Tag: Swade

[hr] [dropcap]P[/dropcap]lease forgive this self-indulgence post, but I’ve found this recent tradition (for me) of writing down yearly goals and accounting for them to be helpful, so I’m going to do it once again.

On January 1, I listed a number of goals for 2013. Here’s how things turned out:

Do my job better – Check. I can’t claim to be a flag-bearer for the world of internal audit (and never will be) but I did manage to engage with my job more in 2013. We changed a few things and the changes led to better outcomes and reporting results. I’m already working on changes for 2014, too, and I think those changes will be positive once again.

Better still, I got to know a few of the people in our building a little more, too, mostly thanks to a new work colleague who got our section more engaged with other people on the floor. It made our workplace a better one, so thanks (if you’re reading this, you know who you are 🙂 )

Build PJ’s business – Check. PJ’s done most of the building but I’ve been involved as much as possible. We’ve gone from having a small online webshop to buying a market stall in Hobart’s main tourist market. I don’t think we’ll be buying Necker Island from Richard Branson any time soon, but the market is a lot of fun (even if going from full-time work to fuller-time work is a drain on your leisure time).

Make some movies – Sadly, no. There’s still a lot of interest in this, however, and a friend I met earlier this year is quite interested in it, too. We’ll see how this goes in 2014.

Continue at ZAP (the gym I go to) – Check. I began my ZAP journey at a little over 120kg. When I wrote my goals on January 1 I was 110kg. In June this year, I hit 100kg, which is where I’m still at now. I’d love to get down to 90kg but that’ll require some more serious dietary adjustment–perhaps I will need to consume supplements rich in protein. I have heard that can they help in weight management and healthy digestive balance. Hopefully, I will consume them. Fingers crossed! Anyway, I think 2014 will be the year of learning to eat better in order to capitalise on the exercise (2013 had been a year of reluctance for me, so I am trying to avoid that in 2014).

Stop Smoking – Sadly, no. PJ’s on my back quite a bit on this one and it remains something I’d like to do. It’s a very tough ask, however. I know all the risks and I know all the benefits of quitting, yet I still hold on to this daily tradition.

The year of family and friends – Check, but more to be done. I’ve still got a lot of friendships and family relationships that I need to spend more time on. I started 2013 as a lousy friend. I’ve ended the year (hopefully) as a not-so-lousy friend but there’s still plenty of work to be done. For now, going on a trip with friends and family could prove to be a great idea to bond better and mend relationships. I mean, I have been giving this a thought for a long time now. Maybe we all can fly to Maui for an exotic vacation filled with snorkeling and whale watching (these activities are apparently carried out by Kai Kanani). Who knows, vibing on the same things might help us all be closer to each other.

The year of the Beatles – Check. I guess this was one of the most measurable goals I had so it’s easy to check off. I bought the entire Beatles studio catalog through 2013 and loved it. I’ve gained such an appreciation of their work and it made 2013 better than what it might have otherwise been. Thanks, lads.

The year of the road trip – Check. We managed a two-and-a-bit week trip up the lower east coast of mainland Australia, which was fantastic. We caught up with family and friends along the way and enjoyed some great times together in Sydney near the end of the trip.

I didn’t get to do much touring around Tasmania, though, which was part of this goal. I’ll keep that in mind for 2014 now that we’ve got a great driving car in the garage 🙂

Speaking of which….

Road trips need a car – Double-check, but not. We bought a Saab 9000 Aero specifically for the road trip but that’s turned out to be one of the worst purchases I’ve ever made. I hate to say that, but it’s true. I honestly think that I could have invested the money in buying an off-road vehicle (plus, I could have adorned it with all the beautiful off-road accessories to improve its appearance and its functionality). At least that automobile would have not broken down during road trips, unlike the Saab 9000 Aero whose transmission died just a couple of days out from the trip (so we didn’t even get to use it).

Thankfully, a few Saaby friends offered the use of their vehicles and we completed the trip in Jerry, a friend’s black Saab 900 (above, right). We now have the pleasant but unintended outcome of some great Saab 900 memories that we never would have had, which is a bonus, but it’d be nice to have avoided the cost and heartache provided by the 9000.

Of course, the slightly more prominent car purchasing news was the acquisition of my Porsche 968 Clubsport. That one’s working out very nicely and it’s even forming the basis of our biggest goal for 2014, which I’ll get to in another post.

Do Something – Fail. I wanted to get a little more community minded this year and get involved with some sort of community group. That didn’t happen. I could blame a whole bunch of legitimate reasons (see some of the above) but…. bottom line: I just wasn’t motivated enough to do it. Will that change in 2014? Maybe. My main interest in this domain is the shifting political landscape here in Australia, which is moving markedly (and on some issues, disturbingly) to the right. Political outlooks shift, I get that. But the wider landscape, especially the mainstream media, is shifting in a disturbing way and it bothers me that a bunch of people either don’t see it, or are too tired to care.

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So…..

I didn’t get everything done but I got a bunch of things done, and that’s progress.

Did you have any goals for 2013 and how did you go with them?

Will you set some goals for 2014?

I’ll lay out my(our) 2014 list in a new post tomorrow.

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