October Round Up - Anne

Here we go- another update to see how things are going. I may find the time to post more specifically on some of this progress-

1) Make an afghan for afghans for Afghans - I have some yarn, donated by friends and I am highly motivated to start. This should begin this week.
2) Consolidate 401k/IRA/503b plans hanging around from previous jobs - I brought my car loan over to the new bank and have fully consolidated my liquid accounts at one bank. Next, I want to eliminate one of my credit cards. I admit I have two because I got one from the credit union, which is the one I want to keep. Once this final step is done, I will proceed with the evaluations/consolidations!
3) Research before and one year after consolidation the performance of the funds - Nope.
4) Confirm at least once that all address in my address book are accurate - I call this progress because I just updated an address today and have actually been in contact with people (found out someone moved to California and I had no idea!)
5) Call everyone who sent me a Christmas card within 6 months of January 1 - The address updates have helped- I only have a very few people I haven't been in contact with even if I didn't call. I think I reset the parameters for this one to this next Christmas and vow that I will finish the address book update at the same time.
6) Sell extra books - Done! And now I will do this more regularly since they actually bought some of my books!
7) Buy a good pair of winter boots - The time is near.
9) Watch all my Looney Tunes DVDs - I haven't done this, but I have a funny motivation based on having read Old Man's War, in which the main character downloads all the Looney Tunes cartoons. I liked the book pretty much, too.
10) Lose at least 20 pounds - I decided not to weigh myself this week. A change to my diet should mean that I am on the right track, but we'll see next week when I come back to weighing mysef.
11) Get green stripe belt - I just noticed the bad spelling I had in the previous post for this. Oh well. I may need to re-do this one. With the back pain keeping me out of kicking commission, I reflected back on my initial search for a martial art and my main focus was on weapons. I think I need to return to that, since that was the initial motivator, and choose a new place based on that. 
12) Be able to do a high-section roundhouse kick - I am calling this one done. I did do it and the truth is, even if I did it with a little help one for the full dramatic version or against an opponent that was a couple inches shorter than me for a less dramatic look, it was still done.
13) Go to taekwondo class three times a week for at least one month - Affected by my new search- will have a new parameter set.
14) Finish at least 5 books I haven't finished yet sitting on my shelves - one of five done. I continue to read, but have been reading other things. It will happen. Seriously.
15) Visit Mom for a week - No plans yet.
16) Visit Tim's family - No plans yet.
17) Visit Uncle Matty - I got to see Uncle Matty at my cousin's wedding. Not only that, I got to dance with him and sit at the same table with him. I should be seeing him again in a non-wedding situation, but I am counting this one done- the dancing makes the difference!
18) Visit family graves - Not done yet.
22) Get amber ring fixed - Not done yet, but I have now two amber rings to fix.
23) Finish a Wii game - Dance Dance Revolution, Rock Band or Guitar Hero? I tried to play Elebits with Tim on my birthday weekend and it made me get motion sickness- and we were so close to finishing! Progress made, but not done yet.
24) Finish Pikmin 2 - Not done yet, but I better pick up the pace since Pikmin 3 is in development.
27) Try a new recipe every month - I made an Inside Out Pineapple cake this week. It wasn't bad. I like carrot cake better. Ongoing.
28) Finish DK Junglebeat - I played a different game that uses the bongo controllers, but nothing done on this one.
34) Find and buy jeans that fit well - I haven't even tried. Once it gets cooler, this will become more of a priority.
35) Buy a good black turtleneck - The time is coming.
37) Make something with a piece of fabric I already own - I've pulled out all of my yarn to shame myself into seeing how much I have that I haven't used yet. So wasteful! I have a feeling a pile of fabric will be following it.
38) Go through and organize jewelry - Stalled out.
39) Sell/Try to sell something I've made - This may be one way to use up that yarn.
40) Finish at least 4 of the cross-stitch kits that I have - Nope. Not now. That yarn.
42) Make and post a product for my website - Strategizing still
43) Buy beeswax candles - Still on hold. The upside- my living room smells like cinnamon (well, maybe an upside to some) as I burn through what I've already got.
44) Go to a fair - I missed it! I can't believe it! On my birthday weekend, I missed the Big E and said I would go to the Topsfield fair. Then I drove by the cars waiting in line to go to it as I went to NH. I didn't even know it was going on and I drove by it the last day! Ok. This looks like it is next year now. 
45) Invite someone to my house every month - After my birthday outing, people came over to play wii. I had a good time. ongoing.
46) Clean out front room closet - I just pulled some yarn out of the closet!
47) Clean out file cabinet - Let's say I have filing to do.
48) Try to print my own photos on printer - I think the printer is attached now, but I have scanning to do before I print anything.
49) Organize/Store files sitting under desk - No further progress.
52) Import DVDs into computer- Nope.
54) Get Looney Tunes on my iPod - Although this would facilitate my viewing of Looney Tunes, I haven't done it.
55) Catch up on podcasts - This continues to be fun. I added a Live Polka podcast. Yes, pretty weird, but it is happy music for the morning and for sitting in traffic on the way home (I can tap my hand against the steering wheel in time to the music while I wait!). In addition, I am now catching up on the Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, which is pretty fun, too.
56) Set up folders for iPod in iTunes and organize updating/synching - I think this is basically done, but will hold off on checking it off until I catch up on one particular podcast.
57) Post to website every month - Please ignore this for now.
61) Decide on other domain name: parked domain or new site and set it up - It is the setup part that still needs to be done
62) Get a full first draft of translation - I got access to the university library to facilitate this. I even went and began doing more translating. My time feels tight and I dream of getting a nice translation setup at home. So progress was made, but is stalled a little to see how I can get it into my schedule better.
63) Figure out camera settings for indoor group pictures - I haven't looked into this more.
64) Find something red to wear for rat year - I wore a red bracelet on my birthday. I will put it back on tomorrow and hope good luck follows.
65) Figure out what to do with earrings I don't wear - I'm thinking bracelet, but haven't actually looked at what I have to work with yet.
66) Read travel book by Achim von Arnim - Not yet.
67) Go to geek knitting meeting - I think arranging my own geek knitting is what will have to happen- unless going to the guild meeting counts. I think it might. Too bad this stopped right after I found out about it.
68) Evaluate usefulness of Seashore program - I just heard about another open source graphics program for the mac. I need to look into this.
70) Finish scanning old paper photos - That is part of cleaning out files under the table. Fingers crossed, will be done by the end of this year.
71) Join a guild - Joined the Crochet Guild!
72) Get a backup made of my digital/digitized photos - Not done yet.
73) Start to learn a new language - Cute language wins. Studio italiano!
74) Find a Spanish reader and read it- I found it. I haven't read it.
75) Learn at least 250 kanji - No advancement yet.
76) Read one of the Polish books at home - Not yet.
77) Read through/finish Vietnamese textbook - No advancement yet, although I put all the audio material on my iPod.
78) Compliment a total stranger - Done! There was a woman headed into the office who looked fabulous in a color I could never wear. I let her know how great it looked on her. I realized the real block to this may have been just talking to a stranger. I notice people all the time, but taking that step to break the silence between people is kind of tough (unless they are jerks driving in front of me- ok, even then I don't think they hear me).
82) Buy a friend lunch when it isn't their birthday - I had a great lunch and was happy to pick up the tab. 
83) Have a day where I fully live: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." -I actually feel I may be closer to being able to do this. At work I've instituted some walks to get me away from the computer and the stress (one in the morning and one in the afternoon- about 5-10 minutes each) and it has really helped my overall attitude. I thought about it when I thought of line workers who get breaks (unless they work for a lousy company) and how I just don't move from the computer for most of the day. It really makes a difference to take a quick walk.
84) Translate my resume into German - I did a first draft of my resume in CV form. It isn't in German yet.
85) Take someone on my favorite downtown walk - Not yet.
86) Write letters to three people letting them know how special they are - Not yet.
87) Set up an ebay account to see that sanrio item - Not yet, but I tried to investigate what the pricing/paypal/seller's membership options are. I'm still a little confused.
88) Finish a first draft of a creative writing project - I have two stories partially written. I know one of them, I can't pick up the story again. It is sad, but the tone of voice and the projection of the action were so based in a specific time, I can't even remember what I was going to do next. Sounds like a re-write.
90) Spend no money for 4 days straight - The last thing I bought was on Tuesday- I went to the grocery store. I decided to buy lunch tomorrow. I got 2 days along without trying. I think I can do this if I just plan ahead.
91) Eat at No 9 Park - Not yet.
92) Eat at Aujord'hui - Not yet.
93) Figure out how I will convert to digital TV - No real plan for this, but I should figure it out in the next couple months.
94) Bind a book - Nope.
95) Make/Attempt to make all the box patterns in that origami book - Another nope.
96) Make the cherry blossom origami that was the reason I got that other origami book - Thrice nope.
97) Save for/Plan/or Actually take a trip to the Pacific Northwest - The lottery and racetrack have not paid out yet.
98) Meet Wendy's children - Not yet.
99) Try to learn a song on the harmonica - I have a deep seated desire to play the concertina. I have now learned that in both German and Italian, the concertina is a harmonica. Can I use that to fulfill this? As a polyglot, I think I have that flexibility.
100) Learn 5 chords on the guitar and be able to switch between them all well - Still a "to do" item.

Change is good

This has been a week of improvement and some change in a good way. I started Italian class this week (which means another to do is done). While I was in Verona last October, two little girls walked by very animatedly speaking in Italian. It was honestly the cutest thing I have ever heard. We all know that English isn't cute. German also doesn't have a big reputation for cuteness. Polish? I like it, but still a far cry from Italian little girl cuteness. I also just liked being there, so I decided to give myself a break from hard languages and go for a cute one. You'd think it would be easy- and I'm pretty sure it will be shortly- but after my last round of language learning (Japanese and Vietnamese at the same time) it isn't like anything I've done- so there is some adjustment. Speaking of Vietnamese, I bumped into my Vietnamese professor on the way to Italian. If they had a second year, I would have taken it, but Harvard doesn't offer two years in the evening, so I am stunted in my Vietnamese language development currently. He was a great teacher and such a nice person; it was great to bump into him. One note on the Italian instructor- when he walked into the classroom, I thought he looked like a bust of Goethe or some other person from the 1700's. I don't know what it is exactly, but that is what he reminds me of. He is really great so far and I am really enjoying the class. 

So, my schedule needs to absorb this change, i.e. accommodating for the class two times/week. Since I need to leave work early, I also go into work early two days per week. This means I've been getting up a little earlier. I have stuck with doing wii fit every day in the morning and now on the days when I don't go into work early, I can spend an extra 15 minutes doing it. It puts me in a good mood (even when the weigh in doesn't make me happy), which is a good thing on its own. (I figured out my problem with the triangle and got 4 stars! My new love is rhythm boxing.) In addition, I've instituted a 10:30 am walk around the building - just to get away from my desk and move a little bit. I've had a co-worker or two do the quick walk with me twice so far and I find it does make a difference in how I feel as well. I don't want to be stuck in front of the computer non-stop. That definitely makes me unhappy. I am already planning on slowly integrating a lunchtime stretch and a 3 pm walkaround, but I want to add things in slowly and adjust so that they stick. I can be totally gung ho about something and stick with it, but unless I make some changes incrementally, I can get distracted and not continue. The next exercise to add on will be regular Dance Dance Revolution in the evening to balance out the Wii Fit in the morning.

Due to what the nutritionist told me (I'll meet with her again in November), I began to keep a food diary. She had only told me to keep a migraine diary, but I realized that I couldn't know when a migraine would hit, so I better keep the diary in anticipation of one happening. So far no migraine, but the food diary definitely is helping me to cut down on in-between meal snacks. I don't track water- but I do for everything else and there was one day when I honestly turned down a snack because I didn't want to write it down in the book. I guess this is having a good effect, although this one may be a difficult one to keep going. We'll see if I absorb this behavior as well. A note to the sweet endings I crave - I just had some Ovaltine. I like Ovaltine. The one I had today was Chocolate Malt flavor. I tried Ovaltine only a few years ago- maybe 7 or 8- because my dad had made some comment about drinking it when he was a kid. I took that to mean it was a good memory. I do like it and for some reason am convinced the malt not only tastes good but may actually be good for me. If this is not true, please do not tell me. My dad also liked tripe soup because he ate that when he was a kid, but I haven't picked that up as a habit.

Now, I need to find time to fit in my translation work, either for myself or professionally. In order to be full force professional, I need to follow through on some computer purchases that I am not quite ready for, so I have been basically sitting around, looking into things and preparing for when the time comes to act. As far as translating for myself- I now have access to Harvard's libraries, which means I now have the means to (can you believe I am writing this?) begin work on my dissertation topic once again. It has changed somewhat from what I thought I would write before. I am also spending time translating (German- not Italian!) which was not part of the original plan, but I think it will serve me well. This helps me work towards achieving a part of my to do list as well-

I think I had a few more things to write about, but that is it for now- I have to go to bed and read- another habit I am trying to pick up is a little bit of reading every night. I usually finish 2-3 books per month, but I've slowed down lately- so I want to make sure I make time for that too. With a yawn- I head to bed and await my kitty cat's demands for attention in spite of my obvious sleepiness.

9/11The Worst Year of My LifeThe Shirt I'm Wearing TodayThe NutritionistA New Commitmentand How It All Fits Together

Maybe it all only fits together because I am the binding figure amongst all these characters.

From the date on this post, you'll know it is 9/11. This year, perhaps more than some others, I've spent some time thinking back to where I was in 2001 on this date. I was living in Somerville, MA. I heard about the planes and the towers while at work and went out with the Controller to bring a tv back to the office so people could watch what was going on. We got to his house to get the little tv just as one of the towers was falling. People were told they could go home after we got back and eventually I did. Later that evening, in the general quiet, I heard the planes flying overhead from the Air Force Base and became fully aware of how surreal normal sounds could become. I was scheduled to fly on September 13. Taking the bonus check from President Bush, a roommate and I were going to fly to Prague. That trip never happened since Logan airport wasn't open in time. 

The year following was really a terrible year in my life regarding self-esteem, judgement and about a million other things. I don't think terrorists caused my bad year, but the attacks were coincidental with the beginning of it and so this day has made me reflective on that general time period as well. Without realizing it until I was out of the house today, I put on a shirt that I had bought during that bad year and haven't worn for a long time. Once I did realize it, I decided that I would get rid of this shirt after today. I had worn it to work one day that year and felt that it was a lot sheerer than I had thought when I bought it. I asked another woman at the company if it was too sheer. She assured me everything was ok, but when I got under some brighter lights where there was a mirror, I realized that she was terribly wrong or maybe didn't care. I wore a sweater over it today. And so I feel like with the disposal of this shirt, I might be able to symbolically put a little more of that time in my life to rest a little more solidly. 

But I've been feeling a little reflective anyway. I went to see a nutritionist for the first time (wish I had that on my list!) and she asked me questions about eating habits and exercise. It became really obvious to me how much I had let circumstances determine my behavior all the way down to my eating habits. Perhaps two big factors were the death of my father (1) while I was in a lousy job that had me crying in frustration regularly (2). All I wanted was comfort, so exercise and healthy eating took a back seat to convenience and comfort foods. The truth is that I know how to eat well and be healthy, but I've lacked the commitment. After talking with the nutritionist, I realized that that was all I needed. And, in order to get that commitment and keep it, I have to do a little less of the feeling sorry for myself that got me here. As much as I have a plan on how to upgrade my computer system most effectively, I have the beginnings of a plan in my mind on how to get back to healthy living, self-improvement and (the real dream) self-employment. Seriously, if I could have today, I would have walked out of work without a look back, but the tiny check I've gotten for my self-employment efforts so far is not enough to support me for more than - oh - a day. I continue to work on my grand plan.

And since this post isn't quite rambling enough, I have two other things to report-

Tim and I were going to go on a bike ride. I haven't ridden my bike in at least two years. I took it to the bike shop on the weekend for a tune up and just got it back today. I rode it a little. It is nice to ride a bike- especially one in just the right condition like this is now. I remember once I went over to Martina's place after I had gotten my grad school bike. Martina's place was close, so I walked, but then decided I had to jog. When I arrived and told her and her roommate about it, one of them asked if I jogged because the ground wasn't moving fast enough for me anymore. That was so true! So here is the hope that the ground needs to move faster for me again.

I have a bit of a sugar problem. I do like to finish meals with something sweet- and it really doesn't have to be sugar, but often that is what it is. Last night I was trying to figure out what to have that wasn't bad for me when I found a box of soy pudding I bought at the Asian market. I was pretty sure when I bought this that it was an instant version of the stuff that I've had at dim sum. Well, I spent a little more time with the box and found out that the French translation that exists in addition to the English and Chinese and Vietnamese calls this soy cheese. Not knowing which was the bad translation, I went ahead and made it and it is pretty much what I expected. It isn't really sweet, but it is hitting the post-dinner spot.

OK- one last thing-

I'm back on the daily morning dose of Wii Fit. I am apparently terrible at the Triangle in the yoga section (0 points- I admit it!), but I am really enjoying getting those light morning exercises in.