(no subject)
Wow, it has been forever since I posted on here (since November 2007, in fact). Although I hardly think I’ve let anyone down-I doubt anyone reads this thing anymore. Still, I should get back in the habit of posting stuff occasionally, if only to give myself something to look back on at the end of the year. So let’s see…
I was extremely productive this weekend, or at least much more so than usual. I finished buying things for and reinstalling programs on my new (adorably compact) computer. I went plant shopping and then spent a few hours in the blazing sun planting said plants (pictures on facebook if anyone is interested). I went to Borders and also ordered some books online for the (hopefully) upcoming trip. Also finally got around to watching Wall-e. Plus I got accomplished the not-so-exciting tasks I’d been putting off for awhile, like doing my FIVE loads of laundry and thoroughly cleaning the bathroom. When you add in the typical weekend things like going to the grocery store and farmers’ market, going out to lunch, and glorious sleep, the weekend was satisfyingly full.
Now I just need about a hundred more of these weekends if I’m ever going to get done everything I want to accomplish. I’ve always been an obsessive plan-maker-short term, long term, long-long term-but I think turning 25 kicked that part of me into overdrive.
I did NOT take turning a quarter-century well. Not that I’m not happy with my life as it is now. In fact, I have very little to complain about. I have a reasonably functional long-term relationship; a nice apartment that is ideally situated (albeit ridiculously expensive); a job that, while not making me a millionaire, does pay the bills and stimulates me mentally; and an adorable cat to cuddle with in the morning. Life is pretty sweet.
But oh my God! I’m only a few years away from 30.
So now I have a Things To Do Before Turning 30 list. It’s short, but everything on it is extremely important: 1) move to Portland, 2) buy house, 3) own rottweiler, 4) have functioning business, and 5) publish novel.
Numbers 1-3 build upon one another and are pretty self explanatory.
After doing some research, I know number 4 is doable. And the people I’ve talked about it with seem to have confidence in me. I know I can do that kind of work well, and I’m pretty sure I have the organization and determination to actually run the business. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to do it full time (nor am I certain that I’d want to-contract work is notoriously variable and I’ve gotten accustomed to getting a paycheck every two weeks), but I could definitely use it to make some extra money or possibly combine it with a part-time job. What’s nice is that it doesn’t require much capital investment, and I’ve already started a “business fund” with a portion of the fees I’ve already received from contract work. I can do as little or as much as I want, and I can build things up slowly. I’ve plotted out what I’ll need to do and should be up and running by February or March of next year. Taxes will be a bitch though.
Number five is the one I’m most concerned about, but it’s also probably the one that’s most important to me. I’m not all that worried about my actual writing. My standards for my own stuff are so high that I’m pretty sure anything I was satisfied enough with to try to publish would be decent. Plus there are people like Kerry (the best writer I know!) who can give me advice and guidance. What I am concerned about is whether or not I will ever actually get any substantial writing done.
For a long time I was convinced that I’d totally lost my drive to write. Sure, I wanted to have written something, but I hadn’t sat down to write anything creative in so long that I was afraid I’d never be able to again. Completing the novel for NaNoWriMo was great in that it made me realize that that spark hadn’t gone out for good. Obviously, having to write it in a month meant that it was pretty crappy (I don’t think I’ll ever even go back and edit it), but it was thrilling to be so caught up in it-always thinking about it, dreaming up new plot points, being surprised at the directions it took. I’ve never been a prolific writer, but I’m pretty sure that with more preplanning and going at a less breakneck speed I could finish a second, much better one.
But finding the time is so damn hard. One of the main problems is that I spend so much of my working day writing and editing. By the time I get home, all I want is a passive form of entertainment. And if my business does lead to anything, that’ll be even more time spent writing. Plus all the other smaller plans (finishing my certification, travel, learning Russian, learning piano, etc.) also eat up time and energy. I really wish I could function better on less sleep. I can operate well on 3-5 hours a night for a few days (especially if I’m on vacation), but after that it gets pretty ugly. I’m just one of those people who needs about 7 ½-8 ½ hours of sleep a night. So I can’t cut corners there.
I guess I just need to be more disciplined about setting aside time to write. And I need to stop wasting so much time doing stupid shit or, worse, not really doing anything at all. I swear I spend so much time just sort of… sitting around.
…And writing long lj posts that nobody’s going to read.
The rest of this year is pretty useless for novel writing. But by 2009 I will have finished the last two classes I need for my certification (on that: August 25-December 13 is going to suck so much) and most of my business stuff should be in place. Travel plans with my mom and Nick should be more cemented, and my Russian and/or piano learning should be well underway. And that means it’ll be easier to find time to write.
I smell a New Year’s resolution.
I was extremely productive this weekend, or at least much more so than usual. I finished buying things for and reinstalling programs on my new (adorably compact) computer. I went plant shopping and then spent a few hours in the blazing sun planting said plants (pictures on facebook if anyone is interested). I went to Borders and also ordered some books online for the (hopefully) upcoming trip. Also finally got around to watching Wall-e. Plus I got accomplished the not-so-exciting tasks I’d been putting off for awhile, like doing my FIVE loads of laundry and thoroughly cleaning the bathroom. When you add in the typical weekend things like going to the grocery store and farmers’ market, going out to lunch, and glorious sleep, the weekend was satisfyingly full.
Now I just need about a hundred more of these weekends if I’m ever going to get done everything I want to accomplish. I’ve always been an obsessive plan-maker-short term, long term, long-long term-but I think turning 25 kicked that part of me into overdrive.
I did NOT take turning a quarter-century well. Not that I’m not happy with my life as it is now. In fact, I have very little to complain about. I have a reasonably functional long-term relationship; a nice apartment that is ideally situated (albeit ridiculously expensive); a job that, while not making me a millionaire, does pay the bills and stimulates me mentally; and an adorable cat to cuddle with in the morning. Life is pretty sweet.
But oh my God! I’m only a few years away from 30.
So now I have a Things To Do Before Turning 30 list. It’s short, but everything on it is extremely important: 1) move to Portland, 2) buy house, 3) own rottweiler, 4) have functioning business, and 5) publish novel.
Numbers 1-3 build upon one another and are pretty self explanatory.
After doing some research, I know number 4 is doable. And the people I’ve talked about it with seem to have confidence in me. I know I can do that kind of work well, and I’m pretty sure I have the organization and determination to actually run the business. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to do it full time (nor am I certain that I’d want to-contract work is notoriously variable and I’ve gotten accustomed to getting a paycheck every two weeks), but I could definitely use it to make some extra money or possibly combine it with a part-time job. What’s nice is that it doesn’t require much capital investment, and I’ve already started a “business fund” with a portion of the fees I’ve already received from contract work. I can do as little or as much as I want, and I can build things up slowly. I’ve plotted out what I’ll need to do and should be up and running by February or March of next year. Taxes will be a bitch though.
Number five is the one I’m most concerned about, but it’s also probably the one that’s most important to me. I’m not all that worried about my actual writing. My standards for my own stuff are so high that I’m pretty sure anything I was satisfied enough with to try to publish would be decent. Plus there are people like Kerry (the best writer I know!) who can give me advice and guidance. What I am concerned about is whether or not I will ever actually get any substantial writing done.
For a long time I was convinced that I’d totally lost my drive to write. Sure, I wanted to have written something, but I hadn’t sat down to write anything creative in so long that I was afraid I’d never be able to again. Completing the novel for NaNoWriMo was great in that it made me realize that that spark hadn’t gone out for good. Obviously, having to write it in a month meant that it was pretty crappy (I don’t think I’ll ever even go back and edit it), but it was thrilling to be so caught up in it-always thinking about it, dreaming up new plot points, being surprised at the directions it took. I’ve never been a prolific writer, but I’m pretty sure that with more preplanning and going at a less breakneck speed I could finish a second, much better one.
But finding the time is so damn hard. One of the main problems is that I spend so much of my working day writing and editing. By the time I get home, all I want is a passive form of entertainment. And if my business does lead to anything, that’ll be even more time spent writing. Plus all the other smaller plans (finishing my certification, travel, learning Russian, learning piano, etc.) also eat up time and energy. I really wish I could function better on less sleep. I can operate well on 3-5 hours a night for a few days (especially if I’m on vacation), but after that it gets pretty ugly. I’m just one of those people who needs about 7 ½-8 ½ hours of sleep a night. So I can’t cut corners there.
I guess I just need to be more disciplined about setting aside time to write. And I need to stop wasting so much time doing stupid shit or, worse, not really doing anything at all. I swear I spend so much time just sort of… sitting around.
…And writing long lj posts that nobody’s going to read.
The rest of this year is pretty useless for novel writing. But by 2009 I will have finished the last two classes I need for my certification (on that: August 25-December 13 is going to suck so much) and most of my business stuff should be in place. Travel plans with my mom and Nick should be more cemented, and my Russian and/or piano learning should be well underway. And that means it’ll be easier to find time to write.
I smell a New Year’s resolution.