Thursday, January 08, 2009
Let's start...
We all wish that we had more time to do the things that we enjoy doing or to do the things that we've always wanted to do: read the books in the 'to read' pile, spend more time outside, redefine ourselves and our careers to make us happier. I've had that time this week as the company that I work for is back from the holidays but where I am based is not, which leaves me at home replying to the scant emails that I receive over night and then the rest of the time is for myself. I had promised that I would work through projects and read books that I have been meaning to and I have been doing just that. But as I move closer to inevitable unemployment and while thumbing through a Nick Hornby book ('The Polysyllabic Spree' from his column where he tells the story about the books he buys and reads during a month) that Kelly recommended to me and that Amazon delivered to me this morning, I thought I'd involve everyone else in this quest to build a new and better me.
I have always made lists of projects that I'd like to do and even current hobbies that I have just so I don't forget what it is that I enjoy doing. I have one Excel file called 'CURRENT', referring to what I am currently working on and one called 'Life', which lists my interests and goals. First we'll run through life goals and then we'll get to specifics.
I'm going to work through my daily life and you can help me out, keep me motivated, tell me I have too much time on my hands, whatever.
Life Goals (general - what most people want; not in any particular order):
Career - have a pretty good career as a mechanical engineer but will need to clean it up. I'll be unemployed very soon so this is a big focus at the moment.
Mate - done; her name is Ula, no need to do anything there.
Where to live - at least for the next few years I'll be in Melbourne VIC Australia; I'm currently applying for permanent residency so that will be included in the quest as well.
Travel - I've travelled a bit so far but, like books, there's always more.
That's a place to start for today. Let me quickly go through what I did today:
1) I'm currently reading 'Life in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I am on a schedule that requires me to read 30 pages per day so that I can finish it by the time I fly to the states on the 19th of January. I got up to p180 today.
2) I'm also reading 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes (coincidentally, both of these books were translated by Edith Grossman) and since this one is a bear for me, I read one chapter a day. I haven't read that yet today but I will.
3) The third book that I'm reading is 'Greek Mythology and Religion', which Ula got me when she was in Greece. It has a lot of pictures and I mainly read it at night.
4) I tried to play catch with Pepe (the dog) but she wasn't feeling up to it. Maybe this afternoon.
5) Cooking - I made Japanese curry for lunch. I've made this many times before so there's not much to learn with this.
6) Job search - I'll have to let you know. It's been very frustrating because the economy's bad and not all companies are back from the holidays yet.
7) Permanent residency - I checked my online status again today and they still haven't received my medical check yet. I'm waiting a couple of days before I call.
I'll start on the lists tomorrow and we'll see how I can incorporate them in my daily routine.
I have always made lists of projects that I'd like to do and even current hobbies that I have just so I don't forget what it is that I enjoy doing. I have one Excel file called 'CURRENT', referring to what I am currently working on and one called 'Life', which lists my interests and goals. First we'll run through life goals and then we'll get to specifics.
I'm going to work through my daily life and you can help me out, keep me motivated, tell me I have too much time on my hands, whatever.
Life Goals (general - what most people want; not in any particular order):
Career - have a pretty good career as a mechanical engineer but will need to clean it up. I'll be unemployed very soon so this is a big focus at the moment.
Mate - done; her name is Ula, no need to do anything there.
Where to live - at least for the next few years I'll be in Melbourne VIC Australia; I'm currently applying for permanent residency so that will be included in the quest as well.
Travel - I've travelled a bit so far but, like books, there's always more.
That's a place to start for today. Let me quickly go through what I did today:
1) I'm currently reading 'Life in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I am on a schedule that requires me to read 30 pages per day so that I can finish it by the time I fly to the states on the 19th of January. I got up to p180 today.
2) I'm also reading 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes (coincidentally, both of these books were translated by Edith Grossman) and since this one is a bear for me, I read one chapter a day. I haven't read that yet today but I will.
3) The third book that I'm reading is 'Greek Mythology and Religion', which Ula got me when she was in Greece. It has a lot of pictures and I mainly read it at night.
4) I tried to play catch with Pepe (the dog) but she wasn't feeling up to it. Maybe this afternoon.
5) Cooking - I made Japanese curry for lunch. I've made this many times before so there's not much to learn with this.
6) Job search - I'll have to let you know. It's been very frustrating because the economy's bad and not all companies are back from the holidays yet.
7) Permanent residency - I checked my online status again today and they still haven't received my medical check yet. I'm waiting a couple of days before I call.
I'll start on the lists tomorrow and we'll see how I can incorporate them in my daily routine.
# posted by Keith @ 3:57 PM 
