carnival of liberals

And one more fun carnival with interesting inclusions - the carnival of liberals where you can read my post credit cards vs personal responsibility.

soup to nuts progressive dinner

I entered a blog carnival that I thought had a great theme: it’s based around the idea of a progressive dinner. You start at one location for the first part, and then move on to the next location for the next part, and so forth (much like a pub crawl, but with food and no annoying frat boys).

This one is the Soup to Nuts Progressive Dinner, the brainchild of Kilroy at Fear and Loathing - The Gonzo Papers. Check out all the great submissions!

hors d’oeuvres & cocktails @ The Gonzo Papers

appetizers @ ChangeTherapy, where you can read my post just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn’t mean the circus has left town

first course @ Fallen Words, where you can read my post see it. film it. change it.

main course @ Anja Merrett

dessert @ Fiction Scribe, where you can read my post an ode to coffee (why mass consumerism will ruin us all)

and a special after-dinner treat, a drink reception @ The Lives and Times, where you can read my post genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger

Enjoy!

attainment of january goals (or not)

It’s the end of the month, so I should check in on my January (and yearly) goals.

For January:

1. Be able to climb 5.9s comfortably. I’m basically there. Not quite comfortable on them, but definitely reaching the comfort zone. I think by Sunday I’ll have succeeded on this one.

2. Start an emergency fund (more than just nominally). I actually put $500 in a savings account this month that is serving as an emergency fund right now. So, it’s still nominal. I’d say 50% on this one.  ETA:  I just added myself to friend’s gym membership, so now I’m saving $15/month.  Hopefully, one other person will join us in March, dropping me another $10/month.

3. Become a 6 am riser. This one I can’t quite tell. I’m not a 6 am riser, but I think I’m basically able to get up at 7 am. The problem is that I’ve been sick twice this month, and when I’m sick, I sleep. So, we’ll say 75% on this one, and we’ll see how it goes in February.

For 2008:

1. Take the lead class in February. Signed up and all set to go!

2. Pay down all my debt and start aggressively saving. I’m working my way to this. The plan is in place and I haven’t deviated too much from it.

3. Practice Level 3 yoga regularly. Yeah, so not happening any time soon. Unfortunately, I haven’t had as much time to make a yoga class.

4. Take a vacation. A real vacation. I booked my trip to Malaysia in March. Now to work out the details.

5. Finish classes and my thesis and graduate! I’m in the third term, with one more to go. I’ve made a plan for getting my thesis done, but I don’t yet have a topic.

6. Learn to manage anger properly. This will be the focus of my February daily habit.

7. Lose 10 lbs. Unintentionally, I’ve lost about 2 lbs this month. Not bad!