30

I turned 30 last month. Crazy, eh? With all the changes around here, I almost missed it.

Unlike in years past, I'm not going to use my birthday as a time to set goals. We are still learning about what our lives are like now. In a couple of months, we will be moving to a totally new city and I will be starting a totally new job. How could I possibly know what goals will be useful? What will be feasible?

So instead of focusing on what I have not yet achieved I'm going to take a cue from a friend from college, and focus on my accomplishments. In lieu of a To Do list, this birthday will feature a "Done, Bitches!" list.* Feel free to join in aloud after each item in the list.

• Start swimming again (DONE, BITCHES!)
• Visit a new country (BELGIUM IS TOTALLY DONE, BITCHES!)
• Get a job (DONE, BITCHES!)
• Write a new paper (DONE, BITCHES!)
• Finish my dissertation (DONE, BITCHES!)
• Defend my PhD (DONE, BITCHES!)
• Have a kid (TOTALLY FREAKING DONE, BITCHES!)

Not too shabby when I write it that way!

*The main advantage of the DONE, BITCHES list? You don't have to think about the things that didn't make the list! Or things that will be on the next list!

Goals for the Year

So last week, I turned 29. As I mentioned last year, I don't really dig resolutions of the Jan 1st variety--I prefer to let the goals come when it feels right. And right now, it feels right. But first, a recap/update on my goals from last year.

On the whole, this was a bad year, goal-wise. I didn't think that it was possible, but my life seems to have kicked into a new, higher gear this past year. This forced me to re-prioritize a bit, and one needs only look at the state of my kitchen, blog, and waistline to see the effects. But I'm giving away the ending...

First, the shameful:
run/swim/bike a triathlon: This goal did NOT happen. Moreover, it's not going to happen anytime soon. And I'm ok with that. It turns out that I'm just not that interested in triathlons. I like the idea of it. But the reality is totally unappealing--any sport that requires you to practice putting on your shoes is not for me. Besides, if I wanted to work really hard at something I'm naturally bad at, I would learn a new language. Or teach myself to juggle.

bike a century: This also did not happen. Not even close. I did accomplish one of the subgoals of this goal--I fixed my bike's drive train. Good news is, I've already been on my bike several times this spring--which is several times more than I was on my bike last year! Bad news is, my bike partner-in-crime is graduating and moving on to bigger and better things (ok--maybe that's not really bad news--congrats, Ann!), and without a riding partner to spur me on, I doubt I'll be able to motivate myself for a really long distance ride.

climb a 5.10: Again, not so much. Turns out that writing a dissertation is somewhat incompatible with finding time to exercise. But I'm thinking about taking a climbing technique class this summer, so who knows?

show my photos in a gallery in Ann Arbor: I'm terrible at this stuff--self-promotion is really hard for me, and getting a gallery show is all about self-promotion. I made some lame stabs this last year, but nothing substantial. I'm hoping to enter The Shadow Art Fair this year, which would kind of count.


Now the slightly less shameful:

take care of my back: I did ok with this. I didn't make my (perhaps overly optomistic) goal of daily core exercise, but I have had markedly fewer relapses this year, and I've learned much better how to keep myself in alignment.

go on the job market: Um. I went on the job market...I just didn't get a job. That counts, right? Seriously though, my job market process this year went through more pointless twists and turns than a Season 2 episode of Heros. Some of those twists were my fault, others were out of my control. On the plus side, going on the market halfway last year has set me up perfectly for my full on attack this year. I'm calling it Job Market II: Kate's Revenge.

And now, lest you think I'm a total slob, the successes!

take all of my (important) pills: I have been really good this year. I still have an occasional lapse, but nothing to get in a twist about. And I feel good.

finish a second paper: Holy crap! I actually finished this one! And it's good too!

get married: Score!


Also, here's a list of things I didn't list as goals last year, but accomplished anyway:
Set a personal record for distance hiked in one day (~20 miles)
Went to a new country (the Czech Republic)
Adopted a little fuzzy asshole
Planted a successful community garden plot
Presented at a prestigious conference
Taught a short course
Gave an invited talk
Was paid to take photographs
Won a photography contest
Came within a whisker of getting my dream job


When you put it that way, it wasn't such a bad year. However, the disconnect between what I actually accomplished and what my goals were has made me rethink what makes a useful goal. This year, I'm going with broader goals, which have many possible pathes to fufillment. We'll see how that works out.

Get a job or move on: This is the big one this year. I've decided that this is my last year in graduate school. I will get a job that I want in my field, or I will move on and do something else.

Submit one paper for publication: Pretty self-explanatory. The publication process in economics takes forever. I need all the time I can get.

Drafts of two other papers: The two candidate papers at the moment are both coauthored (yay!). One is with my advisor. The other is with my officemate. I'm looking for real paper drafts--not just results!

Prioritize Exercise: One of the things I let slide most this past year was exercise. In the past 2 years, I've gone from Amazon to lump. I've gained a size, my knees hurt, and I have no energy. This is totally unacceptable! I have several strategies for this. I'm planning to take at least one exercise class at the University per semester. I'm back on my bike, and I'm hoping to start riding regularly, even if it's only short distances. I've also started weightlifting again. I need to figure out some way to keep that interesting and learn more. Any other (low/no cost) ideas?

Eliminate anything I don't use from my house: We have way too much stuff. Garage sale this summer, followed by a trip to the recycle center!

Spend less free time staring at a computer screen: Part of the reason I don't have time for things I love is that I spend my down time surfing the web or watching TV. I've already made progress towards doing more away from the computer. I want to do more!

Acheive more balance in my life: This is related to everything else above. If I spend too much time working or thinking about work, then my brain stops working well. And if I spend less time staring at a computer/TV screen, then I should have more time for those things that exercise the non-research parts of my brain--photography, art, music, gardening.

Eat more cake: I figured I needed at least one that I'd be able to acheive.

I'm not dead! I swear!

So it's been a while, I know. I have a good reason, though. If you might remember from my list of goals, I am going on the job market this year. Given the amount of time that particular goal is sucking up, I am hereby revising my list of goals.

Goals for 2008-2009
1) Get a job.
2) Stay sane.

I think that I can accomplish that.

Anyway, this is my way of saying that posting might slow down a bit. I'm hoping to use blogging as a break from writing my thesis. However, that activity competes with such perennial favorites as eating, sleeping, petting my cats, and kissing my husband, so that may not happen. In the meantime, here is a short play-by-play:

1) The kitten is huge. Like, the size of a small adult cat. We're thinking of renaming her Mongo. I need to take more current pictures, but here's one from a few weeks ago. Maggie is still unimpressed.

2) The garden has been hugely productive. We've had over 100 tomatoes, probably 25 Anaheim chilies, a ton of carrots, many many lemon-drop peppers, pounds of potatoes, and more lettuce than I know what to do with. Our plot has to be cleared out by the 16th. I'll try to do a final count before then.

3) I got an Ipod touch.
Ok, so it actually belongs to Ross, but he lets me play with it, and I'm plotting a way to steal it for myself. So it's kind of mine already.

4) I think that the bread shop around the corner from me is run by the mafia. I would go into more detail, but I wouldn't want them to find out. In fact, on second thought, I definitely don't think that the bread shop is a front for an illegal drug business. Not at all.

5) I have developed a tremendous addiction to the show House. Ross is even more addicted than I am, which seems impossible considering how much of my addiction is fueled by Hugh Laurie's devastating attractiveness. I even liked him as Bertie Wooster. Ross, on the other hand, has no excuse.

6) I have thoughts on the financial crisis, the bailout, and the presidential and vice presidential debates. Some of them are even worthwhile. But I don't have the energy to write them up. Sorry about that. Maybe next time.

Goals--Update!

Remember my post about goals? Have you been on the edge of your seat, wondering how I've been doing?

Well too bad, because you're getting an update anyway.

1) Run/Bike/Swim a triathlon: some progress
I haven't done this yet, but I *have* fixed my bike and I've been looking at what event would fit into my busy summer schedule. I'm thinking maybe the Claire Lake Tri/Du. I'm contemplating doing the duathlon (2.4 mile run/ 13 mile bike/ 4 mile run) instead of the tri, mostly because I don't want to have to add a swimming workout into my schedule. And since 4 miles is about the maximum I've ever run before, a 2.4 mile run followed by a 4 mile run will be quite a challenge. The 13 mile bike ride will be pretty easy--the bike distances on tris are comparatively short at all levels (even the ironman--I'd take a 100 mile bike ride over a marathon any day). Hopefully Ross will train with me--and by "train with me" I mean run with me--not bike along behind, whacking me on the butt with a spatula (ala Run Fatboy Run).

2) Take all of my (important) pills: yes!
We'll have to ask Ross, but I think I've been really good with this. Unfortunately, despite how well I've been treating it, my body has been conspiring against me. I went to the doctor because I haven't been feeling well, and left with a blood test, a prescription, a multivitamin, and an appointment for a hearing test (don't worry--the worst it could be is a food allergy). Oh--and I also have a bunion. Apparently, I'm 67 years old.

3) Take care of my back: uhh...
Not really. Not only have I failed to keep up with my core exercises, I managed to hurt my back gardening last week (or maybe it was the half ton of books at the Great Media Divestment Project). The good news is, that unlike the last time, it took me only a week to start walking normally again! I can even pick things up off the floor without making a sound like a pygmy hippopotamus!
Um...yeah...need to redouble my efforts on this one.

4) Bike a Century: some progress
So far this summer, there seems to be little time for biking. But my plan is to schedule my rides, and work towards replacing my old regular ride (Dexter--25 miles) with a longer one (Chelsea 40 miles). My friend Ann, who is now practically a PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST (Hi Ann!) has promised me a century ride later this summer. My dignity tells me that I need to get my butt in gear, lest she doesn't drop me like last last month's egg salad sandwich.

5) Climb a 5.10: Thbbt
This may happen by December. It may not. Climbing shoes are about the worst thing in the world for your feet (I'll try to post a picture sometime...it's a pretty dramatially shaped shoe). But I can't realistically blame my lack of progress on the bunion. We just haven't gotten to the climbing gym--and probably won't until it gets cold outside.

6) Finish a Second Paper: Slow but steady
This is what I've been doing instead of biking and climbing. But it is paying off. I have...well...something. Whether it is better than the paper I have already finished remains to be seen, but at the risk of bringing the force of the universe down on my head, I'll say it's looking good so far.

7)Go on the Job Market: All systems go!
Good thing too.

8)Get Married: Check and check!

My Goals This Year...

I know that March 31st != January 1st, but I figure that there is nothing special about the first of the year, goal-wise. In fact, spring seems like a much more appropriate time for goals than the depths of winter. In January, my list of goals looked something like this:

-Perfect down-blanket-and-pillow cocoon

-Finish watching all available episodes of "Good Eats" on You Tube

-Complete research project entitled "Interactions between conflicting cracks in the ceiling above my bed"

March, on the other hand, is when Michigan transitions from more than 12 hours of dark to more than 12 hours of light. The crocuses and daffodils are peeking out of the ground, and my goals turn to something slightly more ambitious than finding a service willing to deliver me cookies in bed. So here, in no particular order, are my goals for the year:

run/swim/bike a triathlon: I just learned to run this last year (as an aside: was anyone else aware that you had to learn to run? isn't that one of those bipedal things that should come naturally? apparently not) and I have transitioned from an initial, burning hatred of it to something bordering on enjoyment. Since my basic failure at bipedal locomotion was all that was standing between me and completing a triathlon, I should get my butt in gear and do it. The goal is a sprint triathlon. Bonus points for something longer.

take all of my (important) pills: I've been really good (read: less stupid) about this lately, but it bears repeating. Some pills are more important than others. I had a painful lesson recently in what happens when I don't take my pills. I will strive to be even less stupid this year than last year. I don't know how to quantify this--maybe Ross will have to award me an appropriate number of points.

take care of my back: Hyper-mobility of the lower back (aka "noodle spine") runs in my family. Last summer/fall I got it under control via a strict regime of core strengthening exercises, but this winter's blobification (it turns out that hibernation leaves remarkably little time for weight-bearing exercise) has left me basically back where I started. Since I do much better when I have a routine, my goal will be a core-strengthening session every morning before work. Hopefully, the routine will be enough to carry me through my final (!) Michigan winter. Goal is something (anything) every morning and a full set of reps at least once a week. Bonus points if I start doing a full set more than once a week.

bike a century: I've done this before, but this is really representative of a recommitment to cycling. My bike has been in bad shape, and without my usual goal of RAGBRAI, I rode less than 100 miles total last summer! Subgoals include: fix my bike (replace the cassette, rear dérailleur, chain, cables, tape), attend at least one race clinic, and start riding at least once a week. Options include One Helluva Ride, The Apple Cider Century, Evanston Century, or The Holland Hundred.

climb a 5.10: For the non-climbers in the audience, in the US, climbing routes are rated according to a universal (though basically subjective) system. Any route below a 5.0 is (supposedly) "walkable", but most people (myself included) would feel uncomfortable climbing a 4.x route without a rope. Almost all routes that I climb are a 5.x. I can currently "flash" (climb without falling) all 5.7 routes, and almost all 5.8 routes. I can climb all 5.9 routes (and flash some of them). Five months ago, I was starting to climb 5.10 routes (note that it isn't exactly a decimal...5.10>5.9) but hurt my shoulder. Goal is ability to climb most 5.10a and b routes (the rankings start subdividing into a/b/c around 5.10). Bonus points for climbing a 5.10c.

show my photos in a gallery in Ann Arbor: Currently, I'm showing at a coffee shop around the corner from me. I like the place, but it is probably doomed (I'll probably write about their often-hilarious business plan later). The goal is Sweetwaters Gallery, which is attached to the ritzy coffee shop in town. Bonus points for a gallery not attached to a coffee shop. Double bonus points if I actually sell something.

finish a second paper: I have 3 candidate papers in the works. The goal is to finish one this summer. Bonus points for finishing two. Unfortunately, I need at least one more paper to...

go on the job market: Not really so much a goal as a necessity.

get married: If I don't manage this one, then I am so screwed.