Modern Times

And when the morning light comes streaming in, I’ll get up and do it again. Amen.

I had a week and a half off from work and it was glorious. That being said, I really needed an extra week to complete everything I wanted to do. One of those goals was to write five posts on this blog (this being the fifth), pulling together last year and setting my sights on this one. When it came to my goals for this year, I only wanted to add activities that I currently don’t perform, but that supplement the ideas that came out of 2009. Additionally, I didn’t want to feel like I was spinning my wheels with so many ideas. I think most (if not all) of last year’s goals were good ideas, but they were so tiring that I couldn’t appreciate the things I’d achieved.

With that in mind, I set seven goals for myself. I’ve got my own milestones for these goals, but here’s an overview of what I’d like to achieve in 2010:

1. Start a new educational path: After pulling my curiosities into a coherent idea last year, I want to follow through on my daydreaming. Specifically, I’ll be looking into programs at George Mason: a course in Artificial Intelligence and possibly a Masters in Human Factors & Applied Cognition (MA in Psychology). The latter requires more research to determine whether it’s worth the cost, financially and as a time commitment.
2. Align my work with my educational interests: I’m really interested in how the brain works and the internet’s knowledge sharing capabilities. If I’m going to commit myself to further education on the subject, then I also need to gain practical experience in these areas. Part of this year will be spent determining how I would best be served in meeting that goal. I may even find early on that I’m not as interested as I believed in this line of work, but I’ll cross that bridge if I get there.
3. Figure out why I like the music I like: Part of this is a writing goal, another part a goal of compilation. Of the many genres and artists I have in my music collection, I want to see how it all fits together. Beyond that, I want to expand on my ability to transcribe and play the music I love. More than likely, I’ll post mixtapes of my favorite artists on here with a write-up on what moves me about the music (either abstractly or technically). Other goals won’t be as visible til they’re complete, but I like not showing what I’ve got til it’s done.
4. Flesh out the sounds I like: Knowing what I love to hear, I’m interested in putting those ideas into my hands (again, making something practical out of  my daydreaming). I’ll be looking some new gear to flesh out the sounds I’m interested, specifically instruments and other gear that can supplement the music I’ve been writing the past few years. Taking us to…
5. Make a musical career out of my music: I feel like somehow this goal has got pushed back the past few years, but I think bigger things kept intervening. I’ve got 50 to 100 songs collecting dust right now, waiting to be performed and recorded. All things considered, I think this will be the biggest leap for me, but there have been a lot of sidesteps the past few years leading up to now: writing music, playing with other bands, loading up on new sounds. I really need to do something with this and stop letting it sit in the background.
6. Health and wealth: I started getting healthier habits last year, but ran out of time on the year. I got to the point where I was doing 200 pushups and 200 situps 3-4 times a week, but was unable to pull the 2 miles jogging into the mix. Ideally, I’d like to wake up and the morning to exercise and get myself in an earlier sleep schedule, but I know at this point that I should add one piece at a time. Eating healthier would also be preferable, but that will probably follow the previous two goals. Financially, I believe that as long as I retain steady employment I should be in good shape, but all of the other goals need to be financed somehow.
7. Odds and Ends: I want to start using the blog for its intended purpose: fleshing out memories, weaving the different strands together. Additionally, move full force into watching the NY Times Top 1000 (set to finish in a few years) and take care of some other housekeeping/organizational activities.

Those things should be enough to keep me busy this year, outside of my regular routine. I fear I’ll tire easily from it (as last year), but I’m hoping some healthier choices will give me enough energy to see things through. And even if I don’t, I’ve still got a life to keep up with; strengthening my relationships, bonding new ones, and making my best effort at whatever each day may bring. 2010 is go.

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