30 Goals for 30

Yesterday I turned 27. Not a particularly significant event in our society. But it had me thinking about my life, what I've done, what I still want to do. I only have three years left before 30. Which made my brain to its twitchy little thing where it starts forming lists. And 30 Goals for 30 was born.

It started as just a list of things to work towards, and then very quickly got edited and turned into a list of things to push myself. Push myself to try new things, get over fears, push the boundaries of what I can do.

• write 6 novels 
• write 36 short stories
• run a marathon by my 30th birthday
• read 300 books
• learn another language
• learn to knit (make a pair of socks, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a Doctor Who scarf as proof)
• start rock climbing
• take krav maga classes
• join a roller derby team
• cook 156 new recipes
• write 156 handwritten letters to my grandparents
• write 1095 diary entries
• take 1095 pictures
• take a stained glass or glass blowing class
• take a belly dance class
• learn to play an instrument
• do 288 hours of community service
• go to a ren faire in a costume I made myself
• go to a combination of 12 plays/symphonies/art exhibits
• vote in every election after spending adequate time familiarizing myself with the options
• start doing either yoga or pilates, or a combination of the two
• take a class at my local community college for something I do not want to go back to school for
• read the dictionary
• watch 156 classic movies
• pass the FBI physical exam
• take a firearms class
• take a fencing class
• take a kendo class
• eat at 18 new-to-me non-chain restaurants
• take a trip to someplace I've never been

So, aside from my interests in writing and cooking and rambling on the internet, this has just become a place where I will also track my progress towards these 30 goals and pushing myself as a person. Expect sporadic updates as I work towards them.

Though, I have decided that since I came up with this list last week, I will count the two books I've read since then, Anna and the French Kiss and Hex Hall (somebody got a Nook for her birthday and fell in love with reading all over again). But all three of these things deserve their own posts, because ZOMG!

So 2 books down, 298 to go. This is one goal I'm definitely feeling good about. Also, the marathon goal is daunting, but I've re-started my one mile walks and my mother is getting me new walking/jogging shoes for my birthday. It might take all three years, but I can do eet! Go me! :)

Saving Francesca

Maggie Stiefvater and Tessa Gratton have both talked about how much they loved this book, so when I ran across it at my local Bargain Books I figured I’d give it a try. I bought it with Nobody’s Princess and Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The stack of them have been sitting on the mantle since I came home with them five weeks ago. In the meantime I purchased a copy of Gail Carriger’s second parasol protectorate book, Changeless and Patricia Briggs’s Silver Borne.

It took me several weeks to get through Changeless (which is a whole other post waiting to be written). There was nothing wrong with the book; I highly enjoyed it. I just get into these reading slumps. They seem to be happening more and more in the last year and half than they ever did before. Each time it happens I fear I’ve lost my love of reading. I’m just apathetic about it, even when I’m enjoying something. But eventually a book like Saving Francesca comes along, and that apathy dissipates.

I finished Changeless yesterday afternoon just before I left to meet O for lunch, so as I was running out the door I went to grab my copy of Silver Borne. I don’t like to go anywhere without a book, in case I get caught just sitting around waiting. Normally I have at least one backup book stashed in the car, but we’d just cleaned it out this weekend and I needed something. Silver Borne has disappeared, however. A roommate must have moved it, because I searched high and low and can’t find it anywhere. So, in a rush I grabbed a book off the mantle and left.

Wow. Thank goodness I did. This is one of those books that just blows you away, refilling the well/recharging your batteries. Not only did I want to reread this book right away, studying it, but it left me ravenous, wanting to burn through my TBR list. The characters in this were so expertly crafted, I’m in awe. It sucked me in and wouldn’t let go. I read it in less than a day, the way I used to read everything. I couldn’t put it down. And I get the feeling that the subtlety of the characterization is going to haunt me for weeks.

It makes me want to go through my WIP and perfect the characterization now that I’ve seen it done. It lit a fire making me want to read and write so much more. I can see why this one was an award winner.