:: GOAL TRACKER :: Update 1/25/10

:: get a job!
I have some good-ish news to report on the job front.  After 6 months of sending my resume off into the veritable abyss that is the job market, I got two nibbles.  One for a part-time position and one for a full-time position.  Obviously my preference is for the full-time position, and luckily that is just the more appealing job to me anyway.  But I did already get an offer for the part-time position, which was bumped up to full-time when they heard that I was up for another position -- hot dawg!  However, even though it would now be full-time, the position is only temporary and on an as-needed basis.  So I'm still holding out for the original full-time job.  I just completed my second interview with them this morning and I'm hoping to hear back soon on whether or not I'm continuing on in the process.  It's a long process apparently, but I'm more than happy to be patient through it all if it means I'm going to have a job within the next month.  So I'm asking y'all to keep your fingers crossed and send good thoughts my direction please!!

:: move to San Francisco
Still contingent on my job search, so at this point it's on hold.  Of course for those who know me, you know I tend to have my head up in the clouds a bit, and so of course I started looking at what apartments are available now and just briefly starting coming up with a furniture layout in my head for the ones that I really liked... I'm a dreamer, what can I say?

:: read more books
I am happy to report that I'm finally getting back on track with Eat, Pray, Love and I'm nearing the end.  I'm not even going to bother with A New Earth at the moment because I'm just not all that excited about finishing it right now.  Great book, but just not the time for it.  And unfortunately, while I am very excited to be a part of the book club The Book Lushes, I am going to have to sit out on the first book.  I just feel swamped with the all these interviews and preparing for my sister's baby shower.  One book is enough for right now.  Don't hate me, Sarah!  I'll hop on the train on the next book!

:: relearn French
I haven't quite put those CDs and computer programs to use yet (and by that I mean not at all), BUT I do have the pleasure of listening to my boyfriend's new French roommates converse in French on occasion, so I'm hoping to pick up a little from them.

:: lose 15 pounds
Ummmm, yeah.  I don't know when working out meant that you gained weight, but apparently that's what I've been doing.  I know you can gain muscle mass, which weighs more than fat and so increases your overall body weight, but I really didn't think I was building that much new muscle.  I mean, I do weights and strength training but I use light weights and do repeated reps.  I just figured that muscle helps you burn more fat so I should include that in my routine.  Yet somehow, I've gained two pounds back... >:(.  And I haven't even been eating any more than usual either.  So I think I'm going to stick to just cardio and maybe one or two calisthenics, and hopefully I'll see an improvement soon.  But today was an awesome workout, p.s..  I ran 2.5 miles today and probably could have gone longer if my feet didn't feel like they were on fire.  I think a change in my music playlist really kicked my spirits up a notch.  Today's playlist included:

"Highway Star" -- Deep Purple
"Paranoid" -- Black Sabbath
"Fuel" -- Metallica
"Mony Mony" -- Billy Idol
"Little Bird" -- Annie Lennox

It's good stuff.  I highly recommend it ;)  Now I'm off to run errands and take care of stuff I neglected over the weekend - whoops!  I don't regret it though because my weekend was fantastic -- brunch with boyfriend and friends, checking out a new neighborhood, taking a break from everything, Big Love...  nothing wrong with that.

:: 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.