Resolution Report!

Ok so this isn’t a new series, but since these posts take up so much space, I had to change it from my other blog to this one. Just in case, I got a little lost to say the very least since I was supposed to make a progress report every month but have managed to have this be my third one only. ARGH. Anyways, now I’m back on track (don’t say Nordictrac please) and I’m updating my resolution progress. True, to make good on one of the resolutions I’m going to have to report twice a month for a couple of months, but hey, I suck for having a crappy computer that doesn’t want to cooperate with me, not to mention the super May writer’s block or my beautiful talent to procrastinate.

So let’s start with the physical aspect of the resolution report. I’ve made some progress but need to stay healthy to make good on my goals. I got a cold not too long ago (IT WASN’T SWINE FLU) and couldn’t do much of anything. Anyways, here’s what I got so far:


PHYSICAL

Bicep Curls
1,300 / 5,000


Butterfly curls
1,300 / 5,000


Pushups
1,300 / 5,000


Sit-ups
2,350 / 10,000


Jumping Jacks
3,850 / 10,000


Squats
2,300 / 10,000


Miles run/walked
1 / 100


Yoga classes
N/A


Meditation/Reflection/Goal setting hours
1 / 100


I finally bought me some real running shoes so I don’t mess up my legs with the crappy sneakers I have. I’m also more aware that I REALLY have to work on meditating but yoga might be a pursuit I either drop or do on my own sans classes because these aren’t the times to be spending money on yoga classes. A note though, it’s a lot harder to find time to meditate than I thought it would be, but finally started doing it. I actually changed it up a bit so I’m able to really make good on the 100 hours since I need more discipline to achieve a goal of pure meditation but instead of scrapping it, I added aspects of reflection and goal setting which I think could be very helpful.


PROFESSIONAL


Freelance jobs
4 of 10 (just finished one two weeks ago and almost snagged a good one but the guy was either flaky, a cheapskate or thinks I'm too much of a kid for his taste. Sincerely, I have better things to do than wait for a flip flopper.)


Work proposals
2 of 10 approved

8 more in the pipeline

The small ideas were adopted while the bigger ones were “left to discuss later”. So that means I have to touch base again to see if I can’t get my stuff done for a change.

Work on portfolio
N/A

Artist friends are too busy to work on their portfolio and I might be forced to do this on my own. Dang. Though to be honest, I’m more worried about my other projects than this particular one.

RECAP:
Almost half way there regarding freelance jobs so I’m happy with that but would definitely like to have a better success rate at proposals at work. Let’s see if I can give better news soon.


ACTIVITIES:


Surf Sessions
17 / 50

Conditions have been subpar and though I’ve had some great sessions this year, the last one I had was just pathetic to watch. Feeling the need to redeem myself next time out whenever Poseidon deems me worthy of good waves.


Swim / bodysurf / water activities
3 / 10

Went paddle boarding with my brother in a lagoon to get the feel of the board and have had two mini bodysurfing sessions. Pretty cool though I’ve yet to have a super bodysurf session, but fifteen waves is a good ballpark even if they are small waves. Want a juicy session to work on those skills though.

Local tourism
N/A

No plans yet. When I get my credit card all paid for I'll start doing a couple of fancy trips with ma Mrs. Who knows, summertime might just be THE time. We’ll see.

Concerts
0 / 5

Wow, no concerts and it’s June. So sad.


Trips
0 / 2

None yet, something about getting H1N1 that makes traveling questionable… though knowing me I might just keel in to the temptation of watching a good live concert and tempt fate.

Writing with Pen & Paper
Could write more but not completely negligent. Let’s see if I can keep working on the book and looking for an excuse to spurt some ink. :)



Movies
9 / 40


Paul Blart: Mall Cop – I thought this was going to be a gut busting good time. All that ended up getting busted was my wallet from this middle of the road ho hum movie.

Angels and Demons – I still have a review pending on this one on my other blog, I will sum it up by saying that if you’re looking for a faithful book adaptation, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.

The Wrestler – Aronofsky brilliance strikes again. He has a talent to leave your gut wrenched after the final scene of everyone of his movies, but great storytelling is something he’s REALLY strong at.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Just in case, THIS should have been the movie of the year at the Academy Awards. Yes I enjoyed Slumdog, but it’s no Ben Button. Sorry.

Coraline – One of the most gratifying cinematographic experiences in my life. Words can’t begin to describe how much I absolutely adored this movie and as an animation feature it stands tall and proud among the elite, often times surpassing movies that made five times as much money.

Slumdog Millionaire – Great movie. Predictable at times, but great. Good music (good not great). Interesting cinematography, feel good story. Bollywood has never had such a Hollywood ending or Hollywood has never had such a Bollywood feel. I’m still debating which way is right.

Watchmen – A big blue penis could not take away from the fabulous acting of some of the most memorable comic book characters never to have been to an mutant academy.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – THE definition of a Popcorn movie. Fast pace, rushed storyline, great special effects, good fights, and some plot holes thrown in for good measure. All in all, a good two and half star movie.

Star Trek – holy mama… let’s just sum this up by asking why wasn’t JJ Abrams hired to film the Last 3 Star Wars.



Watch DVD’s I’ve bought

Lost Seasons 1-3 (Already on Season 4) – I got bit bad by the Lost bug… and it’s deliciously painful.

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life – A true comedy classic showing just how smart stupid can be.

Twin Peaks series (both seasons+pilot) – Weird, campy, odd, interesting and definitely worth a second watch, if only to transcribe the log lady intros.

Pi – So real and weird it’s scary. Aronofsky in Black and white. Brilliant.

Escape from New York – Kurt Russell and John Carpenter can do no wrong… well in the 80’s at least.

Inland Empire – If you don’t like Lynch, there is nothing here for your enjoyment. Turn on the weird and tune out the world.

Videogames finished
9 / 20


Zakk and Wikki – Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure – Wii – One of the most enjoyable videogaming experiences in my life. Odd, quirky and one of the games that best makes use of the Wiimote.

Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes – Game Cube – Great game, classic storyline, steep learning curve and just plain fun.

Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty – PS2 – Weirder storyline than the first game but better controls overall.

Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater – PS2 – Best MGS I’ve played and I one of my 3 favorite boss fights ever in gaming. Memorable characters, great score, revamped controls, added features and more MGS fun than you can shake your silenced stick at.

Kingdom Hearts – It took me two years to finally decide to finish this game. Not bad at all, but for some reason I just found it hard to even want to finish the damn thing.

Final Fantasy 1 – Throwback RPG that will try your patience regarding redundant battles and possibly the weakest game ending I’ve ever been exposed to.

Jak and Daxter The Precursor Legacy – Great platforming is not easy to do and standing out is even harder but Jak’s first installment made an excellent impression on me. Fun gameplay, great graphics and just fun to play through.

Jak 2 – huge world but lack of direction takes away from this title. Much more engrossing and much more serious storyline but still very solid. My main problem was the whole hovercraft torture of the game.

Jak 3 – Takes all the problems from Jak 2 and SOLVES them. Rarely have I seen a sequel be THAT responsible in addressing all issues regarding a previous installment. The best, funniest, tightest and more entertaining Jak in the series.

About to start: Resident Evil 4

Books read
5/20 – I lowered the number to 20 to have a more realistic goal, though now that I’m off and running I might make better progress.


2nd book of The Bartimeus Trilogy – The Golem’s Eye – Good continuation to the story but not as good as the first one.

3rd book of the Bartimeus Trilogy – Ptolemy’s Gate – A hell of an ending and the no holds barred installment of the story. Great character development, interesting twists and an ending that will have you nodding in approval, even if it is anything but Hollywood.

The Wind in the Willows – A book most people should read for the exercise of character development especially in the characters of Badger, Mole and of course, that crazy Toad. Not to forget the Water Rat, but the other characters were very complete and it was amazing to read since this is a kid’s story with all the limitations seen in most children’s book (mainly skipping months in three lines and not having a good grasp on timing).

Fahrenheit 451 – Scary how this reads like it was written yesterday. Brilliant book though the ending drags a bit. One of those books whose brilliance stems from the development much more than the ending.

Angels and Demons – Better movie than Da Vinci, but lesser a book. Some lines and scenes read like something a teenager would write to be honest. If you hate me for saying that, by all means defend the Helicopter jump scene or the last line of the book. I dare you.

Currently on: Nightwatch – Excellent sci fi fantasy read.


Playing guitar

Not playing five times a week necessarily, but doing pretty good and sometimes playing more than an hour to make up for lost time. More than anything I just need to get in the groove but I do miss jamming with friends.


ACQUISITIVE:


Get new computer

Was getting to breaking point. Had a friend check it and after he laughed at my RAM, we sorted out to buy two RAM components for my comp and a new fan while deleting Norton CrappyVirus. Seems there is still salvation for the comp so will hold out until I get my own place.


Net connection

I finally have a real connection. Lord bless DSL and Death to dial up.


Digital recorder

No news on this, might wait to buy a comp for that, but still on my mind. Let’s see what I do.

Digital Camera

I’d made the transaction, I’d sent the money and the cam never arrived. Awesome work by the USPS on trying to rip me off but I got my money back. Now I just have to hope that the economy in turmoil has one upside in lower prices for capricious buys.


MONETARY


Save Money

Well, paying wedding stuff is not letting me save much money, but I do have some in the bank lol.


Payments
Everything’s on time and then some but this entry is a good reminder so I don’t screw up.


Mom’s cakes
Does buying materials and helping with deliveries count? Because though I want to help with some other type of promotion, a crapped up comp has been a pain in the bud to say the least.



Donations
Still up $200 but looking for something else I can donate to, might even donate time for a change since I finally have some to give.


KNOWLEDGE:

Learn / record songs
I remember saying I wouldn’t botch this resolution, working to accomplish just that but not so easy because I’m doing a great job at botching at the moment.


Learn Random Info
Still planning on writing a series about the random stuff I read on a regular basis.



Read the news
I’m up to date baby. Could also do some posts on random news, but prefer to read on Thinking in Vain.


Retake French
Still failing at starting up on this but hey, there are a lot of things on the agenda… wow I’ve started making excuses. Will buy a French book before June is over.



Dance classes
N/A Need to look into info pronto.



WRITING:


WAS posts
76 / 200

Thanks to Fortune Cookies, rants and overall lunacy, I’m able to break out of blocks. I’m pretty sure I can make the number easy. I’m super pacing myself but I’m way on my way to the goal.


Posts in other blogs
13 + 8 / 100

Keeping quite busy in the blog writing sense of the word. This is one of three blogs, the others being Why Advertising Sucks and Laser Eater.

Finish book
Finally finished chapter 37 am working on chapter 38. I’m pretty happy with how it’s coming along but wow it’s a weird process for me to say the least.


Write short stories
0 / 10
I read that zero and get angry at myself and my computer, though mostly at myself. Let’s hope I have better news to report soon.

Essay project
0 / 20
I’m lazing off on this. ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH.



Draft story arcs
0 / 3
Haven’t had much time to work on this, but written down some ideas. Want to do it a bit more structured.


WAS Movie
Still pending
Still got good ideas but haven’t organized it all.


Progress reports
3/ 12
Because of connection and comp issues, I’ve lazed off quite a bit so I will have to make mid month reports just to be able to accomplish this goal.


Standup piece
N/A – Still haven’t found a place to put this in agenda.


Be more positive
Being positive and getting frustrated and angry apparently coexist in me. Have had a few days where I just want to send everything to hell, but regarding a lot of things, I’m working on staying as positive as possible.



Forgive people
I don’t have time to waste on being angry at people who did anything to me at any point. I forgave them and put them out of my mind.


Negative energy
Finding some things that get on my nerves from time to time and I’m trying to manage it better. Maybe tensions are building or maybe too many things to fix at the same time but working on working things out with a smile.


Loving my fiancée

Loving her is easy but working on us staying positive and focused on all the things we have pending is something of a challenge, but I know we can do anything if we just stay positive and focused. Love you baby.

Cheers