Happy Anniversary to me!

I wrote about it last year, and I'm writing about it again this year. Today is my two year anniversary at my current job.

Today is Saturday, but yesterday I brought in French Toast Bake in the Crockpot to celebrate. My boss was out of the office, and I wish he could have been there to partake. While there was a burnt edge that ended up in the trash, it was basically a hit.

Celebrating my anniversary at work seems a little nutty, but as I mentioned before, starting my current job in many ways signaled the end of a very difficult phase of my life.

And much like Christmas, this is a time of year that I remember how lucky I am. And with the current economy, it rings truer than ever. I have a reasonably secure job with decent pay, bonuses for performance and benefits.

And I work with people that I like. The management pays cares about morale. (Unlike my last job, where anything outside of our day to day work was frowned upon.) I got balloons on my birthday. We took time out to celebrate the end of the fiscal year. We have potlucks, and we have holiday parties. (Unfortunately, I missed this year's party.)

My boss listens to me. He tries to help me with my work-related problems, and is sympathetic to the challenges in my personal life. When I was in the hospital, nobody was asked me to see how soon I could be back at work. And when I returned, people asked me if I was ok. They didn't bitch about having to pick up my slack.

And at 5 p.m., I'm done. I get to live the rest of my life. No weekend assignments or late night meetings.

So I've been spending a lot of time bitching and moaning about work, but I really am lucky.

And two years ago, I couldn't say that. All I wanted in the world was a decent paying job with people I liked. I'd been basically unemployed for about six months (with the exception of a low-paying part time job.) My last job had driven me to (and maybe past) the breaking point. And I was living with my parents.

So while I'm thankful, I'm acknowledging that I'm way past the survival mode I was in two years ago. I have other ambitions.

Last night after work I met with some entrepreneurial-minded coworkers. We tossed around our ideas and dreams. And I realized one thing.

I need a business plan if I ever really want to achieve my dreams.

I've spent a lot of time tossing around ideas and dreaming, but I need to make something concrete. So far, I've been using the Underpants Gnomes Model of business.

(ETA - There's some naughty words in the Underpants Gnomes clip, if that kind of things bothers you. Probably NSFW.)

So for now, I have one New Year's Resolution.

By the end of February, I want to have a business plan in place. With some specific goals and deadlines.

Phase One - How do you write a business plan?

Ummm...I'll get back to you on that one.

101 Goals in 1,001 Days

I've always had a thing for self help books, challenges, systems, goal-setting and self improvement in general.

I think I've learned to take it all with a grain of salt, and use what I want and ignore the rest. For example, I do Flylady, but I don't shine my sink daily and I never wear my shoes indoors.

So now I'm on board for the 101 goals in 1,001 days project. I have all sorts of goals floating around my head anyway, and this seemed like a good way to do it. The way to achieve many of my dreams of self-employment and making a living at my craft are not well defined, so I have to define things for myself.

Here is a complete list of rules, and there are some other tips here. I will start a week from today so I'll have some time to plan, which means I'll have until February 21, 2011. I was a little overwhelmed writing the list. Now that I see the end date, not so much.

You'll notice my goals are somewhat lopsided, but maybe so am I. Measurable goals are important, so I threw out some of the more vague things. (Some of these will be better defined later.)

I will refer back to this entry regularly and make changes to it as I accomplish things. I'll link to it somewhere on the blog. In the meantime, I hope you'll consider joining me.

101 Goals in 1,001 Days

1. Get published in Knitty.
2. Design and swatch 20 sweaters. [0 of 20]
3. Knit 3 of the sweaters above. [0 of 3]
4. Enter Herrschners Grand National.
5. Do an energy audit of my apartment and make changes.
6. Go to Stitches West with a good amount of money to spend.
7. Declutter and organize my apartment. Click this link for pictures.
8. Get all my (crap) things out of storage and put them away in my apartment. After I finished this, I moved in with my parents and put it all back in storage. :(
9. Help Mom clean out the shed and have a garage sale. Completed November 2009
10. Sell some of the stuff in storage on eBay. Completed Summer 2010. I sold stuff like this.
11. Redecorate and rearrange my apartment.
12. Sell some of my My Little Ponies and put the remaining ponies on display.
13. Catalog my yarn on Ravelry. Completed in late 2010
14. "Pimp my blog" and have a fabulous contest to promote it.
15. Join the Knitting Guild of America and the Crochet Guild of America.
16. Become a level one Master Knitter.
17. Becomes a Certified Knitting Instructor.
18. Spin 10 skeins of yarn to sell. [0 of 10]
19. Knit all of Cat Bordhi's Socks
20. Knit an entrelac project. Completed 2/6/09
21. Knit a stranded knitting/fair isle/colorwork project. (What ever you want to call it.) Completed 8/18/08
22. Publish 10 free patterns in PDF form on Ravelry. [1 of 10]
23. Publish 5 paid patterns for download and in hard copies.
24. Pay off my credit cards.
25. Enter at least two pairs of socks in Think Outside the Sox. [0 of 2]
26. Be more productive at work.*
27. Educate myself more for work.*
28. Knit a mosaic knitting project.
29. Knit a modular knitting project.
30. Hold a board game night at my apartment with all my friends. Completed 11/20/10
31. Work on a project(s) to fight for mental health care and/or universal health care.
32. Campaign against Rick Perry in 2010. Completed 11/2/10
33. Try acupuncture.
34. Learn to say my own last name properly.**
35. Buy a halfway decent futon or couch.
36. Dye 50 hanks of yarn to sell. [0 of 50]
37. Do a freeform knit and/or crochet project.
38. Decoupage my bedside table.
39. Come up with 1,001 pattern ideas. [40 of 1,001]***
40. Ask my doctor for an Emergency Contraception prescription. Completed 7/15/08
41. Research and decide if I should get an HPV Vaccine, and get one if I decide I should. Long story short, I'm too old.
42. Teach a child/teenager to knit or crochet.
43. Make a list of 50 small things I've been procrastinating on and do them. (ETA 3/22/09 - The list is here.)
44. Learn to be a better photographer.
45. Save a set amount for an emergency fund.
46. Save a set amount for a new car.****
47. Learn to read crochet charts.
48. Go to the Texas State Fair
49. Make an informed choice at the next city election.
50. Get a proper fitting and bra at Petticoat Fair like everyone keeps saying I should.
51. Brush twice a day, floss daily and use flouride treatment daily for 30 days straight. [0 of 30]
52. Make some candles out of all that candle gel I bought on eBay.*****
53. Make crafts out of all those glass Christmas balls I got on sale.
54. Learn to use that sewing machine I found on Freecycle and make a simple dress.
55. Finally knit Morrigan.
56. Figure out the copyright rules for knitting and crochet well enough to write a decent blog entry on it.
57. Buy and learn to use a spinning wheel. Completed 2008-2009
58. Buy and learn to use a drum carder.
59. Knit something that requires steeking.
60. Sew a zipper in a sweater.
61. Do a project in Tunisian crochet.
62. Knit the Susie Hoodie from More Big Girl Knits.
63. Take a self defense class.
64. Make some crazy out of recycled materials.
65. Make something with "dangerous tools."******
66. Learn basic car maintenance.
67. Learn to do a cartwheel.*******
68. Become a volunteer editor on Ravelry. Completed
69. Crochet a sweater.
70. Make and carry a reusable bag so I can cut down on plastic.
71. Find a creative way to display photos at my desk at work.
72. Clicker train Bunny Foo-Foo to come when she is called.
73. Learn to sketch out my designs so they don't look like a two year-old drew them.
74. Make a curtain out of those used gift cards I've been saving.
75. Make or buy a decent blocking board.
76. Crochet a doily.
77. Swatch 50 different yarns. [0 of 50]
78. Open a shop on Cafe Press.
79. Post 25 items for sale at my Etsy shop. [0 of 25]
80. Find at least one advertiser for my blog.
81. Buy a washer and dryer.
82. Find 5 way to be consistently happier. [0 of 5]
83. Go on a long road trip with Jules.
84. Read and preserve the letters my my grandfather sent to my grandmother during WW II.
85. Pick 5 essential feminist and/or political books and read them. [0 of 5]
86. Knit a Baby Surprise Jacket.
87. Knit with "art yarn."
88. Volunteer at a local reproductive clinic.
89. Donate $50 to a charity.
90. Learn to play chess.
91. Perform 20 random acts of kindness. [6 of 20]
92. Think of of 10 good comebacks to have on hand. [0 of 10]
93. Find a drum circle to join locally.
94. Weave a project.
95. Spin enough yarn for a sweater and knit the sweater.
96. Sew a quilt.********
97. Make my own soap.
98. Take Light Rail five times in place of driving my car. [0 of 5]
99. Create a kit and see if I can sell it.
100. Have a big bash for my 30th birthday.
101. Keep a log of my moods for 90 days.

Let's go!

*I'm being purposely vague about my work related goals because I prefer not to get too specific about my job online.
**I can't roll my r's
***Just ideas. I don't have to swatch. (Read this to see why I want to do this.)
****I'm perfectly happy with the one I have, but it won't last forever.
*****You know that greasy looking box in storage? Candle gel.
******Something involving saws, hammers, power tools, etc.
*******This has been a goal of mine since elementary school.
********A small quilt is ok.

Crap!

I did it again. After spending my Saturday sorting my stuff out at the storage unit, eating dinner with my parents and catching up on things, I left my knitting bag at my family's house in South Austin.

This is the knitting bag that has pretty much all of my current projects.

D'oh!

I guess I'll be spinning until I head south Monday for The Knitting Nest.


In other news...
... my tax refund came in today. Naturally, I was thrilled because this means I can go to the dentist and have the last of my cavities filled. (Wait a minute...)

I've been thinking about my finances and goals a lot recently. I'm enjoying The Simple Dollar. I'm contemplating the piece on how much money it takes to "walk away from it all." At the very least, I want to someday have "cold career change" money.

Also, this article from The Consumerist finally helped me understand the whole rice rationing thing. It's all about restaurants. (BTW - I am one of those people who is eating out less.)

The Return of Poncho Pig

I just went on a book binge. Fortunately, the books are free.

I just discovered the Little Walnut Creek library branch is open again. This is the library branch closest to my apartment, but it was closed when I moved in. While Jules was here, we drove by and I thought I saw people and cars there. Today after work I stopped there. It's good to have one close by again.

They had a few good knitting books, including Knitting the Old Way and a book about building spinning wheels I found with the woodworking section. I decided to wait and check those out another time. I doubt I'll be able to read more than I can carry before they are due.

My family has been using the Austin Public Library system for literally as long as I can remember. The Manchaca Road Branch was the one we visited most often growing up. It has been closed for renovations for more than a year now. I hope Mom and Dad get their library back soon. (They've been going to other branches, but I know they miss the Manchaca Road Branch.)

You'll notice I only checked out one knitting book, and the rest are about cleaning and money. I'm trying to move forward some more with my goals. Poncho Pig is back in business. In fact, when I shook him I discovered there was actually a little change in him already. I'm adding to it as I find it lying around. I've been picking up pennies my entire life, but usually they end up at the bottom of purse, on the floor of my car, etc. Now I'm trying to get it all in one place.

I'm looking back at the goals I set a couple of months ago. In the past few days, I got back on FlyLady. However, for now cleaning will work against my goal of being greener. Once I get things more under control, I'll make more of an effort to recycle. For I just need to "fling" things.

I've thought up some creative strategies for saving money and budgeting, and made a little progress in saving. At least Poncho Pig is back to work.

Also, I'm still swatching (although I missed last week because Jules was here), and I can honestly say I can spin. I have an idea for Knitty in the works, and I've knit a couple of Christmas gifts for next year.

I think I'll keep making progress as long as I listen to Dory:

Happy Anniversary and Happy New Year

I didn't have a chance to blog about it yesterday, but January 31, 2008 was a very special day. It was my anniversary. Not a romantic anniversary. It was the one year anniversary of the day I started my current job.

One year working at a call center may not seem like something to celebrate, especially for someone with a degree in journalism. But it means a lot more to me than more vacation days and a retention bonus (although those are nice, too.) In 2006, I had serious health problems, I lost my job and had to move back in with my parents. Getting this job put me on the road to turning things around.

The date sticks in my head because I had to wait for the next training class before I could begin. So for a week, I kept telling everyone "I got a job. It starts on January 31."

I celebrated by bringing in mini bagels and cream cheese for my team. My boss shook my hand when I told him. He said I was his first hire after he moved up to manager. Then he sent to the team letting everyone on the team know that I had brought "beagles" to celebrate my anniversary. (Which prompted someone else to message back asking if they were pure bred.) We had a good laugh.

I know it's February, but I'm finally ready to post my New Year's Resolutions. There are a lot of them. I'm going to take a few at a time. Even though we are a month into the year, I think my anniversary is still a good time to get a fresh start.

(Jules just reminded me that it's almost the Chinese New Year, so I'm not too far off track.)

Non-Knitting Resolutions

1. Clean up my apartment, which I will do by getting back with the FlyLady program. I don't follow all of her ideas. (I don't "shine my sink" everyday.) But I like the 15 minutes a day, and I plan to start a better before-bed routine. (Not so much the morning routine. In the morning, I'm lucky to leave the house with pants on, much less get in some light housecleaning.)

2. I want to be greener. I want to start by making Everlasting Bagstopper and cutting down on plastic bags. I also want to make more of an effort to recycle paper.

3. I want to have $1,000 in my savings account on January 1, 2009. (This is after Christmas.)

4. Take a more active role in maintaining my car. (My Dad still takes the lead on car stuff.)

5. Brush twice a day, floss every day, use the Fluoride stuff my dentist recommended, get my regular dental check ups (just had one this past week) and get those other cavities filled as soon as my dental insurance rolls over.

6. Try to eat a little better and exercise a bit. (However, my dieting days are still over for good.)

7. Spend more quality time actively playing with the bunny, not just letting her roam around the house.

Knitting Related Resolutions

1. Organize my knitting stuff. Put all my yarn on Ravelry, organize needles and notions and keep all my needed supplies in my knitting bag(s).

2. 2008 will be the year I get into Knitty. I need to set regular submission goals. I also want to start self-publishing and doing a better job of writing down my ideas.

3. Learn to spin and play around with weaving and dyeing. (And get out that sewing machine I got on Freecycle.)

4. Learn new techniques. Do a project that's stranded (fair isle, whatever you want to call it,) a lace project in lace weight yarn, an entrelac project, a mosaic knitting project and a modular knitting project.

5. I've already talked about swatching every Sunday.

6. Do more stuff for Etsy and craft shows.

7. Work on the blog more. I'm doing a good job with posting nearly daily, and I'm almost caught up from the holidays. But I mainly need to revamp the layout and do other housekeeping stuff.

8. Speaking of the holidays, I want to stay on top of Christmas gifts. The Year Long Gift-A-Long should help with this.

9.Complete (or at least start) level one of the Master Knitting Program.

10. Start on my book idea. (Top secret for now.)

That's a lot to work on, and it may not all happen this year. But I plan to work on breaking it up into manageable chunks.

It's good to have goals. :)