:: LIFE :: Goal Tracker Update 2/9/10

Before I get to the goals at hand I just want to say, it’s official: I’m a working girl!  As I sit typing, I’m on the train to work (desperately hoping it’s the right train) and uber excited.  I know this week is going to be a HUGE shock for me – going from days on end with no place to be, to working 9 to 5, five days a week – but I am actually thrilled to be working again.  I even get a desk!   Yesterday was my first day and I had A LOT of information thrown at me, but I was less overwhelmed than I thought I would be, which is a good sign I guess.  While they knew I wasn’t that technically inclined when they hired me, I am working for a web-based company so my capacity for technical knowledge will have to go into ultra-super overdrive now.  I’ll be sure to let you know how the rest of my first week goes.  And now, back to the remaining goals…

:: move to San Francisco           

I had a wee bit of a rude awakening regarding this goal last weekend as I consulted with my mom about the future.  She reminded me that while I will be capable of moving out once the money starts rolling in, I do have some credit cards that need to be paid off and she suggested that I get those down before I do any relocating… L.   Still, it won’t be too long before I move, but I think the more likely move-out date will be closer to April 1^st rather than March.  I suppose I can deal.  I mean, it is my fault I have the credit cards to pay off anyway.  But true to form, I still look at apartments online just about everyday – it’s motivational ;).

:: read more books

I’m getting close – so close to finishing Eat, Pray, Love and it’s so good!  I kept telling my mom that she had to read it, so yesterday we stopped at the bookstore and bought a copy for her and my sister, at my urging.  And for someone who hasn’t been much of a reader in the past, I walked out of that bookstore with some new material of my own; four new books, to be exact.  As I’ve explained before, I have a bit of a shopping problem, and books are no exception.  But I am really excited about my future reads, one of which being Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert’s follow-up to Eat, Pray, Love.  I’ll be adding the rest of my new books to my GoodReads page today.

:: learn to meditate

So one of the many things that Eat, Pray, Love has inspired me to do is meditate.  I’ve always been curious about it and have wanted to do it, but this book really made me want to make that a priority, so I’ve added it to the goal list.  I’m going to have to do a little research figure out which style would suit me, in addition to where I can learn more about the ancient practice and how to do it.  While I'm at it I would also love to get back to my beloved Bikram yoga.  Should be a fulfilling quest…

:: lose 15 lbs.

So yeahhh…  This goal, not surprisingly, is by far the most frustrating.  I’ve been working out more than I ever have in my life and I can’t seem to lose any weight.  And the lack of weight loss is definitely not due to muscle gain because those fleshy little love handles haven’t even gone away, and those are usually the first sign that I’m making progress.  I’m not sure I understand this evil resistance to calorie burning that my body is experiencing, but I will get to the bottom of this!

:: relearn French

I’m beginning to doubt my inclusion of this on my list of goals because I’m not making any progress as of yet.  Unlike the previous goal, I haven’t even tried, mainly because between the working out, the reading, the baby shower and my new job I’m not sure when I have the time to review my old college textbooks on the subject.  On the bright side, now that I have this bonus time on the train every morning and night, I think I’ll come up with a schedule for how to utilize it: i.e., Mondays – blogging, Tuesdays – reading, Wednesdays – French, and so on and so forth.  By George, I think that just might work!

So you see I’m creating quite the busy life for myself these days, which is actually something I’m cool with because there’s just so much I want to do and it’s about time I hopped to it.  I don’t want to feel like I’ve wasted time in this life—well, more time.  I’m a recovering procrastinator and this goal tracker is like my AA or something – you know, like steps to take to help me break the habit.  I have no doubt keeping a full-time job will make this all a little harder, but you can’t really call it “achievement” if you didn’t have to work to get for it, right?

:: GOAL TRACKER :: Update 2/2/10

:: get a job!
In case you missed the announcement last week, I have a job!  I will be working for a cool tech company in Palo Alto starting next Monday.  So this week is officially my last week of unapologetic freedom.  I'm going to try and enjoy myself as much as I can, but I also have baby shower duties to tend to for my sister's shower, as it is coming up faster than I even realized.  Let the cutting and gluing resume!

:: get a job! - DONE and DONE!

:: move to San Francisco
Anyone who knows me (and you don't even need to know me well) knows that as soon as I got the call that confirmed my new employment, I was online looking at apartments in the city.  Actually, I've been looking at apartments since about the time I realized that I was less Orange County, where I lived for 4 years, and was more Bay Area, where I grew up.  Specifically, I was more San Francisco.  I think it's my ridiculously romantic, head-in-the-clouds ideals, but I've been craving city life for a long while now.  I just imagine myself in my 1920s, Victorian-style apartment with hardwood floors, decorated with panache, drinking tea from the kettle while snacking on a fresh baked croissant, reading the paper (which I don't even do now) and looking out at the tops of the Golden Gate Bridge reaching through the foggy ring around the city as the sun lightly taps each peak as if summoning them awake from the previous night's chilly slumber.  I want to be able to walk to a farmer's market every weekend and bring home fresh flowers to sit on my antique kitchen table.  I want to have my double-hung windows constantly open with the freshest California air filling my home and letting my French music filter out to the streets as a fellow Francophile walks by and is immediately lifted in spirits by the mysterious melody that seems to have come from the sky... *sigh*


:: read more books
Still actively working on this.  I am getting so close to finishing Eat, Pray, Love and it's definitely keeping me inspired and motivated, which is something I can definitely use at this time of serious transition.


:: relearn French
Eh...  I still haven't quite applied myself with regards to this goal.  But at the very least I do listen intensely when Conor's French roommates speak to one another.  They always say immersion is the best way to learn a language, right?


:: lose 15 pounds
I don't want to talk about it...  No, I want to report my progress to you but it's hard when you spend a weekend in Tahoe eating Creme Brûlèe Cheesecake and sipping warm, chocolaty coffee drinks.  I did get back to my routine today, though, starting with a 6:30 am wake-up call to walk with my mom and then my usual 2 mile run on the treadmill.  Between my interviews, being completely out of FRS and preparing for Tahoe last week, my routine took a dive...  actually, it just up and keeled over.  But I revived it, and my new supply of FRS just arrived, so I have high hopes for positive progress reports in the near future.

:: GOAL TRACKER :: Update 1/19/10

So I don't think it's enough to just have my goals hanging out there on the side of the page.  I should probably be talking about them and updating you if I'm ever gonna give myself the chance to stick to them.  So here goes...

:: get a job!

While this goal has eluded me for the last 6.5 months that I've been back up in Nor Cal, I refuse to continue on like this; penniless and ineffective.  On the bright side, I do have two (that's right, TWO) interviews this week.  One is courtesy of a staffing agency that I teamed up with last week and, while it's just a part-time gig, it is a step in the right direction and could lead to bigger things.  The other found myself by just checking out websites that I liked and seeing if they were hiring.  And I'll be hearing back soon from an internship that I applied for back in November.  I know an internship isn't exactly going to get me out of my parents' house any sooner, but it would be a really amazing opportunity and I'll be working from home so it's something I'll be able to do in addition to a full-time job.  Fingers crossed!!

:: move to San Francisco

This is goal is entirely dependent on the first one, so I don't really have much to report here.  But it is becoming seriously imperative that I accomplish these two goals quickly, folks.  Besides just wanting to have my own place again, I am struggling with my living conditions right now.  My parents' have a decent-sized home, but when my sister and I were finally both out of their hair they kind of stretched their arms and used the extra space for what suited them, and who can blame them?  But now that I've moved back in, with all my crap, the house that once felt like the 4-bedroom that it is now feels like the size of my old 1-bedroom apartment.  My computer and printer is set up at the kitchen table, my closet is split up between two rooms and the garage, and 3/4 of my possessions are neatly packed away in big plastic bins at a storage facility.  It's the pits.  So I'm really hoping to see one of these jobs work out...

:: read more books

So I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love and A New Earth for waaaaay too long now.  It's an amazing book, but for some reason I just can't seem to properly dedicate enough time to it.  I always think of something else that I can use that time for, which is usually no where near as satisfying as completing a good book.  But as my list of books I want to read grows, I realize that I better step on it if I'm ever going to get to the new ones.  And with the helpful suggestion of my friend Sarah to join her in the book club The Book Lushes (hint: one of my interviews is for a company related to this group), I have even more reason to make reading a priority.  After all, I'm going to feel awfully pathetic when I have to click "Leave The Book Lushes" link at the bottom of my settings page because I couldn't read the one book we're assigned each month.  Oh the shame!

:: relearn French

As an Art History major, which I was, you have to have 2 years of either French or German (I know right?  Where's the Italian option?).  I chose French because I have a ridiculously romantic heart and a love for all things French.  It's hard to learn a new language when you're 22, but it's even harder to remember it once you've thrown out your book bag and sack lunches for the last time.  So I've armed myself with both CD and CD-Rom versions of a French teacher.  By the end of the year I hope to be singing along with (and understanding) my entire collection of French music!

:: lose 15 pounds

I know it's not always good to use your weight as your indicator of progress, but when I saw the scale read... well let's just say it read the number I used to weigh plus 10 when I checked it after the holiday shuffle, I was a little disappointed.  I knew it was fat and not muscle adding the pounds because I certainly was not working out.  So if I can just get back down to my old number and then some, I should be a pretty happy camper.  So far I'm doing great!  It's my third week of my new routine and I've only missed this last Saturday because I flew to Newport for my sister's birthday.  But I was back on schedule again today and still feeling awesome about it!  And, my weight has already come down two pounds.  Not a huge success, but I'll take it.  On the other hand, my beautiful baby Belle has gained 2.5 pounds, and all since moving in with Grandma (my mom) who has gotten pretty good about sneaking bits of chicken and fish into her food bowl when I'm not around...  What an interesting correlation.