2015 Bucket List

Things I'd like to get done in 2015:

• Visit Cuttyhunk and/or Nantucket.
• Hike Mount Monadnock and/or Mt. Washington.
• Visit Jason & family in California.
• Get paid for artwork.
• Sell a big chunk of my comic book collection for a big chunk of money.

Early Resolutions

2015

I think my two biggest New Year Resolutions for 2015 are going to be:

• A) truly honing my drawing skills (I want to get better with shading and line thicknesses).
• B) finally putting major work into learning to play the guitar I bought back in 2009.

The rest of my usual resolutions (lose weight, go to many live music performances, travel more, etc...) will have to manifest of their own accord...

Productivity

I keep track of a few things each month that in my mind are a sign of being productive:

Worked Out:

• April - 11 days
• May - 10 days

Hikes:

• April - 1
• May - 0

Other Physical Activity (walking long-distance other than a hike, shoveling snow, kayaking, etc...):

• April - 2
• May - 3

Books Read (both: novels, and collected series/graphic novels):

• April - 4 books
• May - 7 books

Not bad. Ideally I would work out every other day, but 3 times a week is fine (12), plus hikes and other activity thrown in. I would like to average 2 hikes per month. Back in 2011 I went on 14 hikes, all within the months of September - December! 

A book a week is good. I also try to draw (or do something visually creative) as much as possible. January - March were very prolific, and April wasn't bad, but last month was pretty weak. I read more than I drew.

Spring Fever is nearly over. Time for Summer Fun!

Inspiration From the Past

This is a photo of me from 1987.

Time to get serious.

'Nuff said.

March Method

This weekend I am gearing up toward a solid routine beginning on Monday.

I've been working out on a regular basis since early November, and drawing as much as possible. Now it's time to do even more. I am going to draw and/or write every day. I am going to sit down and figure out the second half of my life. And I am going back on the South Beach diet.

I have the exercise down (my arms and shoulders are more solid than they have ever been), and when it gets warm out the hikes and other outdoor activities will ramp it up even more, but the caloric intake needs to be regulated, and with the help of South Beach (again), reset. The next two weeks will contain NONE of the following: sugar, fruits, grains, alcohol (no biggie), ice cream, ½&½, or fancy (fatty) meats.

My biggest dream is to design (and have built) a house. I just need to figure out the most efficient way to make it happen.

P.S: Here are the last 2 days' drawings:

Yeah, this guy again...

Wyman's Pond Music Fest 5

The Resolution Proposition Declaration

I am not going to make any definitive resolutions on paper this year. If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that when I make resolutions, I sometimes break them out of spite. The kind of spite that says, "I don't care who tells me what I should do at any given time and/or place, I refuse to do it," even if that person is ME. I've had success in the past, but the less I write down (frequencies, beginning and end dates, quantities, etc...), the more I seem to achieve.

I've had this approach in mind ever since I left my job in October. I began to work out and draw more in November, and in December I truly ramped it up on both fronts. I worked out 11 times in December, and I drew something on at least that many days. January is 7 days old, and I already have two workouts and a rigorous snow-shoveling, plus three drawings and a hand-drawn calendar (see below) on paper.

So in the spirit of positive growth, yet without quantifying anything, I will say the following:

I will work out more, eat healthier, be more creative visually, be more social, and produce a fifth music festival in 2014. That is all.

Update (end of the month): The filled in calendar!

Happy New Year

I was up reading until 3 am last night, so I didn't get out of bed today until just before 11 am. I had cereal and coffee for breakfast. I spent the 'morning' reading "Nightwing" comics while I watched/listened to the "Happy Endings" marathon on VH1, and parts of the Winter Classic NHL game. Lunch was a roast beef sandwich, chips and iced tea. Supper was a turkey sandwich, a turkey wing, and half a cucumber. I spent some time drawing in the evening, and around 10:30 pm I worked out.

Happy Half New Year

I am going to treat today, Monday July 1st,
as the 'new' New Year, and hit the ground running
with a new round of resolutions...

On the agenda of half-year resolutions/behavior mods:

• See three live music shows besides my WPMF4.
• Lose 20 pounds minimum by Christmas (I am at 258 as of this morning, thank god I am 6'3"...).
• Hang out with Darren, Keith, and cousin Jeff by the end of the year.
• Learn ONE song with confidence on my guitar.
• Start dating again. I'm tired of being alone, though it's been by choice.
• Get paid for some artistic endeavor.
• Save $2,000.

Let the self-improvement begin anew!

Resolutions 2013

Here are my goals for 2013:

• Average one out-of-state trip per month.
• Average one hike (mountain ascent) per month.
• Try one new beer (non-IPA) or drink per month.
• Lose 20 pounds, and then lose 20 more.
• Get paid for some form of artwork.
• Be a lot more social.
• Host my 4th (in as many years) music festival.
• Average one new bar visit per month.

Let the games begin!

November Year's Resolutions

Yep, not 'New Year's Resolutions'. I need to get things on track, so I am making a list of things to work on in November beginning tomorrow (actually today):

• Visit more: I haven't seen some friends in over a year, and that's just wrong, no matter how busy everyone is. I want to get up to Portsmouth to hang out with Brian, Rob, Erik and Chris. I want to get into Boston to hang out with Jay and/or Gavin. And I want to hang out with Mike and Keith around these parts as well.
• Family Fun: I haven't seen Kevin in a long time (his fault mostly), so I will drop by on the next Sunday I happen to have off. I used to spend one day a week on average at Sarah's house when I was unemployed. I haven't been there since summer. And I will call Jason to gab with him and the kids at least once, since the likelihood of getting to California in the next 30 days is marginal at best (haha). Plus: at least two visits to Dad & Ma's.
• Exercise: I have had some success with this over the last two months. I added two hikes to "Mountain Quest 2012"; and I worked out ten times. I want to ramp that up to two hikes this month alone, and I will do my best to lift 3 times each week (except for maybe the week of Thanksgiving/Black Friday/my birthday).
• Eat Smarter: I need to stop eating after 7 pm, whether I work the day shift or not. And I need to quit the coffee in the afternoon as well. Plus, no Chinese or pizza delivered to my home! It's back to South Beach, as much as is practical with my schedule.
• Get rid of clutter: My apartment needs to be reorganized top to bottom. I will jettison anything I do not need. I will get rid of clothing that is useless. I will rearrange the place to be more conducive to artistic endeavors. And I will winnow my comics collection to a more manageable size.

I will update every weekend until the month ends, including this weekend, even though it's only three days away.

Reintegrate

Things I seem to have left on the side of the road since I found my new job back in late October:

• Working out - Sure, I hike when I can, and I average 10,000 steps (roughly 5 miles) each day at work, but I haven't lifted weights or done a single push-up since before Halloween...
• Drawing/Painting - I used to paint and draw constantly with all of my free time. And at the very least I would doodle and sketch at my computer table. I need to dust off my supplies and put them to use.
• Learning Guitar - I bought a Fender acoustic and took lessons for five months back in the winter of '09 (coincidentally right up the road from my job), but have barely touched it since. One of my resolutions is to learn 5 songs relatively well. I need to get that done.

Ten Resolutions for 2012

I have decided to make a list of ten resolutions for the new year (in no particular order):

• Produce Wyman's Pond Music Fest III.
• Climb at least 30 mountains in at least 6 states ("Mountain Quest 2012").
• Spend at least one night on each of three different islands.
• Lose another 20 pounds ( I dropped 20 two years ago and have kept them off).
• Get paid for my artwork.
• Visit another country.
• See at least ten live shows besides WPMF III.
• Be able to play five songs extremely well on my guitar.
• Put at least $2,000 into a Roth IRA.
• Put at least $2,500 into an emergency fund.

I'll update this post in the 'comments' section and change the color of the print from black as I complete each item. Wish me luck, and if you wander past here, feel free to let me know if you've achieved any of your 2012 goals.