the dread pirate known as introductions
Dec. 27th, 2010 07:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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resolvingThis is a chance to get to know each other and share our resolutions that we're going to start in the new year, as well as any ongoing resolutions we may have.
Remember the community guidelines, although it's fine that if for this post and the next one, you bring up resolutions that you're not sure how to frame in terms of duration or exact endpoint. Secondly, I would encourage everyone to take a look at this, on how to set good goals for yourself.
The goal here is to set goals that are perhaps difficult for yourself, but ultimately achievable, and on your own terms.
Questions!
Name:
About You: Anything you'd like to share about you, and perhaps your motivations.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself: We all tend to have a very long list here, but what are the top three things that could be different?
Resolutions that you've made in the past: Ways to expand: Have the failed? Succeeded? What's worked, what hasn't? What would you do again? Etc.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: The basic goal, in broad terms.
Plan: Your steps in achieving this.
Keeping track: Are you going to write on your personal journal? Use a website, a notebook? Let us know.
Endgoal: This will be successful if. If you have a broad range of definitions for success, please choose a precise goal in that range as well.
&c.: Anything else
Code!
Remember the community guidelines, although it's fine that if for this post and the next one, you bring up resolutions that you're not sure how to frame in terms of duration or exact endpoint. Secondly, I would encourage everyone to take a look at this, on how to set good goals for yourself.
The goal here is to set goals that are perhaps difficult for yourself, but ultimately achievable, and on your own terms.
Questions!
Name:
About You: Anything you'd like to share about you, and perhaps your motivations.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself: We all tend to have a very long list here, but what are the top three things that could be different?
Resolutions that you've made in the past: Ways to expand: Have the failed? Succeeded? What's worked, what hasn't? What would you do again? Etc.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: The basic goal, in broad terms.
Plan: Your steps in achieving this.
Keeping track: Are you going to write on your personal journal? Use a website, a notebook? Let us know.
Endgoal: This will be successful if. If you have a broad range of definitions for success, please choose a precise goal in that range as well.
&c.: Anything else
Code!
[promotional thread]
Date: 2010-12-28 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-28 04:16 am (UTC)About You: I am currently trying to organize myself enough to do all the things I want to do. These thing s include finding my DVDs, hiking, making movies, swimming, reading more things that aren't trash, and maybe just more healthy things in general.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
1. Eat better most of the time. MORE VEGETABLES.
2. Keep a better calendar then what I normally do, which is "oh crap, time for X."
3. Exercise more frequently.
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
Pretty much all of the above. I have made fits and starts at organzation, and been organized for weeks at at time before it all falls down, so. Also the vegatable thing seems to be doing better then I was this time last year!
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: Improve diet.
Plan: Keep a paper diary of meals, menus, grocery shopping, recipes. Try to keep portion control in mind.
Keeping track: Write a paper diary, daily. Write a summary of that every week, hopefully here.
Endgoal: While I'm not a fan of vegetarianism, I want to see if I can cut my meat consumption down by this time next year.
&c.: This goal is already in progress: I've been spending more time cooking instead of eating prepared food, and I'm so far please with the result.
Resolution: Keep up a consistant creative output, if at all possible.
Plan: Try to create something new every week--carve a plate, write a story, make headway with video editing. Write more script, etc.
Keeping track: Progress report here once a week.
Endgoal: Have 52 new things at the end of the year.
&c.: Be smart and allow yourself a month of smaller things for June, for organizing festival.
Resolution:Exercise frequently.
Plan: 40 minutes or more of exercise, 3-5 days a week.
Keeping track: I'm considering signing up for Health Month again, weekly progress reports, etc.
Endgoal: A consistant cycle of exercise that I can keep up in any weather or mood cycle.
&c.: This is probably going to be mostly walking for 40 minutes, stretching routines, and minor weightlifting, because I'm not a huge fan of the notion of gyms, but I figure anything is better then being a lump.
Desperately seeking encouragement!
Date: 2010-12-28 06:44 pm (UTC)About You: Cisgender female, old enough to know better but young enough not to give a fuck, monogamous, owned by two beagles, tragically awesome, curly hair, apatheist, left of left politically, clinically depressed but medicated & moving on.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
1) Better mind-body connection. I've felt like I'm the stereotypical brain in a jar, and I'm not really connected to my body at all. That leads to a lot of stress because I try to control my body without really knowing that much about it. I'd also like to lose weight if possible.
2) Become more organized. That means cleaner room, knowing where everything is, that kind of thing.
3) Procrastinate less/be a better student. I want to get a 4.0 GPA in my next semester.
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
Oh, man. There are tons. This is my resolution post from last year and it contains links to my resolution posts from years previous.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: To have a better mind-body connection.
Plan: Meditate daily (for at least a month, to see if I like it). Yoga at least 2x weekly. Other exercise to be determined. Brush teeth 2x daily.
Keeping track: Bought meditation journal to record dates & times where I meditate.
Yoga will be tracked by ... Hmmm. Joe's Goals, maybe. (Joe's Goals website is HIGHLY recommended.)
Endgoal: To feel comfortable in my own body, and hopefully to lose weight and gain fitness.
Resolution: To start playing my bassoon again.
Plan: Find somewhere to rent a bassoon. Find a bassoon instructor. Practice at least 30 minutes 4x weekly.
Keeping track: Joe's Goals, weekly progress reports.
Endgoal: To gain proficiency in the bassoon.
Resolution: Become more organized.
Plan: Take 15 minutes a day to clean up room. (No stockpiling time! i.e. I can't clean for two hours and then claim that's it for a week.) Buy bookshelves. Clean out closet. Rotate clothes in winter/summer. Do laundry once a week and put the fucking clothes away after they're clean, Erika, jesus.
Keeping track: Pictures! Will take pictures 1x a week, and post them semi-publicly (i.e. here and on my journal).
Endgoal: To stop being embarrassed when I let people see my room.
Resolution: Procrastinate less.
Plan: Break things down into smaller chunks, work on them five minutes at a time. When I notice I'm procrastinating... ? Needs more thought.
Keeping track: This will be reflected in the amount of assignments I turn in, amount of studying I'm doing, and so on.
Endgoal: To get things done ahead of time and not feel so rushed and stressed out.
Resolution: Be a better student.
Plan: Attend all my classes. Write down all assignments in assignment notebook. Plan out time for completing assignments, and turn off internet if necessary. (Temptation Blocker may be helpful here.)
Keeping track: Gold stars on my calendar for when I go to class. (I like stickers, okay?) Silver stars for when I complete my assigned study time/assignment working on time.
Endgoal: To get a 4.0 GPA in spring and fall semesters with a full load of classes.
&c.: I can do this, I can so totally do this.
Re: Desperately seeking encouragement!
Date: 2010-12-28 09:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 10:02 am (UTC)About You: Translator, living in the south of Germany, perpetually homesick, writer, jack-of-all-trades crafter, bento-ist, artist, generally looking for some direction in life. My DW is my bento blog while personal stuff still gets posted over on LJ.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
- Most importantly my body and my connection with it - I'm heavily overweight, to the point where it's causing severe health problems, and I generally have difficulties connecting with my body and caring for it.
- The general chaos in my flat, my life and my head. I need to become better organized because chaos can be frickin' exhausting.
- My job, and connected with it, my living situation. I'm comfortable enough in my current job but I'm too far away from my friends and family, so I will start looking for a new job closer to them.
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
Lose weight. Do more sports. Lose weight. Be better organized. Did I mention losing weight?
I never kept track of them, though, and they were pretty short-lived most of the time. So joining this community was a first step in becoming more organized ;).
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: Lose weight
Plan: Keep making bentos to eat more healthy (started that last year, and it works well). Generally eat better - more vegetables, less meat, more whole wheat. Take part in an online weight-loss support program. Do sports at least twice a week (join a Pilates class, if possible). Use the bike or walk as much as possible.
Keeping track: I have a health/weight-loss blog at
Endgoal: Any weight loss is good but I think 10 kilogram (about 22lb) should be a somewhat realistic goal.
&c.: This goal is already in progress - lost a couple of pounds this year, made bento almost daily and generally made some huge efforts towards healthier living this year.
Resolution: Find a new job
Plan: Write one application a week. Keep up with job offers sent to my other e-mail account. Generally keep an ear open for any news of possible job opportunities.
Keeping track: Most likely with a paper diary. Progress report here once a week.
Endgoal: HAVE a new job.
Resolution: Become better organized - most of all in household stuff
Plan: Buy a pocket calendar and use it. Spend 15 minutes a day on cleaning. Do the dishes daily. Make a food plan and concentrate shopping on one day instead of spreading it all over the week.
Keeping track: Paper diary and calendar. Progress report here once a week.
Endgoal: Keep ahead of the chaos. Be able to use the weekend for other things but cleaning (... okay, be able to without feeling bad about it). Not having to clean the whole flat before letting anyone in would be nice.
Resolution: More creative output
Plan: Do more crafts (sewing, tablet weaving, knitting, spinning, embroidery, whatever). Keep up with creative efforts for RPGs. Take part regularly in art/fic trades. I should spend at least a few hours every weekend on something.
Keeping track: Art is posted regularly over at DA (ID is sternenblumen), all of it (art, fic and crafts) is also posted here. Progress report here once a week.
Endgoal: Have at least 26 things to show at the end of the year.
&c.: If possible, I'd love to do Nanowrimo again!
no subject
Date: 2010-12-31 06:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-29 10:39 am (UTC)About You: 37 years old, adopted Essex Girl, one autistic son of 14 living with a wonderful foster family. Confirmed sci-fi addict (see icon) and cross-stitch crazy. Epileptic with unexplained gastric issues, full of water retention, a busty babe but also overweight. I also suffer from tendonitis and often walk with a stick. I've allowed my disabilities to scare me out of doing anything that means getting off the sofa, in case I seize or get sick. It's becoming a phobia that I need help shaking off.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself: I need to fight with my body to allow my stomach to accept food in spite of possible rejection.
I'd like to find myself in a position where I can start swimming and generally exercising without vomiting from the exertion afterwards.
I'd like to lose about three stone in weight.
Resolutions that you've made in the past: I resolved to give up smoking on my son's birthday last year. I was so successful that I didn't need to complete my course of patches and haven't smoked since.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: to get myself back to the energetic, athletic woman that I once was.
Plan: Drink more water and less alcohol, don't shy away from meals in fear, practice gentle yoga.
Keeping track: See a nurse at my surgery once a week, to check my weight and view my food diary (already arranged). Recieve advice from her about further exercises I can try as my fitness improves.
Endgoal: Get my health, fitness and confidence back by the end of 2011.
&c.: Anything else: I'm hoping that this comm will help me to meet people who share what I'm going through. Hopefully someone can suggest remedies for the vomiting so that I can start enjoying food again without worrying that it might not stay down.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-01 01:09 am (UTC)I'm very impressed that you quit smoking so quickly. (I smoke half a pack a day and someone will probably be prying them out of my cold, dead fingers.)
I don't have the gastric issues you have, but I do know what it's like to have gastrointestinal issues. I'm sorry your disability has maneuvered you into a state of not wanting to exercise at all—I know what that's like, although in my case it's emotional/mental problems, not physical.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-31 07:35 am (UTC)About You: there aren't many people like me, which is probably to the benefit of everyone else.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
1. my general physical state (that is, my body).
2. my level of education could use increasing.
3. definitely need to use my time more wisely.
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
pretty much all the same stuff, except the need for the changes did not seem as dire as they do now. for the sake of my sanity i need to GET A MOVE ON.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: attempt to fit into my newly acquired slack skin via exercise.
Plan: strenuous exercise (punching bag/pool) once a day when not working, on work days find some lesser exercise (probably free weights) and do that for 20+ minutes.
Keeping track: mark the ol' calendar.
Endgoal: is 'beefcake' a reasonable goal?
Resolution: get schoolin'.
Plan: find out the prereqs for MLS, get signed up, get my citizenship info in, study for/take placement tests, sign up for classes...bada-bing, bada-boom.
Keeping track: my journal, i imagine.
Endgoal: creep my way towards Librarianism.
Resolution: use my time for creative endeavors, house-keeping and so forth instead of numbing my already soft brain with video games and other distractions.
Plan: dedicate at least two hours a day on off-work days to creative pursuits, and devote at least one 3-4 hour period a week to cleaning.
Keeping track: the cleaning i could mark on the calendar, the creation sessions i'm sure i will mention in my journal, and i've been meaning to find a place to host any music-esque creations...myspace maybe?
Endgoal: feel less like a sad hump and more like GOD.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-01 01:10 am (UTC)All your resolutions seem awesome and totally achievable! I'm very proud of you for joining, even if I did have to talk you into it. ;)
oh god I'm so sorry for the tl;dr
Date: 2011-01-01 03:02 am (UTC)About You: I can really do no better than to point to my ten things i assume you know about me post. I'd like to have at least one resolution/goal for each of those facets of me for 2011, so that I can feel confident I am nourishing all the aspects of self which are most important to me.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
2007
1. Write 500 words a day — not for word count, not as something that can be "made up" by skipping a day and writing 1000 the next, just for the sake of writing them.
2. Keep going to the gym five times a week (alternatively, get back into dance classes).
3. Make actual progress in therapy.
3a. Keep what friendships I have going and reach out to some people I've lost and shouldn't have.
4. Get a job.
5. Remember that it is never as bad as I think it is.
2008
1. Finish A Bargain for Salvation and submit it to at least 1 publisher.
2. Go back to school; get the GPA up to 2.5 when there.
3. Make three new friends in reasonable proximity to my home.
3a. Reconnecting with old friends counts as half a new friend.
3b. Make sure to take solitude for myself when I need it.
4. Go to the gym four times a week. Dance classes count as a gym visit. Pilates classes count as 1.5 visits.
5. Make a budget and stick to it; save enough for first, last, and security on my own apartment.
6. Work hard in therapy, even when it hurts. Keep communicating with Dr. L about the process. Don't lie in sessions.
2009
1. Call out misogyny and sexism when and where I see it.
2. Write every day and keep track of my daily word count.
3. Contribute to fandom, both by volunteering for OTW and creatively.
4. Work hard and honestly in therapy.
5. Save 10% of my income.
6. Go to the gym or a dance/Pilates class four times a week.
7. Maintain a 2.5 GPA.
2010
2009 was kind of a wash for me. A non-year. Non-event-year. Something. I didn't do the resolution thing, and this year I'm backlashing.
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: Take care of my physical health.
Plan: Get a PCP, OB/GYN (fucking pcos), dentist, psychiatrist (if the PCP won't prescribe my SSRI), who aren't 3+ hours away from where I live. (This is slightly dependent on where I end up living after graduation, but I'm hoping to stay in the same city.)
Keeping track: Monthly check-in posts at
Endgoal: Knowing who's responsible for what kind of care, making sure that whatever insurance I have covers them, transferring my records from the gazillion practitioners who currently have them in a scattershot fashion, and having gone through at least a baseline session with everyone.
&c.:
Resolution: Commit to a regular activist practice.
Plan: Volunteer at a local women's health clinic as an escort, either through Planned Parenthood or NOW.
Keeping track: Monthly check-in posts at
Endgoal: Have a standing (preferably monthly) volunteer gig at a clinic.
&c.:
Resolution: Second-draft A Bargain for Salvation and get to the next goddamn novel.
Plan: Complete a second draft of A Bargain for Salvation, choose what novel to write next from the list of six/seven potenials, complete prep elements of whichever novel I choose, have preliminary reading list for research.
Keeping track: Posts on my DW under the writing: statistics tag.
Endgoal: Completed Bargain draft, feeling confident about the next novel.
&c.: Ideally, I'll also write a 30K sequel to Love's the Burning Girl in the 2011
Resolution: Stay engaged with the OTW and contribute to the org.
Plan: Chair the [redacted] committee.
Keeping track: Monthly committee meetings, monthly all-org meetings, bi-weekly org newsletter.
Endgoal: See below, I guess.
&c.:I've been a part of this org since 2007 and I'm currently feeling burned out and anxiety-ridden about it; I want my joy back. I want to stop feeling upset when emails come in from my colleagues in the org.
Resolution: Keep working on living with depression instead of dying slowly of it.
Plan: Taper off therapy sessions to biweekly at most, preferably monthly.
Keeping track: Therapist (and my checking account)! Entries on my DW under the life: therapy tag.
Endgoal: Fewer therapy sessions, even during my bad period of November-March.
&c.:
Resolution: Balance introversion with socializing.
Plan: Spend time with friends/girlfriend/colleagues at least twice a week. Reach out to old friends from high school I've lost touch with.
Keeping track: Putting dates into my planner in ink.
Endgoal: Standing dates!
&c.: This is going to be hard: there are some weeks when two social things may be too much, and striking a balance between "letting myself off the hook, this is appropriate self-interest" and "get off your ass and just do it" will be hard.
Resolution: Contribute to political discourse!
Plan: Send one email a week to a public official.
Keeping track: Monthly check-ins at
Endgoal: 52 emails in my Sent box tagged "resolved to ruin or rule".
&c.:
Resolution: Become better-informed about modern race relations.
Plan: Read one book a month on the topic.
Keeping track: goodreads.
Endgoal: 12 books on my nonfiction--race shelf, which currently stands at 0.
&c.:
Resolution: Read for pleasure & chip away at my to-read list.
Plan: Two books a month from my to-read shelf on goodreads.
Keeping track: goodreads reviews.
Endgoal: 26 more books on my read shelf, which is currently at 153.
&c.:
Resolution: Learn some basic programming.
Plan: Install the tools in the OTW volunteers wiki, hang out in the coder's chatroom.
Keeping track: oh god I have no idea. Work with my engineer friend on building something, and make a standing date to hack?
Endgoal: Three commits to the Archive of Our Own gcode by December 31, 2011.
&c.:
Bonus resolutions which are not related to identity axes!
Resolution: I want to (a) be more flexible and (b) have more upper-body strength.
Plan: (a) January-May, take a ballet or aerial class at school; May-December, take Pilates classes at nearest gym to wherever the hell I end up living, (b) Follow the one hundred pushups plan.
Keeping track: Commenting at
Endgoal: Being able to place my palms flat on the floor with my knees straight; being able to do one hundred pushups.
&c.:
Resolution: Contribute to charity.
Plan: Donate $10 a month to a different 501(c)3. January: the ACLU. February: Emma Willard School. March: the OTW. April: Planned Parenthood. May: the Seán Curran Company. (more to come!)
Keeping track: Receipts in my files to give to the tax preparer.
Endgoal: $120 tax deduction.
&c.: Anyone have suggestions for places to donate to? The ones on the list already I have a personal connection to, but I'd gladly learn about more!
And the six-month, three-year, five-year, and ten-year plan post will be going up at my journal, probably access-locked, tomorrow!
Re: oh god I'm so sorry for the tl;dr
Date: 2011-01-02 04:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-02 06:15 pm (UTC)About You: Mid-twenties, live in a flat with my lovely partner, fond of animals, work in a cinema while I'm at university, currently re-squeeing over Battlestar Galactica. White, queer, English.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
- My weight, because it's affecting my health
- Where I work, because it's unskilled minimum wage
- My lack of pets ;)
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
- To lose weight
- To get a job (did it!)
- To study harder (did it!)
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: To deal with my IBS by losing weight
Plan: To spend time on the Wii Fit every day I'm not at work (so, about five days a week)
Keeping track: Measuring my weight on the Wii
Endgoal: To have lost two stone (~13kg) by the end of the year
&c.: I want to wake up without a backache.
Resolution: Find a job that pays more than minimum wage
Plan: Apply for two jobs per week
Keeping track: Making notes in my journal about which jobs I've applied to and where
Endgoal: To have a job that pays more than £7/hr
no subject
Date: 2011-01-03 05:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 03:48 am (UTC)About You: Writer pretending to be a programmer while writing to become an author, who loves gardening and crafty things, and has an addiction to heroines. Cisgendered, visual minority culturally Australian, liberal-minded Christian, learning, quietly green.
Three things you'd like to change about yourself:
1. I want to stop thinking I can't and just do it.
2. I want to be more organised, less cluttered: my room, my accounts, my life.
3. I want to stop spending money like I'll have the income forever, because I won't.
Resolutions that you've made in the past:
1. Finish a novel.
2. Write more. (succeeded)
3. Be published.
4. Lose 5kg. (succeeded)
Resolutions that you're making this year:
Resolution: 12 full-sized quilts
Plan: 1 quilt per month, mostly using fabrics I've already got and not buying new ones!
Keeping track: Check-in posts here, I suppose. And possibly offering the quilts to people on my f-lists.
Endgoal: Cut down my fabric stash.
&c.: I usually make quilts for weddings (and family birthdays) and I've purchased a lot of material this year. I really want to cut down on how much material I have, as well as finish up quilts for a lot of friends whom I have wished to gift with a quilt for some time but have never been motivated to do so.
The list of patterns I've picked out is here. Hopefully, they're not too complex when it comes down to it.
Resolution: Writing 12 Yuletide NYR stories.
Plan: pick 12 fandoms, bone up on the canon, and write a NYR for each.
Keeping track: Check-in posts here.
Endgoal: To write in more minor fandoms.
&c.: I wanted to do this last year, but never got even one done. I had the stories in my head, clear as day, but simply couldn't seem to get them out. Hopefully, with a set goal, this will be much easier.
Resolution: Start keeping chickens.
Plan: Put together a chicken run for them during January-February, then get some off my aunt's friend.
Keeping track: Check-in posts here.
Endgoal: To be more ecologically friendly...and have a steady supply of eggs!
&c.: I've wanted to do this for a long time. Of course, I always wanted to do it as part of a permaculture home garden, but that's probably not going to happen given all the other things that I want to do this year...
Resolution: Finish my novel "The Moon Is Missing" and present it to my mother for her birthday in April.
Plan: Just keep writing!
Keeping track: Check-in posts here.
Endgoal: To finish at least one of the stories I've written, even if it sucks. Get it done, get it out, move on.
&c.: I have a bad habit of starting novels for NaNoWriMo and then never completing them. This year, I want to complete at least one of them. My choice is for "The Moon Is Missing" which is an AU set in Tang Dynasty China.
Resolution: Complete and edit my SGA fanfic "Astonishing Persistence Of Memory 3: Future Indefinite"
Plan: ...I don't have a plan for this one. It just needs to be done or I'll never post it.
Keeping track: Check-in posts here.
Endgoal: To finish the damn trilogy!
Resolution: Cook dinner for the parentals more often.
Plan: One dinner a month. From one of their fancy cookbooks. Or one of my fancy cookbooks!
Keeping track: Check-in posts here?
Endgoal: Be a better daughter and practice my cooking skills.
...I think that's probably enough for the moment...
no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 06:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 06:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-04 09:10 am (UTC)(this is my only teyla icon! sadness!)