I’m not going to lie – I spent the last few days moping as I’ve done the last few years (as one college friend put it, birthdays tend to go downhill once after your 21st) . I just think of all the stuff I should have accomplished in life because anyone who is my age should’ve done so by now. Yesterday was no different, I skulked around and melted into nothingness as I watched the boob tube.

Then a thought came to me –
It’s a new year, a new me. I don’t have to wait until January 1st to do something different and new with my life. I can start today and use the New Year to reconsider the goals I’ve already set and put into motion.
So, that’s the plan – I’m going to spend a portion of the day listing out things I want to achieve by the end of December 2009 and even, possibly, 2010.

Off the top of my head, I already know I want to:
• -Get into shape (haha, is this ever not on anyone’s New Me list?)

• -Do what’s important for my future career aspirations (and in that vein, stay somewhat organized – lots of goal, not so much time…)

• -Ignore those who are petty and just stay positive (happy minds, happy bodies, happy everything – one of my many mantras (those of you who know me may be groaning right about now, don’t think I don’t know that;). Life’s short enough as it is and I think it’s so much better when you can stay optimistic.

• -Stop sweating the little stuff if I can help it. I decided to step back from NaNo (not completely; I’m still going to write as much fiction as I can, but due to outside events a couple weeks ago, 100k is out of my scope). I decided to forego entering the Golden Heart (after thinking about it, I decided it really wasn’t for me, at least not right now…maybe that’ll change in the future, who knows)

• -I do know I want to keep reading novels for fun. I barely read for fun the last four years and, well, it sucked. I carved out time this year to read more and I realize I’m a happier person because of it. It’s important to keep stuff that makes you happy and keeps you sane. 

So, yeah, I’m looking at new beginnings and to be honest, I’m kinda stoked about it.

How about you? What are some things you’re looking forward to changing or doing or even keeping the same for 2010 or your next birthday?

“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day…is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.” ~ Samuel Gompers, founder and once president of the American Federation of Labor

…Interesting food for thought, eh?

I plan to spend the day catching up on sleep and writing. What are you’re plans for Labor Day?

1	3-6 more years of schooling	I want to attend and finish grad and professional schooling.
2	I love new notebooks	It makes going to school more official
3	Laptops seem to be more of a necessity nowadays	It’s good I have Towanda (3 points for you if you can figure out where that name came from). Hopefully she’ll last for awhile
4	I don’t miss taking the school bus	Took it all through grade and high school. It’s nice not having to take it to get to/from
5	Textbooks are expensive	*cries* Over $200 spent on two books I had to buy at the campus bookstore
6	Ebay, Amazon, etc are fantastic	Especially when it comes to buying cheaper used books.
7	Syllabus (Syllabi?)	I love getting them! I know, weird, right? But it’s nice just having everything listed out for the whole semester. Makes classes less stressful, in my opinion
8	Classmates	There are some real intellectuals, some real slackers, and those who fall in between. No matter where one falls in those three broad groups I just noted, it sure makes up for one helluva class.
9	Spring Break	So, I usually go on service trips across the country (what can I say? I’m a do gooder). That one week of nothing but relaxation and fun makes up for the stress of midterms and papers.
10	No Assigned Seats!	…yet people tend to sit in the same chair every class. Go figure.
11	Pencils	I prefer them over mechanical pencils. Why? Just do.
12	Engaging Teachers	In my experience, the teachers who make classes memorable are the ones students really look up to.
13	The Freshmen!	Seriously, the first few days or weeks when they all look frazzled and scared out of their wits…it’s nice being able to say ‘been there, done that’ while hiding a snicker. And then helping them find their classes while telling them ‘don’t worry, no one knows what they’re doing the first time around. You’ll get the hang of, promise’ – and seeing their relieved grins. Warms my heart.

Your Turn: What do you (or did you) enjoy/hate about school, be it kindergarted, elementary, middle/high school, college, or post grad education?  Inquiring minds (well, mine at least) want to know!

Balance, however, is a different matter. As I noted on Blueboards, I’m a full time student and work multiple jobs that require a lot of time flexibility. I try to have an active web presence by maintain multiple blogs, checking out various forums (writing or otherwise), etc.

To keep myself organized, I’ve created a writing schedule, a schedule for work, another for class assignments, etc. I take all that info and shove it all into a planner for convience. I like to make daily To Do charts the night before and plan my day around that. I figure out which times are best for writing and try to work then. I also tell myself I must write X amount of words a day (the story’s not going to write itself, after all!) – sometimes I hit my word count and even go way above, sometimes I don’t get close (this past week’s been more of a don’t). Nonetheless, I still try to eek out some words on a daily basis, be it 60 or 600.

The problem with my various schedules and To Do Lists is that Real Life doesn’t quite enjoy cooperating with me. You know, when life throws you that curveball

-you’re friends somehow ‘coerced’ you to see the midnight showing of a brand new movie with your favorite actor so you didn’t go to bed early like you had planned to prep properly for that 8am presentation….

- you meant to take a quick half hour nap before settling down to write chapter two of The Amazing Story, but ended up falling into such a deep sleep because the week’s been so exhaustive, you didn’t wake up until four hours later….

-a favorite show (in my case, True Blood) has a new episode airing tonight and you try to convince yourself you can totally multitask television, internet, talking on the phone, and writing at the same time…. (What? You think this is an example from my own life? Whatever gave you that idea?)

You know, Real Life (and yes, Real Life has to have capital letters).

As classes start to wind up again, I worry about keeping everything I have to/want to do in order. I’m nervous because school is a huge part of my life right now and I really rather not screw it up. So (so!), I’ve created a list of ways to keep myself balanced (like I said, makings lists aren’t the problem ):

-“Shoot for the moon because even if you fail, you’ll still land among the stars.” – In other words, give myself room to mess up. I’m going to try my best to do everything I set out to do, but I’m also going to keep in mind that sometimes, I can’t get to everything I’ve set out for the day. And that’s fine. I have tomorrow and the next day and the next….

-“It’s alright to make changes and/or get help” – you’re never actually alone in the world. Besides one, friends in real life currently have about 0.5% interest in my writing as far as I can tell (maybe if I became the next JK Rowlings or Nora Roberts, that 0.5% will double). However, there are a number of forums I visit where there are like minded people who have no problem talking about writing – from brainstorming to the publication process. Great communities! I love ‘em all!
In Real Life, I sometimes have issues with saying ‘No.’
Okay, let me rephrase.
I’m fine saying ‘No’ most of the time, but it’s the feeling that comes after uttering that two lettered word, that sometimes tangles me up. I end up thinking, You’re such a cool person/you’re my boss (<–maybe a combo of the two even), maybe I can fit XYZ into my schedule. I’ll just multitask there or wake up earlier here…’ More often than not, I end up falling flat on my face and things go pbbht! Even when things go well without a hitch, at the end I may breathe a sigh of relief and say “never again” (until the next person approaches me…). *Facepalm* This brings me to point number 3.

-“Stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish” – I’m honored when someone asks me to work on XYZ project because I’ve “proven myself,” but between those activities (many of which are things I enjoy/honestly love doing) and my ever growing lists of Things to Do, I’d go stir crazy. Keep your eye on the ball and Getcha Head In the Game and all those wonderfully happy sayings. As long as I have clear goals in mind — things I truly want to accomplish — and am striving to reach them so that one day I actually do reach them, I’m happy.

How do you keep balance in your life?

In less than a minute, over 132 people were born while 70+ died. The world population changes every second.

It’s interesting to note which countries had the most changes in population and even CO2 levels.

This is what I’ve come up with:

If you’re reading this blog, please share – What are your Dream Big goals?

I enjoy writing and I enjoy living. Setting and writing down goals will help me achieve what it is I set out to do. So, without further adieu…

The Short Version:

 Daily Writing Goals = 600 words a day

Writing Life Goals = Reading books in favored genres three times a week, Blogging five days a week, Participating/Reading blogs, forums, etc two times a week

Daily/Weekly  Real Life Goals =

-Have Meaningful Employment (aka, do something that you actually enjoy while getting paid)

-Be More Fit (start off by walking two miles, two days a week).

-Continue Education (complete this year with flying colors by prepping for classes every day, being at least once chapter ahead with assignments, and stop procrastination – avoid the all nighters!)

And the Longer Version (writing wise, at least)

Sunday is my writing free pass. It’s the only day that I consistently don’t have classes and the one day I’m going to be adamant about not going into work (unless there’s a real emergency). The only things that should be happening on Sunday is catching up on/getting ahead with homework, updating blogs, editing pages from the week, and reading a book for fun….assuming I’m not snoozing the day away instead.

Sat +Weekday Schedule: Scheduling is tentative until I actually learn my class schedule. The classes I’m taking are at an intensive level, so one class can last from 3-6 hours depending on the day and the week. It makes planning other things a bit more difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. I know all classes start in late afternoon, so with the exception of T/R when I have one mid afternoon class, I know I’m available every week day before 4p. If I’m not writing or doing something work related, I’ll be studying.

Saturday classes seem to fall from 830 or 9a-3p. Before class or after, if I’m not doing something school/work related, I’ll edit pages written from the week and update my blogs. If needed, I will try to beta as I really do like giving feedback.

The plan is, since I wake up very early, is to write in the mornings, go to work and study during the day, and head to class in the evenings. I will write a minimum of 600 words for each day for 6 days…. or 3600 words/week …or 14,400 a month.

Will it suck, especially in the beginning? Hell yeah.

But will it be worth it if I achieve on my goals? Hell yeah!