This year’s goals are going to have a slightly different flavor than last year’s. Some goals that I set for 2006 were on the whim, and by the time the end of the year rolled around, I had no interest in them. This year, I’m going to have fewer goals, ones that are more personal in nature (self-improving or -enriching). I’m still going to have a couple “fun” goals, though. And I’m going to apply some lessons I’ve learned from meetings at work on how to achieve goals, namely by providing a better breakdown and time line of how I’ll reach each of them. Also different is that I’m not going to report on them every month. I will provide periodic updates, but not as frequent as the previous years.

First up, I’m going to identify my goals. In a follow-up post, I’ll outline how I plan to meet each of these.

• Run the Flying Pig - I don’t know if I’m going to do the 5K, 10K or half marathon, but I going to do something during in Flying Pig. Only 5 months away…
• Break a bad habit - Again, I’ve leaving this open-ended as far as which habit will be broken, but the one that I think I’m going to strive for first is to stop chewing on pens. I always have a pen in my mouth at work. Not the best practice at a medical research lab…
• Save up for a trip to Australia/New Zealand - It’s going to take a while to have the money to take my dream trip, so I’m going to get started on it this year.
• Learn how to cook a “signature” dish - At my friends’ parties, some people bring their special dish, usually a dish that everyone loves. I want to go beyond being the guy that simply brings pops by learning how to cook something that everyne requests I make. Gonna need a lot of help on this one, but I do have something in mind.
• Become comfortable with the ASL alphabet - I learned some ASL in college, tried to remember it over the years, but want to become comfortable with at least the alphabet again. Signing isn’t so much my problem as reading it is.
• Learn how to pick a lock - I’ve had a lock pick set and a couple practice locks for a couple years now but haven’t successfully learned how to pick them yet. For whatever reason, I’ve always wanted to learn how to do this. Inspired by the Hardy Boys maybe?
• Accomplish all these goals! - Self-explanatory