It is entirely up to me to eventually work out which are feasible, but it is now 2009 and there are, however ridiculous: resolutions or I could term them idealutions, at least that way there is leeway in sidestepping the mark.
2009 came in moderation, not with a bang. There were no fireworks, but we had sparklers, music, champagne, a marquee and a few friends. I most enjoyed the early morning introduction to ’09. First up after a less than perfect sleep in a tent on less than flat ground, but there was an eggshell sky and sun, a silent field and moment of the same before it went to the crapper and the clouds and we got some rain.
The news continues to talk about 2008 as a non-highlight and begs hope out of the new year. I am inclined to disagree with the former statement however the word hope is a sweet one that should live on.
In a moment of introspection (aka. now) here are my highlights of the past and hopes for the present (with a few true aspirations and undoubtedly top shelf items that I won’t really reach, being short and all).
Highlights
- January 5th I married my best friend. And consequently spent the rest of the year married to him (to be continued…). It’s been interesting and fun! Needless to say, I really love being married and I really love Geoff! It’s certainly been a wildly contrasting year in regard to all previous years.
- Uni, second semester proved full of inspiring people especially in regards to tutors. I finally felt like I was pulling my weight effectively and got to try things like branding and animation. I have come to the realisation that I mightn’t fit the typical traditional stereotype of ‘graphic designer’ but can work from my interests and strengths and hopefully can levy more out of the web stuff and marry it with my ‘designish eye’.
- Frustration. It seems a weird choice to include it here, but God has increased my frustration with how I live as a Christian and how church can/could operate. It hasn’t gotten too far but there is room for movement and there needs to be room for movement. Some of this is tied up with finishing up with leading youth and being dumped in the deepend of doing nothing.
- And there are the miscellaneous things like: growing friendships with people like Beth and Bri, marvelous restaurants, some great movies and books and some less than typical experiences – like seeing Wicked.
Un-Highlights
- A bodgy start to the uni year with some super low motivation levels in regard to particular subjects.
- Less investment in certain friendships and not because of want, but because I am a lazy and…
- Feeling so busy and unorganised
Idealutions, resolutions and hopeings
- A slower year, where priorities become priorities and the trivial things are thrown out with the bathwater
- Invested time and head space to enjoy and get the most out of uni
- To be more organised at home
- Eat better, cook nicer food – to be bothered
- Get more fit
- To continue to investigate, read more about, and live out some of the results of the aforementioned frustration
- More time for God…. listen more, write more
- Be less critical of things like traditional church and learn to love what is good and do differently instead of simply getting annoyed.
- Be a part of something that explores doing Church differently, try some things!
- To freelance for a while and to do well at it in terms of being self-disciplined and gain useful experience
- Put together a portfolio, get a design job
- More head in the blog. More faithful writing, less crap. Perhaps make something more of it.
- Release a WordPress Theme (and yes it is in production!)
- Learn to use the Wacom properly and work on practicing drawing/illustration etc.
- Learn more about Flash
- Learn more about Illustrator
- Learn some of the little extra things about webdesign and standards that I might otherwise ignore.
- Get my head around Javascript/PHP etc..
- Continue to work on building a really good marriage and be better at loving Geoff
- Be better at maintaining and developing friendships
- Invest in things like Soul Survivor etc.
- Keep track of the money I spend
- Spend less money
- Own less, give more
- Greater confidence and willingness to try things (especially re. design)
- Days of doing different things, like taking my camera out somewhere foreign or less than usual
- Finish uni, and do well in my final year
- Righteousness and peace… Isaiah 32, Romans 14
Smashing Magazine – of which I am quite a fan, has recently written a ripper post on: Clear and Effective Communication in Web Design. It was interesting enough that I let my toast go cold. So if the web is your arena or your playground, then do yourself a favour and get over there.
