I'm not much for New Year's resolutions. I never keep them, I never even try. I think about them and they generally are always the same every year: be more diligent about reading my scriptures and praying, be cleaner, keep in better contact with friends, exercise. I've turned very lazy recently and I'm liking it less and less each day. I'm not going to pretend to make resolutions this year but there's a few things I'd like to do this year to make myself less lazy. And maybe if I write them down, it may actually come true.
Get Published
I still have visions of getting my Ph.D. and I know that if I get published in an academic journal, I'll have a much better shot of getting into a program. I wrote a research paper in grad school which was highly commended. I presented at a school symposium and received more positive feedback. I even submitted it to a larger conference held here in Hawaii each year and my submission was accepted but I couldn't afford the $400 registration fee. Plus I was just too lazy to make more of an effort. Before I can submit it for publication, though, I need to do some serious revisions. I've done a lot of the research and I can do more of it online through the Library of Congress's online archives, but I'm lazy. Maybe if I can work on it a little each week, I can get the revisions done that I need and submit the paper by the end of the year.
Read More
I already read a lot. I love reading. And I've got plenty to read. But I want to start interspersing more non-fiction historical books and classics of literature into my fun reading. There's so much I haven't read and so much I want to learn.
Clean More
I went through this period my last year of grad school when I was obsessive about keeping things clean. It was a really weird compulsion that I've never had before or since. I've lost it now. David and I aren't dirty people but we both have the habit of putting things down and not putting them in their right places and then the house starts to feel a little cluttered. I know if I don't fix this now, it'll be worse once we have kids. So my goal is to clean for at least half an hour each day. Starting with the mountain of laundry threatening to take over our bedroom.
Spend Less Time on the Internet
I'll admit it...I'm an internet junkie. I spend way too much time online. Like right now. I'm watching an episode of Buffy on www.hulu.com on my laptop while writing this message on our desktop. How's that for an internet addiction? It's spreads to two computers. At one time. So, in order to be more productive, I need to be glued less to my computer. For a start.
Learn Korean
So I figure that if I'm going to live in Korea for two years, I should at least be able to ask where the bathroom is and know how to order food. David has been trying to teach me but I've been a reluctant student. Time to get cracking on the alphabet.
Commit More Time to My Job
I have a part-time job which allows me to mostly work from home for 17 hours a week. Only problem is, I don't keep constant hours and I don't often meet those 17 hours (not that I'm required to). But it would be nice to, you know, get a consistent paycheck, so I figure I should try to work a little every day so that I start clocking in 17 hours. There's a lot I could be doing that I'm not.
Find a Job in Korea
We'll be moving there in about 6 months time (give or take a month or two) and I should probably start looking soon if I'm going to find a job there. I'd most like to find a teaching position in an American school there.
Use the Wii Fit More
So I was way into using our Wii Fit for like a week but I haven't been on that thing in two weeks. But then I weighed myself today and got a pretty rude awakening. I want to get in better shape and maintain my weight so that I can continue to eat cake and cookies. To that end, I want to use the Wii Fit for at least 30 minutes every day.
Visit More of the Island(s)
Often, we just sit around, doing nothing. Well, David does homework. I do nothing. But I don't want to miss anything while I live here, so I'd like to visit the other islands. Go snorkeling or to the beach more. Visit the sights. I don't want to sit around all day anymore.
So okay, these do sound like resolutions. Whoops. Now that means that I won't keep them. But maybe I can at least try to be a little less lazy. Starting....now.
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2 comments:
Those are some great goals, Liz! On the cleaning thing - I've found if you can pick up stuff while on the phone, it makes the job go way faster. I put away a mountain of laundry doing that the other day. My room's still cluttered - but at least it's a little less so. Good luck!
And, pray tell, what's on your reading list? We should do some virtual book club - that would definitely up the accountability factor to finish!
I have so many books on my "to be read" list that I'll never be done and it's all very random. I just finished reading Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness series (Into the Wilderness being the first book in the series). It's another historical fiction series (my current fave right now). It's a little slow going at parts, but still interesting in its own way. The series spans from 1790 to 1815 in upstate New York.
I also just finished reading a YA book called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Next on my immediate read list is Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, Triange by Katharine Weber and Molokai by Alan Brennert. And maybe Homestead by Rosina Lippi. I also just checked out Memoirs of a Geisha from the library to give it a quick re-read. It's been awhile. I think I read it in high school.
Oh, another great one that I'm re-reading right now that you MUST read (being a fellow American Studies nerd) is Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horowitz. It's a fascinating look at the continuing legacy of the Civil War (er....War Between the States) that still prevades in the South today. If you haven't already read it, you definitely should check out Team of Rivals about Lincoln's presidency and Richard Bushman's biography of Joseph Smith. It gets a little bogged down by complex doctrine (which you can skip since you already know it!) but it led to some truly fascinating insights about Joseph Smith that I had never before realized.
Let me know if you come across any must reads or just ones you've heard good things about. I'm always looking for books to add to my list.
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