Goals for 2009 January 6, 2009

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe it’s 2009! When I was a kid, I always thought that the world would end by the year 2000, you know that Jesus would come and everyone I know would go to heaven, well anyway, that didn’t happen. 

I didn’t post my goals for 2009 right away because I had to  think hard about what I really want to achieve this year. I didn’t want to make goals just for the sake of making them. When I met with my lifegroup last Sunday, we had  time to write down our dreams for this year, we plan to make a dream board for the whole group so that we could track other’s progress, and give each other a push when we slack off. There’s no motivation like having close friends aiming to do the same thing you are doing.

• Be consistent with my devotion and Bible reading. This is my priority for the year. I need to reconnect with God this year. I felt misplaced last year, used up, even though I barely did anything, but this year, I know that God has so much in store for me, I just need to let go and let God.
• Pray and fast. This has always been my waterloo in my spiritual life. But this year, I’ll make up for all those mini-meals I used to sneak in (shhh) during our scheduled fastings at church. 
• LOSE WEIGHT. I’m not the only one who wants this to happen. My dad is so determined to make us lose weight that he bought us an exercise machine, and telling my mom to plan our menu for the whole week so that we can have balanced meals. I basically need to lose about 40 pounds (yes 40!!!) to have normal weight. This needs a complete lifestyle change for me!! Less rice (ugh), less French Fries (double ugh), less of all the food I like eating. But then, as the Witwicky motto says, “No sacrifice, No victory.”
• Read 40 new books this year. If you know me, I really read a lot. So this year, I’m challenging myself to read 40 new books, and make reviews of all them! New meaning I’ve never read them before, meaning I can’t include all the novels I read about thrice a year (like Pride and Prejudice and This Present Darkness).
• Bring my small camera with me all the time. I’ve missed so many opportunities to take photographs (like when Y and I eat at a new restaurant), so when I blog about them, I have no proof of all that I’ve done. 
• Take photography lessons. My dad bought a new Nikon D80.  I haven’t had the time to really maximize its features but this year, I’ll be taking photography seriously, I’ve been looking at a couple of classes but so far I can’t fit them into my schedule, so I’ll self-study for awhile and maybe take classes this summer.
• Go back to graduate school. Now this I really have to do. I’ve been putting it off for too long. But this year, I’ll just go for it! But first I have to decide if i’ll continue my MA in Literature or transfer to Educational Management…
• Satisfy my wanderlust. Basically I want to travel again. I was planning to go to Pagudpud this coming April for Y’s bday. I’ve already contacted different resorts, but this afternoon, my mom said she didn’t want us to go, so scratch that,  I still have 3 months to convince her to change her mind though.It’s also been 10 years since I went out of the country. That’s too long don’t you think??? So this year, I’m planning to go with my parents to Singapore for the G12 conference. I just need to renew my passport first so we can book our flights right away. And as a bonus, I thought I would be missing the Delirious? concert here at the Philippines, but as it turns out, they’re a special guest at the conference!!! How cool is that?
• Finally, finally learn to drive. So I need to get my student’s license again…
• Expand what I know about cooking and baking. My goal for this year is to learn all my mom’s recipes. 
• Be consistent in meeting my lifegroup. I handle a bunch of really amazing, passionate girls, but I haven’t been able to meet them so much last year. That will change this year.
• Reconnect with old friends. I haven’t seen my college barkada in a really long time, hopefully we can schedule a day out this year. Plus, it’s been 10 years since my high school graduation! It’s time for a batch reunion!

Okay, that’s it, I think, if I think of more, I’ll probably just edit it. So Happy New Year again everyone! Oh and check out what my dad bought me when the family went out last week! I have the best dad in the world!

 

My first pair of Nine West Shoes