It seems the more momentous happenings and schedule-craziness in my life occur at the same time every year, and as a side effect now that I'm blogging, the more momentous happenings get left off the blog because I'm too busy dealing with the schedule-craziness.
The New Year came and went, swallowed up in the usual holiday happenings, work deadlines piled on top of one another, and new plans and activities for the new year. (I'm already scheduling out to June!) Since I started this blog as a means to keep family and friends posted on the events in my life (I'm mostly unable to phone during decent hours, and I hate sending out the same email to 12+ people about what's new and hoping I didn't leave someone out), I feel like NOT finding time to blog when things are crazy is somehow a failure to those who read it.
The New Year is a great time to reflect on goals, achievements, disappointments, and losses of the past year; it's an excellent time to reflect on what was done and would could still be, what dreams should be left behind and what could be added. (Cue The Byrds!)
I don't always wait for a new year to take stock of my life. . . Life waits for no one, after all. BUT, I do like to have some written list of resolutions posted somewhere I can see it regularly, as a constant reminder of what I hope to, or should, achieve in the coming months. Most of the time my resolutions are carried over from last year, maybe refined or edited . . . sometimes I throw in an "easy A" resolution if I've got a bunch of long-term goals and need something to cross off the list to keep me motivated, like "repaint the living room" or "replace the light bulb in the fridge."
Here's my list from 2008, which is actually the same list from 2007:
1. Get a tattoo
2. Get rid of excess fabric
3. Make something impractical for yourself
4. Sell at least 1 piece of art
5. Draft a web gallery business plan; set up a first-run website. What bus. logistics are necessary?
6. Cut down on the gift projects! (Learn to love the shopping experience!)
No one thing was accomplished in full, unfortunately. I don't feel as if I've let myself down on any of these--as a coworker once said to me to describe her day's productivity, "I didn't get anything finished, but I made a lot of progress toward it."
So, before I can get to the 2009 Resolutions, I have to take stock of the previous resolutions and see what needed to be done and what should be left behind:
1. Get a tattoo: A tattoo is something I've wanted since I was a kid--I'm such a visual person that it seems the ultimate artistic endeavor to have a design that represents 'me' permanently inked in my skin for someone else to see. But I'm also a perfectionist and realized, even as a kid, that I was going to have this design for my entire life, so it'd better be perfect and truly representative of some unchangeable aspect of me. That's a tall order, and one which requires some life-lessons to help uncover what those unchangeable aspects are. I figured out what I wanted to represent when I was 30, came up with the ideal image when I was 31, and have yet to draft it out on paper and take it down to the tattoo parlor. "Get a tattoo" . . . more than just picking out a pretty picture from a book. Add to 2009.
2. Get rid of excess fabric: What do you get when you cross a seamstress with a part-time job at a fabric store? 7 large tubs of fabric and no time to work with it, even if I still like it. This resolution falls under the umbrella category of "kill the packrat and organize!" Completed in part thanks to yard sales and a few sewing projects, but most of it's still sucking up space in storage. Add to 2009.
3. Make something impractical for yourself: This was the 'easy A' of the year. I make tons of stuff and my project to-do list is backlogged 5 years (Dawn and Matt's wedding gift, I'm ashamed to say, which I started in October 2004 and FUBAR'd after 3 mos of detailed work and haven't gotten back to it yet for a variety of reasons, but not for lack of trying). . . anywho, backlogged for 5 years, and the stuff I make is always given out for presents; what I make for myself is always some practical item, like curtains or a duvet cover to keep using that old stained/repaired (but otherwise in good condition) comforter instead of buying a new one. I modified this one a bit and just bought impractical stuff for myself, which was somehow more rewarding because I didn't have to put out effort or much time. Yay, professional salon hair dye in crazy colors, nailpolish, funky eyeliner, and etsy! Especially etsy. Fulfilled for 2008!
4. Sell at least 1 piece of art and 5. Draft a web business gallery plan: These two go hand-in-hand, actually. The gallery idea is the brainchild of some hashing with a friend of mine who is a potter/textile sculpture artist, and we were both griping about the exorbitant fees or percentages that area galleries/shops demanded for showcasing or selling local art. It's completely retarded when all they do is stick the stuff in a window and wait to be asked about it--there is NO active selling. And one of my life's long-term goals is to be able to support myself by selling my artwork--it's my Plan B for either retirement or post-9to5. Anywho, haven't done it yet, but modified the gallery idea to just an etsy 'store' slated to kick off February. Add to 2009.
6. Cut down on the gift projects: Done and done! It was practically forced on me through lengthy business trips and long hours at the office to meet massive short-term deadlines this year, though, but I still did it! What I didn't buy outright, I made sure to make an easy or short-time project. Needless to say, I hit the paint-your-own-pottery place like crazy . . . in and out in 2 - 3 hours, pick it up in a week all nice and shiny. Awesome. Fulfilled for 2008!
to be cont'd for 2009 resolutions
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