Guess Who Stinks at Blogging?! (AKA, Time to Make the Goals Public)

Meeeeeeee!   I can't decide what my problem is either.  Mostly I wrestle with how my thoughts will sound in writing, whether or not what I have to say is of any interest at all, and whether or not my opinions and observations have any truth to them.  All of these things add up to me not posting.  For two months.  Of the ten months that I am here . . . sigh.

I had to remind myself of why I wanted this blog in the first place -  I want to remember our time here and I want something to refresh the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that we are having while we are here.  So far, I have gotten all caught up in the "right" things to post or the "fun" things to post and I have let the perfectionist in me keep me from posting.  No more.  This year is about getting over some of my hangups, some of the things that keep me from doing things that I really want to do.

I'll get back to a lot of the experiences that we have had thus far, including travels and touring our new country.  For now, I need a (public) place to keep track of my goals while I am here.  You'll see why in a minute.  Note: I wrote these goals well before we got to Bahrain without any idea of their feasibility.  Let's see how how this is all going so far . . .  

1 - BLOG about our time here.  There.  There's why I need the public accountability.  It's freaking goal number one and I stink at it so far.  Accountability will keep me on it, and thank you to Dana B, Dana N, Lynnie, and Justin for asking about it so far.   Your asking has kept it in the forefront of my mind, even when I wanted to run away.

2 - GRAD SCHOOL decision before Christmas.  Since my junior year of college, I have known that I would like to attend grad school - I just knew that I could learn more and do more with further education.  But what degree? And where?  And WHEN?  Timing and family and a million other excuses have gotten in the way, but the desire remains.

3 - VOLUNTEER somewhere in Bahrain.  My days have the potential to consist of: open mornings, remote work for my org in D.C. in the afternoons, and family time in the evenings.  I need those mornings to be more than a free-for-all and I need a social aspect to life while I am here.  Still working on this one.

4 - Learn basics of ARABIC.  Unless I sign up for an Arabic class, this one is going down the tubes.  Everyone here speaks English, and if they don't it's probably because they speak Indian or Filipino. This may morph more into "Learn about Islam" because being here and experiencing life in an Islamic State, especially as a Christian, is fascinating.

My Google Sign-in might be in Arabic, but that does NOT mean I know what it says!

5 - EXERCISE every day, including learning Yoga and running, with a goal of the Army 10-miler in D.C. when I get home.  THERE, I SAID IT.  These are big goals for me.  I have been gifted three extra hours per day (no commute = +2 hours, and no lunch break = +1 hour.  PER DAY.).  The "I don't have time to exercise" excuse has officially been wiped off the board this year.  The goal has changed to working out every weekday and it's going okay so far!  I just started the Yoga piece; I have always wanted to learn.  So far I have been jogging (I think it's pronounced with a soft "j" especially at the pace I go) in our gym in the apartment building because it's still so hot outside.  I can do better.  I need to push myself out of the comfort zone on this one.  

6 - Learn GUITAR.  Love music.  Love a portable instrument.  Had a guitar shipped ALL THE WAY to Bahrain, so I better learn!

7 - Learn to make MOZZARELLA.  Because - cheese.

8 - WATCH The Wire.  You know - The HBO tv show based in Baltimore?  So many people have told me how great it is.  I thought this would be a great goal for when we had to stay in Saudi for almost a month to get our residency.  Luckily for me (but not for this goal), Saudi changed their processes and our stay there was a mere four days.   Sooo . . . this one may get trashed.  But I still want to watch that show.

9 - Finish the HARRY POTTER series and watch the movies.  Dork alert!  I never finished the books.  Got halfway through book 4 (I know, I know . . . that's when they start getting really good!) and I refuse to see the movies until I have read all of the books because I like my imagination to do the work of creating the scenes.  Such a dork.  This is one thing that I am doing well on because I got them all loaded in my Kindle, I have mornings free, and I have a pool that is quiet and delightful in the morning.  :)

See - you'd be reading a lot too if this was waiting for you.

10 - Pick up the PHONE more often and connect with friends and family.  I hate to end with a fail so far, but . . . FAIL.  In my defense, the time difference is not helping anything here.  But in all honesty, there are no worthy excuses on this one.  I love each and every one of my family members a TON and I have some friends that I love as dearly as family and the fact of the matter is that I do not tell them often enough just how much I love them and just how much they (YOU) each mean to me.  Somehow I think this should be moved to goal number one.