2011 in Review
At the start of this year, I wrote a list of goals for 2011. Now that the year is coming to a close I wanted to take a moment to reflect on how I did and how I can improve for next time. I'll just put the headings on this post, but you can still read the full list with notes.
- Read 56 books. Hahahaha. Whoops. According to Goodreads, I only read 15 books to completion this year. And about half of those were children's books for works. Again, whoops. I did an awful lot of living this year those so I'm OK with this outcome. The pile on my night stand is huge though! Gotta keep up appearances ya know.
- Lose 30 pounds. I proud to say that I lost 10 pounds and kept it off too! I've been hanging out in the low 180s for most of this year. The smaller I get, the harder the weight loss so in my book a good week is when I stay the same size. And even though I've stayed the same weight most of this year, my body composition has changed tons. Regular-ish yoga has given me some sexy arms.
- Become a full-time student. YES!!!!! Starting August 2011, I'm a full-time student at the Community College of Denver. I love, love, love being back and look forward to being challenged more in the future.
- Respond to any communication (email, phone, fb, etc.) in a timely manner. I would like to say that I did better in this category but I think I probably maintained the status quo. And I have no good way to measure this one either (Shame on you, Kaleena! INVST taught you better! Measurable goals...) So no. Better luck next time.
- Find ways to like my job again. Weeeeeellll. Again, no. Education in the U.S. is terrible and I don't know what to do about it or where to begin. My job daily felt hopeless and while I grew a lot, I don't think education in East Saint Louis is any better as a result of my limited efforts. I did have countless enjoyable moments in my job in 2011, however.
- Blog more about life and less about crap I think is interesting. YES! Few posts this year, but high quality ones, IMHO ;) My English 101 class at CCD helped in this department by helping my confidence as a writing grow. (Shhhhh... don't tell, but I kinda like writing right now) I would still like to blog more and frequently have 75% of a really awesome post about some cool event I've attended but skip out on the final polishing and the post lives forever in drafts.
- More alternative transportation. Ohmygoodness. YES! I'm all over this one. Near the end of my time in STL I frequently posted prior to events, "Who wants to carpool?!" and although I hate heat and humidity starting in about April I regularly biked the two miles to the gym and home. Now that I'm living in the heart of Denver with a full bus pass I rarely drive. My rule that I love to break is: <2 miles, walk; 2-6 miles, bike; 6+, bus/carpool/don't go. Since my trip odometer broke in my car I log my mileage so I can keep track of gas mileage and love calculating how long it's been since my last fill-up.
And my favorite "year in review" articles I've seen so far:
- Funniest Late-Night Moments of 2011
- Best Political Cartoons of 2011
- A look back at the year 2011 as told in Someecards.
- The Year in Pictures (It's a 3-parter and this hyperlink is just for Part I)
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