Altered Goals

I thought I would be posting a lot this month with an in-depth discussion about my goals for 2014.  As I've struggled to get almost anything done this moth I've realized that I need to make my goals very, very limited.

Things that are important to me include a lot of things, but I just can't do everything.  In fact, I can't really do very much since I am pretty slow in developing skills / learning and reading.  I also do not have very much time to myself.

I'm interested in (in no particular order):

• Archaeology
• Anthropology
• Sports (watching)
• Hockey
• Rugby
• Football
• Sports (participating)
• Swimming
• In-line skating
• Rugby
• Hockey (wish I could)
• Joining some sort of team
• Sailing
• Short fiction writing
• Horror
• Fantasy
• Mystery
• Sci-Fi
• Comedy
• Audio Drama
• Novel writing (same genres as my short fiction)
• Bike commuting
• Podcasting
• Old Time Radio
• Pets
• Getting another Bearded Dragon
• Getting a dog
• Pond fish
• Gardening
• Camping
• Boy Scouts, specifically Commissioning
• Girl Scouting
• Deism
• Forestry
• Staying healthy and doing things that will help me prolong my life
• Romance
• Family
• Music
• Ukulele
• Bass (wish I could play)
• Sax
• Wish I could join a band
• History
• Military in general
• WWII era
• Chicago
• Greece
• Astronomy and star gazing
• Greek and Greece
• Family vacation
• Reading

So you can see that there are a lot of things.  A lot of these things have additional expansions below them.  A lot either need a huge investment of time, money or both.  Some of these things are very personal, some are charitable and some are involved with others in a mutual nature.

Even when I start to narrow down the list or prioritize it so that I can develop goals I end up adding more and more.

Previously I listed five areas for goals:

1. Greek
2. Archaeology
3. Writing
4. New Job
5. Commissioning

I left off a health oriented goal, but two weeks ago I weighed myself and clearly I need to exercise on a regular basis.  You can see that the goals keep getting scope creep. If I want to change these six to areas of importance rather than goals it might help, but I'm not completely convinced.

I think I need to tighten this very much, man up and focus.

My will make just two goals:

1. Learn Greek
2. Get published

However I will measure everything I do against 7 priority levels:

1. Staying healthy
2. Learning Greek
3. Staying employed
4. Family support (things my family needs me to do)
5. Commissioning
6. Getting published
7. Archaeology

I'm going to talk about my priorities more on Flowers of Mundelein.  I'll track my Greek goal on Flowers and my publishing goals here.

Killing the Christmas Tree Softly

Prepared for boxing,
maybe that's what Boxing Day means (?)

We are taking the Christmas tree down, and I have to take down my last poll which was about your favorite Christmas carol or song.

The results of that poll were two for other (one was mine) and one for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  Thank you to those who participated.

This month, thinking about trees I'd like to ask, do you like to read on dead trees (paper) or electronically?  I'll just make it a simple three part-er.

I understand that some people prefer paper for books or long works, while they prefer electronic methods (ereaders, computer, tablet etc.) for shorter works.  Some people may like electrons for everything and some people may like paper for short stuff and electrons for longer stuff so they don't have to lug it around.  Some people may have different combinations.

Whatever your combinations, this is the place to discuss them.

How Do You Get Chicago?

Chicago skyline April 18, 2009, from Northerly Island looking west (thank you Wikipedia)

What city should I live in?

At the Museum of Science and Industry

I got Portland, but I've no idea how anyone would get Chicago based on the choices they give.  There were almost none of the choices I would have picked, so I had to go with the one that was least wrong.

I'll review the questions, the choices they give, my answers (in bold) and the right (Chicago) answers:

1.      How do you take your coffee?

a.       Local & Organic

b.      By the pot

c.       I don't drink coffee

d.      Cappuccio, extra foam

e.       Pour over [I don't have any idea what this is]

f.       Iced

g.      Espresso, double shot

h.      Skinny vanilla latte (I don't know what normal coffee with zero calorie sweetener would be so I picked this)

i.        Black, like my soul

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER:  Hot, it's winter dang it!

2.      What's your jam?

a.       "Hips Don't Lie" - Shakira

b.      "Sweet Child 'O Mine" - Guns and Roses

c.       "Timber" Pitbull

d.      "Skinny Love" Bon Iver

e.       "Bangarang" Skrillex

f.       "Partition" Beyonce

g.      "Lights" Ellie Goulding

h.      "Royals" Lorde

i.        "Suit & Tie" Justin Timberlake

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER: "LSD" (the song by  Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah or the street)

3.      What could you eat forever?

a.       Beans and rice

b.      Chocolate

c.       Steak and potatoes (this is Chicago acceptable)

d.      Tacos, burritos, enchiladas

e.       Pizza (Chicago acceptable)

f.       Chicken

g.      Curry

h.      Bread

i.        Sushi

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER:  possible acceptable answers include: Italian beef sammich, polish sawseege, Chicago Style Pizza (no, this is different than just pizza)

4.      Pick a #hashtag (I'd like to think that the real appropriate Chicago answer is, "None" but I know some of you think this, "Pound sign" is a hashtag thingie so I'll give it to you):

a.       #YAASSS

b.      #WINNING

c.       #FOODPORN (I've actually done this with Chicago Style pizza so I picked it)

d.      #BALLIN

e.       #SORRYIMNOTSORRY

f.       #YOLO but used ironically

g.      #YOLO

h.      #NO FILTER

i.        #BLESSED

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER: some acceptable: #DABEARS, #DABULLS, #DAHAWKS

5.      Pick a Beyoncé:

a.       Super Bowl

b.      Secret Album

c.       "Crazy in Love" (she samples Chicago's own The Chi-Lites' 1970 song "Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)." and I knew that)

d.      "Who Run the World (Girls)"

e.       Illuminati

f.       "Single Ladies"

g.      Destiny's Child

h.      #22DAYSVEGAN

i.        Glastonbury

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER:  since it's limited to Beyoncé I'd say either my choice or "Cadillac Records" because it's about Chicago's Chess Records and she plays Etta James (even though that's a terrible movie filmed in New Jersey!)

6.      What's on top of your bucket list?

a.       Go on safari

b.      Go to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix

c.       Road Trip America

d.      Backpacking Europe

e.       Summer in the Hamptons

f.       Relaxing in Bali (or I want a vacation in the islands: Northerly, Goose and Blue)

g.      Wine tasting in Tuscany

h.      Skydiving

i.        Coachella

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER: Watch the Cubs win the World Series because if I can't die until then, I'll live forever

7.      Pick your poison

a.       Gin & Tonic

b.      Shots

c.       Red wine

d.      Beer

e.       Whiskey

f.       Mojito (closest I could get to my choice, margaritas)

g.      Wine

h.      Local craft beer (I suppose if you chose Goose Island it would be Chicago acceptable)

i.        Vodka soda

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER:  Orange and Blue Kool-Aid, my friend

8.      What do you look for in a mate?

a.       Dancing ability

b.      Spontaneity

c.       Sense of humor (Second City?)

d.      No style = no way

e.       Smooth

f.       Smart

g.      Witty

h.      Sexy

i.        Money

j.        CHICAGO ANSWER:  Gotta love Chicago, and being able to shovel snow is a plus

9.      How do you exercise?

a.       Yoga

b.      Shopping

c.       Sex

d.      Partying

e.       Don't need to

f.       Extreme sports

g.      Hiking (after taking Da Metra to Da Loop to see the Christmas tree and the windows at MARSHALL FIELDS (muck Facy's))

h.      Living life

i.        What's exercise?
j.    CHICAGO ANSWER:  Celebrating Da Hawks Stanley Cup win, or screaming at da TV when Da Bears are losing to dose packers (I refuse to capitalize their name)

Χρόνα Πόλλα καί Καλό Μένα

Is this an island nation?
It may be if I make it.

Happy New year and happy first of the month!

I'd like to review Illini6 for 2013 and look to what I want to do in 2014.

I dropped the number of posts I did for 2013 by a lot.  I went from 128 to 79 (which you can see from the right column).  In 2012 I didn't participate in NaNoWriMo, so I posted daily for November and December.  Since I was doing NaNoWriMo I didn't have time to do that.

The other things I did in 2011 and 2012 were to post very detailed step by step world building.  I started 2013 by finishing up on my Howlina building.  I decided that it didn't really make sense to keep world building without using the world.  It is a sort of analysis paralysis.  I do have plans for Howlina, but I have much more pressing musings for other stories.

I've shared my plans for NaNoWriMo.  I want to finish adding to Hidden Temple to the Lost Gods this month.  March I will edit in NaNoEdMo and by April I will start sending it out to publish.  I will cover that all here.

I also want to post some stories here.  I don't want to overextend myself, but I would like to post a story a month, or at least monthly installments of longer stories until they're done (like Nightmares of Katrina).

I'll be covering more personal thing on my other blog, Flowers of Mundelein.

What else would you like to see here?