY to see Man Man!

 No Really, This was my view.

But when I looked up:

Or if Honus Honus went to my left (and he spent the majority of his standing time over here):

So, you know, not too shabby.

Man Man was another Bucket-List band, and also the name-sake of this blog. It took me another 2 hrs. 45 minutes to drive home since the ice storm was ongoing while I was in the concert, and during my drive. It was exhausting. But it was worth it. In contrast to Coheed & Cambria though, I geeked out on Man Man so much pre-concert that afterwards I was done. No need to listen to them non-stop for the next month. I needed to get some new music into my system. Namely, the new Nick Cave (BUCKET-LIST ARTIST PRIME, WHOM I WILL SEE IN APRIL).

I found my Soul Cider. It's season has run out. You can bet I'm buying caaaaaaases when it comes back in August.

And I found my Soul Ice Cream. I don't know a B&J "limited batch" entails. I currently have several stashed in my deep freezer. I hope someone is looking at the numbers and thinking "Damn, there's a crazy person in Indiana. Maybe we should make this part of our regular line, just for her."

Consider yourself caught up with my life.

101 Week 4

Yeah. I got nothing. The days I'm not at the dance studio, I'm working manically on the house. Less than one month to house-warming, and I want the place to look good. That said, we're making good progress. I might be able to lighten up just a little bit. But this is the sad reality:

Weekly Goals:
- daily journals
- weekly German
- weekly blogpost (well, there's this post at least)
- weekly diary
- morning workout
- DVD workout
- walk in park
- play music 

Sporadic Goals:
- more reading in Female Chauvinist Pigs

Monthly Goals:
- Commute by bike
- 1 pleasure bike ride
- 1 week carb free, 1 week dairy free
- visit library 2x

Reflections:
The quickened move got me all screwed up. Totally spaced the carb & dairy-free weeks, although truth be told these are not high priority goals for me. They kinda feel like filler in the goal list. Let's see what month 2 brings...

101 week 3

Weekly Goals:
- daily journals
- weekly German
- weekly blogpost (well, there's this post at least)
- weekly diary
- morning workout
- DVD workout
- walk in park
- play music 

Sporadic Goals:
- every month have a week of daily physical activity.
- try a new restaurant every 3 months. We had dinner at Siam Square in Fountain Square. I highly recommend it, quite delicious. 

Reflections:
This week's goals went about as well as could be, which is to say I only got a few in. I'm counting the week of physical activity. Every day this week was spent either painting, packing, or moving. That's way more activity on each individual day compared to any normal day I would have. Trying a new restaurant was not on the agenda, so that was a pleasant surprise. We're not anywhere near settled in the house, but I'm working to fit the goals into my day, which will be fun because I am exhausted.

101 Week 2

This is just going to be difficult until I am moved into the house and settled, but I'm still powering through because part of this is learning to make time for the things I say I'm going to do, right? However, I'm seriously questioning some of my decisions - like any goals dealing with running. So, some of my goals may be up for renegotiation soon.

Weekly Goals:
- daily journals
- weekly German
- weekly blogpost (well, there's this post at least)
- weekly diary
- morning workout
- DVD workout
- walk in park
- play music (2x) (1x learned chords to Hugh Laurie's You Don't Know My Mind on Jez) (2x reviewed You Don't Know My Mind for retention/ smooth out chord progressions/ get a better feel for the rhythms.)


Sporadic Goals:
- Started reading Female Chauvinist Pigs
- Started refreshing my memory on photography 101
- Picked the WP theme for my website
- Started sorting & selecting pictures for the wedding album


Reflections: This isn't all I set out to accomplish this week, but it's most of it, plus a couple of things that weren't on the agenda, but were more convenient for the time being, as replacements for the things I didn't do. It's weird. Looking at the list, it feels like so little. But I work 40 hours, I'm painting a house 3-4 nights a week, I'm going to dance class a couple of hours a week, and I'm finding ways to work these things in, where I would've otherwise just pissed time away on the internet (or some other unworthy pursuit). I've gotta get a better perspective on how I spend my time. I found myself looking at the "1,001 day" time span this week and thinking that is a really long time frame to be working in. Reeeeeally long. In so many respects, it's not. Not at all when I break it down to "9 days per goal," which is not quite accurate, either, (and short-changing, actually) b/c I have 8 goals to accomplish on a weekly basis as part of a routine. But I came across blogs, when I was looking into this, where people changed goals part-way through. Or they wrote, at the end, about how many things didn't happen b/c priorities in life changed.  My goals feel very front-loaded to me, as in: Things I Want To Do Now (Preferably Yesterday). It's difficult to know what I want to do 2 years from now. But then, goals such as "Get En Pointe" simply cannot happen today, so  I did build some time-eaters into this experiment. But will I care about Pointe in a year or two? (Or less likely: will I ever care about running a 5K, let alone making a time goal on it?)


And, as of the end of this week, our moving timeline just got crunched from 2 weeks down to 1. This next week might just be the bare minimum to keep any momentum on the 101in1001. But maybe this is a good thing - one bare bones week so that I can finally move my life forward and stop straddling two living places. Then I'll be able to more quickly establish an equilibrium and a priority listing of the home-related goals I do have on this list.


Moving in T-minus 6 days. 

101 week 1

SO, I have the damnedest timing and I kinda sorta had a nagging sensation in the back of my mind about how this was all going to pan out given my chosen 101 in 1001 start date of 7/15/12, but I kinda sorta tend to ignore those nagging sensations all the time.

I mean, what could possibly set you back by starting a 101 in 1001 only four days after closing on your first home - when so few of your goals have nothing to do with setting up a first (or any new-to-you) home?

 It's not like some goals weren't picked with the new house in mind (a kitchen I can move in! enough space to simply dedicate a corner to sewing & crafting! a park nearby! easier bike commute!) But most goals were picked ignoring the reality that is The Housening. Progress?

Weekly goals:

- daily journals
- weekly German
- weekly blogpost
- weekly diary
- morning workout
- DVD workout
- walk in park
- play music (2x) (1x - Worked out Mika's Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) on my Uke. FYI: That song is UKE HELL in its original key signature.) (1x Worked out Scissor Sisters' I Don't Feel Like Dancin')

Sporadic/ or Regular-But-Not-Weekly goals:
 - memorize poems (1/18 - Memorized Howard Nemerov's Political Reflection. Picked for its brevity and easy rhyme scheme. Starting simple, working my way up through the challenge. Or maybe I'll just keep it simple. Set that bar low!)
 - started saving
 - started strategizing personal website


Reflections: 
- I like the daily journaling, in part because I'm taking the Five Year Journal approach (only in a spiral-bound book I already owned. The thick hardback would be annoying, and I'm not going to spend $15+ on paper. I have paper). 
- Weekly German is going to be a bit difficult until I can come up with a system. I'll come up with that system when I'm moved into my house in a few more weeks. This isn't saying I'm not doing it, it's just that I'm using a free app on my phone while things are packed. Not. Ideal.
- Weekly blogpost, I'm hoping, doesn't default to my weekly 101 update. That wasn't a problem this week, but Birchbox comes monthly, not weekly, and I want this blog to be more than Birchbox and 101.
- Writing in a diary is weird. It's been years since I've done so, in part because I've felt pretty emotionally balanced. So, I have few demons to exorcise. But I still think there's value in making an attempt to write more deeply than a few words about each day. And maybe it will work into writing exercises, instead. 
- Working out didn't happen. Part of this is that painting a house is a workout in itself. Part of this is that my DVDs are packed. Part of this is that I'm great at making excuses ;) 
- Walking in the park didn't happen. A fair amount of time is spent at the house, yes. But that's painting time. And when we're done painting we just want to get to a shower and a bed. It might be a few weeks until I get on a walk. 
- Playing music was brief, but accomplished. I took about 15 minutes a couple of times this week to work out chords to songs I like. 


Also of note, I've found an opportunity to approach a specific goal from an unforseen angle. This came up suddenly on Tuesday. You'll hear more about it as it plays out at a later date.

WRENCH IN THE PLAN!
In the eminent house purchase, when we locked down on spending, my pull list at the Local Comic Store just piled....and piled...and piled. I stopped in Wednesday to check it out, and DAMN. I got some reading to catch up on (and some priorities to reconsider as to which books I want to buy regularly). And, I picked up the Captain Marvel #1 - my first Marvel purchase! And I really enjoyed it and will check out Cap. Marvel for the next few months. But it's gonna be tough to catch up on my comic reading and stay on top of the 101. That is, if I get off the internet ever...

So, not too bad for a first week. I upheld over half of the weekly goals, achieved a smaller sporadic goal, & started two longer-term goals. But I'm stressed about getting to the larger goals I have set with enough time to manage. I spent a few minutes around the middle of the week looking at my 101 and brainstormed/planned how to approach this week. I like having a gameplan.

P.S. Got a fab new purse! 

Irrelevant, I know.