Fish more (& 10 other things for 2011)

Time/Date: 1515, 16-Dec-10
Location: F'ton

Last night I wrote the following on my whiteboard:

1. FOA FB Ev (translation: do the Facebook event for fly-tying night at Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers)
2. H-wash trav tow (translation: hand-wash my new quick-dry travel towel so I don't turn blue in Senegal & freak out the villagers)
3. compost/garbage/vacuum (self-explanatory)
4. sort/shred paperwork
5. WRITE!!

I have an unnatural affinity for whiteboards, ask anyone who has worked with me. I also like lists (more on this in a moment).

After accomplishing 1 through 4, I browsed my RSS feed & came across Thoughtwrestling's 11 for 11 posts. Simply brilliant. As I said, I like lists. I've been thinking about what's coming up for 2011. My fifth task on my whiteboard was write. So why the hell not.

Note: these aren't resolutions. I hate new years resolutions. They're 11 things I'm going to focus on in 2011. There's no binding contract with the New Year baby or anything like that. Consider this a framework.

1. Fish more.

This is a given. 

2. Travel more.

It's not like I don't travel a fair bit already; for instance, in 2010:

• Feb-Mar: 5 weeks working in Northern Ontario;
• June: 3 weeks working in Northern Ontario
• July: 3-day vacation in Montreal
• Aug-Sep: 3+ weeks working in Burkina Faso
• Nov: 9 days working in Nova Scotia
• Nov: 2 days fly fishing in Louisiana

What's frustrating is this: ~90 days were spent working out of town & I didn't bother, for whatever reason, to do anything but work. For instance: I spent 13 hours at CDG airport in Paris & didn't do anything. So that is definitely going to change (details of my 2011 travel goals will be in an upcoming post).

3. Walk more. Drive less.

This is not some hippy, carbon footprint thing. This just makes sense for physical, mental & financial well-being. Burn less gas, burn more fat, burn less money. And reduce my carbon footprint! Ha! Gotcha! (ps - add biking to that, too)

4. Train myself to eat more fruit & veggies.

I'd really like to get to the point of a banana, apple or pear is my first thought for something to eat.

5. Train Awesome to be an off-leash dog.

This is high on my priority list. I would love to take Awesome more places but...well, let's just say he's special (he's a rescue dog). I'm afraid if he was off-leash, he'd put the ears back and head back to Seattle. He dislikes winter more than I do.

6. Less bullshit.

I've been working on physical & digital clutter. Moving on: mental clutter. Examples: I don't need to read how much of an asshole Toronto's new mayor is. Or how ignorant the typical poster on CanadaEast & CBC-NB's comment section is. This means more time doing fun things. Like fishing. Or making LAVA even more awesome.

7. Read more meaningful material.

I already read a lot. Probably more than you. But I want to read more classical and/or thoughtful literature. First up: Generation A by Douglas Coupland. After that: Thoreau's Walden.

8. Fish even more...

...and practice casting, practice knot-tying, tie more flies, improve my ability to read the water, meet more anglers, so & so forth.

9. Get my financial house in order.

It's not like it's bad...I just want to make it better. My philosophy from 2010 hasn't changed: paying off debt doesn't mean having more money to spend, it means there's less pressure to make money. That equals more time...to fish more. Travel more. And train Awesome.

10. See more (local) live music.

This doesn't really need an explanation, but if you're so inclined, check my music page for how I feel about this.

11. Help more.

There are people & organizations I helped in 2010. They will continue to receive my help, though some may get more & some may get less. There are others I hope to start donating time and/or money to. I'll probably mention them here from time to time. Everybody's got something to give to help others, be it time, skill or money.

Conversely....

11. a) (Bonus) Learn to say 'no' more.

Some people don't understand "working for yourself" means I still have to work and it's not all fun times & lollipops. Whatever the reason, I won't be rude about it, and I'll probably provide alternative options & solutions, but I will have to say no. Yeah, I know, it sucks.

Any big plans or changes for 2011? Throw 'em out there in the comments section.

Here's some music:

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