Ameyami

As I mentioned in a previous entry (quite a while ago now!), I’ve got loads of ideas for novels. Every few months or so, inspiration strikes. A character, a hooking line, a title or a scenario will suddenly pop into my mind, and I jot it down, put it in a file and then tend to leave it alone!

The other day, I was sat in a lecture when great plot idea suddenly sprung into my mind. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and write it all down. I was still feeling really enthusiastic about it when I finished the synopsis, so I began writing the story itself too.

Since the last time that I really wrote fiction, I’ve done a great deal of work on writing my autobiography. I only realised the other day how that has improved my writing in general. The words flowed easier and my inner critic was actually satisfied with what was coming out!

As it’s mid-October, I did seriously consider using this idea for NaNoWriMo, but I’ve decided against it. I won NaNo in 2005. It was great fun and I’m just itching to take part again, but I know that my University work will suffer if I do and I can’t afford to take that risk. So I just started on the story now and I’m working through it at my own pace. In a way this is better, because I don’t have the same pressure, but on the other hand the motivation might fade sooner.

I’m rather ashamed! It’s October now and I haven’t managed to complete a single goal in 2009 yet! Looking at my list, there are only two or three that could possibly be completed by the end of the year, so it doesn’t look good for me completing this goal.

I intend to have a “5 things” goal for 2010 as well, but I’ll add on however many I’m short on in 2009, to compensate.

I’ve just noticed that it’s been 9 months since I last updated this goal! In that time, my word count has more than doubled, and now stands at 93,000. The big 100,000 is fast approaching.

I’ve documented so much of my life, but there is also so much that I still haven’t. I said towards the start of 2009 that I was going to aim to have this goal completed by the end of this year, but I now realise this is not possible. I think I can have all the content finished and edited by the end of 2010 if I keep working at it, but since I intend to write the entire thing up by hand, I can’t see this goal being truly complete until at least 2012. I am enjoying it though, and I’m really proud of myself for sticking it out this long. When I started this goal I wasn’t sure whether I could make it last, or if it would just get neglected after the first few thousand words, but I’ve achieved a lot and I’m glad that I haven’t given up.

So in summary, I’m still just plodding along!

I realised the other day that it’s been 5 years since I got my provisional license. I haven’t actually been learning to drive for all that time (mainly because I go through long periods where I just get sick of it and take a step back to focus on the rest of my life), but even so, I never thought that I would still be a learner 5 years later.

It’s now been over a year since I last got behind the wheel of a car, and if I don’t pass my test before May then I’ll have to do the theory test again. I really don’t want to do that.

My boyfriend has just bought his first car and insured me on it. He’s going to take me out practising in it and then I’m going to find an instructor so I can do the test.

I really, really hope that I won’t be stuck with this goal much longer.

This summer was busier than I thought it would be, so this goal has progressed slower than expected, but I’m pretty close now. I’ve made my products, photographed them, decided on pricing strategies and looked into p&p. There are only a few little bits left to sort now before I open shop; hopefully by the end of the month. I aim to mark this goal as complete on the day that one of my items is purchased.

I still love Smart cars and would love to own one, but I’m wondering exactly how practical they are. For starters, they only have two seats and a tiny boot, which isn’t ideal. Additionally, my boyfriend is very tall and has doubts about whether or not he would actually fit into a Smart car.

The Smart ForFour could potentially solve some of these problems, but it’s just not as cute…

In my last entry for this goal, I mentioned the possibility of switching to a Masters degree. I have now made that switch, so it will be another year before I graduate. However, if I’d stayed on the Bachelors I’d be graduating in about three weeks.

Based on my most recent exam results I’ve calculated that if I were graduating this year, I’d be doing so with a 2.1. Furthermore, if I were to pack in the Masters between now and my final exams next year, I would still graduate with a 2.1 Bachelors. Therefore the only threat to this goal now is if I slip-up during my Masters year. I am slightly concerned about this possibility (because I’m a natural worrier!), but my personal tutor has assured me that most people find the 4th year is their best one, and he predicts I’ll get a 2.1. Certainly, my results this year have been higher than any of my previous grades, so I hope that this trend will continue.

Having spent the past few months experimenting with some new crafts and finding out where my strengths are, I’ve decided to push forward with my Etsy business idea. I have many ideas for products, but I’m going to start by creating just three (the reason for this is that Etsy charges a listing fee for every item in your store) and using those to test the market, find out what’s popular. I’ve done a cost analysis (excluding p&p) and worked out my pricing strategy accordingly. The tasks that remain are as follows:

- Get to grips with payment methods
- Familiarise myself with Etsy policies and set up store
- Research postage and packing methods/costs
- Purchase supplies
- Make and photograph products
- List products

I hope to be up and running by mid-July.

Adam Duritz is the lead singer of Counting Crows, my favourite band. I love his music and I probably always will, but I’ve been messed around ridiculously by Counting Crows as of late. Not only have they caused me inconvenience on several occasions, but they’ve also screwed me out of a lot of money. I still love the music, but I no longer respect the band themselves. Adam Duritz is no longer one of my heroes and I no longer have any desire to meet him.

However, I am adding another musician to the list: Scott MacIntyre. He was a contestant on the most recent series of American Idol. I could relate to the story of his life in so many ways and was truly inspired by him.

The current list:

Rufus Sewell
Jack Osbourne
Christian Ingebrigtsen
Mark Read
Paul Marazzi
Scott MacIntyre

Not about my desire to complete this goal, just the timing. I have now completed the Bachelors part of my degree, but since I’m on an integrated Masters course, it will be another year before I graduate. My plan was to go straight onto a PhD after that, but the truth is that I’m getting rather fed up of studying. I’m now considering working in industry for a few years after graduating and returning to do a PhD later. My concern with that is that I may then never actually get around to doing it.

Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind the fact that I’ve just completed another year of University, the most gruelling one yet. It’s possible that I’ll feel differently once I’ve had more of a chance to recover, we’ll see.

I’m still having health issues, but they’re gradually improving. My treatments used to be once every couple of months, with regular check-ups in between. These days, my appointments are once every two months for one of my specialists, and yearly for the other one. It’s been two months since my last treatment, and although I will need another at some point, it hasn’t been scheduled yet and is unlikely to be any time before September.

It’s entirely possible that I will have this condition for the rest of my life, but both I and my doctors are optimistic and cheered by my recent improvements.

...since I last updated this goal, but it’s nice to see that a few other people have added entries in that time.

Throughout most of the year I’m too busy to dedicate much time to writing, but this is one of the rare few periods where I do. My word count is currently about 42,500 and I’m hoping to be somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 by the end of the holidays.

I’m placing less emphasis on editing and organising my writing at the moment. I’m jotting down memories as they come to me and I will structure them and fill in the gaps at a later date.

I’m hoping to have this goal complete by this time next year.

I have now finished my scrapbook, and in doing so ticked off my fifth goal this year.

I’ve found this goal to be really useful, as it’s motivated me to do things that I probably would have postponed otherwise. I’m going to do a similar goal for 2009.

I’m finally signing off on this goal. I started it a year ago and I could have quite easily finished it within six months, but I was enjoying it so much that I wanted to make it last for as long as possible. I have forty beautiful pages which I’m very proud of, and comparing the last pages to the first ones I can see how my skills have developed over the course of the year I spent on it.

This goal has also helped me tap into my creativity and led me to get involved with lots of other crafts. I’ve found a new hobby and have already begun planning my next scrapbook.

I still have nearly two years before I graduate, but I have taken the first steps towards this goal. An information afternoon about PhDs was held at my University earlier this week and I now know what the application process involves.

This goal will be dependent on another that I’m working towards: graduate with a 2:1. I’m still hoping to achieve this, and it’s certainly possible but by no means guaranteed, since I’m around the 2:1/2:2 borderline at the moment.

Ideally I would like to work towards a PhD at the same University and department in which I am currently studying for my undergraduate degree. They have around ten research groups and there are two in particular that interest me. Fortunately, the leader of one of these groups is also my third-year project (lab-based equivalent of a dissertation) supervisor and I’m hoping that through this link I’ll learn more about the opportunities available and my suitability for them.

Yesterday I saw Top Gear live, thus fulfilling another of my dreams. One more Thing is required to complete this goal and I have just under two months left. I have several goals that I’m working on at the moment so I think that I’ll be able to make it. I have tickets to see Counting Crows live next month, so as long as the show doesn’t get cancelled, that’ll be one more. My scrapbook is also very near to completion, as it has been for about six months now. The problem there is that I’ll be sad to finish that, so in a way I’m dragging it out for as long as possible. I’m also working on my autobiography, but I doubt that’ll be finished in time.

Yesterday I completed this goal! I should explain that it wasn’t Top Gear being filmed, but live nonetheless. As an early birthday present my boyfriend took me to Earls Court for the MPH motorshow, where we saw some pretty incredible cars, and then to Top Gear Live. With regards to my last entry, the article that I read was incorrect: all three presenters were there along with The Stig.

We had Silver tickets, which were the cheapest available and I wondered if this might mean that we would get crammed into a corner at the back or something. In actual fact the seats were allocated in the order in which the tickets were sold, so we had front row seats. We were at one end of the stage, but big screens gave us a clearer view of the centre. As it happened, being at one end was actually pretty good: during the segments featuring stunt drivers the presenters sat 10 feet away from us! I was rather star-struck.

The show itself was fantastic; it was just like a TV episode of the show, only with more audience participation. We got to collectively vote on the Cool Wall and drive around the track. It was a fantastic day out and I really enjoyed it; I’d recommend it to all Top Gear fans.

I’ve seen this on Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie several times and it looks so much fun! I’d love to do it some day.

So frustrating! The first half an hour of the test was nearly perfect. My general driving was fine (only four minors), my parallel parking was good (one minor), and then ten minutes before the end of the test I went up on the pavement when reversing around a corner and failed.

I’m moving back to my University city soon, so I guess I’m looking at the Christmas holidays before I can do another test, unless I can get a last-minute cancellation.

I’m so fed up of this!

Now four days to go until my test. I had a lesson yesterday, another today, I’ve got one tomorrow and one on Saturday too.

Yesterday’s lesson went very badly and I messed up loads of things. I felt pretty disheartened by the end of it, but today’s was the exact opposite! I’m still making a few mistakes but they’re pretty minor ones. In terms of maneuvers, I’m fine with turn in the road (that’s always been my best), and I’m now feeling confident about reversing around corners now. I’m very pleased about that, because when I took lessons years ago it was always the one that I had real trouble with.

My bay parking definitely still needs some practise but I think I’ll be ready in time. As for parallel parking, I haven’t done any in three years(!) but I didn’t have too much trouble with that one first time round so hopefully I’ll get back into it pretty easily.

With any luck, my next entry here will be an ecstatic one rejoicing about my new license… :)