The Sum of Two Years

It's 2014 and two years have pretty much past since I've last updated. Does anyone even look at this blog anymore?

That is not to say that I haven't been blogging in some form or another. I've added and deleted some posts during these two years.

Now, it's back to the basics and I mean basic, basic. I decided to go back to writing on this particular blog because I like going back and reading the stuff I wrote in the past.

One thing I think will be different going forward is that I will make an attempt to simplify. In blogs past, I concentrated so much on the go, go, go! do, do, do! that the fun of 'doing' became a bit lost.

So this will be the chronicles of the long term goals, like I did with my MSA. I have no problem, apparently, with the goals that take a few months or a few days (although, I'll write about them too). The long term...one or more year*s* is a whole bunch of frustration and aggravation that no longer makes me want to do it:

1. Pass my CPA exam:

     2014 was a year of trying and failing. I am having a really hard time coming in terms with the fact that the CPA exam is not just a final exam cram like in college. "Yeah, I'm thinking I could complete by the end of the year or so" is what I was saying at the beginning. Now, I am laughing at that thought. I am now guessing it will take me well into 2016.

     I repeat. This is not like in college. The challenge in this goal is not just the study material I'll be learning but in *how* I apply myself to study and learn.

    The question, then, is 'why?'. Even when I tried (and failed) the exams this year, I was learning and I was being challenged. That is reason enough. I just can't let my failures get the best of me.

2. Just Keep Running

    There's a pattern in my activities. I get interested, then I lose interest, and move onto the next.
   
    I flitter around from hobby to sport to activity. Hiking, geocaching, backpacking, rock climbing, baking, sign language, yoga, writing, running, biking, swimming... Sometimes, it would last a month, sometimes I'm all hardcore at it for years and suddenly stop.

    I imagine that I'll keep doing this for years to come. New hobbies come and go. Lately, though, I feel that I now have too much that I could do. I *could* do all this stuff, get overwhelmed with choices, and end up doing absolutely nothing on my weekends.

   I need a constant. I've been running on and off for four years now and I did stop training this year. I've learned to regret that decision. Running is good for me, I can do it anytime, and my other activities can be about cross training.

3. Succeed at Nanowritmo in 2015

   Writing is one of those things I love to hate. I either jump all in with a 50,000 word novel in a month (with a plot) which fizzles after about a week or I sit at a computer with a blank screen and nothing to show for it. I hate it. Yet, I keep trying.
  
    Practice is the key. Work on the little stuff first and work myself up to a novel (with plot!). This is the main reason why I'm writing on this blog right now. I've dabbled before and maybe it's time to start getting serious.

   The goal is not just a novel; it's getting into the practice. Write a poem, write a scene, write a blog, just write...something.

   And reading will be just as important. These days, the books I read are nonfiction or unedited online stuff (aka fanfic). It's time to get back into reading novels so I can get an idea as to what works and what doesn't. What makes me not want to put a book down.

Finally, 4. Pay off my mortgage

   I've read a lot of blogs, books, and listened to a lot of podcasts on financial topics over the years. Hell, finance is my job. Lately, I've gotten into Dave Ramsey's books and I agree with a lot of he says: debt is bad, it takes work to get your finances in order, and so forth.

   Paying the mortgage will take the longest of all my goals (~25 years). It would be amazing though to get that debt paid early, to look at this place I consider home and say 'this is 100% mine'.

   Before I even consider prepayments on the mortgage, I have to get other savings in line. I need to up my emergency fund, I need to consider other long term savings (vacations, car, home-improvement projects). I need to invest.
  


There it is. Four goals. Four challenging, frustrating, time-consuming goals.

Wow, I wrote more than I expected.