2013 Goals

I don't make new year's resolutions.  I am not sure why.  I suspect it is because people tend to express wishes with no real plan to attain them with resolutions.  I do tend to make goals.  They tend to be small, sometimes silly, sometimes they are steps towards larger plans.

I thought I would write a few of them down here so I can peek at them, and see how I am doing.

They aren't in any particular order, I'd be writing this for weeks if I had to determine which items are the most important.

• Make better pictures than last year.  This is a subjective goal, but there are objective and measurable ways to achieve it.  First I will revisit the fundamentals ( as always, they are key ).  I will then try to add a technique those I know so well I can do it without thinking about it. (Unassessable really.  I did learn a lot of different ways to convert B&W photos.  I am more confident than before in a few other areas, so I suppose this is a success)
• Play more Go.  Go is part game, part martial art, part visual art, part mental workout, and despite all that it is fun.  I didn't study it at all in 2012 -- and played very very little.  A couple years ago I could probably hold my own against AGA shodan players.  Steps towards this... start adding games on either Dragon Go Server, Online Go Server, and potentially resurrecting my account at KGS.  I also need to study-- I will probably be trounced by people my "own" level if I don't.      This did not happen.
• Play better Guitar.  This one is easy, I'm such a beginner all I have to do here is continue to practice.  Yeah, just playing every day increased my abilities.
• Attend a live musical performance.   Attended "Enter the Haggis" at the Mount.  I am still keeping an eye out for other chances to do this.
• Buy food from a farmers market or roadside stand. There is a farmers market outside of my workplace on Wednesdays.  I have gotten a few things there.
• Learn a new recipe. Beer Can Chicken, Pickles
• Continue reading.  This year was an outlier year in terms of how much I have read.  I kept track, for the most part, on Goodreads.  According to that record I have read 22 to books this year totaling almost 9000 pages.  I have read more than, because I didn't start good reads until later in the year, and I doubt my back logging was perfect.  I think this entails keeping the current status quo-- and trying to add more novels read out loud to the kids.  We are currently going through the Hobbit. I did continue reading.  It was about the same amount as last year.  I recorded them on Goodreads.
• Read and think about at least one Bible verse a morning.  I know I've missed mornings this year. Timing matters.  I spades.  I probably read through the most of the Bible.  Certain books are completely missing ( like Revelation ), but other than that at least a verse from each one I think.
• Make a little video.  Um, so, yeah, one of the reasons I bought my D800 instead of a second D700 was to make videos.  So, did I do one yet?  No.  Do I have excuses?  Of course.  Are they valid?  Excuses never are.   I made one here.
• Manage money better.  There was once a time when my records were always perfectly reconciled versus bank statements.  This is no longer the case.  I feel like I may miss chances with this.  Of course, I have a general idea what is where and how much, and so on-- I haven't been negligent.  But, I haven't been perfect.  However, it is quite a stress free doing it this way -- I haven't had to chase 36 cents around paperwork for hours just to find out it was a data entry error on my part!  This one is easy too, just start keeping track of stuff closely again.  I decided this actually wasn't that important to me.
• This is closely related with the previous one, make a long term investment.
• Update this post as things get accomplished?  Not sure if I'll do this or not.  But, maybe.
• Complete at least one miniature or model.  I have quite a few unfinished miniatures and models.  I can't remember the last time I finished one, but I know it wasn't in 2012. I thought about doing this a few times.  But didn't.  I assembled a quite a few, but no priming, painting, or finishing.  Alas. 

I may add more goals through the year.  But this is enough for now.

I will also grow a little garden plot this year.  I did not list this here earlier because I wasn't sure I would have the time.  I have determined that I do not have the time, but I am doing it anyway.

I should also note these are personal goals that only deal with me.  I have others that deal with my approach to the people and world around me-- I just haven't listed them here.