Posts Tagged ‘Goals’

2011 Resolutions

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Last year’s resolutions were as follows:

  1. Blog more than twice a month on my personal blog.  My posts have gotten way too long and I need to break them up.
  2. Save more.  I don’t put much money into savings, and when I do, I need to make sure I don’t touch it.  That is a big goal for this year
  3. Pay off all non-federal and non-debt consolidation debt.  That includes furniture and my non-government loan.  Less monthly bills = a happy Jess
  4. Take a vacation somewhere that’s not a staycation.  I haven’t gone anywhere on a trip for years.  I need to get away.
  5. Get into better shape.  I sit all day at work and sit when I get home.  I need to take up a sport or something that’ll get me into shape regularly.
  6. Go on more dates – let’s face it…I’m not very active in the love arena.  I never have been.  It’s time I do something about that.
  7. Dedicate time weekly to doing research / writing for genderverse.org. I want to give back to my community more.  I’ve been lazy, and it’s time I get back to the real reason I’m on this planet.
  8. Learn how to do something with my hair. I suck at doing hair.  I can dry my  hair, brush it, put it up, and that’s it.  I want to learn more than that.
  9. Continue working on  my faults. I know this one isn’t exactly measurable, but it’s definitely a good thing for me.  I’ve come a long way in the last year, and I want to continue with that personal growth.
  10. Explore my own spirituality. I haven’t touched my spiritual side in a long time.  I feel a longing to be connected again, and I really should spend time with it.  This is another not as measurable one, but I think it’s also an important one.

Just like last year, let’s go through them one by one and see how we did.

Number 1 was a total failure.  I wrote a grand total of 7 posts last year.  Not incredibly impressive, huh?  I managed to get more busy than your mom in an ugly sweater store this past year.  My personal and professional life really took over, and my free time was absorbed with sleep, food, and the occasional TV show.  Hopefully this year will be less stressful.

Number 2 was another fail.  I literally ended the year with a negative balance and no savings account.  On the plus side, I have gotten incredibly frugal and really don’t spend money on things unless I absolutely have to.  Things just keep coming up and soaking up all my extra money.

With number 3, I can report some success.  My furniture is completely paid off and was back towards the beginning of last year.  The non-federal debt will probably be a while, but it’s not a huge amount.  So, it’s not as much of a stressor.

Finally, a success! In fact number 4 just happened.  I took a vacation over Christmas and traveled down to Arkansas to spend it with my girlfriend and her family.  It was a wonderful time (aside from driving to the airport).

Number 5 is a success.  I started regularly going to fencing again.  In fact, fencing got so popular that it moved to twice a week.  So for 2 to 3 hours, twice a week, I got a full body workout.  I really enjoyed it and hope to continue.

I have easily made number 6 a success too.  In fact, my lovely girlfriend is sitting next to me on the couch as a write this.  Not only have I gone on more dates this year, but I’ve gone on quite long dates.  My first date with Jess was over a week long.  Right now, we’re on a 4 week long date.  I hope they get to the point of being so long that the date just never ends. (Jess justs read that and said “Awwwwwwww”).  We’re so cute that people are overwhelmed and feel like they might vomit from the cuteness.  ”NO!!! It’s too much cute!!! Hghgmghghg!!”

I think we can easily say number 7 was a huge fail. I’ll just leave it at that.

Number 8 wasn’t much of a success.  I am just too lazy. I’d like to do more with my hair, but why don’t I focus on the talents I already have…like avoiding blogging.

Now we come to one that’s interesting.  I’ve come a long way with working on my faults.  In fact, I actually came to realize this year that I’ve been pretty hard on myself.  After talking with some close friends and family, I got a bit of perspective that made me feel a lot better about who I am.  I can easily say I’m more aware of who I am and how I act around others.  I know that I will treat people with respect.  I’m not as critical of others as I may have thought I was.  So I guess I can call number 9 a success.

Lastly, number 10 was not really something I put a lot of time into.  I don’t think it matters to me all that much anymore.  I’m ok with that.  I think if I feel the need for a more spiritual side in the future, I will follow that push then.  For right now, I’ll go with the flow.

2011 New Years Resolutions

This year I think I’ll aim for measurable and reachable goals.

  1. Write more than 7 blog posts. Since I managed a whole 7 last year, I should be able to at least hit 8 this year.
  2. Spend more time on personal projects. I’ve been interested in everything from new web projects to metal working.  I haven’t spent a lick of time on any of it.  Time to stop talking and start doing.
  3. Reduce my stress level.  I take on too much.  I need to learn to say no to things.  I need to cut back on stuff that I volunteer to do and enjoy my personal time more.  Right now I’m so stressed that I am starting to stress that I don’t relax well enough.  That’s bad.
  4. Create a viable secondary income. I’m a talented girl.  I have a ton of ideas, and one of them should at least be able to make me some money on the side.  Time to make it happen.
  5. Open and have some money in a savings account by year end. I don’t care if it’s 5 dollars, I want money in a savings account.
  6. Buy some new clothes. I know I just wrote about saving money, but I could really use a wardrobe refresh.
  7. Have less unexpected and expensive emergencies. I know this is out of my control, but I truly hope that there are no more urinary obstructions with my cat, glasses breaking unexpectedly, and so on.
  8. Do something with my photography. I take a lot of photos and they go nowhere.  I have a spacious Picasa account, and its time I use it.
  9. Create a short film. I’ve been meaning to do some creative video work for a long time, and it’s high time I actually follow through.
  10. Be Happy. I am happy now.  So, this one should be easy.  I just think it’s important to stay happy.

We’ll see how things go this year!  Stay tuned in about 8 posts for the follow up. ;)

Happy 2011 everyone!

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Posted in Goals | 1 Comment »

2010 Resolutions

Friday, January 1st, 2010

Let’s take a quick look back at the previous year’s resolutions first:

  1. To be in a stable and secure financial situation by year end 2009
  2. Write my book
  3. Get TransLife.net, JessicaJaniuk.com, and TranscendingProductions.com all designed and updated
  4. Get at least 6 paying speaking gigs
  5. Find a new, fulfilling, and prosperous career path
  6. Get my treatment written for my documentary
  7. Apply for several women in business grants for camera equipment and software
  8. Be a more active person in both my professional and personal life
  9. Read more
  10. Be Happy

Going down the list…here’s what happened:

Number 1 was a success.  I am in an infinitely better situation at the beginning of 2010 than I was at 2009.  I’ve been on a debt consolidation program for a year, paid off about 7 grand in debt, and haven’t accrued a penny more in debt since then.

Number 2…that was a big old fail.  My book has an outline, but that’s about it right now.  I did discuss it with my good friend and college professor when I moved back in.  So maybe a minute amount of progress was made.

3…translife was mostly abandoned in favor of genderverse, which is poised to launch any day.  jessicajaniuk.com has a wonderful design, and transcending productions is designed and live too despite the fact that I’m not really interested in running the business anymore.  I’ll call 3 mostly a success.

4…I got a few speaking gigs.  Only one of them was paying.  So I guess we’ll call this progress, but the goal was not achieved.

5.  Complete success.  I not only have a job that is fulfilling and enjoyable, I have many doors open if for some strange reason I decided to leave.  I do not foresee that in the near future, but it’s nice to know the options are there.

6. Fail…or is it?  Really I think this is more of a change of heart.  I decided that the documentary at least in the form it was in was not a good idea.  Maybe I’ll revisit this concept at some point, but for now, I’ve decided to move on from this idea.

7. As mentioned in number 3, I’m not really interested in running a business anymore.  It’s not a good economy to be trying to start something when you’ve got nothing going for you financially.  Plus, business isn’t for me.  I have no intention of maintaining an LLC anymore after this tax year.  So…this one is outdated.

8. I’m now on the board of the community center in town. I attend meetings for the ruby group.  I go to code camps.  I’ve gotten out to parties with friends.  I’ve made special trips to hang out with friends out of town.  I’ve invited out of town friends to visit.  I’d say I’ve succeeded in this one.

9. FAIL.  I have learned that without the right book, I’m not interested in reading.  I read to escape, and I just haven’t found a book with a story that has drawn me in yet.

10. I am happy.  I’d say there’s no comparison to a year ago.  I had a terrible 2008, and 2009 was so much better.  My living situation, my financial situation, my personal life…all wonderful.  The only thing is that I don’t date much.  Other than that, things are wonderful right now.

It’s interesting to see how things have changed since last year.  I’m liking the ability to look back and compare how my wants and dreams have changed since then.  I’m going to make this a yearly habit to write about my resolutions.  So with that, here goes:

2010 New Years Resolutions

  1. Blog more than twice a month on my personal blog.  My posts have gotten way too long and I need to break them up.
  2. Save more.  I don’t put much money into savings, and when I do, I need to make sure I don’t touch it.  That is a big goal for this year
  3. Pay off all non-federal and non-debt consolidation debt.  That includes furniture and my non-government loan.  Less monthly bills = a happy Jess
  4. Take a vacation somewhere that’s not a staycation.  I haven’t gone anywhere on a trip for years.  I need to get away.
  5. Get into better shape.  I sit all day at work and sit when I get home.  I need to take up a sport or something that’ll get me into shape regularly.
  6. Go on more dates – let’s face it…I’m not very active in the love arena.  I never have been.  It’s time I do something about that.
  7. Dedicate time weekly to doing research / writing for genderverse.org. I want to give back to my community more.  I’ve been lazy, and it’s time I get back to the real reason I’m on this planet.
  8. Learn how to do something with my hair. I suck at doing hair.  I can dry my  hair, brush it, put it up, and that’s it.  I want to learn more than that.
  9. Continue working on  my faults. I know this one isn’t exactly measurable, but it’s definitely a good thing for me.  I’ve come a long way in the last year, and I want to continue with that personal growth.
  10. Explore my own spirituality. I haven’t touched my spiritual side in a long time.  I feel a longing to be connected again, and I really should spend time with it.  This is another not as measurable one, but I think it’s also an important one.

That should do it for my resolutions.  I guess we’ll have to wait a year to see how these pan out.

Happy New Year to all of my readers!  Here’s to a great 2010!

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Posted in Goals | 3 Comments »

Seven years of Jessica

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

It’s hard to believe, today marks the 7th year of my blog.  On October 1st, 2002, I started my blog, then called my diary, on TransLife.net, which is now a mostly unused site that is in desperate need of a rebuild.  Things certainly have changed in all that time.  It’s hard to believe I began my transition so long ago now.  At 28, I’ve almost lived a third of my life as a woman.

Lately Chris and I have been watching How I Met Your Mother (which is an awesome show by the way), and it has such a strong sense of nostalgia.  Today I feel that nostalgia.  I’ve put a lot of energy into telling my story over the years.  It’s had its ups and downs.  It’s gotten me in trouble.  It’s gotten me notoriety.  I know it’s had an impact on people, because I hear from those people on an almost daily basis.  That makes me feel good.  It by far outweighs any negatives…hands down.

I started this blog with the intention of sharing my story with the world. I wanted to be an example to other trans folk that are too scared of what might happen to them if they came out.  I wanted to help educate the world on trans issues.  Most of all, I wanted to show the world that people who are trans aren’t freaks.  We’re every day people with every day lives that are just like everyone else’s.  I think I can say I accomplished a lot towards those goals.

Over the past seven years, this blog has become more than that collection of goals for me.  This blog truly helps me understand myself better.  It helps me in a very cathartic way too.  I feel like once I’ve written about an issue I have in my personal life, I can almost let that issue go finally.  It helps me get things off my chest.  I truly feel like I’ve become a better person because I’ve written this blog.

It’s a great feeling knowing that I’ve been able to do all of the aforementioned stuff just from a silly thing like a weblog.  OK…I think I’m done with both reflecting on things and patting myself on the back. On to new stuff…

Not much happened since the post on the 15th.  I caught a cold.  That’s been fun.  I’m still recovering.  Let me tell you…I am quite sick of mucus.  I’ve gone through at least three boxes of kleenex.  All things considered, though, it hasn’t been a terrible cold.  It was mainly a head cold.  Lots of congestion, though my ears never did that whole “one ear has different pressure than the other” thing.  Thank god…I hate that.  I’ve just had a raw, runny, drippy nose.

Oh…some progress on this site!  I finished my bio. You should go check it out.  It has fancy lightboxes for the photo displays.  I think I’ll tackle the speaker page next.  I’ve been thinking about speaker fees.  I want to get that online pretty soon.  After that, I’ll tackle the photo gallery / media section.  I’m trying to figure out how to use Ruby to build an xml feed for my photo gallery.  That may take a bit yet.

I’m excited about a shindig that’s planned with some of my Milwaukee friends.  We’re having a geeky lady shindig in a few weeks.  It’s going to be fun, exciting, and nerdy all at the same time.  I’m sure I’ll write about it in an upcoming post.

Chris’ 30th birthday is just over a week away.  About a year ago, I decided I wanted to throw him a surprise party.  That kinda got spoiled when he decided he wanted a superhero costume party instead.  Well and now that’s probably not happening either.  Instead we’re going out to eat.  Amazing how things change.  I’m looking forward to it.

There is a small hang up though.  That same evening is the LGBT Community Center’s annual meeting, which I have to be present at to get elected to the board.  I’ve officially filled out the paperwork and so forth to run for the board.  I talked to the president about the situation, and apparently I definitely have to be physically present at the meeting at least for a portion of it.  So, I’ve worked it out with Chris so that I can disappear for an hour to get elected.  I think it’ll work out just fine.

Money’s been a bit tight this past week.  I have my phone to blame for that.  The bill for the fancy Android powered phone finally came due this month.  I had stored away money for it, but even so, it made things a bit challenging.  I made it through ok though.  That’s really the last big out of budget expense I have. So it should be smooth sailing from here.  That’s a good feeling.  Speaking of good feelings, I also should be getting my health insurance cards any day now.

That’s pretty much it for me.  This is the calm before the storm.  This month is going to be stressful.  I have two speaking gigs, elections, post-elections, party, halloween, best friend birthday, and of course…work.  I hope I have some down time in the coming weeks too.  I guess its good that I’m sick now instead of later.

Wow…a post shorter than 1000 words.  I can’t remember when the last post was this short.  Oh, before I forget…Question of the blog:  Chris an I are of the mindset that turning 30 will be great and that our 30s will be our best years.  Are you looking forward to your 30s? / Were your 30s awesometastic or craptacular?

Tune in next time for more excitement!

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Posted in history, LGBT, Personal Growth, sick, Transgender | 2 Comments »

Onward to success

Monday, March 30th, 2009

The freelance seems to never end.  OK…well it sort of does.  As of today, I got final approval on two 30 second spots I had been editing last week.  The producer and I had gone back and forth on fixes and I think we’re both really pleased with how it turned out.  With all this editing work, I feel like I’m starting to feel that creative groove come back slowly.  It’s that groove I had when I left college.  Now that I’m shooting and editing all the time, I am just in the moment more.  It feels good.

In other freelance news, I’ve decided to dump the flash web project.  It’s a bit too much for me, and I’ve been really stressed out about it for a long time now.  I have yet to hear back from the guy I asked to take it over, but I’m sure regardless, it’ll all get worked out.   The web is good for me when it’s a personal thing that I have passion about, but I have trouble finding my creative drive for a web client.  I think I’m just going to remove it from my freelance offerings unless it’s simple.  I’d rather be editing or shooting.

Once I get the final ok on that switch, I’m going to start working on Genderverse.net.  I’ve got the database structure set, but I haven’t felt comfortable donating any time to the project while I’ve got other responsibilities.  So, hopefully with much of my video work done and the web project off my plate, I can get moving.

I feel bad that I haven’t had time to work on my podcast.  I’ve done nothing but work for the past several weeks, which is a good thing.  It just means I’ve had to put other things aside, and that included the podcast.  The good news is that I wrote up the rundowns for the next podcast this weekend.  I’ll be shooting it this week.  I’m aiming for a two podcast a month release schedule.  I have the next two already blocked out.  Let’s hope that schedule works.

I’m doing a photo shoot this weekend.  For once, it’s not me taking the photos.  My friend Ken asked me about a year ago if I’d want to do a shoot with him.  It’ll be a little different being in front of the camera.  I fully expect to be uncomfortable at first, but I think I’ll loosen up and have fun as time passes.  I’m bringing a bunch of fun clothes to wear.  I’ll have a whole bunch of fun as well as professional pictures after this.  I think I’ll use some of them for this site’s design.

This past weekend I got something I really really needed: Down time.  I spent most of my weekend catching up on movie watching and some TV.  I’ve caught up on all of the Legend of the Seeker episodes out there.  The show has gotten better.  It was good to begin with, but I really like it now.  I also watched “Super Size Me”, which has helped me commit to never going to McDonalds again.  I didn’t like the place to begin with and rarely went already.  So it won’t be hard.  I also watched Chocolat, which was a charming and beautiful film.  The next two on my list are “The Invisible” starring Justin Chatwin, and Chicago with Rene Zellweger.

I feel a little bit of a need to respond to a lot of the comments I got on my last blog post about my voice.  I don’t have a bad voice by any means.  I realized recently that if I wanted to, I could sing.  I might subject my podcast viewers to that too at some point.  I feel like I should explain.  I have a strong history with music.  In college, I actually got into the University of Wisconsin: Eau Claire school of music, which is actually a very good music school.   The Jazz band has won many a Grammy.  While majoring in music wasn’t for me, I did enjoy the subject enough to complete the music theory classes.  In that time we had to do some singing in class, and I was surrounded by women with these beautiful Soprano and Alto voices.  I’ve always wanted to sound like that…to sing like that.  Instead I would sing along with the class and feel embarassed that my voice didn’t really fit in either the male or female categories.  I felt kind of awkward.

So that’s where my vocal discomfort came from.  It’s taken me a number of years, but now, while that jealousy is still there in some form, I am comfortable with the way I sound.  I have a unique voice that people have often complimented me on.  It’s just another aspect of myself that I’m proud of.

The joys of cooking have continued for me.  This Saturday I made myself a lovely dish.  It was chicken coated in Italian breadcrumbs, baked in olive oil to a nice crisp, browned exterior.  The inside was moist and delicious.  I had sugar snap peas and broccoli as the vegetables.  I also had some long grain rice to complete the meal.  My dessert was a package of fresh strawberries.  What a fantastic meal.

Tonight was not as fantastic.  I was going to make spaghetti, which I don’t make often.  I bought some sauce on Friday when I went grocery shopping.  One of the jars was on clearance. It was Barilla Roasted Garlic pasta sauce.  I love garlic.  So naturally I thought it would be great.  It wasn’t.  In fact it was terrible.  I was shoving the sauce out of the way to try to just eat the noodles.  Now I know why it was on clearance.  Let’s hope the recipe I have for homemade mac and cheese turns out better.

I don’t know why I didn’t mention this earlier, but I had a meeting with Chris and another one of my good friends, Erika, about starting a non-profit and what it would take.  I have amazing friends.  They want to help and were guiding me in the right direction.  I think the most amazing thing was that throughout the whole meeting, the term in use was “we”.  It’s as if there was no question that they would be directly involved in the cause.  I can’t believe sometimes how awesome my friends are.  I’ve been asking around to some friends who are close to both me and this cause about being on the board when we get going, and they’ve been all for it.  I’m excited to see where this door leads.

On that note, it’s time to head to dreamy land.  It’s an early night for me…just past 11:00, but I need the rest.  With all the sleeping in over the weekend, I didn’t sleep much last night.  Thanks for sticking with my blog post until the bitter end.  Haha…g’night all.

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Posted in Freelance, friends, Goals, history, Podcast stuff | 1 Comment »

If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

No…I’m not bitching about my breakup.  I just have the song stuck in my head.  It’s been there for at least a week now.  I even dropped the three dollars for both the mp3 download and the video on iTunes.  I can’t help it.  It’s a sexy video and a catchy song.  I find it incredibly impressive that those women can move like that.  I look like a dufus any time I try to dance, and no, there will be no video posting of that.

The news of the week is that I finally got called by the debt consolidation people.  I’ve been enrolled and start my payments on the 25th.  I’m just wainting for the paperwork to arrive via priority mail.  So…in 5 years I will be debt free.  That’s a great feeling.  It’s looking like the plan will save me 110 dollars a month, but we’ll have to see for sure when all is said and done.

I also got my designs done for one of my clients.  That’s been sent off and now I’m just waiting to hear back on the choice.  Then I can get started on the flash parts of it.  I’m actually kind of excited about it because it involves more learning.  I truly enjoy it.

Speaking of the web, after spending more time with my budget, I decided to start working on software for budget and money tracking online.  I don’t want to pay for Quicken anymore.  Mint seems to have its downfalls, and I know from the past that when I design something, I really learn a lot.  I will learn how to budget better than any book.

I think I’m going to put together a database schema for translife too.  I think I might as well create my own social network site.  This will be fun / a lot of work.  Speaking of a lot of work, I haven’t decided whether I should move my list of chapters for my book onto this blog, google docs, or just keep it on the pad I have it on.  I might get tempted to work on it at work.  I probably shouldn’t do that.

Oh, and I was informed of a few jobs that I am planning on applying for.  That’s Tuesday night’s goal.  I’m going to attempt to keep myself busy every night until the weekend so I can relax then. Who knows though. Maybe I’ll spend the weekend working on a new demo reel.  We’ll see.

I’ll post more about my recently developed workaholism soon.  Happy January.

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Posted in Freelance, Goals | No Comments »

Horoscope

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

Today I was on Yahoo and saw a headline about checking your 2009 horoscope.  I’m not one of those people that lives by horoscopes and abides by their every word, but I am a big proponent of quantum mechanics and intention.  So, I sometimes look when I feel like I need a message of some sort. Anyway, here’s what the horoscope said for my sign:

Aquarius Outlook for 2009

Aquarius

1/20 – 2/18

Year 2009 Overview

Aquarius is all about a new vision in 2009, and working to move our planet toward the highest and healthiest quality of life. You are highly energized with this wonderful alignment, and your inspiration is rekindled to move energy in grandiose ways. You are able to utilize these high frequencies in order to create new structure and value in people’s lives.

This is no time to sit back and let anything slip through your fingers. Express yourself and move forward with your visionary ideas. As you forge ahead, you find a reworking of meaning on a deep level, and discover possibilities as you connect with your highest star.

Your ideas have always been ahead of the times, and now you are a shining example of what the Earth force can assimilate into everyday living. You realize that the world was created with structure, and outdated modes of living that no longer serve mankind are being recognized around the world. It’s time to let go of anything that holds you back. New thinking is on the horizon, and people are ready to align with the quickly changing energies of the planets. Your leadership skills will help humanity make these shifts, and you will feel supported by those who understand the need to create peace and harmony.

Be inventive in channeling your dreams into reality. As you find a place to manifest this energy, it will become easy for you to usher in a better world. The time to realize your highest ideals is here!

Considering what’s been going on in my head lately, I felt that this was an encouraging sign.  I guess that means I’ll be pushing forward with my book. :)

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Posted in Goals, Zodiac | 2 Comments »

Happy New Year!

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

My 10 New Years Resolutions:

  1. To be in a stable and secure financial situation by year end 2009
  2. Write my book
  3. Get TransLife.net, JessicaJaniuk.com, and TranscendingProductions.com all designed and updated
  4. Get at least 6 paying speaking gigs
  5. Find a new, fulfilling, and prosperous career path
  6. Get my treatment written for my documentary
  7. Apply for several women in business grants for camera equipment and software
  8. Be a more active person in both my professional and personal life
  9. Read more
  10. Be Happy

I know…they’re more life goals than resolutions, but I think they’re healthy and acheivable. Maybe I’ll check in with these monthly to see where I am.

Happy New Year!! Peace on Earth and good will toward all people.

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Posted in Employment, family, friends, Goals | 3 Comments »