found drama

January through March, come and gone. Where did I land for the goals I’d set for myself for 2009?  Well, it’s been kind of a mixed bag.  But mostly a bag with a big hole in the bottom.

1. Write at least three hours per week. This is not going to be a banner year for writing unless I get my shit together here.  I haven’t even written three hours total all year.  Pathetic.  Really and truly.  I have a long list of reasons ¹ for this but the old adage sticks with me:  The Writer makes time. I guess I’m so busy trying to make the time that I’ve used it up?  I mean c’mon, look at that chart:
   
2. Read 36 new books during 2009. This is slow going but steady.  It’s more important to me that to get to all twelve of my “special, specific” books this year than it is to read 36 total.  Consequently, once I wrapped up the two “started in ’08” books, I moved directly into that list of twelve.  But the first two I picked were also heavy in more ways than one.  Roots and Shōgun – neither are quick or short or easy to get through ².  That said, I still hold out hope that I’ll hit n > 36; historically speaking, it’s practically inevitable.
   
   
3. Walk at least 10 miles every week. The usual slow but steady progress – with cold-ass January sucking down my average.
   
4. Climb at least once each week. Barely skated by in January and February.  March came in at a mere two visits to the gym.  I blame my usual climbing partner and his lame tendonitis of the thumb.
   
5. Finish up my Ortho theme for WordPress. A major milestone!  If you’ve been paying attention around here, you’ll recall that “Ortho 1.0” went up just in time for the theme’s two year anniversary.  It also went into GitHub for easy sharing.  I haven’t registered the theme in the WordPress directory but it’s certainly come a long way.
6. Get outside more often. Well, we went sledding.  I went skiing in February.  And we’ve been taking advantage of every sunny day we can find.

So where have I landed at the end of Q1?  I consider the Ortho project to be done for all practical purposes and in most areas, I’m reasonably on track despite some extenuating circumstances.  The notable exception is (of course?) the writing – too much going on, too many other things clamoring for my attention, I suppose.  And I think once I get past Shōgun, the numbers will start to climb quickly in my books-to-read goals; even if I have to cheat a little bit and breeze through a couple of short ones.  Stay tuned!

1. Read as “excuses”.[↩]
2. Though that latter point speaks more to Roots, by far.[↩]

About Rob Friesel

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