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[Vector]

It's that time again ...

Every year I think of twelve pathways I want to use to challenge myself, to help me feel excited as the calendar turns over. This is less "New Year's Resolution" and more "trellis to help a growing plant."

I'll put an example in my next post, but this is how it works:
- Spend some time thinking of 12 things you want to do in 2023.
-----> In practice it helps to have your goals be concrete enough to determine whether you have succeeded.
-----> Think carefully about whether your goals are, at the least, small enough to start working on.
- Write your 12 things in a list format in this thread.
- Post updates as you work on and complete goals.

If you wanna do a fractional-Behemoth, that is between 3 and 12 goals you intend to regularly check in on, that's also fine. Done is better than perfect. More importantly, everyone has bumps and surprises in their life. There are some things that we never achieve, and that's okay. The goal is to grow, together, for a year.

You can see last year's thread here.

[Vector]

I want to push myself this year. I haven't been trying that hard since 2020 hit for obvious reasons, and I'm kind of seeing the writing on the wall. The last of my youth, which I had been saving to enjoy, was eaten by the pandemic. I'll be 33. Time to pull myself together.

The year's overarching theme is to stop stalling.


Behemoths

1. Pass my qualifying exam and finish my master's degree.
2. Study for and attempt the JLPT N1.
3. Apply to 8 opportunities which I don't think I'm going to get.
4. Make 5 decisions that feel like significant risks.


5. Earn my driver's license.
6. Try to navigate the queer dating scene.
7. Clothing/personal appearance update. The present situation is ... bad. Most of my stuff is both ugly and moth-eaten.
8. Electronic device repair/upgrade. I stopped doing normal maintenance in 2020 and am now very behind.
9. Work on my health.
- Minimize being alone when eating at restaurants, having desserts, and drinking.
- Join a dojo, any dojo. Participate in moderation. Don't let them goad me into joining their teams, and don't quit like usual when they try it.
- Practice reaching out to others when I'm feeling upset. Continue attending therapy.


10. Keep tithing 10% and organizing/working on community projects.
11. Participate in the Hot Fresh Reading Challenge.
12. Enjoy the seasons and become anchored in time.
- Full moon teas
- Cleaning the house for the solstices
- Go to some music, plays, and that kind of thing
- Extending holiday wishes to people instead of just pretending holidays don't exist
- Enjoy the entire month of ~June~ instead of pretending it doesn't exist and I don't care about it.


There's a few more things that I really want to do but I'm not stupid enough to look at the present list and bump it to thirteen.

If I make outstanding progress I'll add some other things, like fixing up my room, making a website to publish creative projects, trying long-term pickling/brewing projects, beekeeping, finally running a Coyote and Crow table, whatever. Right now I just need to turn my life into slightly less of a clusterfuck.

[Xantalos]

Last year started pretty good, ended ... mixed at best. It got made very clear that I need to advocate for myself more and establish boundaries better, as well as just actually do the things I wanna do rather than wondering about what ifs. With that in mind, this is only a partial list right now, but I'm hoping to build on it as I go.

Xantalos Behemoths:
1. Standing meditation or moving qigong every day. Being lazy about this really led to me falling out of practice and fucked with my mental health last year, so I wanna do this consistently, even if it's only 5 minutes.
2. Reach 15 minutes in the dun hou shi exercise. I've been saying I'll get to this for years now, and it's past time I shut up and did it. Compatible with #1.
3. Write a book. First draft, published, I don't really care, but I wanna do it. I'll settle for a completed short story if I have to.
4. Write creatively every day. This is more to the point of getting in the habit of setting aside time to focus.
5. Figure out how to make a living doing writing stuff. From initial research this seems to be freelance or remote work, but I'll have to keep investigating. Goal here is to make a decent wage from writing-adjacent stuff without factoring in income from other work.
6. Do at least one bone conditioning session a week. Arms, legs, don't really care, just wanna do it.
7. Finish one of my quests. This seems to be a big hurdle for me and I want to get over it. Stretch goal would be finishing both currently active ones.
8. TBD

I'll post progress reports at the end of every month. Best of luck to everyone!

[Xantalos]

Update time!

Xantalos Behemoths:
1. Standing meditation or moving qigong every day. Being lazy about this really led to me falling out of practice and fucked with my mental health last year, so I wanna do this consistently, even if it's only 5 minutes.
2. Reach 15 minutes in the dun hou shi exercise. I've been saying I'll get to this for years now, and it's past time I shut up and did it. Compatible with #1.
3. Write a book. First draft, published, I don't really care, but I wanna do it. I'll settle for a completed short story if I have to.
4. Write creatively every day. This is more to the point of getting in the habit of setting aside time to focus.
5. Figure out how to make a living doing writing stuff. From initial research this seems to be freelance or remote work, but I'll have to keep investigating. Goal here is to make a decent wage from writing-adjacent stuff without factoring in income from other work.
6. Do at least one bone conditioning session a week. Arms, legs, don't really care, just wanna do it.
7. Finish one of my quests. This seems to be a big hurdle for me and I want to get over it. Stretch goal would be finishing both currently active ones.

1. Missed like one or two days, but I'm doing good here.
2. 9 minutes, feeling easy. Should be able to get this done before too too long.
3. Nothing here.
4. I've been doing this more frequently than last year (so far) but even that's still only every few days at most. Needs work.
5. Been applying to various freelancing and content writing services and jobs. Nothing yet, but I'll keep trying, even if the rejection is ... well, I'm not good at it.
6. Missed a week in January, but I've been doing this.
7. Some progress, but not even close to finishing. Blegh.

All in all, I'd rate this as a ... 6/10 January.

[EuchreJack]

Quick & Dirty 2023 list - Late Start 2.0
1) Revise List throughout year
2) Having successfully obtained Full Time employment for the first time in my life, keep it for more than one year. My current record of working for others is almost exactly one year, to the month. (this counts as a completion of a would-have-been January goal, if one had been set formally)
3) Save Money to buy a house or campaign war chest
4) Lose weight target 175 lbs
5) Assist with some house improvement of Mom's house
6) Engage in one semi-formal dating experience with the opposite sex
7) Runnish a Half-Marathon (unofficially is fine)
Read 3 books
9) Write a new short story and/or edit.compile an existing one
10) Update wardrobe. Lots of old stuff, could use some modestly cheap updates.  Socks, shoes, review shirts & pants, etc.
11) Continue saving for sis to get new residence (why not?)
12) Clean, service, and fire some of these cool guns staring at me.

Keep expectations low to avoid disappointment!

Keep expectations high and learn to ignore disappointment!
I mean, why focus on 11 things not done when you can Celebrate A Success!

I found this to inspirational, so I'm going to try to keep it front-and-center for a while.  Sorta egotistical, but it means more since I can't ignore my own words.

[Vector]

My life is COMPLETELY ON FIRE

Behemoths

1. Pass my qualifying exam and finish my master's degree. -> The masters is done.
2. Study for and attempt the JLPT N1.
3. Apply to 8 opportunities which I don't think I'm going to get. -> 1. That workshop in my research area starting with K
4. Make 5 decisions that feel like significant risks. -> 1. Came out to my advisor; and 2. I'm going on leave from the PhD until September; 3. Moved out from my shitty place to a single and am refusing to pay the rest of the lease on the old one since the leaky roof hasn't been fixed for 5 months.


5. Earn my driver's license.
6. Try to navigate the queer dating scene.
7. Clothing/personal appearance update. The present situation is ... bad. Most of my stuff is both ugly and moth-eaten. -> I also now need to decorate an apartment because I'm living alone on purpose for the first time ever. Whooo
8. Electronic device repair/upgrade. I stopped doing normal maintenance in 2020 and am now very behind.
9. Work on my health. -> Have been referred to four or five specialists for different issues because MY ENTIRE LIFE IS ON FIRE
- Minimize being alone when eating at restaurants, having desserts, and drinking.
- Join a dojo, any dojo. Participate in moderation. Don't let them goad me into joining their teams, and don't quit like usual when they try it. -> Found a Tai Chi school that I'm willing to attend.
- Practice reaching out to others when I'm feeling upset. Continue attending therapy. -> am going to therapy 2x weekly and acupuncture. sigh.


10. Keep tithing 10% and organizing/working on community projects. -> I'm apparently going to get another chance to organize something as big as the strike now, since we need a tireless asshole agitating [yw for the mental image] to get the transgender mathematics community lined up and pointed in one direction.
11. Participate in the Hot Fresh Reading Challenge. -> have been reading. occasionally. see thread.
12. Enjoy the seasons and become anchored in time. -> will start this in April. Busy moving, tired, and MY ENTIRE LIFE IS ON FIRE
- Full moon teas
- Cleaning the house for the solstices
- Go to some music, plays, and that kind of thing
- Extending holiday wishes to people instead of just pretending holidays don't exist
- Enjoy the entire month of ~June~ instead of pretending it doesn't exist and I don't care about it.

[Caz]

Flight of the Twelve Behemoths is my favourite thread :L



1. Pass this year's studies
2. Publish ETS
3. Rewrite book 3
4. Go to the opera again. Carmen is on in May/June *hint*

[EuchreJack]

Quick & Dirty 2023 list - March/April Update
1) Revise List throughout year
I'm at least updating!
2) Having successfully obtained Full Time employment for the first time in my life, keep it for more than one year. My current record of working for others is almost exactly one year, to the month. (this counts as a completion of a would-have-been January goal, if one had been set formally)
Almost completed my first Full Time month.  5 more to go.
3) Save Money to buy a house or campaign war chest
Money has been saved, but I still need to prep/pay taxes
4) Lose weight target 175 lbs
I'm working at it! But so far, I'm still in the early stages...it's a battle to stay under 200
5) Assist with some house improvement of Mom's house
She used money from me to finally fix the water leak, that counts? Yeah!
6) Engage in one semi-formal dating experience with the opposite sex
My last year optimism faded (married), and I've failed at my latest endeavor (lame text), but at least I'm trying, which is progress.
7) Runnish a Half-Marathon (unofficially is fine)
I have done a little bit of walking
Read 3 books
I really need to start counting manuals...
9) Write a new short story and/or edit.compile an existing one
Almost completely forgot about this
10) Update wardrobe. Lots of old stuff, could use some modestly cheap updates.  Socks, shoes, review shirts & pants, etc.
I'm actually washing my clothes lately. Ok, this one needs work
11) Continue saving for sis to get new residence (why not?)
I'm instead saving for her and mom to go on a trip, ideally when I'm unable to take a vacation myself (new work no vacation first 6 months)
12) Clean, service, and fire some of these cool guns staring at me.
I think I dusted a couple...

Keep expectations low to avoid disappointment!

Keep expectations high and learn to ignore disappointment!
I mean, why focus on 11 things not done when you can Celebrate A Success!

I found this to inspirational, so I'm going to try to keep it front-and-center for a while.  Sorta egotistical, but it means more since I can't ignore my own words.

[Xantalos]

Whoo nelly jelly belly, I sure, uh, kinda forgot to update this for months. Nice going, me.

Xantalos Behemoths:
1. Standing meditation or moving qigong every day. Being lazy about this really led to me falling out of practice and fucked with my mental health last year, so I wanna do this consistently, even if it's only 5 minutes.
2. Reach 15 minutes in the dun hou shi exercise. I've been saying I'll get to this for years now, and it's past time I shut up and did it. Compatible with #1.
3. Write a book. First draft, published, I don't really care, but I wanna do it. I'll settle for a completed short story if I have to.
4. Write creatively every day. This is more to the point of getting in the habit of setting aside time to focus.
5. Figure out how to make a living doing writing stuff. From initial research this seems to be freelance or remote work, but I'll have to keep investigating. Goal here is to make a decent wage from writing-adjacent stuff without factoring in income from other work.
6. Do at least one bone conditioning session a week. Arms, legs, don't really care, just wanna do it.
7. Finish one of my quests. This seems to be a big hurdle for me and I want to get over it. Stretch goal would be finishing both currently active ones.

1. Yeah, been relatively good about this. Only skipped the one day when I was too sick to do much and was better off resting.
2. Haven't actually practiced this for a month, but I'm confident I'll get back up there soon enough.
3. On the backburner still.
4. Not *every* day, but pretty close in the last while. Think it's been like 2 or 3 days without at the max, which is great compared to my previous habits.
5. Investigating other fields, but as of right now no progress. Money's getting tighter, but perhaps a little pressure is necessary to force me to actually do things. Personal training licenses aren't that hard to achieve, in any case.
6. Sporadic practice only. Might be able to make this more of a feature now that I'm done my month-long streak of a certain meditative thing.
7. Continued progress, but this'll definitely be a long-haul goal if I accomplish it at all this year.

All in all ... not much actual progress, but I'm feeling alright about myself so far. Continuing to try stuff, which is important.

[Caz]

1. Pass this year's studies
2. Publish ETS
3. Rewrite book 3
4. Go to the opera again. Carmen is on in May/June *hint*


Book is out, opera is booked. Need more goals. Or like, more time in my life :l

[Caz]

1. Pass this year's studies
2. Publish ETS
3. Rewrite book 3
4. Go to the opera again. Carmen is on in May/June *hint*


Book is out, opera is booked. Need more goals. Or like, more time in my life :l

1. I DID IT GUYS, literally scraped a grade 2 with one mark (so really, I did a grade 3 and lucked into a good pass? whatever, I'mma take it)
2. it done.
3. it looms.
4. it was fantastic!

[EuchreJack]

Congrats!

[EuchreJack]

Quick & Dirty 2023 list - August Angst Update
1) Revise List throughout year
I'm at least updating. Having lost some long-term direction, thought it might help to revisit this.
2) Having successfully obtained Full Time employment for the first time in my life, keep it for more than one year. My current record of working for others is almost exactly one year, to the month. REVISED: Goal is 5 years.
Almost completed my first six months.
3) Save Money to buy a house or campaign war chest Continue saving for sis to get new residence
Money has been saved, but I still need to prep/pay taxes
Well, I have minor savings, but this is more a thing my sis needs to figure out.
4) Lose weight target 175 lbs Use my weight to "bulk up", which unfortunately is harder to measure, but ignores the "lose weight" plateau of muscle weighing more than fat
I'm working at it. I'm still slightly over 200 lbs, but my belly seems smaller.
5) Assist with some house improvement of Mom's house where I'll probably be for a while
I probably should make another "rent" check. I've been able to make monthly payments for 3 out of 4 months.
6) Engage in one semi-formal dating experience with the opposite sex
Maybe this isn't such a great idea? I have however located a bar with women (or at least they were there one time I was there). I seem to be making "mild" progress, enough to keep this at a blue rating.
7) Runnish a Half-Marathon (unofficially is fine)
I have done a little bit more of walking
Read 3 books
I'm starting to think of this as more important, so progress?
9) Write a new short story and/or edit.compile an existing one
I've had a couple ideas, but have not spent any time writing anything.
10) Update wardrobe. Lots of old stuff, could use some modestly cheap updates.  Socks, shoes, review shirts & pants, etc.
Bought a kick-ass pair of boots, which I needed. Especially since my ancient pair of running shoes finally died 1-2 weekends afterwards.
11) Figure out more goals
Kinda unfocused right now. I've decided to "pass" on some plans in favor of other priorities, but those were what I considered "major life plans", so I'm kinda drifting. I plan to keep my eyes and ears open to figure out other longer-term opportunities.
12) Clean, service, and fire some of these cool guns staring at me.
I found some ammo lying around.

Keep expectations low to avoid disappointment!

Keep expectations high and learn to ignore disappointment!
I mean, why focus on 11 things not done when you can Celebrate A Success!

I found this to inspirational, so I'm going to try to keep it front-and-center for a while.  Sorta egotistical, but it means more since I can't ignore my own words.


Ok, I feel better, although I still got some re-focusing to do.

[Vector]

I broke two leases on the way to finding trans-safe housing; got treated for long COVID; kicked all of my shitty friends out of my life; started the process of changing advisors; taught a class of 1st- and 2nd-graders for the first time; escaped from my parents, who had been using police to control me for much of my adult life, and forced them to give back the earnings they had coerced me into forking over; learned and am starting to cope with the fact that I have a new-to-me and exciting mental illness; joined an online commune for trans people; started participating in a Coyote and Crow table; and started a medical and social transition.

(turns out that I'm both nonbinary AND gender-fluid, and that I need to be on about half of a cisgender male dose of testosterone or my brain and body don't fricking work.)

I am back at work, am finally getting access to deferred medical care I have needed for decades through my endocrinologist, and also enrolled in my first art class this January

New thread here.