This Week Should Be Better

I am pretty sure that no matter what this week will be much less stressful than last week; or at least it better be because I was not a very happy person for most of last week.

It is snowing again today which seems ridiculous to me. There cannot possibly be an explanation for why we need to have a snow flurry every five or six hours. I would love it to just warm up and stay that way from now on. This has been a very cold and very long winter for me and since I am convinced I suffer from some mild form of seasonal depression it would be great to get this dreary weather over with.

I've got big plans to get things done over the next seven days. They include finishing all of my homework before Saturday, working a complete 20 hours for the first time in awhile, spending a little time doing a bit of creative writing to post on Writers Block, watching the BYU basketball game on Wednesday if possible, attending the meeting for Impact Magazine on campus to try and get some technical writing experience, doing some pushups, getting the water pump fixed on the car and likely about seventeen other great ideas that I can't remember at the moment. If I accomplish half of this list I'll feel pretty good, more than that and I'll be puffing my chest out like nobody's business. Oh, and on top of all that I have a floor hockey game to play goalie in as well.

I'm Ready For A New Week

I am willing to admit that perhaps the only really great thing about this past week was Valentines Day because it was the one day where everything went well for once. I got my car back that day and it cost much less than anticipated and I also got to spend all sorts of time with my wife having fun. Other than that, this past week can be pretty much erased and I won't mind too much, if at all.

My wrist is feeling better which has put me in a significantly improved mood. I still have lots of homework to catch up on though because I have been without a computer for a while now. It should make it back to me today though, so that is nice. I plan on spending the majority of the day tomorrow while Holly is at work getting some review in and catching up nicely for the coming week.

Posting on this blog is one of my goals for the year as previously mentioned, but as of late I just can't think of anything worthwhile to say. I wanted it to be more than just an online journal because I understand that gets boring for most folks very quickly. Alas, nothing very interesting has occurred for me to write about.

Checking In

It has been a couple of weeks since I jotted down a few goals I have for this year and I figured I would do a little self-evaluation on a couple of them to make sure that I am doing well. In the new job realm I have accomplished that goal at least temporarily in that on Feb. 5th I will be starting work over at Helaman Halls working in the afternoons instead of the evenings. Holly is thrilled at the prospect of having me home each day at 4:00 instead of 9:00. I may have to do homework when she is at home, but just being able to be in the same house at the same time will be enjoyable.

I haven't begun to write in a journal every day yet, but that is because I haven't felt that if I were to start I would be consistent yet. I have been working on making a routine that will help me with that and I'm making good progress. So far my email address is the same: caleb.flanagan@hotmail.com which is pleasing several people from what I hear.

I thought for a long time on what my new hobby or activity would be for this year and I am leaning towards joining the staff at a campus literary journal called Inscape. I've decided on this for a couple of reasons, one that it would be good experience for my major and will help me find a job that is not custodial next fall, two I think it would be fun and finally that it will only take a couple hours out of my week at any given time. My good friend Reece is planning on joining with me, so perhaps we will get to work together at some point on editing the submissions.

Today is also the day that I am going to try writing in lowercase letters again to see how it works. I'm a little worried that everyone I know will have no clear idea of my identity any longer and that my posse will rebel in a mutinous moment of rage. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that nobody will actually care. I just want to see if it helps at all with the hand cramps that I have been having lately because I have noticed that I grip my pen or pencil much more tightly when I am writing with all capitals. I've also set myself up with a project of personal interest. I am going to do the best I can to total the number of pages that I have read since the beginning of high school or slightly before. I have a feeling that it is going to be a very big number, but I'm curious to see what exactly it is. This idea comes from wanting to know if I have read 1,000,000 pages in my lifetime yet. I am pretty sure that I haven't, but it would be cool if I could accomplish that at some point. Luckily for me I can remember lots of the books that I have read over the years so I should be able to get an accurate count.

2007 Goals

Here is a list of very important goals that I have set for the next calendar year. For the first time in my life I actually want to accomplish something long-term.

1. Become a proficient and organized online blogger who contributes meaningful thought to the online community on a regular basis.

2. Write in a journal (by hand) every single day of the year.

3. Weigh in at less than 200 pounds on January 1, 2008.

4. Complete the NaNoWriMo 2007 competition which requires spending 10 months outlining a potential novel.

5. Record a 3.4 or higher GPA for the next calendar year of semesters at BYU.

6. Read three classic novels.

7. Increase my spirituality.

8. Learn a new skill or find a new hobby.

9. Enter a writing competition of some kind.

10. Find a new job.

11. Use the same email address for an entire calendar year.

There they are. I think they are all very doable. Wish me luck.