progress report february 2010
It is the middle of March and I’m writing the first report for 2010. Any guesses as to why that may be so? Yes, because I’ve been busy. But so busy that it has taken me more than two months to write a report? Not quite. I’m also using the lazy option of writing directly onto the computer which is not something that I normally do and prefer to write by hand on paper first. But since my “What went well” category started this year as a means to get me to write more and to write more freely I’m feeling a little less precious about how I write and what I write.
As far as I’m concerned 2010 started in February. So there was no report in February anyway. So I’m only a couple of weeks late rather than a couple of months. But it has been extremely busy. I work part-time and have various things on the go but it seems that all the buses have arrived at once. I’m now teaching more yoga classes, building more bicycle wheels and developing more websites than ever before. Add some studying to the mix and you will start to wonder how I fit it all in. How is it possible? Well, basically there is no time off. That’s really how it’s done. The other thing has been to tell clients that work will take a bit longer than they had anticipated. It was like this all the way through January but toward the end of February it did start to calm down a bit. But what about my goals? Well, usually on a Saturday I spend some time looking through my goals and thinking about how to work on them but that hasn’t been happening at all. Saturdays have been a day of doing the web design work as the other days are booked up with classes and building wheels. So without further comments about general work and life I will recount my progress about my specific goals.
Cycling 120 miles per week
The jump from riding 100 miles per week to riding 120 miles per week was not as big a jump as I had anticipated. I’ve noticed my fitness levels jump up though and my legs feeling very full and strong. It has all been done through commuting so far and I haven’t been on any rides as such. I did have one nasty fall where I bruised my ribs and hands. But very much on the mend now and back on the bike. It’s the extra yoga class on Thursdays that really makes up the distance along with trips to visit clients for web design. I’m enjoying it and eager to go on a ride when the weather gets better but happy with the commuting for now.
Meditation
I had an idea of doing some extra meditation on Saturdays but that really hasn’t happened but I have been doing my ten minute sits after my morning pages. But I have noticed that I’m very restless. Even though I can sit I want to just get up and get going as there is so much to do. It seems sort of indulgent to sit there and do nothing. But then I know how important it is and how it will help me get through the day. But now as I’m writing this it is Saturday and the opportunity is there to have that extra sit. But when you’re not in the habit, that extra ten minutes or so can be quite a big deal.
Yoga Practice
I’ve been teaching extra regular classes going from four to six regular classes per week. This doesn’t mean I get to do the things I want for myself but at least it’s a little bit extra. But I still feel that I need that practice on my own. I think that I may well have to bite the bullet and start going to a class. I’m going to have to swallow my pride and attend a class taught by someone else. Now that’s not such a bad thing is it? Maybe I could go with another teacher or a friend. I mean it could be good, you never know.
Keeping in touch with friends
I’ve actually been pretty good at this in spite of all the busyness. A good friend that I haven’t seen for a long time came to visit. It was nice to catch up and fill in the blanks. I’ve been in regular email contact with some friends and also on Skype with friends that have moved abroad. I feel so much more connected on Skype that I am on the phone. Even if it’s only a text chat. It would be good though to make it a bit more regular rather than this sort of ad hoc basis because I seem to contact some friends more than others. But do I need to be equal with them all?
De-cluttering my life
Even though I haven’t been doing this I have been thinking about it. After separating from my wife last year I finally moved the rest of my stuff over here to my new place. I’ve managed to tuck it all away but my room does look very cluttered with an extra desktop computer on the scene along with a box or two and several bicycle wheels. But it’s not really the amount of stuff that has concerned me the most, it’s the list of projects. Work, study and my various projects take up all of my time. But I want to focus on some things more than others. At the moment it’s study because that is my ticket out of this mess. But in order to devote more time to study I have to drop a few things. But which ones? It has to be the web design because it takes the most time and pays the least. I sort of enjoy it but generally I find it very unsatisfying. There is a general lack of challenge and I need that. But getting rid of some of this stuff would be good place to start. At least the room would be looking spacious again.
Relaxing and goalless activities
Well this is something I need right now and rather than turning to more wholesome things like going for a walk in the country or along the canal I’ve been turning to games. Playing Halo 2 and Evony. It would do me good to take myself away from these media but something seems to be drawing me back. A walk along the canal followed by a nice hot bath and a movie is what I need but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. But just like the meditation, the morning pages and my day of reflection this is quite a necessary aspect of my life so it’s important that I do it or I could go under. I mean I could easily lose my sense of proportion and perspective.
C programming
On my list of goals for the year it says C programming and I applied for that course at City University but that isn’t what I’m doing. On the first day of the course they informed me that the course wasn’t running and that they should have told me. That evening there was a Java class starting at the same time and I was given the option of moving to that course. They said that I could sit in on that class for free that evening and decide if that could be one I would consider. At the end of the evening I was quite happy with the class and decided to change over to that course. Now I’m five weeks in and I’m enjoying it very much. I’m finally understanding the concept of object oriented programming and also thinking very much about doing the second part of the course which leads to Sun certification. That means a new career.
I have been talking with a friend of mine in Sweden who has been a Java developer for many years who has been very encouraging and also with my tutor on the course who thinks that getting a job in that field is not at all difficult. But getting a job would mean working full time and even though that would allow me to get myself a flat where I could finally live on my own and have space for my daughter to come and stay over it also means a big change. I have been working freelance for the past ten years or so. I’ve never had to actively look for work as it has always come looking for me. I would have to quit some of my classes and also doing the wheel builds. But as I have many regular appointment and late nights at the moment perhaps it wouldn’t be that big a deal. Gotta suck it and see as they say.
Health Plan
At the beginning of the year I wrote out a draft health plan to try and curb my fondness of rich foods and to improve the quality of food that goes into my system. Along with that some work on developing my strength as well as on my fitness and flexibility which I do already. But the plan is somewhere amongst all my piles of papers. I have been eating more vegetables, obviously taking a lot more exercise and there hasn’t been a whole lot of booze aside from a few odd occassions. Would be nice to have some sort of proper guide though. Just so I know what I’m supposed to be doing.
What went well
I think this has been going well. The plan was to write a little something every day but it hasn’t been quite that frequent. The aim was both to making blogging a more spontaneous activity rather than a formal procedure where every post is drafted and checked. I started doing it for fun and I want to keep it that way. Once it starts to feel like a chore it needs to stop. That’s why the wheel log had to go. The other reason was to look at my life in a positive light. To look at the small successes and mark them as significant. Because things do go well and we tend to focus on things that aren’t working and consider how things would be so much better if this or that were different. But there are lots of things that are going well and running very smoothly indeed. We would certainly notice them if they weren’t there. Imagine no electricity!
It has been just over a year and a month since I separated from my wife and moved into this flat across the other side of town. At the time I felt very anxious and scared and wondered how I was going to cope with it all. But now I’m starting to feel hopeful again and feel confident that I can develop a future that I will actually enjoy. I suppose I needed that time just to settle and now at long last things are starting to take shape. Pat on the back for me I think as I really need it.