Albert Einstein said, “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” I don’t intent to be a judge of Truth and Knowledge, but I do intend to become a better pupil of Truth and Knowledge.
Focus
All those little roads in my head sometimes become traffic-jammed because my curiosity is sparked very easily. When this happens, my valuable thoughts do not have room to roam. My brain becomes grid-locked and I end up creating nothing of value. For instance, my wife tells me she wants a Bohemian necklace and I spend hours researching Bohemianism. Then I end up with a bunch of useless knowledge and I still have no clue what kind of necklace she wants. This year only those thoughts that have value will receive the right of way. I will do whatever it takes to keep those “Bohemian” cars off of the mind roads.
Language
Everybody wants to learn another language, but we never take the necessary steps. Over my short lifetime I’ve studied Navajo, Spanish, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Hebrew. At the time I was learning those languages it was required (not to mention I had tons of other things to study for). Now that I have a little more time on my hands I want to become proficient in Ancient Greek. I’ve also been studying a modern language early in the morning. I will let you know what language that is if I become moderately skilled at speaking it.
Meditation
What good is knowledge if you don’t track and review it? Meditation is my tool for revisiting those truths that have caught my attention. My journals become the tracking tool for those thoughts. I’ve also found that mediation helps me verbalize my thoughts to others in a slightly understandable manner. I’m going to make much more use of mediation this year. The main result should be a greater sense of clarity for me and for others.
The gist of all this rambling is that I NEVER want to stop learning. I’m going to have a disciplined system for learning this year.
NOTE: This post is Part 6 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
The Navajo Rez has never been known as an incubation chamber for great writers (come to think of it, the Rez has never been an incubation chamber for “great” anything). English and Grammar were non-existent through my K-12 years. Given my history there should be no reason for me to enjoy writing. But one day, in Gump-like fashion, I decided to start writing. I realize that I will never be a great writer and I realize that I have a history of poor grammar skills. But we all have to start somewhere, and this year I’m focused on three main areas to improve my writing.
Blog
You may have already noticed consistent blog updates. My goals is to systematically update the blog each week. The content categories will remain the same and the postings will be more frequent.
Journals
One of my favorite things in the world is to sit in a coffee shop with a Pilot V-Ball Grip Extra Fine Pen while arranging words in a journal. Rachel deserves all the credit for introducing me to the joys of journaling. I have a personal journal, a ministry journal, a marriage journal, and journals for both the boys. The thing I love most about pen and paper is that it forces me to choose my words carefully. I’ve committed to one journal entry per week.
People
I would like to share the humor of my grammatical blunders with people that I care about. Most of the time I do this through hand-written cards. Other times I write personal letters. John Adams has become my inspiration for lifelong personal correspondence.
I’m optimistic that these avenues of repeated scribbles will improve my writing and perhaps earn me the title of “writer” someday. You are always encouraged to leave feedback and corrections to anything I write!
NOTE: This post is Part 5 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
Free Time
I LOVE my family. My family values time, rather than money or luxury. So I decided to give them the gift of time! This is a huge step for me because I enjoy using my time to help people. The downside is that when you help people for free you end up having more people make demands on your time. This year I put a stop to it. From here on out my family alone gets my time for free!
Table Diversions
We’ve been doing well at this goal so far. I used to fancy myself an expert board game player, but Rachel has beat me at everything except Chutes and Ladders. My slight of hand doesn’t go over well with her and I often end up having to play by the rules. Qade and I sometimes play cars on the coffee table while Myles looks forward to the day he gets to scratch up furniture too. Other times Qade and I walk on the coffee table in order to amuse the other household residents.
Hiking
As kids Rachel and I hiked all over creation. From the beginning of our relationship Rachel and I have loved hiking. We got to know each other on hikes. We were engaged on a hike. But volunteering for two organizations, trying to make a living, and having two kids ended up relegating hiking to the past. Until now. I no longer volunteer hours upon hours and I’m currently underemployed. So we will take advantage of the free time and enjoy the great outdoors. The positive in taking the kids is that a carrier and backpack provide us with automatic conditioning for a future Grand Canyon hike!
Weekly Design
Every Monday we sit down and go through our schedules. We design the perfect week. We decide when to go for family walks, what to do during the evening, and how to avoid packing out our schedule with things that do not relate to our family goals. We also go over our finances every month to make sure we are not spending our limited income. Sometimes I give input into the meal calendar. I know it seems very business-like, but I look at it as a creative process. Over time we will come up with better ideas for family activities. Our Weekly Design has kept me focused on the most important people in my life—my family.
NOTE: This post is Part 4 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
My resolutions for creativity are strictly personal. I’m not creating “art for art’s sake” or for anybody else. I’m creating art for my sake. I find grand satisfaction in creating something that I can accept.
Music
Since I’m mostly unemployed I’ve been working on piano and guitar. Piano is always handy when we are visiting small, rural churches. I’m working on some popular music this year too (which I might detail another time). From Junior High on, Classical music has been one of my favorite genres. It will probably take a lifetime to learn Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor, but I’m might as well start now. As for guitar, I’m a Camp Program Guy. Guitar is a prerequisite in that business. Plus there are few ways of unwinding like sitting around plunking on steel strings.
Graphic Design
I’ve always had an eye for good design, but my start as a Graphic Design Major gave me a life-long desire to create appealing designs. This year I would like to focus on personal branding and start with my website. A website design will force me to learn CSS (which is one of my goals for 2009). I would also like to shy away from design trends and experiment with some unique ideas.
Photography
This recent amusement is something I want to improve. My goal is to take a large volume of photos this year. As I take more photos I will begin to find my style. Post processing will be key this year. I will learn to pick the best photo and get rid of the rest. Forcing myself to do post processing will also make me aware of my compositions as I’m creating them. Something I will carry over from last year is to have fun with the Nikon!
NOTE: This post is Part 3 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
Bag O’ Books
I LOVE reading. We don’t have a TV so we spend generous amounts of time interacting with words. So far I’m on my way to cranking through my book list.
Bible Reading
I love the Daily Reading Bible plan from the ESV website . This specific plan takes you through the Old Testament in a year. Most plans do that. The thing I like most about the plan is that it takes me through Psalms and the New Testament twice a year. The daily reading is automatically delivered through RSS feeds straight into Apple Mail . On days when a new book is assigned I launch Logos Mac and read several commentaries on that book. Early morning with a cuppa tea is the optimum time to read The Word.
Blog Reading
I’m cutting back in this realm. Catching up on RSS feeds will be done in free time or during public school babysitting (subbing). I will still stick with my faves: ZenHabits , Beyond Relevance , Usability Post , Apple Ars , Feed My App , and OpenCongress .
Here’s to another fabulous year without TV (minus the occasional episodes of 24 on Hulu ).
NOTE: This post is Part 2 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
No New Year would be complete without the traditional exercise and food resolutions.
Weight Lifting
I’ve been trying to lift weights around 6am. Right now I am working towards consistency. When I’m pumping iron regularly I will start strengthening my waiflike arms.
Running
My goal is to run two miles at least twice a week. I’ve found the best time to run is around 6:30am. The freezing cold helps me keep pace rather than lolly-gagging around. When my time gets better I will increase the days and the mileage.
Water(ing)
We all need more water. This year I’m carrying around my handy-dandy Sigg Water Bottle more often. Drinking generous amounts of water when I get up helps put me in the water mindset the rest of the day.
Eating
This is the area I need the most help. Because I’ve never struggled with gaining weight I eat what I want, when I want it. This year I’m trying to eat more fruits and veggies and I’m backing off meat. Taking my supplements on a daily basis is never a bad thing either.
Sleeping
I’ve always skimped on sleep. Since getting out of college this area has improved, but I still want to do better this year. Cutting back on my work hours has added immediate zzzz’s to my daily schedule. An occasional power nap in the afternoon has boosted my brain power (usually when I’m subbing a class and I crash on the desk). I now tend to perform tasks quickly and my creative juices flow freely.
Thankfully I didn’t set up super-human expectations this year. I’m hale and hearty so far. The goal is to try out each resolution for 30 days. After 30 days I evaluate my progress (recorded at Gyminee.com). I add things, subtract things, and decide whether or not to renew my 30 day trial.
NOTE: This post is Part 1 of a series on my 30 Day Trial New Years Resolutions.
I’m not big into TV trials, but I decided to try out something that tons of people were talking about the first week of January—New Years Resolutions. I’ve never bought into the whole New Years Resolutions hoopla, but thought I’d at least give it a try this year. No obligation, just a trial. So far I’ve been doing well at my risk-free, no money down, 30 day trial 2009 New Years Resolutions. It all started when I began reviewing my goals from one year to life. It has been a delightful experience examining the nucleus on my calling in life. It also helped me make a crucial decision regarding my work hours (I’ll blog about that latter). After reviewing my goals I came up with several different categories for my resolutions. Here they are:
Over the next week I will be posting details under each category. Why do you care about my resolutions? Maybe you don’t care, but it will help provide some accountability for me knowing that the world wide web is watching. Please take some time to read each resolution as I post it and leave a comment of encouragement, criticism, or a challenge. With your help I can extend my 30 day trial for one complete year!
I was doing some end-of-the-year blog cleanup and updates today. I stumbled across my stats for this year. Thankfully I picked up one reader. My Mom and my wife are no longer my only faithful readers. I’ve added my Sister! Anyway, the statistics were no surprise. Most of the posts were my favorites too.
If you are not related to me and you’ve been visiting the blog—THANKS! I appreciate your readership and I would also appreciate any feedback you might have for improvement. If you are related to me you will always be loved (even if you don’t visit theNogblog). Peace out!
I had the happiest of Happy Birthdays this year. So much happiness that it will probably last until my next Birthday. I received a few Facebook Birthday Wishes (thanks friends). The Birthday cards from my family made me feel warm and fuzzy. The presents are always welcome. The highlight of my Birthday was a voicemail song from what sounded like a certifiable aboriginal Clemsonite possessing a Schizoaffective disorder while speaking with an Austro-Bavarian accent in a 20ft. x 25ft. rathskeller. After deciphering that last sentence please decipher the lyrics of the song for me and leave them in the comments.
[audio:http://theNogblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/happybirthday2008.mp3]
Christmas Day was swell for me. We woke up late, had breakfast, and took our time opening presents. It was fun to watch Qade tear off wrapping paper and it was cool to see Myles laugh at us all. To be honest, I love GETTING presents just as much as I love giving them (okay, maybe more than giving). My parents gave me a Ryobi Power Tool Set. I felt that made up for all the Birthdays/Christmases past where my presents were split between the two. Thanks Mom and Dad. I recieved some sweet EyeClops night vision goggles from my Mother-in-Law. Some people call it a toy, but I call it a highly advanced form of military technology. My Father-in-Law gave me (and Qade) a set of R/C trucks. I’ve already found that they are perfect for terrorizing the cat. My favorite gift from Rachel was some loose tea which I am steeping as I write this post. Qade and Myles let me play with their toys too! We had a wonderful Christmas and I already cannot wait until next year!
