january goals wrap-up January 31, 2009
Posted by deepali in goals.2 comments
1. Declutter my office. I got rid of some books, and some other items. There are some things I need to throw away, and I’m just not ready to do that.
2. Get rid of the bookcase and one dresser (and maybe the desk). I’m bumping this to the end of February. I am hoping to spend this weekend and next on getting rid of some smaller items to reduce the clutter.
3. Take care of medical issues. Most dental stuff is done, except for one more appointment. I still have to get my vaccines taken care of, but I was able to make an appointment. Eye appointments are done, and contacts ordered. I’m still trying to decide if I want new glasses.
4. Clear out small work tasks. Done. Now onto the big stuff.
5. Take 1-2 dance classes a week. After I healed from my wisdom teeth extraction, I did manage to make 2-4 classes a week.
6. Run 1-2 times a week. Absolutely not.
7. Take a yoga class every day. I made 12 classes this month. If you knock 14 days out for the wisdom teeth healing, that’s not too bad.
8. Get my visa for Mongolia. It’s being taken care of, apparently.
9. Clean up masters thesis manuscript. Nope.
10. Meditate everyday. Very off and on.
january goals week 4 check-in January 31, 2009
Posted by deepali in goals.1 comment so far
1. Declutter my office. I donated some books for the sale.
2. Get rid of the bookcase and one dresser (and maybe the desk). This is happening next month. 
3. Take care of medical issues. Got my eye appointment done, and contacts ordered. Also got more dental work done, and the rest maybe next week.
4. Clear out small work tasks. Done!
5. Take 1-2 dance classes a week. I took two classes on Tuesday, and will be taking two classes today.
6. Run 1-2 times a week. Nope, no running this week.
7. Take a yoga class every day. Took a class on Monday, but dropped the ball on Wednesday. I hope to take a class today.
8. Get my visa for Mongolia. Emailed my affiliate for an update on this.
9. Clean up masters thesis manuscript. I think this will be something I can focus on the second week in February.
10. Meditate everyday. Went to class on Monday, but my daily meditation practice is very off and on.
entropy January 29, 2009
Posted by deepali in declutter, misc.1 comment so far
It’s going to be a bit quiet around here lately, as most of my “expression” will be in real life. I’m trying to get rid of things, and really feeling the entropy of stuff. It’s hard to motivate to clean.
Of course, there are about 30 other things I need to do as well. I suspect I’m paralyzed by the length of my to-do list, and so nothing is getting done. I find in times like these, it helps to just say this out loud. That I am overwhelmed and I don’t know where to start. And that it doesn’t matter – as long as I start. So here’s to getting things done!
In other news – I have set up a blog for my upcoming move to Mongolia. I’ll still be posting here about regular life stuff, but that blog will be more about life in Mongolia, and my research.
shameless January 28, 2009
Posted by deepali in misc.add a comment
JD is shamelessly self-promoting himself. I can get behind that! Go pay a visit.
reflection January 27, 2009
Posted by deepali in Blogroll, misc.4 comments
Dr S recently posted about a financial regret that made me reflect on some of my older posts. Thought I’d share a few gems here:
always do what you are afraid to do
until i met a man who had no feet
Enjoy!
revisiting the 10 year plan January 25, 2009
Posted by deepali in goals.6 comments
Earlier this year, I mentioned my 10 year plan. Then I revised it. I think it’s something worth looking at every 6 months or so, so I’m going to add a page on it. But here are the plans.
1. Hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. I haven’t figured out when this will fit.
2. Get a PhD. I can’t decide if this is what I want to do.
3. Get published. I’m really trying to work on this this year.
4. Take a crazy climbing trip. I think this will take a while.
5. Get certified in yoga teacher training. I am eyeing this for next year.
6. Go to Mongolia on a Fulbright. Going in about 40 days.
7. Visit China (particularly the Great Wall). Ideally, I’ll be able to do this after Mongolia.
8. Take a ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The plan is summer of 2010.
9. Work at the Google Foundation. I’m not sure about this one anymore. There are so many interesting places out there. Eventually though, I’d like to end up at a foundation.
10. Be out of debt and well into savings. Done and done, though the savings will go down a bit this year and next.
11. Go to the south pole. Maybe 2011?
january goals week 3 check-in January 24, 2009
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My January goals include:
1. Declutter my office. I took some donation items in, and got rid of a box of CDs and DVDs. I will take more items to the used items sale at work next week.
2. Get rid of the bookcase and one dresser (and maybe the desk). My roommate is taking the bookcase. The dresser will have to wait, as I’ve decided clothes will be last.
3. Take care of medical issues. Got the all-clear on activity after wisdom teeth surgery. Called the clinic about rabies vaccine and will be paying $280/pop. Riiiight. Will call around for more reasonably priced options. Next week is eye appointment (routine plus contacts), and more teeth work!
4. Clear out small work tasks. I think I might be done with this! Got an intern to help with some small things, now to focus on the bigger items!
5. Take 1-2 dance classes a week. I am going to try to make a couple classes today (belly dance and modern).
6. Run 1-2 times a week. Oh, so not doing well with this. So not wanting to run. So going to regret this later.
7. Take a yoga class every day. Did a 4 hour session Monday, which was awesome. Now to get back into the swing. I might try a class this afternoon.
8. Get my visa for Mongolia. Waiting to hear from my affiliate about this.
9. Clean up masters thesis manuscript. Sigh. Everytime I sit down for this, something else comes up.
10. Meditate everyday. Missed class this week, and have been meditating off and on.
Week 4 will be focused on: getting a flight (which I’ve been trying to do for 2 weeks), clearing out little items at home (will probably pile them up and get people to come by and get them), and cleaning up my masters thesis (which is another thing I’ve been talking about for 2 weeks). I’d also like to get more info on vaccine cost. Am also expecting to get into dance classes and yoga this week.
why saving should have a purpose January 23, 2009
Posted by deepali in budget.1 comment so far
The nice thing about being in debt is that you have a tangible, clear reason for your scrimping and saving. You have measurable progress towards an absolute – $0 debt. Getting out of debt was easy for me.
Saving on the other hand is trickier. It’s easy to say I’m putting X number of dollars (or percent) into my savings account every month (or paycheck). But it’s also just as easy to pull that money out. It’s also easy to overspend in your budget and justify it with the nice chunk of change in the savings account.
So how do you get around it? Dave Ramsay talks about having an emergency fund. In other words, your savings account should include X amount of dollars for “emergencies” (which are quite rigidly defined). Suze Orman talks about a 6-month savings fund, which should be the equivalent of six months of living expenses.
Others have “freedom funds” and “go to hell funds” – a chunk of change they’ve estimated means the difference between the daily drudgery and paradise.
But what if you have no idea what you are saving for? That is when I discover that I can blow through my month’s budget in a week, and end up pulling from savings. Or maybe I can justify the $300 spa treatment, because hey, my savings account looks great.
So savings should have a purpose, with a definable goal. I don’t think it’s enough to just say I’m saving X% of my paycheck. You should also know what you are saving for – the e-fund, the go to hell fund, the trip around the world, a new computer. And unless these goals are well defined, you should not just pull money out of savings for the fun of it.
rebirth of a nation January 20, 2009
Posted by deepali in news.11 comments
Today was quite the day.
I spent 6 hours in the cold with 2 million of my closest friends.
To watch history in the making.
In the immortal words of President Barack Hussein Obama:
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
Our new president has tasked us with recreating ourselves and our lives, for the betterment of all. I hope we can live up to our dreams.
january goals week 2 check-in January 17, 2009
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My January goals include:
1. Declutter my office. I didn’t get much done here, but I just found out we are having a sale of gently used items at work, so score! Now to put things in boxes and drop off.
2. Get rid of the bookcase and one dresser (and maybe the desk). Still have everything. I am spending much of this weekend cleaning (hopefully).
3. Take care of medical issues. So my wisdom teeth extraction surgery turned into dry socket and an infection. I got a dressing put on, and next week have to get it replaced. I did find a place that will give me the rabies vaccine, but I have to figure out the pricing.
4. Clear out small work tasks. Big tasks taken care of, as well as a few smaller ones.
5. Take 1-2 dance classes a week. No dance classes allowed yet. 
6. Run 1-2 times a week. No running either!
7. Take a yoga class every day. No yoga but I am going to take a class today.
8. Get my visa for Mongolia. In the hands of my affiliate now.
9. Clean up masters thesis manuscript. Nope.
10. Meditate everyday. Missed class this week, and have been meditating off and on.
Week 3 will be focused on: getting a flight, clearing out those bookcases and dressers, and cleaning up my masters thesis. Which happened to be what week 2 was supposed to be focused on. I also need to get pricing for vaccinations and drop off items for the sale. I am also going to take yoga and dance classes this week, hopefully!
