the decade
Jan. 1st, 2010 01:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llcoolvadI'm trying to measure the past decade, overall, on the personal scale. It wasn't remarkable, but it also wasn't devastating. It fell somewhere in the middle.
Started January 1, 2000 with a sick kitty (Xing). Had just finished grad school in December, and was waiting to hear on a bunch of jobs I had applied for. I was living in a small apartment with my buddy Elaine across the hall. It was a jumping-off point in my life, for sure. Soon I would accept a teaching job, and a job at my current company, and work them concurrently. Xing would die in May and I would pick up two new kitties, Sam and Harry, in June to keep GreyKitty company.
Some of the positives: Over the decade I lived in four places. Took a few trips. Gained a lot of debt. Paid off a lot of debt. Gained a little weight. Lost a little weight — net loss, overall! Had a couple of surgeries. Had one car. Developed some new friendships. Read a lot of books. Watched a lot of television. Watched many movies. Kept an electronic journal. Kept a couple of blogs for five of those years. Had a couple of relationships, have one of them still.
Some of the negatives: In May 2000 Xing died. In January of 2004 Dad died after eight months of cancer treatment and recovery. Mom's three cats died in February and March of 2004. Mom had to move in May of 2004 (that was a particularly horrible year). September 2006 GreyKitty died. September 2007 Harry died. December 2009 Sam died. Friends lost loved ones. Friends got really really sick. We all know the world badness, with 9/11, Katrina, the tsunami, the depression, George Bush, etc.
But that defines most of life. Good and bad. Joy and despair. I have had a decent measure of joy to pull me out of the despair.
I guess in the next decade what I'd like is a little more forward momentum. From the age of 15-25 I managed to graduate from high school, go to college, work a bunch of jobs, learn how to drive, become independent, have several relationships. From 25-35 I managed to finish college, finish grad school, travel abroad, work a couple of jobs, and get a lot of living accomplished. From 35-45? I mostly marked time. Worked at the same job, drove the same car, hung out doing the same things. I need to get back a little of the momentum I used to have. This decade needs to be about progress. Maybe buy a house. Change jobs. Get a new car. Expand my activities. Be more creative. Have more (or at least bigger) life goals, and meet them.
By the end of the next decade I'll be 55. Past the halfway point by most measures. Must get this life on a more positive, active path.
Started January 1, 2000 with a sick kitty (Xing). Had just finished grad school in December, and was waiting to hear on a bunch of jobs I had applied for. I was living in a small apartment with my buddy Elaine across the hall. It was a jumping-off point in my life, for sure. Soon I would accept a teaching job, and a job at my current company, and work them concurrently. Xing would die in May and I would pick up two new kitties, Sam and Harry, in June to keep GreyKitty company.
Some of the positives: Over the decade I lived in four places. Took a few trips. Gained a lot of debt. Paid off a lot of debt. Gained a little weight. Lost a little weight — net loss, overall! Had a couple of surgeries. Had one car. Developed some new friendships. Read a lot of books. Watched a lot of television. Watched many movies. Kept an electronic journal. Kept a couple of blogs for five of those years. Had a couple of relationships, have one of them still.
Some of the negatives: In May 2000 Xing died. In January of 2004 Dad died after eight months of cancer treatment and recovery. Mom's three cats died in February and March of 2004. Mom had to move in May of 2004 (that was a particularly horrible year). September 2006 GreyKitty died. September 2007 Harry died. December 2009 Sam died. Friends lost loved ones. Friends got really really sick. We all know the world badness, with 9/11, Katrina, the tsunami, the depression, George Bush, etc.
But that defines most of life. Good and bad. Joy and despair. I have had a decent measure of joy to pull me out of the despair.
I guess in the next decade what I'd like is a little more forward momentum. From the age of 15-25 I managed to graduate from high school, go to college, work a bunch of jobs, learn how to drive, become independent, have several relationships. From 25-35 I managed to finish college, finish grad school, travel abroad, work a couple of jobs, and get a lot of living accomplished. From 35-45? I mostly marked time. Worked at the same job, drove the same car, hung out doing the same things. I need to get back a little of the momentum I used to have. This decade needs to be about progress. Maybe buy a house. Change jobs. Get a new car. Expand my activities. Be more creative. Have more (or at least bigger) life goals, and meet them.
By the end of the next decade I'll be 55. Past the halfway point by most measures. Must get this life on a more positive, active path.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-01 06:45 pm (UTC)1980 - 1990 - Get some college degrees, do lots of job hunting, make life-long friends, finally get full-time permanent work in my desired industry.
1990 - 2000 - Learn to play guitar, learn to ballroom dance, learn to play ultimate frisbee, become adequate at volleyball (a huge improvement from before), have lots of roommates, travel abroad, pay off my college loans, pay cash for an (old) car, buy a house.
2000-2010 - Get a good boyfriend, travel, remain gainfully employed, start earning more than first-year teachers in my city.
I also am in some ruts I'd like to get out of. It's good to have a house and a boyfriend, but I still need growth--growth that in the past often came in response to moving, having new roommates, and having new boyfriends. I've already placed a moratorium on ballroom dance lessons for 2010. It's not that there's not more I could learn, it's just that I don't like spending all my spare time taking dance lessons. I haven't yet decided what I'm doing instead. Two things that are already lined up are a class on installing solar panels and a class on beginning conversational Spanish.
In the next decade I am also paying off my house and retiring. Woo hoo!
Good luck with your new goals!