Moving Foreward

In my interest to grow as a writer and a person, I found the idea presented by Anastasia V. Pergakis on her blog "Labotomy of a Writer," fascinating.

I fully intended to create my own collage out of old magazines...

However, when I pulled out my poster paper and searched the house...well, I recycle many old fashion mags. The magazines that still hang out on bookshelves are old Realms of Fantasy, MZBFM, Asimov's, etc. Nothing I want to cut up.

So I took up my colored pencils and paper and created a rough poster:

From 2010-09-16

The main goals are the large images. Directly in the center is a desk, one side represents "work" and the other "writing." The left hand corner features a picture odf a kitchen :P The goal represented here is too keep my kitchen clean and ordered, and to reduce waste here. I cook nightly, so we go through pots/pans/dishes/silverware quite quickly. And cooking is ... messy. Especially when I go on automatic. When we briefly lived with my guy's mother I apparently stunned her with how quickly I chop veggies...but food is the one essential cost in my life that (while I'm attempting to reduce) is never going to be cut out entirely. So being more efficient and less wasteful is necessary to leading a rich and rewarding life on a squished budget.

On the left hand side I have an image of a very poorly drawn bundle of bills transposed on a line-graph. The goal here is to return to relative financial security. Mind, this is dependent on receiving an income...but, hey, it's a goal :D

On the bottom I have three (lesser) goals. The most important of these three is in the right hand corner. I have mentioned before that I have too many clothes. Keeping organized when I naturally have one foot in the dreamworld can be ...a nightmare...joke unintended. But as I get older I'm finding that disorder in my home is making me increasingly disconcerted. It makes it hard for me to focus. I feel like my house--torn in a bazillion directions. Unsettled. So if I am aiming to write (in the non-blog world) regularly, I need to do a better job keeping my home organized.

The second most important is learning to sew, and completing my mending. Currently, my mending sits in a box in a closet. Buttons fall off, zippers break, and the box winds up overflowing. I need to actually get back to it.

The final large goal is planting veggies. Gardening would be another obligation to list to my long to-do list, but would be immensely helpful.

I see the bottom three goals as essential to improving my fiscal security, which is important to my mental state and assists in the job hunt/writing endeavors. Why?

If I can keep my clothing and such ordered I can:

--see what I don't use.
--see what I should alter to make a better fit.
--increase my ability to pack away/donate and otherwise dispose of unneeded garments,do-dads and whatnot.
--which will assist in providing an ever more ordered environment.

If I can complete my mending:

--I can see what I will/won't use of my full clothing collection...
--see what I should alter.
--and the last two mentioned above, too.

If I learn to sew:
--I can alter clothing I have to match fashions I like.
--I can dress as I like more afordably...but retain my chosen form of visual expression.

If I plant veggies:

--I cut down on the produce that I buy.
--since vegetables compose the majority of our diet, this would present me with an insane level of control over my food budget.

If I cut down on waste:
--this means that I reuse all plastic bags, plastic wrap, aluminum and Styrofoam I possibly can (just a lot of washing to achieve this).
--(ideally) create a compost pile.
--buy and use less veggies
--store fewer food items, and make it easier to meal plan accordingly.
--meal planning and less buying equals more money to get by for more months...

All of these will make me feel more "in control" of my life. The more secure, the easier to write.

The little messages strewn throughout are like little reminders. "Stay positive," emphasize "reusing" goods, etc...which help me reach the big goals :D

What would your collage look like?

Posted in: creative writing,goals