Goals for 2007
Reading
Didn’t get much reading in last year. If I leave too much of a gap between finishing one book and taking up the next one, then I can easily lose the thread. Toward the end of the year though I was getting into Dostoyevsky and read a few of those. I see why he’s revered so much now, even by the other Russian authors. So more of that this year.
I did read quite a few technical manuals such as "CSS hacks and filters". But that’s not the same as reading a novel. That’s not art. Art is more than knowledge. It not only feeds the intellect but the heart and the soul. We realise that something is not quite right in our lives and we can’t quite put our finger on it. It’s because the soul is not being nourished. As soon as we feed it, we feel ok again. A trip to an art gallery or a walk in the countryside and we feel fine again.
The other thing I find about novels is that I begin to think like the author. My train of thought takes on the authors turn of phrase and vocabulary. This is very valuable and allows me to experience other perspectives on life. Now and again I can see through the eyes of the characters in the novel and really transports me to another world. Extremely worthwhile indeed.
I will keep a record of my reading in the review section. Not that I’m much of a critic, but at least I’ll be able to look back and see what I’ve been reading.
Trips to visit friends
I was pretty good with this last year, so more of it this year. It’s all about planning ahead. A friend of mine died a couple of years ago and it made me realise that any of my friends could pop their clogs at any time. I could say to myself that I’ll put off seeing somebody because I don’t have the time or that I can’t rearrange my schedule. But death puts it all in perspective and helps one to rearrange ones priorities. Other so called priorities can move down the list. Friends come first. Or it may be too late.
Selling things on Ebay and having a clear out
This is ongoing and goes on the list every year. But toward the end of last year my ebay activity dwindled into nothing. I have a small flat and I don’t want things around that I don’t use and don’t have any beauty or sentimental value. Last year I started to rent a storage space to keep things that don’t get used very often such as christmas decorations and suitcases. But I don’t want to put prospective ebay sale items in there or they will never get sold. I worked out that it takes an average of 35 minutes of work to sell an item on ebay. That’s actually quite long isn’t it. So I’ve said to myself that if the item will fetch less than say £5.00, then it isn’t really worth it. Better to bin it or give it away. If you think it’s worth keeping because it may come in handy sometime, then forget it. Because unless you make a note of where you put it then when you actually need that thing, like masking tape for example, you’ll go out and buy a new one. Nine times out of ten.
Use it or lose it. That’s all there is to it. But keep those nice things that are pretty or have memories. But don’t just put them away in a box, display them. Surround yourself in beauty. And good memories. If you’re going to put them in a box in the attic I guess they might as well be chucked.
Call it Feng Shui or clearing clutter, but the whole experience is very liberating. Out with the old and in the new. And some extra cash as well. There is always a constant supply of stuff coming into the house. And aside from the bags of rubbish not much actually goes out. So, books, clothes, Cd’s. Let’s see if I can get rid of as much as I acquire this year.
Pampering and ‘me’ time
This is about spoiling myself. Valuing who I am and reaffirming my self worth and all that. So what is pampering? Things like going for a massage, acupuncture. Taking a long bath. But unless I actually make an appointment to do these things then they don’t really happen. At least not on a regular basis. And that’s what I want. I used to have a regular shiatsu session. But then the guy had an old injury reappear and couldn’t treat me any more. And then I never really bothered to look for anyone else. So it’s time I found someone else.
Reviews in the blog - films, books, exhibitions etc
Ok, I’m no critic and I’m not writing for any national dialies, so the pressure is off. But I do want to keep some sort of record of the new works that enter my life. Both keeping a list of them and a brief summary of how it was. I do watch a lot of movies, around 2 - 3 a week. And I listen to music as well. I go to art galleries, try out new restaurants etc. I want to be able to remember these things and my comments may even be of use to someone. I’m not quite sure whether to put them under posts or in pages. For now they are in posts, but I may move them. I don’t know.
Selling more wheels on ebay
I didn’t sell that many last year, but I do enjoy building wheels. I have a web site dedicated to wheel building as well. One page has a tutorial for newbies. I can’t build any more wheels for myself so I have to build them for others. And what better way than to sell them on ebay. I did get a few orders last year. Not anything to live on, but just for fun really and to make contact with other fixed gear riders and cyclists in general. If you want to check out my wheel building pages, they are here:
Checking out the Herne Hill velodrome
I have lived in Sydenham now for over 4 years and have been riding fixed gear for the last two of them. The Herne Hill velodrome is in Dulwich, which is only about 3 miles away. They have training sessions on a Saturday morning, but with all the best intentions in the world, I still haven’t been there. I have to check it out this year.
The bump on my head
I’ve had this bump on my head for years. I guess at least 15 years or so. It has doubled in size in that time but I have never got round to getting it sorted. I have been wearing my hair really short for the last 7 years or so and you can always see it as it’s pretty near the front of my head just above the forehead on the right. On the right from where I’m looking. All I would have to do would be to make an appointment at the doctors and that would be it. But it’s just one of those things that I’ve never got around to doing. Will I do it this year?
Working on my Svenska
I have a little holiday cottage in Sweden. If you happen to know Sweden, as most people don’t, then it’s near a town called Vimmerby. That’s in the South East. The first thing that people ask is "Why Sweden?" But I’m sure that they wouldn’t ask that if it were situated in Spain, France, Italy or Greece. But Sweden is really off the map for most. Well, Brits at least. And that’s really part of the whole idea, that it’s out of the way. Such a contrast from London. It’s so quiet and there is so much space. London has a population of 7.5 million. And the whole of Sweden has just over 9 million.
And even though most people speak Engelska, and they speak it pretty well, some don’t. And there is one person in particular who speaks no English at all. And I have to speak to him very often. And then there’s the chimney sweep as well. He speaks a bit of German but no English. So I’m going to spend an hour or so every Saturday morning listening to P1, which is Sweden’s main radio station and working on a few specific goals. Sveriges Radio
I was doing a course at Morley College, but that takes place on a Monday night which is when I have my clients. I guess I could look for another course elsewhere, but not many places offer Swedish classes at a good price. And the teacher was really good too.
Contributing to Songfight
Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Songfight? Come on. If you are an amateur musician like me then you have to give it a go. You get a week to write, record and produce a song based on a title given on the songfight website. Sometimes the titles can be quite coherent and other times just very much off the wall. It’s a great way to test your skills and keep them keen. But also, at least in my case, gets me to actually finish songs. I can fiddle and tweak a song for ages and never really complete it. But if I’m going to submit that song then I have to let it go at some point.
After that the reviews start coming in. All the other people that enter that weeks fight are obliged to write reviews. And hopefully there will be more. And there is voting too. I didn’t manage to do many this year. I think I did one. But I did quite a few the year before. If you want to have a listen to my attempts, they are here:
Songfight entries of Bell Green
That’s my artist name – Bell Green. It’s where I live. I hope to do at least 2 in the coming year.
Business Plan
I’ve got this great business idea. Yeah, don’t we all. No, but I have. And an idea it will remain unless I do something about it. So I’m going to take it seriously and formulate a proper business plan. I’m giving myself all year to get it done and I’m going to have an accountant look over it. I’m not saying any more, unless you want to sign the non disclosure agreement.
Ruby on Rails
I want to learn programming. And I have started to learn Ruby. I know quite a bit of html, css and a tiny bit of javascript. But they aren’t really programming. But then Ruby on Rails isn’t either. There are so many PHP/MySQL scripts written and ready to go, so why not just use them and edit them to your requirements? Because my business is going to be big. It’s going to be huge. So I need something a bit more robust than PHP. But what do I know. Anyway, I like the sound of Ruby, so I’m going for it.
