2014 Goals
02-03-2014, 04:18 PM
#21
Thread Starter
^^ Those are excellent goals!
Some years I am more specific and detailed than others. In 2010/2011, for instance, my goal was reduced to something extremely bare bones... survive without losing every last thing that mattered to me.
Some years I am more specific and detailed than others. In 2010/2011, for instance, my goal was reduced to something extremely bare bones... survive without losing every last thing that mattered to me.
02-04-2014, 03:27 AM
#22
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 10,478
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My goals for the year:
Get this house sold (going on the market in about a week)
Get moved into my new house
Get a golf cart
Keep these lungs functioning for as long as possible to avoid transplantation until my Medicare kicks in
Settle a couple of old scores (Never piss off a man who holds a grudge and a terminal illness. Chances are it won't end well.)
Find some constructive things to do with my time, perhaps volunteering to teach a Continuing Ed. Class, or something along those lines
Spend as much time as possible with my kids, grandkids, mother, and my lovely and extremely patient bride
Try to keep in mind that things could always be worse, so why be miserable
Maintain a sense of humor. Attitude is everything.
Get this house sold (going on the market in about a week)
Get moved into my new house
Get a golf cart
Keep these lungs functioning for as long as possible to avoid transplantation until my Medicare kicks in
Settle a couple of old scores (Never piss off a man who holds a grudge and a terminal illness. Chances are it won't end well.)
Find some constructive things to do with my time, perhaps volunteering to teach a Continuing Ed. Class, or something along those lines
Spend as much time as possible with my kids, grandkids, mother, and my lovely and extremely patient bride
Try to keep in mind that things could always be worse, so why be miserable
Maintain a sense of humor. Attitude is everything.
02-04-2014, 06:42 AM
#23
What I've done so far:
Refinish the antique dressers. They have been in the family for about 100 years and have been used by several generations. They lookg different and great now.
Frame the three large navigational charts I bought last year that cover the areas of Buzzard's Bay, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the southern edge of the Cape. First I had to mount them on a board and then make a frame for each one. My joints could be a lot closer, but they are fine for my purposes.
Clean service and upgrade my fishing reels. I've done about 12 of them so far and I thinnk I have one or two to go.
Things I'm in the middle of:
Build another rod and reel holder.
Aquire some additional saftey equipment for the boat.
Take a class in off-shore fishing (I have spent a bit of time setting up the class by finding an instructor and organizing the event).
Things to do:
Restore my old spear gun.
Apply for my gun license (can't beleive I have not done this yet).
Purchase and install new brake rotors, pads, struts and shocks for the BMW.
Bleed the brakes and clutch in the Healey.
Adjust the overdrive unit in the Healey.
Re-register the Healey as a conventional automobile rahter than an antique.
Resume the sale of things I don't need anymore on e-bay and Craig's list. I find this is the best way to de-clutter the house as I am a person who has a hard time throwing things out. Plus, I find that my kids have absolutely no interest in my old stuff. Except my old money. They seem to like that.
Decide if I am going to repaint the interior of the house, or just hire the pros to get it all done with.
Refinish the antique dressers. They have been in the family for about 100 years and have been used by several generations. They lookg different and great now.
Frame the three large navigational charts I bought last year that cover the areas of Buzzard's Bay, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the southern edge of the Cape. First I had to mount them on a board and then make a frame for each one. My joints could be a lot closer, but they are fine for my purposes.
Clean service and upgrade my fishing reels. I've done about 12 of them so far and I thinnk I have one or two to go.
Things I'm in the middle of:
Build another rod and reel holder.
Aquire some additional saftey equipment for the boat.
Take a class in off-shore fishing (I have spent a bit of time setting up the class by finding an instructor and organizing the event).
Things to do:
Restore my old spear gun.
Apply for my gun license (can't beleive I have not done this yet).
Purchase and install new brake rotors, pads, struts and shocks for the BMW.
Bleed the brakes and clutch in the Healey.
Adjust the overdrive unit in the Healey.
Re-register the Healey as a conventional automobile rahter than an antique.
Resume the sale of things I don't need anymore on e-bay and Craig's list. I find this is the best way to de-clutter the house as I am a person who has a hard time throwing things out. Plus, I find that my kids have absolutely no interest in my old stuff. Except my old money. They seem to like that.
Decide if I am going to repaint the interior of the house, or just hire the pros to get it all done with.
02-04-2014, 07:09 AM
#24
I don't normally set many goals, or those I do set don't pay much attention to...
I'd like to think I can lose a few pounds. Even 5% would be great! I guess I'd have to cut back on some of the crap I eat, particularly on dart night when I'm out at the bars. Been on my list for 10 years or more now!
A new DD might be on the list. The Altima isn't horrible, and it's just a DD, but I got bored with it pretty quick at 4 years.
I'd like to finish up the last few touch up items in the basement after the mold remediation.
I got rid of all my debt last year, including mortgage and cars. I'd like to see me pay myself that amount, into some sort of vacation fund for Cindy and I so we can continue to travel.
I'd like to keep my job obviously.
I wouldn't mind hitting the lottery, making the previous line items moot.
I'd like to raise $25,000 for Make A Wish NJ this year through the event I run. That would sponsor 3 or 4 wishes for kids facing some horrible things.
I'd like to break 80 on the golf course.
I'd like to think I can lose a few pounds. Even 5% would be great! I guess I'd have to cut back on some of the crap I eat, particularly on dart night when I'm out at the bars. Been on my list for 10 years or more now!
A new DD might be on the list. The Altima isn't horrible, and it's just a DD, but I got bored with it pretty quick at 4 years.
I'd like to finish up the last few touch up items in the basement after the mold remediation.
I got rid of all my debt last year, including mortgage and cars. I'd like to see me pay myself that amount, into some sort of vacation fund for Cindy and I so we can continue to travel.
I'd like to keep my job obviously.
I wouldn't mind hitting the lottery, making the previous line items moot.
I'd like to raise $25,000 for Make A Wish NJ this year through the event I run. That would sponsor 3 or 4 wishes for kids facing some horrible things.
I'd like to break 80 on the golf course.
03-07-2014, 03:31 PM
#25
Thread Starter
Here is my February progress report:
Work stuff: Not much to report. Keeping my head down and doing what I do, but I'm not putting in the effort needed to achieve the goals set. I did get a new client in February, but not for quite the level of ongoing maintenance that I really want. Have fallen flat on my face with the bookkeeping again.
Have been playing a bit with pics of the Accent and some graphics software to sort of "try on" the looks I might want to go with on the company car, but nothing I'm ready to take to the wrap guys and have them do yet. I do think I want to make the car look a little "meaner," if that is possible with an Accent. LOL! Web guy has gone over my web site and confirmed what I already know -- I just need to update my content. Haven't done anything about getting on any women-owned business lists and I've decided to hold off on that until after taxes are done. I should probably join NAWBO-LA and go to their meetings. *sigh* I don't really enjoy the schmoozing bit.
Weight loss:
Hovering at about 1-3 pounds to go to hit 125, depending on which day you catch me. Getting very tired of salads. Eating more bananas. Don't know why. I see them in the store, I buy them. I'm craving red meat more frequently. Must be low on iron. Either that or I know it's on the naughty list. :-D My clothes are fitting much better and I'm pleased with the results I see in the mirror. BF concurs.
Car projects: brake rotors and pads were replaced on the Lotus. Much clean up work done during that and I had the calipers painted too while it was apart. Went understated with black. Had the alignment adjusted on the front... needed more front bite. Had all fluids drained and refilled with Torco brand stuffs that my guru swears by. I trust him. Thing definitely shifts MUCH smoother now. Replaced all the spark plugs with some fancy iridium something or others. Got quotes on some bodywork it needs and on getting the wheels refinished but I won't be doing that until *after* I do the track days -- you know, just in case.
Took apart the passenger door and we isolated some rattles there. Got help removing the hard top, white lithium greased the connectors and put it back together thus eliminating several REALLY annoying squeaks. Got an inexpensive seat cover which actually doesn't look too bad and manages to keep me from sliding around in the driver's seat now. Had to get two sets of little mitten clips to snug it up across the back of the seat, but they are unseen and it makes the cover stay put nicely. This week, I ran the dashcam cable more neatly down the A pillar in the Lotus and through the dash (WHAT A PITA THAT WAS) and mounted a multiport 12volt thingee to power multiple devices with individual shut offs for each port. BUT since that actually happened this week, technically that work doesn't count until March.
Around the house projects: ugh. I removed the covers off the wall heaters and vacuumed out all the dust bunnies. They were pretty bad. Cleaned the sliding glass door in the living room just in time for the rain to come and filter through the screen (which I failed to clean) and got the door all dirty again. :-( Nothing else other than a few mountains of laundry were done.
No progress on trips or spa day planning. Damn. Looks like I'm going to fail this one if I don't get on it quick. Figuring a track day in April is likely. Kind of scared. Need to get over that. Can't seem to get Mom to land on a surgery date so I may just have to tell her I'm visiting in the Fall or something. I prefer to go when the weather is pleasant still, though. Steady progress on the 0 balance initiative. The "don't want to share publicly" goal will get an installment this weekend, but that will happen at the expense of the Let's go to Europe fund since I can't really contribute to both this month. And the "don't want to share" goal is more important anyway.
Not terrible. Not great, but not terrible. Lots of car stuff.
Work stuff: Not much to report. Keeping my head down and doing what I do, but I'm not putting in the effort needed to achieve the goals set. I did get a new client in February, but not for quite the level of ongoing maintenance that I really want. Have fallen flat on my face with the bookkeeping again.
Have been playing a bit with pics of the Accent and some graphics software to sort of "try on" the looks I might want to go with on the company car, but nothing I'm ready to take to the wrap guys and have them do yet. I do think I want to make the car look a little "meaner," if that is possible with an Accent. LOL! Web guy has gone over my web site and confirmed what I already know -- I just need to update my content. Haven't done anything about getting on any women-owned business lists and I've decided to hold off on that until after taxes are done. I should probably join NAWBO-LA and go to their meetings. *sigh* I don't really enjoy the schmoozing bit. Weight loss:
Hovering at about 1-3 pounds to go to hit 125, depending on which day you catch me. Getting very tired of salads. Eating more bananas. Don't know why. I see them in the store, I buy them. I'm craving red meat more frequently. Must be low on iron. Either that or I know it's on the naughty list. :-D My clothes are fitting much better and I'm pleased with the results I see in the mirror. BF concurs.
Car projects: brake rotors and pads were replaced on the Lotus. Much clean up work done during that and I had the calipers painted too while it was apart. Went understated with black. Had the alignment adjusted on the front... needed more front bite. Had all fluids drained and refilled with Torco brand stuffs that my guru swears by. I trust him. Thing definitely shifts MUCH smoother now. Replaced all the spark plugs with some fancy iridium something or others. Got quotes on some bodywork it needs and on getting the wheels refinished but I won't be doing that until *after* I do the track days -- you know, just in case.
Took apart the passenger door and we isolated some rattles there. Got help removing the hard top, white lithium greased the connectors and put it back together thus eliminating several REALLY annoying squeaks. Got an inexpensive seat cover which actually doesn't look too bad and manages to keep me from sliding around in the driver's seat now. Had to get two sets of little mitten clips to snug it up across the back of the seat, but they are unseen and it makes the cover stay put nicely. This week, I ran the dashcam cable more neatly down the A pillar in the Lotus and through the dash (WHAT A PITA THAT WAS) and mounted a multiport 12volt thingee to power multiple devices with individual shut offs for each port. BUT since that actually happened this week, technically that work doesn't count until March.Around the house projects: ugh. I removed the covers off the wall heaters and vacuumed out all the dust bunnies. They were pretty bad. Cleaned the sliding glass door in the living room just in time for the rain to come and filter through the screen (which I failed to clean) and got the door all dirty again. :-( Nothing else other than a few mountains of laundry were done.
No progress on trips or spa day planning. Damn. Looks like I'm going to fail this one if I don't get on it quick. Figuring a track day in April is likely. Kind of scared. Need to get over that. Can't seem to get Mom to land on a surgery date so I may just have to tell her I'm visiting in the Fall or something. I prefer to go when the weather is pleasant still, though. Steady progress on the 0 balance initiative. The "don't want to share publicly" goal will get an installment this weekend, but that will happen at the expense of the Let's go to Europe fund since I can't really contribute to both this month. And the "don't want to share" goal is more important anyway.
Not terrible. Not great, but not terrible. Lots of car stuff.
03-08-2014, 05:28 PM
#26
Excuse me. I wasn't laughing at you - just me at myself. I didn't read any of the stuff except what you did on your car projects (hell, that's the important stuff - right?).
03-10-2014, 08:05 AM
#27
Thread Starter
^^ Apparently I also found the car stuff to be the most important since that seems to have been what I spent most of my time and focus on in February.
09-08-2014, 04:37 PM
#28
Thread Starter
3/4 of the way through the year... how am I doing?
Well, not as well as I aimed for, but better than if I had no goals at all. LOL!
I haven't logged stuff as well as I should have, keeping up with a monthly list, so it's hard to really measure. But I can say this:
Work-related:
-- I have not increased net profit by 10%.
-- I have decreased a couple of expenses, but not by 10%.
-- I did add one new maintenance client (well, old client, but counts as new), BUT I fired another maintenance client for failure to pay so...
-- I have decided I will not be wrapping the Accent.
-- Bookkeeping... what bookkeeping?
-- The web site languishes.
-- Updated business entity status. I now have no partners either in real life or on paper and am 100% woman owned.
-- Have not gotten on any women-owned lists because they want MONEY for the ones I looked at!
Personal:
-- I achieved the 125 pound goal (plus a little), but I've gained some back and am at 130 now so I need to refocus again.
-- Not sure if I've been doing one car project per month, but my bank account definitely reflects some major expenses related to car stuff! LOL. Since last report, I removed the subwoofer from the passenger side footwell of the Lotus, got an incredible deal on an insulated soft top for it (I only had the hard top before), had the battery replaced and a custom reinforced bracket and mounting system put in place (no batteries will be flying out the side of *my* rear clam, thank you very much!), and I somehow blew out the right front speaker so I guess that's on my to-do list. Grr. Oh, and I had the S detailed before the trip to Oregon, as well as having all fluids except the coolant done on it in prep for that trip. Of course now I need to get a quote for a new door ding that happened while on that trip, but the other guy's insurance is paying for that.
-- "Around the House" projects... ugh. Let's not even talk about it. By end of year, I have a lot to do. But I have established a list, so that's good.
-- Not even one single spa trip. Grr. I guess I'll splurge for my birthday.
-- Extended weekends every quarter, well, I've done a couple, but not one *every* quarter. -- And I did do the trip up to Hood River for S2K Days and drive down the coast which was truly WONDERFUL!
-- I've done one of the two track days on the to-do list. A second should be easy enough to schedule now that the temps are dropping back to tolerable and the Lotus requires no other major bits attended to to make it possible. The S2000 needs rear tires. *sigh*
-- Visit mom in NC. I am thinking maybe for Thanksgiving.
-- Not at 0 on the credit cards. But progress is being made.
-- No Europe fund. The car stuff usurped it.
-- And the private thing, well, not as much as I wanted, but some.
This month's major car project is a rear view (backup) camera for the Accent. After much research, I decided on this device which I picked up at Frys:
It is a DPM430 which I got on sale for about half what it is currently advertised at on their web site. I have had some fun figuring out how best to mount the camera but I think it will be great when it's done. I was worried the mirror unit itself would be cheesy, but it's actually quite nice. I like that it has the video screen seperate from the mirror and the mirror portion itself is as large as a normal mirror. I'll take pics when it is installed. Going to try and finish that this weekend... if I don't burn the car to the ground. It will require tapping into some power sources and I've never been real thrilled messing with car electronics. But the dash cam with rear camera has been great so I figure I can do this too. I think patience will be critical. The included instructions are largely useless so I'm reading other people's installation stories on line and watching videos. And I've read up on other Accent owner's installation projects of similar stuff so how bad could it be? (famous last words)
A minor car project will be to wax the Lotus and spend a little extra time on the headlights. I restored them once, but I wasn't happy with the results -- I think the kit I chose was sub-optimal. However, I helped Don with the headlights on his truck on Sunday and HOLY COW the difference was phenomenal! The Mother's NuLens Powerball restoration kit works quite well, particularly on flat headlights. We did find that a lot of water from a spray bottle and a cordless drill make a huge difference. It's basically just wet sanding, and I had to admit I laughed when I finally recalled my brother telling me many decades ago that the trick to wet sanding is LOTS of wet to keep clearing the sanded off debris away.
Well, not as well as I aimed for, but better than if I had no goals at all. LOL!
I haven't logged stuff as well as I should have, keeping up with a monthly list, so it's hard to really measure. But I can say this:
Work-related:
-- I have not increased net profit by 10%.
-- I have decreased a couple of expenses, but not by 10%.
-- I did add one new maintenance client (well, old client, but counts as new), BUT I fired another maintenance client for failure to pay so...
-- I have decided I will not be wrapping the Accent.
-- Bookkeeping... what bookkeeping?
-- The web site languishes.
-- Updated business entity status. I now have no partners either in real life or on paper and am 100% woman owned.
-- Have not gotten on any women-owned lists because they want MONEY for the ones I looked at!
Personal:
-- I achieved the 125 pound goal (plus a little), but I've gained some back and am at 130 now so I need to refocus again.
-- Not sure if I've been doing one car project per month, but my bank account definitely reflects some major expenses related to car stuff! LOL. Since last report, I removed the subwoofer from the passenger side footwell of the Lotus, got an incredible deal on an insulated soft top for it (I only had the hard top before), had the battery replaced and a custom reinforced bracket and mounting system put in place (no batteries will be flying out the side of *my* rear clam, thank you very much!), and I somehow blew out the right front speaker so I guess that's on my to-do list. Grr. Oh, and I had the S detailed before the trip to Oregon, as well as having all fluids except the coolant done on it in prep for that trip. Of course now I need to get a quote for a new door ding that happened while on that trip, but the other guy's insurance is paying for that.
-- "Around the House" projects... ugh. Let's not even talk about it. By end of year, I have a lot to do. But I have established a list, so that's good.
-- Not even one single spa trip. Grr. I guess I'll splurge for my birthday.
-- Extended weekends every quarter, well, I've done a couple, but not one *every* quarter. -- And I did do the trip up to Hood River for S2K Days and drive down the coast which was truly WONDERFUL!
-- I've done one of the two track days on the to-do list. A second should be easy enough to schedule now that the temps are dropping back to tolerable and the Lotus requires no other major bits attended to to make it possible. The S2000 needs rear tires. *sigh*
-- Visit mom in NC. I am thinking maybe for Thanksgiving.
-- Not at 0 on the credit cards. But progress is being made.
-- No Europe fund. The car stuff usurped it.
-- And the private thing, well, not as much as I wanted, but some.
This month's major car project is a rear view (backup) camera for the Accent. After much research, I decided on this device which I picked up at Frys:
It is a DPM430 which I got on sale for about half what it is currently advertised at on their web site. I have had some fun figuring out how best to mount the camera but I think it will be great when it's done. I was worried the mirror unit itself would be cheesy, but it's actually quite nice. I like that it has the video screen seperate from the mirror and the mirror portion itself is as large as a normal mirror. I'll take pics when it is installed. Going to try and finish that this weekend... if I don't burn the car to the ground. It will require tapping into some power sources and I've never been real thrilled messing with car electronics. But the dash cam with rear camera has been great so I figure I can do this too. I think patience will be critical. The included instructions are largely useless so I'm reading other people's installation stories on line and watching videos. And I've read up on other Accent owner's installation projects of similar stuff so how bad could it be? (famous last words)
A minor car project will be to wax the Lotus and spend a little extra time on the headlights. I restored them once, but I wasn't happy with the results -- I think the kit I chose was sub-optimal. However, I helped Don with the headlights on his truck on Sunday and HOLY COW the difference was phenomenal! The Mother's NuLens Powerball restoration kit works quite well, particularly on flat headlights. We did find that a lot of water from a spray bottle and a cordless drill make a huge difference. It's basically just wet sanding, and I had to admit I laughed when I finally recalled my brother telling me many decades ago that the trick to wet sanding is LOTS of wet to keep clearing the sanded off debris away.
09-08-2014, 04:53 PM
#29
I don't know. I really didn't start this year with very many goals except to learn to play the guitar, lose a few pounds and do everything I do the very best I could.
So far the results are mixed. I'm making pretty good progress with my guitar, I'm not doing real well with the weight, and I'm running at about 50% in the doing everything the very best that I can do it category.
But, it's been a pretty good year so far. I'm still here, still working, investments are doing well, one son found a job, the other is doing very well in college and got a great co-op. Both my wife and I are reasonably healthy and happy. No complaints. Even without many goals, its been a pretty good year so far.
So far the results are mixed. I'm making pretty good progress with my guitar, I'm not doing real well with the weight, and I'm running at about 50% in the doing everything the very best that I can do it category.
But, it's been a pretty good year so far. I'm still here, still working, investments are doing well, one son found a job, the other is doing very well in college and got a great co-op. Both my wife and I are reasonably healthy and happy. No complaints. Even without many goals, its been a pretty good year so far.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post