Accomplishments and objectives

A year ago I posted a list of things I had done in 2007 and things I hoped to accomplish in 2008. There's not much point in recording such things if you don't go back and compare them to what did happen, so here's my review of 2008 and forecast for 2009. To start, this is the list from that entry a year ago, with successful accomplishments in green, failed accomplishments in red, and black being partial or incomplete:

Things I would like to accomplish in 2008:

1. Break out of my patterns of procrastination.
   
2. Be more proactive about dating.
3. Make more of an effort to write new poems, without getting away from the good revision work that I've been doing.
4. Find out why my brother gets under my skin and learn to be at peace with him.
5. Commit the time to write an academic paper that represents my very best work.
6. Make more connections among the department's faculty and graduate students.
7. Restore the university's chapter of Sigma Tau Delta to viability with undergraduate leadership.
8. Find ways to travel without screwing up my budget (my upcoming trip to NYC will be a good start).
9. Learn more about teaching methods, effective classroom skills, and good pedagogy so that I'm more prepared to teach college-level courses.
10. Embrace the fantastic path I'm on without closing myself off to unexpected opportunities.

I've also done a lot of cool things in the last year that weren't a part of that list.

Things I accomplished in 2008

• Visited New York City for the first time, and I had an absolutely fantastic time.
  
• Kept up my quasi-regular correspondence of hand-written letters with a dear friend.
• Was an alternate delegate to the country convention for Barack Obama. I didn't get a chance to participate, but it was a great cherry on top of the very inspiring caucus process.
• My awesome trip to Germany and the Czech Republic.
• Developed a topic for my masters thesis that I'm genuinely excited about.
• Applied to PhD programs.
• Made significant quantities of fruits and veggies a regular part of my diet.
  

I feel pretty good about where I stand right now, so major, life-changing resolutions don't feel particularly neccessary. Of course, the next stage in my life will be shaped considerably by which PhD programs I get into, if any, but for now I just need to concentrate on reaching a positive finish to my masters program and writing a thesis I can be proud of.

Goals and Resolutions for 2009

1. Write my thesis and defend it in time to participate in the June graduation ceremony.
2. Build a new computer from scratch.
3. Take another big trip. (California?)
4. Buy a more adult set of clothing.
5. Go on a date.
6. Maintain my level of political awareness and engagement.
7. Change my own oil.
8. Write the play I've been thinking about.
9. Keep in touch with people in Denver after I move away.
10. Get better about procrastination.
    

Crazy week of activities (Having a social life is hard work!)

Because the first week of classes is usually pretty mild, I decided that I would catch up on having a social life, as well as trying to get a head start on my coursework. Since Wednesday I have done the following:

• Gave a big presentation on Madame Bovary for my graduate seminar on Modernism (and came up with vague notion for a possible thesis topic)
  
• Watched the first disc of Battlestar Galactica Season Three with my friend Ben as we try to get caught up so that we can watch Season Four on TV (with a few more marathon sessions scheduled for the coming week because the first episode airs this Friday night)
  
• Went to see an excellent touring production of My Fair Lady (the first time I had ever seen that show)
  
• Went to a Saturday matinee of the play Gee's Bend and got an idea for how I might write one of my story ideas as a play
  
• Cheered on the Nuggets in a thrilling victory over the Golden State Warriors in the first live basketball game I've been able to attend in years
  
• Drank a few beers with my buddy Frank and had the first non-depressing conversation about academia that I've had in far too long

Now I must get back to all the reading that I neglected while I was having so much fun.

Resolutions?

This is the time of year for looking back and making grand pronouncements about what we will or will not do in the coming year, even though a year is a long time and New Year's resolutions rarely make it through January. It is nice to look back on where I've been and where I hope to be going in the coming year.

Things I accomplished in 2007:

1. Got into grad school.
2. Successfully taught a creative writing class by myself with a group of 3rd-5th grade students.
3. Helped establish my work with writing tutoring for 6th-8th graders as an ongoing volunteer program.
4. Made a friend unexpectedly who has already become one of the closest people in my life and who I expect will be a life-long friend.
5. Had a long relationship that taught me a lot about myself.
6. Found the courage to stand up for myself and end that same relationship when it grew increasingly unhealthy.
7. Began a serious and organized effort to get my poems published (aka, started a rejection slip collection).
8. Started to believe that I can be attractive to other people beyond my intellectual gifts.
9. Worked full-time and successfully navigated the minefield of a dysfunctional workplace.
10. Saved money and established a budget so that I should be able to get my masters without going into debt.

Things I would like to accomplish in 2008:

1. Break out of my patterns of procrastination.
2. Be more proactive about dating.
3. Make more of an effort to write new poems, without getting away from the good revision work that I've been doing.
4. Find out why my brother gets under my skin and learn to be at peace with him.
5. Commit the time to write an academic paper that represents my very best work.
6. Make more connections among the department's faculty and graduate students.
7. Restore the university's chapter of Sigma Tau Delta to viability with undergraduate leadership.
8. Find ways to travel without screwing up my budget (my upcoming trip to NYC will be a good start).
9. Learn more about teaching methods, effective classroom skills, and good pedagogy so that I'm more prepared to teach college-level courses.
10. Embrace the fantastic path I'm on without closing myself off to unexpected opportunities.
    

Things have changed significantly from where I was 365 days go, and while I don't foresee such dramatic changes in the coming year, I can only hope that my life improves as much in 2008 as it did in 2007.