Age 34: 3 Month Check-in #3

Objective

The purpose of this retrospective is to evaluate the progress I've made on my goals (1-, 5- and 10-year) and to see whether adjustments need to be made. I will also reflect on what I've done and whether there are patterns that need to be changed.

Goals so far

Of the goals listed in my Age 34 goals post, I have still missed no Pentapede comics, and I continue to be a few weeks ahead. However, I am not entirely satisfied with the quality lately. I feel that it has become not just a chore, but a "spit it out and get on to something else" sort of thing. Perhaps I should bring Pentapede Nation to a close?

I haven't been biking regularly or using it as a mode of transportation. Many of my trips lately have been farther than I feel comfortable riding, and I try to combine stops at the grocery with other trips, such as coming home from work. Still, I feel I can do better on this.

I went to a hot springs (Valley View again) with Chris, Kris and O'Brien a couple weekends ago (August 19th), so check that one off!

Unfortunately, I haven't composed at all this quarter. I don't know what I can do to change that; I set aside time to do it, but then I haven't done it (or scheduled something else over it). I also haven't been writing in my journal enough. I was doing well for a while, even writing most days on vacation, but after I got back I haven't been.

Good things

It's a little difficult to write this section this morning, because I'm in a bit of a fuzzy place emotionally. Not for any particular reason, just where I am.

I got to see Amy and Brendan on our trip to Hawaii, which was good. Before vacation, I was doing a lot of activities; going out to shows and hanging with people. I've even met some people and went on a couple dates (although they haven't worked out). I've been able to hang out some more with Lee and with Cody. But Gloomhaven and D&D have slacked off since my vacation, and trivia hasn't exactly picked back up, although we have done a few. I've been hanging out more with Brad and Matt, which has been nice. Jane is starting a D&D game with me, Hannah and Holly, so hopefully that will be fun. Also, I've been doing a better job of reading lately (did a bunch on vacation, of course). I've been playing video games a bit more than usual, but I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

I did a couple escape rooms with people! They were fun, and I'm glad I organized them.

Most of the time I am content, but I have occasional bouts of loneliness.

Things to improve

• Although I marked time on my calendar for both composition and practice, I have utterly failed to do either one.
• I would still like to locate a fairly regular FWB or boyfriend
• The meetups I went to did not seem promising. But I need to keep trying, I suppose

Other notes

Work continues to be mixed. Still struggling to want to do it, especially when it's been a lot of sitecore work lately. Lots and lots of configuration. I am now working from home three days a week, which is nice. The chimney is still falling a bit and needs support added, and now the furnace needs to be replaced. So that's going to be another big expense.

Age 34: 3 Month Check-in #2

Objective

The purpose of this retrospective is to evaluate the progress I've made on my goals (1-, 5- and 10-year) and to see whether adjustments need to be made. I will also reflect on what I've done and whether there are patterns that need to be changed.

Goals so far

Of the goals listed in my Age 34 goals post, I have still missed no Pentapede comics, and in fact I am currently a few weeks ahead of the game (yay!). As this is my second check-in, and it is on-time, I would say that one is going well. I went skiing in late March with coworker Kellen, but it was not a great experience for me and I am unsure whether I want to go again. While I am not biking as regularly as I would like, I am biking more, and I'm using it for transportation on occasion as well - I did get my bike accessories fitted on, including the basket, and I've gone to the grocery store on it a couple times, and the library, and yesterday I rode over to get a haircut. I have been making pretty frequent journal entries, although they are often just a picture of an event or the weather. But I have been including fairly regular write-ups as well. I haven't been hiking or to a hot springs yet this year.

Good things

I continue to spend a lot of time doing things with friends. I have a fairly regular D&D group at the moment, as well as semi-regular Gloomhaven nights with Nick. Trivia has slacked off a bit the past few weeks, but should pick up again as everyone's schedules normalize. I've been trying new things; for example, yesterday Nick, Ben and I finished our cutting boards that we started at I Made It Workshop, which is a wood shop downtown. Cody and I went to the Botanical Gardens in April, which was fun. I've been to a gateway party, finally (it was... okay), and a self-rope course. I've gone to more concerts and shows with various people including Brad & Matt, and I even went to the symphony. And, a couple times now, I've gone to Musical Mondays at Pride and Swagger, which is basically live showtunes karaoke (so great). I even sang once! (It didn't go well, but that's okay.) I've been reading a lot more lately, which is nice.

Most of the time I am content, but I have occasional bouts of loneliness.

Things to improve

• Although I marked time on my calendar for both composition and practice, I have utterly failed to do either one.
• I may need to change the time for this, perhaps putting it on a weekend morning.

• I would still like to locate a fairly regular FWB or boyfriend
• Although I have been going out more regularly, I haven't been meeting a ton of new people. I need to go to more different events where there are people I don't know. (I've done some, but not nearly enough). There are some meetups coming up that I know about, so I will try to go to those.

Other notes

Work has been mixed. Still struggling to want to do it, but they did give me a raise at least. I might get the opportunity to work from home on a regular basis soon. The house has mostly been OK lately. There was a strange smell for a couple days - almost like maple syrup - but it seems to have abated. Hannah has offered to do yard work, so I've taken her up on the offer.

Additional Items

• In order to get a piece of music published, I need to
• Locate and vet music publishers
• Determine their publication requirements & what they're looking for

Age 34: 3 Month Check-in #1

Objective

The purpose of this retrospective is to evaluate the progress I've made on my goals (1-, 5- and 10-year) and to see whether adjustments need to be made. I will also reflect on what I've done and whether there are patterns that need to be changed.

Goals so far

Of the goals listed in my Age 34 goals post, I am coming along on my "No missed pede comics". I have scheduled time to work on by check-ins, of which this is the first. I have written in my diary perhaps once every few weeks, and I have plans to go skiing later this month. There's still a lot of things left on that list, but then there's still a lot of the year left, too. We're finally coming out of winter, so I expect to be able to accomplish the outdoors goals more easily in the next few months.

Good things

I'm spending a lot of time doing things with friends, often playing games, doing trivia and watching movies. It's good. For the most part, I am content. I have been eating less meat (though by no means none) and this has been pretty doable.

Things to improve

• I need to be composing regularly so that I'm in the habit, and so that I can get the two pieces out that I want to this year
• I should set aside time for both this and practice on my calendar
• I need to practice regularly on viola and keyboard if I'm going to get any better
• I would like to locate a fairly regular FWB or boyfriend
• I can start going out to different events more frequently

Other notes

Played all the way through Pandemic Legacy Season 2 with Nick, Garrett and Rob! We won, but kinda just barely. Brighton had a good Homespun concert, and I premiered my piece "Reverie" for harp and woodwinds. It could've gone better, but according to mom it could stand to be revised anyway. At homespun, Tessa, Ruth and I played some chamber music by a friend of mine that went quite well. There was electrical work that needed to be done on the house (and not inexpensive, either), but it's just about paid off.

Additional Items

• In order to get a piece of music published, I need to
• Locate and vet music publishers
• Determine their publication requirements & what they're looking for
• I need to get my bike fitted with the nice equipment I got for Christmas