Some Goals for 2010

I realized, thanks to Kizz, that I didn’t publish any of this year’s goals. This is by no means the exhaustive list. It simply represents some of the highlights that, by virtue of putting out for public review, I will be held publicly accountable for completing.

Clean out and organize the basement, including the woodshop. This is no small task. A lot of what’s down there simply needs to be pulled out, examined (do we keep it vs. do we let it go), but there are some bigger organizational questions that need to be addressed. Where do the canned goods and supplies go? Do bikes stay downstairs in the summer? What about all the extra bikes (oh, yes, there are extras)? Does the potting and gardening stuff stay where it is? Do we keep the old electrical stove from the rental? The gas dryer from Las Vegas? It is my hope that all these questions will be answered during April, but I seriously doubt that it’ll happen in a single day. I’m going to be quite content if it’s dealt with in a week.

Creating and reviewing each month a clear and definable list of goals for the Community School project, a timeline for accomplishing every item on the list, and documenting each month the measurable progress on each item. The list currently includes the following:

– Learn about how to build a viable infrastructure for our school and the community it will serve.
– Create vision documents for the project as a whole (focused on the Community part first).
– Create the legal entities to support further work, including a property search.
– Establish guidelines for choosing co-founders and new members, including the principles of financial involvement in the project.
– Take training in the consensus decision-making model.

I intend to post this list on the Community School site, and updates to it will appear there. I’ll own that this is an ambitious list, but hell, it’s an ambitious project!

Get down to 170 lbs. I have 24 lbs. to go. I broke into the 170s by the end of August last year, but packed it right back on once school started. I have a plan working for keeping more active during the fall and winter that will, hopefully, lessen the effects of the next dark time. I’ll talk about it more in another post.


Make memory boxes for Soren and Nieve. When I was in preschool, my teachers helped me to make a scrapbook. I still have it. It’s green, and has plastic bindings that are designed to allow for more pages when the book gets full. It started as a simple craft project, as someplace to put samples of stuff I’d done and learned as a little kid. As I got older, I added pictures and other mementos from the places I’d visited and lived (my dad was in the navy, so we moved around a lot). Eventually, my scrapbook became the place where special artifacts went, especially if they chronicled something important, like an achievement, accomplishment or a journey completed. My diplomas are in it, as well as the first bib I wore for a competitive distance event (a century ride back in 1992). I think it’s important to be able to look back and remember what amazing things we’ve done, what journeys we’ve taken, what lessons we’ve learned. It’s an important part of the work of self-realization. My hope is that these boxes will continually remind my girls of their power and potential as well as give them a sacred place to preserve those special things that define their unique path through life.

Spend more time engaged in Buddhist practice. The thing is, I’m finding a lot of value in writing about it, so devoting time to doing it makes sense. I’m not going to get all religious here (I’ll proselytize about all manner of moral issues, but I keep my religion to myself). In fact, I rather appreciate looking at the tenets of my practice through a secular lens. I figure if it makes sense from a “real world” point of view, then it’s worth following. Writing for public consumption also helps me express my thoughts better (I hope--feel free to tell me that’s not the case)

Finalize my first- and second-year language curriculum--with units, new stories and more student-generated practices and projects. Much of the material I use now was developed during my time in graduate school, so it’s 3 years old. In that time, I’ve seen how it all works and, overall, I’m pleased with the results. There are a few things that need revising, however, and there are several units that need to be properly finished (I’ve been teaching from the outline, not from an actual finished product). I’d like to get all that stuff done. A couple of students have offered to help me with this project, and I’m excited to include them. They have a good sense for what works, what reads well and what, frankly, should be shredded and never heard from again. By involving them in the work, I’ll end up with an effective, but more student friendly product. I won’t get started until the late summer and it will likely carry over into 2011. I’m intending to ask for a sabbatical from our intercession to work on it.

I like to check in on my goals every couple of months. Last year I sucked at that. I hope that, by showing at least this part of the list to the world, I’ll do a better job of keeping them fresh in my mind. They’re what I want to do, after all.