Priorities

Normally, I would make a huge deal about the whys and wherefores about the priorities I'm trying to set in my life because it's always easier to talk about what's important than it is to actually work things out that way.  I thought that, instead, I would try making a list of what ought/I want to be the things in my life that matter enough for me to be working on and systematically checking off as "done."  Plus, I need to start getting ready to go to work soon, so I don't have time to bore your socks off about the philosophical ramifications of being a man of principle.  So here goes.

First thing of importance to me is getting Bryan and Claire's wedding present together and having it ready for them before they get married in two weeks.  I'm notoriously bad about starting projects that I don't finish ("...he typed as he stared guiltily at the stack of half-made art lying like a dead pet in his closet...") and, for once in my life, I'm going to give myself a deadline and work a little bit every day so that I can hit it.  The wedding is April 2nd, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to have everything together and in working order by the end of the month.

Second, I am going to stay committed to my Celebrate Recovery stuff.  In similar fashion to the wedding present, I'm going to work a little bit every day at covering the material for the study and having it ready on time.  I'm not going to wait until I have a full day off to get it all done in one sitting and I'm not going to just let life beat me up between Thursdays.  I am going to work this stuff out if it kills me.

Third, I got a notice in the mail last week that I've been cleared to take my real estate license examination and I have until August 22 to do so.  I went through an online service provided by the brokerage I'm attached to and was given, shall we say, an abbreviated education sufficient to get me through the certification materials, but nothing in the ballpark of "extensive."  I have been assured, and am continuing to operate on good faith, that leasing apartments is nowhere near as complex as selling houses, so the need for me to retain all of the information covered by typical real estate license education classes is extremely diminished.  Thus, the monetary cost and time table difference between what I went through versus what people looking to get into home sales go through was significantly reduced, but I still feel unsure that I could pass the exam if I were to take it today.  I purchased materials to help prepare me, but up until now, I've been kinda dragging my feet about studying.  I don't exactly have a track record of studiousness, but I'm absolutely confident in my ability to appropriate information given in such clear formatting as the study materials I have in my possession.  There's no reason I can't spend three weeks or so covering the material and get to a place where I feel like I know enough to pass my licensing exam.  I am going to work steadily on this a little bit at a time until the wedding present is complete and then hit the thing with a full head of steam once I get over that hurdle.

Lastly, (I have more, but I still need to shower before work) I've been asked by my church to condense my life story down to a five minute video for use as part of a 25-year-anniversary celebration.  I'm not the most concise person in the world, so it feels a little overwhelming to try and whittle my life down to a five minute display.  I almost feel like an interpretive-dance montage would suit me better.  Regardless, it's something I've been asked to do, something I've committed to doing, and something I feel like could be useful  in the lives of other people.  I haven't really done anything solid on it yet (even though I was asked almost a month ago), so I feel kinda guilty for putting it off.  I need to start making time to work on it.  Like, this week.

That's it for now.  I've got more, but like I said, I gotta go get ready for work.  I guess my selfish desire is to be more motivated by actually stating, in clear language, what goals I want to work toward and how soon I want to accomplish them.  My desire for others is to challenge you to come up with your own goals and figure out whether what you're doing with all your time and money is putting you any closer to achieving them.  I know that, for me, it's easy to talk about all the things I'm gonna start doing later and really difficult to turn off my computer and go do them.

Ciao...