Some Goals for June

So, now that a new month has arrived, I guess it’s time to set some goals. Or at least attempt to. So, here I go.

That’s So Jacob’s June Goals List

Academic Life

1. Get the details on my fall part-time job. This is, of course, dependent on them, but if I don’t hear anything by mid-June, I’ll email them.
2. Get the details on prelims. See same note as above.
3. Finish at least one prelim paper, if not two.
4. Finish some or all of my library books. I currently have 31 out from the school library and 2 or 3 interlibrary loans

Personal Life

1. Clean the apartment. Especially if the parents are going to visit.
2. See if I can afford (financially and timewise) Summer Odyssey 3.0
3. Exercise more.
4. Dance more.
5. Buy new shoes.
6. Get a haircut.
7. Find that darned missing puzzle piece.
8. Try some new recipes, or at least cook more meals than going out for them.
9. Catch up on emails.

Blog Life

1. Update some of my older, abandoned posts.
2. Get up to 1400 followers.
3. Get at least 5 days with 100 visits/views.
4. 6 new blog friends a day.

Hmm..let’s see if I can get any of these accomplished. I wouldn’t bet on me.

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And With That…

Just before 1 PM, I officially turned in my second and last final paper of the semester.

And then I was free.

And I had no idea what to do.

So, of course, I sat inside doing not much of anything, then went food shopping and out to dinner by myself Noodles, and spent the rest of the night in, doing nothing.

I’m horrible at keeping resolutions, but here’s a list of things that I want to accomplish this summer:

1. Read. Just bona fide read for pleasure.

2. Clean apartment, for real. I shudder to think at what’s at the back of my fridge.

3. Try out some new recipes.

4. Run around the lake, at least once.

5. Catch up with friends.

6. Go somewhere new (hopefully a country, but a city or state will do).

7. Practice at the dance studio.

8. Research getting a new laptop, back up files, and purchase said new laptop.

9. Be a better blogger.

10. Get on a decent food/sleep/exercise schedule.

Well, that’s some pretty lofty stuff right there…clearly I have set the bar high.

 

Just Another List, Or Something Like That

Today I didn’t feel like doing too much, and I still don’t, but I should at least make a list of things I should be doing right now, or something.

What I Should Be Doing

1. Making treats for meeting tomorrow.
2. Making something nutritious for dinner. Maybe eggs or something.
3. Writing either of my two papers for next week.
4. Sending some emails I probably should have sent last week.
5. Clean apartment.

What I Want to Do Right Now

1. Nothing.
2. Sleep.
3. Read for pleasure.
4. Watch another episode of Submissions Only.
5. Watch the last hour of Shall We Dance?

And let it be known that for the first day in May, I got visitors from all 6 continents! North America (Canada, USA), South America (Peru), Europe (UK, Spain, France), Asia (India, Qatar, Hong Kong, Taiwan), Africa (Uganda) and Oceania (Australia)!

To-Do List for March

1. Get my work done before deadline.
2. Exercise more often.
3. Clean the dining table.
4. Clean the coffee table.
5. Cook/bake more often.
6. Do the dishes more frequently.
7. Waste less time on the Internet.
8. Clean the floor.
9. Try not to panic.
10. Write more relevant, insightful, and well-planned blog posts.

A To-Do List for 2014

So, apparently, it’s New Year’s Eve.

I feel like if I write a super-sappy post I’ll look back next year and say, “Jacob, what the hell is this?”

So instead I will make a list of things. This is not a list of new year’s resolutions. Resolutions are so…passe. The whole concept is like, “OMG I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it’ll be the BEST DAY EVER AND MY LIFE WILL BE GLORIOUS THE ANGELS WILL SING”…um, no. I’m still going to be me when I wake up tomorrow. We don’t have resolutions for any other holiday. In fact, for most other holidays require us to make lists. Wish lists, shopping lists, that whole naughty-and-nice list thing, I could go on and on…

So I’m going to make a 2014 To-Do List. No big whoop, just some things that are on my mind.

BEHOLD…

To-Do List

1. Write more blog posts. Self-explanatory.
2. Start a new writing project, and finish some old ones. Possible.
3. Keep up the 4.0 streak. I’ve never had it until this semester, so hey, why can’t I just keep it around?
4. Exercise. Not more, not less, just exercise.
5. Read more. Books, not BuzzFeed.
6. Avoid spending too much time on phone. Apps = death.
7. Start keeping Shabbat again. Or at least stop using technology.
8. Maintain better friendships. A visit to Houston might be in order for this to happen, otherwise I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing in Madison.
9. Do something active whenever possible. Not too keen on running outdoors, especially in wintry Wisconsin, but gym, dance class, or maybe even judo if I can find the time.
10. Pay more attention in class. My new iPad is not helping with this, but maybe it’ll get me to start.

To-Done List (AKA Things I Got Done in 2013)

1. Got into a PhD program.
2. Did some fun dramaturgy work.
3. Found amazing help when I needed it most.
4. Defended my thesis.
5. Got a master’s degree. (I can’t believe I JUST thought of this)
6. Got back in the game with Alpha Phi Omega at UW.
7. Got published in a print journal.
8. Made some good friends.
9. Spent less time being sad.
10. Started a blog and stuck with it.

That’s all for this year folks. See ya in the morning.

Thanksgivukkah

Tonight was the first night of Hanukkah, and also the night before Thanksgiving. Something that hasn’t happened since 1918 and won’t again until 2070.

It’s two holidays merged into one giant superholiday.

I love holidays, so this is great for me, but also signifies that my past two weeks of chaos are not quite over yet.

Today was kind of nice, in a weird way. I slept way later than I wanted, but finally got out of bed in the…early afternoon…to finish my proposal and send it off, followed by a shopping event to the post office, Tires Plus, Marshalls, World Market, and CVS. I emerged with an oil change, a gift for my sister, a coffee cup, a pair of boots, a mini-panettone (because it’s NOT Hanukkah without Italian Christmas cake, good golly gosh), a bottle of moscato (which I saved $2 on), posterboard, a box of cookies, toothbrushes, and contact solution. Then I went home and Kat came over to light candles, which was really very nice. I’m glad she could come over and I hope she had a good time.

Tomorrow morning, I will fly from Madison to Baltimore via Chicago, from whence I will go to my cousins’ place in Chevy Chase for a Thanksgivukkah hi-and-bye and then off to Ocean City for a few days, then BACK to Baltimore so we can go see a play at CENTERSTAGE (and hopefully stop off at BookThing!) before I come back to Madison on my newly changed flight so I can make it to rehearsal on time. Then, two rehearsals, invited dress, and then we open. Oh, and through it all, Hanukkah is happening, so there’s that, and I have 2 papers to write and a poster to create. And I have friends I want/need to call/text for Thanksgiving/Hanukkah/Shabbat/both/none of the above.

I would normally say “game on,” but this feels different. I feel like I should have some sort of break from everything. Yes, I’ll be home, but I’ll also be dealing with the parents, memorizing lines, researching, and hopefully writing at least 23 pages of stuff.

And I still have to pack, do prelim. research, sweep, mop, and fold laundry (yeah right).

Crap.

So I’ll substitute “here goes nothing.”

Getting Through Tough Times

For some reason, I’m having a hard time of it these days. In a lot of ways.

Mostly, I’m just not feeling the inspiration to write much. I get these ideas, think they’re good, and then think a little more and think that they’re kind of meh. Then it keeps going downhill from there, and then I’m back to square one.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll have a better story to tell, but for now, I should probably get started on the paper I have to turn in in like…five minutes. Hope it’ll be fine.

That’s something I haven’t written about yet – thinking about the worst possible consequences/globalizing/making too big of a deal out of things. Sounds like a good topic to build on in the coming days.

Oh great, there’s the conference proposal I have to work on.

Maybe that “what’s the worst that could happen” post will have to wait for a little bit.

But I want to get back to this, so don’t let me forget.

Things I’d Like to Acquire Shortly Before or After My Move to Wisconsin

Ha…thought you’d think I’d write a things I like post, but guess again, my friends. This is a to-do list post, before I forget. I have many post ideas each day but forget them, so while lunch is in the oven, I’d figured I’d start a list.

Things I’d Like to Acquire Shortly Before or After My Move to Wisconsin

• More long-sleeved shirts. I actually got the idea for this post while folding laundry earlier, and realized that I have only 3 quality long-sleeve shirts and 0 long-sleeve polos. Wisconsin will be cold, and layering is fun, so I will need them. Ideally, I’d like to get them in white or black, but any solid color will do (I currently have white, blue, and green).
• A new chair. Since my “friend” broke my chair at the 4th of July party.
• A premium Geocaching.com membership. I know, it’s only $30 a year or something, and if I got it now I could do a zillion more caches in the area but I don’t need any more ammo. In Wisconsin, however, I will be there for a longer period of time, might have more time, and there are only about 3500 caches within 50 miles of Madison (unlike the 10000 within 50 miles of Houston…and most are inside Houston, because Houston is ginormous).
• A pet. I think my building allows cats. I don’t know if I’m ready for one yet, but maybe when I get settled in.
• New dishes. My current dishes are hand-me-downs from my sister. They are blue and red plastic dishes. They’re getting more dirty and grungy, are probably not kosher anymore, and are ugly. They would make very nice frisbees, though.
• More sweaters/sweatshirts/hoodies, including a University of Wisconsin one. See above. I already have 4 hoodies (2 APO, 1 UMass, and a plain black one), but I think only 3 or 4 decent sweaters, two of which are the exact same shade of red. Also, zip-up jackets are nice, and both of the ones I have are blue.
• New laundry hamper. Mine’s full of holes, plus, having to go to another floor to do laundry, I can’t just throw the dirty stuff on the bathroom floor, or throw the clean laundry on the living room floor, like I did a few days ago, which I just folded today.
• Real wall art. I love my posters, but they’ve been on so many walls that they’re just not as pretty as they used to be, and some have water stains on them.
• More real-person clothes. Including: more belts (I currently have 3), more ties, loafers, nice pants, more adult-looking shirts.
• Cookbooks. Or maybe just some websites where I can print out good recipes.
• More scarves. I have my awesome, amazing, all-purpose red/orange scarf and a special, super-soft blue plaid scarf. Still mourning the loss of my maroon chenille scarf that I got in Amherst that kept me warm and stylish in Israel, that I lost somewhere in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Better snowboots.

Today

Was hoping that I could actually get it together today and post something before midnight, but I have to say that I had a pretty productive day today, otherwise, so I’m not perfect. It actually started pretty early as I woke up at 7:45 AM and ended up being relatively busy, with exercising, gym, geocaching, social interactions, all built in. And – check it – there was one thing today I wasn’t late for. Success.

I have a lot of nervousness settling in for no good reason. For some reason, while driving my car today, I kept feeling like I was being watched – maybe by God, maybe by a distant police scanner – I don’t know.

What I do know:

• Get stuff done for BLT
• Talk to YF
• Start reading some plays
• Start reading some more stuff
• Take out the recycling
• Clean up the apartment
• Go to the post office
• Generally stop being useless, even though I’m actually not so useless these days
• Check in with J in a few days to see what’s up
• Get some more ideas about blog posts
• Finish some recaps
• Write about my trips to Chicago and KC
• Write about more geocache adventures

Aaaannndddd…that’ll probably last me for the rest of the year. I’m such a lost cause. But at least I got it all written down today.

Oh, and I watched the second episode of Siberia tonight, and most of what happened, I predicted! I am loving this show.

Topics ‘n Things

These are a list of things that I want to discuss at some point in the future.

In no particular order:

• God
• Love
• Goals
• Body Image
• Depression
• Books
• Music
• Random Memories
• Facebook
• Judaism
• Friendship
• School
• Independence
• Home
• Parents
• Siblings
• Secrets
• Lies
• Jacob-isms

More Things I Like

Book Reviews

To-Do Lists