Goal Update

May 30, 2009 — Posted in review, thought

Well, it has been awhile sine I last posted here.
Looks like I’ve blow goal #10 (blog twice/month). I’ve been active on other social media site though—especially dailymile. If you are triathlete or runner, I highly recommend this very useful and motivating site. I also recommend this site if you have any interest in niche social networking or functional web design.

First, let me update you about my goals so far. I am crafting a few other blog posts to give more details about my life and future, but I thought I should start with a catch-all post.

1. Publish poems in two different magazines or journals
I’ve made nearly no movement with most of my poetry goals in the last 3 months. I’ve had the chance to read some great poetry in the last while, however I’ve not been committed to writing or submitting my work anywhere. This is disappointing, especially since I continue to have a genuine passion and love for writing.

2. Pay off all debt (other than student loans)
Things were looking good on the debt front until recently. Laura and I thought we had a buyer for a condo we own, however the individual fell through and now we aren’t sure if we’ll be able to sell this summer or fall. If so, then the debt will be taken care of. If not, we’ll wait to sell next spring, carry debt for another few months and go from there.

3. Get accepted to graduate schools with scholarships
This goal is completed! I was accepted at a number of different institutions, however the choice for best school for Laura and I came down to two main contenders: University of Victoria and Dalhousie (located in Halifax). I look forward to outlining why I chose UVic in a later post.

4. Write ten new poems and one new long poem
See comment on goal #1.

5. Finish “High Margins” (download here (without music) or here (with music) and submit the poem to a publication
See comment on goal #1.

6. Get physiotherapy and complete healing in my right arm
My arm feels largely healed, however my swim times are not nearly as good as last year, so I’m wondering if I’ve lost some power in my right arm. More investigation is needed.

7. Run +25km (see how I’m doing by checking out my running sidebar plugin)
The furthest I’ve run so far is 14km… A distance I certainly have to increase in preparation for the Subaru Sooke International Triathlon that I’ve signed up for. This race takes place on Sept. 13th and will work well with the move to our basement suite apartment, which is located 2 blocks from the University of Victoria.

8. Read five new book before August
This goal is complete! I have read Herman Hesse’s Journey to the East, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, Robert Priest’s Reading the Bible Backwards, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and The Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins. By next week I’ll have completed Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje. So, I’ve got 3 goals completed so far.

9. Complete a manuscript of poetry
See comment on goal #1. Achieving this goal is rather ambitious..

10. Blog twice a month
This goal cannot be achieved now. Boo.

11. ~~New theme for my blog~~
Complete.

12. Achieve a first place finish for my age group in an Olympic distance (or longer) triathlon
I’m making some positive progress on this front, so stay tuned for details.

13. Compete in 5 triathlons
I’ve registered for 8 triathlons now, so even if something terrible happens and I miss one or two, I’m still fine. I’ll speak to my results of the 2 races I’ve completed so far in another post. For now, here’s the races I’ve left to do:

KGH Sprint Triathlon at Sylvan Lake on May 30
Lake Summerside Triathlon (Olympic distance) in Edmonton on June 7
Chinook Olympic Distance Tri in Calgary on June 20
Foothills Charity Triathlon (sprint distance) in Okotoks on July 4
Canmore Triathlon (Olympic distance) on July 18 (Alberta Provincial Championships)
Subaru Sooke International Triathlon in Sooke, BC on Sept 13

So, my progress isn’t stellar, but I’ve got a few important goals out of the way (namely, grad school!). I have 3/13 goals completed and 1 goal blown.

photo courtesy of judyofthewoods on flickr