Half Year Review

Colors, originally uploaded by flicks galore.

I noticed recently that it's June. The middle of the year. It's half-way through! That's kinda crazy. So I thought I'd revisit the New Year's Resolution-Goal-Thingies that I made at the start of the year in this post. I hate the G-word as much as anyone else, but this activity involves making lists so surely it can't be all bad.

1. Publish 3 zines.
Inspiration has been a bit low lately. I've written most of the text for one, and had ideas for a couple more, though I haven't done anything about them. I had an idea for one only just the other day - it needs some time to percolate. But ideas don't come along every day, and they should be cherished and nurtured and allowed to grow at their own pace. (Except when you have a deadline!) 15% completed.

2.Travel overseas.
This one is practically done and dusted! The trip is booked for September and paid for, all the passports and papers are ready, I've bought a blank book to use as a travel journal - all Boy & I have to do now is do it! Europe, here we come! I would say this one is 70% completed (all the annoying stuff is taken care of), and guaranteed to be completed by the end of the year.

3. Do a 10km walk.
This one has been quite difficult to achieve so far. I got sick twice with extended yucky, phlegmy things, and that set me back quite a lot. Also this winter has been much colder than the last few winters and my creaky bones have been protesting. I'm determined to do what I can though, and that's about all you can do, isn't it? 20% completed.

4. Organise my apartment.
I have two words for this one: complete chaos. Things started very well. I drew up a plan with everything I wanted to do marked on it. Then I lost motivation and the flat was left in a mess of cardboard boxes and half-filled bookcases. Not to mention spare cases of wine. It's baby steps at the moment. 15% completed.

5. Take care of myself.
My body is apparently very high maintenance. It needs to be poked and prodded and checked and scanned regularly, and given tablets and capsules twice a day. Not to mention fed, watered, stretched and pummelled. It's an ongoing, daily activity. The doctors call it being 'compliant'. But there is a pay-off. When I do all these things, I feel much happier and more energetic.It's hard to gauge progress on a goal like this, but I think I can say that out of all the things I told myself I would do regularly this year, I probably do 75% of them 90% of the time. I think that's quite impressive, though there's still room for improvement.

6. Fill [my] art journal.
As I'm sure regular readers have noticed, I love working in my art journal! Unlike most hobbies I pursue, I haven't gotten bored with it yet. I use it steadily and regularly. I don't know if I'll fill it this year, and I'm really not concerned about it. Why put pressure and deadlines on something that should be fun and relaxing? 50% completed and unlikely to complete this year.

7. Submit a zine to Sticky Institute.
I received an invitation in an online forum from Sticky a few months ago to submit zines to them. They want zines - all I have to do is prepare them, price them and present them! Time-wise and effort-wise this is one of the easiest goals to achieve. But bravery-wise, it's one of the hardest. Putting yourself out there and saying, "look world, it's me! Look at what I'm doing!" is pretty scary. I might be able to overcome my shyness in the next 6 months, or I might not. I just can't say right now which way it'll go. So far it's a big, ole 0%.

8. Learn an e-publishing program.
I still want to do this! The how, where, when and how much will it cost have eluded me so far. My dream is to turn my travel journal from my upcoming trip into an electronic publication and share it with the world. How great would that be? Motivation for this goal is at about 85%. Actual achievement of the goal is at 0%.

If I look at the specifics too much, my results so far are rather discouraging. But when I think about it, I'm working steadily on the goals that I think are important right now, and I'm not beating myself up about the ones that I'm not working on. So, all in all, I'm doing quite well.

On with the making!