First week update

I finished my first week at the new job -- lots of meetings and getting my laptop setup, etc. Nothing too exciting to report on, however, the coming week will bring some items over to my task list.

I also got back to running today - just a short one though. With our new schedule I'll have to do my best to get up a bit earlier and put in a short run before work. Once I get into my routine at work, I may also be able to run there. I noticed that there are quite a few runners in the building taking advantage of the flexible schedule and local trails.

The last few days were pretty exciting weather wise. I'm pretty sure that we broke some records for the latest snow fall of the year. We had everything from rain, sleet, hail, and snow; all within a 24 hour period.

That's it for now.

Lola climbs the corporate ladder - only to fall down in completing her other goals...

Guess what?

It looks like I got a new job as well! I start sometime at the beginning of May. It's in the same department but different. The only downside is that I have to change locations... Apparently, that's only temporary though so I can survive until the renos are done...

As far as goals are concerned though, I'm shirking my responsibilities. I thought I had the saving thing in sight but noticed some other financial items that were putting the other items on hold. Hopefully, I'll have that done by pretty much the end of this month.

Eating healthy? Not so diligent. Exercise? Mostly, I'm sticking to it. Computer? Not even close. Moving? Yes, only down the priority scale on my to-do list...

Oh well. Not much to beat myself up about. I'll be going to see Duran Duran at the end of this month... It cannot be all bad...

Update - April 2008

A lot has happened since my last post.

I have a new job! I start next Friday.

Bridlewood Estate Winery, Central Coast Syrah Reserve 2003 is good :-)

P.S. Still need to finish the degree :-(

Job Search plus

"Long haired freaky people need not apply."


Tomorrow I have a "behavioral interview" with a major employer. Tonight we practiced (good thing we did) -- I've been out of the "game" for so long I really had to think back to specific situations to draw examples from.

In other news I've done a little bit of work with a pre-startup company. My school project has suffered over the last week+. Tomorrow I'll get back to it, I promise!

On Wednesday I'm attending a new members meeting followed by pub night for an entrepreneur network that I recently joined.

It's scary to put myself out there. I've been at home for some time now and need to boost my self confidence.

I'll report back after the interview :-)

Rough Week+

The last week and one half have been stressful and sent me off kilter. What happened during this time? Well, I've applied for a few jobs and since I have been out of the game for so long, I'm not used to the ups and downs of wondering what is happening with the application -- will I get an interview? Did I complete the online application form correctly? Should I have worded something differently? I'm a wreck.

To make matters worse, a fellow that I have worked on and off with over the last half year contacted me out of the blue. His startup has finally been registered, although, he's still looking for seed money to get the venture off the ground. He needed some help with code that I had written months ago, and frankly my heart just isn't into it. I guess my hopes were/are up with the jobs that I have applied for.

I've let my work on the Master's project slide this week. And I've barely run at all - which is bad.

I still have no word back from my main supervisor re: my last two courses and that is also weighing on my mind. Why is she avoiding me?

Sometimes I think too much; actually, sometimes I worry too much. Today I need to get back to my project and get on with life.

P.S. This is a test post using Google Docs.

March 100 Mile Challenge

I'm going to try this again, last challenge I was doing awesome and then missed too many runs and couldn't make it up - I ended up being eight miles short :-(

020080309 - Today I cut into my deficit. I ran a new route which was great, however, it included a lot of hills which tired me out pretty quickly. Oh yeah, I also tried Orange Blast GU - not bad, but, I think I prefer Lime.

020080308 - I am really far behind. This past week I was very busy with my project and job search; I shouldn't have let my running slide, but, I did. Time to get back on track.

One down, five more to go

Okay, so I can officially say that the following goal, can be checked off my list:

Rebuild lottery fund savings account - this has now been built up to the level that it was at (with a little extra) before I resorted to using it to pay off a rather large bill. By doing this, I have managed to create a little more debt but that should be caught up with next payday...

Unfortunately, due to my new recurring cold, items 1, 2 & 3 have fallen by the wayside. My room has laundry and things lying everywhere and I haven't really felt like exercising... At least I'm making an attempt to eat better...

How are things going with my partners in crime? Care to comment K & S?

Stay tuned, alright?

GU Energy Gel

Tonight was the first time I tried an energy gel while running. About 45 minutes into the run I stopped to take it. The first mouthful was a little strange, but, since they're mainly sugar I gulped the rest down easily. The consistency is definitely gooey, hence the name of this brand. I ahd the Lemon Sublime, next time I'll try the Orange.

I think it helped. I ran eight miles and was pretty consistent in pace throughout, even the long hills on the way home.

Getting Things Done is done

This morning I finished reading Getting Things Done by David Allen. I had set a small goal to complete the book by the end of Jan 2008; I'm a few days late, but, I'm not beating myself up about it.

For me, this book makes sense and I would recommend it to anyone who feels overwhelmed by all of the tasks they must complete on a daily basis. The workflow that is presented in the book meets my logical mind and I have started to see real benefits from implementing it in my life.

Like most great ideas, there is nothing earth-shattering in the book, it is mostly common sense stuff, however, it has helped me to get back on track and not to worry about everything.

Near the end of the book their is a quote from a friend of the authors', Steven Snyder:

There are only two problems in life:

1. you know what you want, and you don't know how to get it;
2. you don't know hat you want

First steps !

I had a most amazing birthday party ever last night. My friends(of course, including lola) threw me this awesome birthday party and I had so much fun ! Everyone completely cracked me up!!!! One of my plans, "Go out there, have more fun!" took its first steps.

Lola plods along...

I feel like I'm neglecting this blog however I am still on the path to completion. It may not seem like it's going very quickly but the truth is, I'm not on a backward slide so that's all good. I just have to realize that things cannot happen instantaneously...

My space hasn't been cleaned entirely but I can still manage to see both the top of my desk and the floor. That's a really good thing. I will be embarking on a filing project to move all of my financial records from the tin boxes under my bed to something more condusive for filing. It'll decrease my floor space but at least things will be tidy. I also plan to take the things to the consignment stores over the next week to free up some more of that space. Wish me luck!

As far as other things that are on my list, they goes as follows:

Get more exercise: Well, the weather has been cold and slippery so I haven't been doing much walking but I have been doing my crunches and a few upper body exercises with and without weights. Oh, and the yoga thing is going well. I'm planning to purchase a set of kundalini yoga dvds so that I can do more of that at home. I found a site where I can get what I'm wanting at a much cheaper price due to both the low price and the great exchange rate we've been enjoying lately... Oh, and I wanted to show my enthusiasm for this photo gallery of a playground for pensioners in the UK. I think that we should have many more of these... It'd decrease the need for gyms...

Eat better: Okay, so if I say the word caffeine and chocolate (which I really don't like anyway), you know that I haven't exactly been doing that well with this. I do try to get some vegetables though...

Lottery savings fund: I'll make another substantial deposit by phone tomorrow. (I've got to do some clever financial work to make that happen and won't get to it until the end of the day). Anyway, I'll be two-thirds the way there by Monday morning.

No real comment on the last two items. I really have to get item four plus some errant bills out of the way before I can start on them.

Sorry about the brevity of this. I've got to go and eat lunch...

Kirby - Monthly Run Log

• Feb 2008 - 55.64 mi
• Jan 2008 - 65.42 mi
  

MapMyRun - The ASICS Run 100 Miles in a Month Challenge

Last Updated: 020080220

020080220 - We had company over the long weekend and I didn't run. Today was a long one. I think I have 9.37 mi to complete in the next day or two.

020080213 - I missed my run yesterday, so today was eight miles. The hills are getting a lot easier.

020080129 - Yesterday it snowed! I missed my run so I had to increase my distance today to keep on track -- did 8 miles in the wind and rain - my knees are a little sore.

Today I logged into MapMyRun. MapMyRun can be used to record walks, hikes, runs, biking, etc. It's free to join and you can slice and dice as much data as you like - even information from a GPS unit if you have one. Its not perfect, they do not support Garmin upload from Mac OS X :-(

I hadn't been to the site in months. They've added some useful new features, one of which is goals. So, I bit the bullet and joined the ASICS Run 100 Miles in a Month Challenge.

Unfortunately they don't offer a widget to add to your blog, but, I took a region capture so you get the idea.

2008, New year, New plans !

I'm going to take this opportunity as a reminder for myself, but also to encourage each other to accomplish what we have set up to do in 2008. Every year, just like most of people do, I made a "new year's resolution. But when I look back now, I don't even remember what I made a resolution about last year.
But ! I have a feeling that this year could be different. I'll make it even a just bit different. I live in a different place, go to different school and hang out with different people from last year, so somehow I feel that I myself would be a bit different, in a both positive and negative ways. "Stay focussed" is definitely what I need to do in order to enjoy my life more and challenge what I haven't acomplished. I'm going to share just a part of my plans for this time because I need some time to think more.

• Go to places that I've never been to
• Go out there ! Have more fun
• Manage time well
• Learn how to cook
• Spend more time with my sibilings
• Eat more veggies
• Give most focus on studying, I mean school work

Masters Project - purpose

I just finished reading chapter three of GTD. This chapter describes the "Five Phases of Planning":

1. Defining purpose and principles
2. Outcome visioning
3. Brainstorming
4. Organizing
5. Identifying next actions

I'm fearful of applying step one to my masters project. I already know that I will have a difficult time answering the question, "What is the purpose of my project?"

I can feel my heart rate increase as I type this post.

Unfortunately, I find myself with little reason for this project and that may explain my lack of enthusiasm in finishing it. This next quote from GTD sums it all up for me:

If you're not sure why you're doing something, you can never do enough of it.

Update 020080121 - I started! Even though it's not complete, it does feel better knowing that I at least started this dreaded task.

GTD on YouTube

This is the last GTD post for the day, I promise :-)

In October 2007, David Allen, the man behind the GTD movement gave a talk at Google HQ. Google invites speakers from many disciplines to speak at their corporate campus.



Update: I posted this before watching it through. I just finished watching it and I must say that I am a little disappointed with the presentation. There was just too much rambling and not enough explaining, it's like a watching a film when you're waiting for something good to happen -- I thought he would have put up the GTD workflow at least.

GTD Wallpaper

I found some nice GTD Workflow wallpapers today. The one I like the most is from Anabubula.com. This rendering of the workflow has a web 2.0 feel to it, the colour scheme, rounded corners, etc.

I finished reading Chapter two of Getting Things Done (GTD) today, I hope to read Chapter three tonight so I can stay on track of one chapter per day to reach my end of month goal.

I also bought a six-pack of cardboard storage boxes from Staples on Friday. From the first two chapters of the book, part of the success of GTD is to have a system for collecting and processing your things.

New member...

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Sami to "Stay Focussed". She signed on last Friday and although she hasn't posted yet, you can look forward to her joining the fold.

If you're interested in signing on yourself, please drop Kirby or Lola a line...

Lottery fund...

Just what is a lottery fund anyway? It's not really as it sounds because I don't use the saved money to buy lottery tickets... I use the savings account to save up the money I didn't spend on lottery tickets. My rationale is this: the way my luck goes, there is not a chance in hell that I'll ever win anything substantial so, I'm more likely to save a million dollars before I would win it.

I had saved a fair bit but used it to pay off bills at the end of last year. Now I am building up the balance again. It'll take a few paychecks but now that I'm not charging up a storm anymore, I can build it up.

Today, I deposited one-third of what I withdrew originally.

That means that within the next month, task #4 can finally be checked off!

020080119 - Plumbing

The joys of being a home owner...

This morning I replaced the fill valve and flapper on a toilet. Elapsed time: 45 minutes, which included one trip to the work shed. This wasn't exactly a goal of mine, but, it had to be done and since I had put it off for the last week or so I thought I would post it.

Once less thing on my mind to worry about.

This constant, unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do is the single largest consumer of time and energy.

-- Kerry Gleeson

Items #2 & #3: Get More Exercise & Eat Healthier!

Actually, this has been going quite well. I've tried to eat less "junk"and replace it with fruit & veg. So far, so good although I did slip up this week and eat chocolate (which I'm not very fond of anyway) and one bag of cheezies. I thought that is what my body was wanting but it turns out I was wrong. It's more likely that I was a little dehydrated and what I really wanted was water. So, today I'm back to fruit, yoghurt and vegetables. It feels good.

Exercise has morphed into walking as much as I can. It also became a necessity because of the shitty bus service in my area. I now walk everyday in some form or another. My plantar fasciatus has been acting up but probably because the calluses were softened after my pedicure this week. So, I've gotten the moleskin out and it seems to be doing the job.

I've also started a little weight program at home along with squats, crunches, girly push-ups and some yoga stretching. I've also started two yoga classes a week. One kundalini and a hatha yoga class on Sundays & Mondays.

It really does feel better having got some exercise. I no longer feel like a slug and I can see that clothes fit a bit better.

Kirby - De-clutter Goal

I've come to the following realizations:

1. The more I have, the more I want
2. The less I have, the less I worry about things

To this end I have decided to add thirty minutes per day into my routine for de-cluttering my life. I've used Freecycle twice in the last week to get rid of stuff from the office. I think I have some items that are too good for free, so I will try Craigslist next; eBay would be too much hassle with shipping them.

Kirby - Getting Things Done (GTD)

In 2001, David Allen wrote a book titled, "Getting Things Done". Since then he has gone on to become a phenomenon in this space. I actually purchased this book in late 2005, and never finished it. It's one of those things that seems intuitive, the difficulty is changing old habits and replacing them with news.

I'm going to set a goal to finish this book by the end of the month.

Ch.1, Ch.2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6

For more info on GTD check out these links:

http://www.davidco.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done
http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done

Another great resource is D*I*Y Planner. They provide free PDF templates, including many for GTD fans.

Kirby - 020080117

Finally. After three days of not running, two of them due to icy road conditions, I forced myself to go for a run. Boy, do I feel better now or what! I should know better; I do know better. A little exercise goes a long way to making my day more productive and enjoyable. The problem is, once I miss one or two days of running, it is really likely that I will just stop for days, weeks, or even months on end. Why is that? Why can't I stick to a routine. When I was in the military I had no problem following a routine and even leading the call, however, when I'm on my own it is a different story. I guess I need someone to compete with, rather than competing against myself.

Last year we took my son to watch our local marathon. As each runner approached the finish line the announcer would say a few words about them. One fellow was in his 50s and had not missed a day of running for the past twenty-odd years! Amazing.

Kirby - Business Goal

This post lists the steps that I am taking to become self-employed:

• 020080121 - Attended a "technical presentation". It was OK, not as good as I had hoped -- if I had won the iPod nano I would have said it was awesome :-)
  
• 020080117 - Attended a tax seminar sponsored by the City; it answered most of my questions
  
• 020080116 - Phone call with my potential business partner
• We've had a bit of a set back with funding, but, will try to get back on track soon
• We've setup a weekly telephone call so we can keep up to date
• Business has already been formed and registered with the state

Kirby - Masters Goal

I have a weekly telephone call with my supervisor on Thursday at 10 AM. I will post my weekly tasks here:

• To be completed by 2/8/2008
• Continue working on the "design document", it's up to 12 pages and will eventually become an appendix to my project paper
  
• Integrate my project with the Lab's build process
• Today's call was good - I need to make my code available sooner than later though!
• One thing that we agreed could e a low priority was the integration with the lab database/service - that's fine by me :-)
• We also talked about the possibility of a small directed studies course
• I'll wait and see what courses are offered this summer first
  

• To be completed by 1/31/2008
• Continue working on the "design document"
  
• Integrate my project with the Lab's build process

• To be completed by 1/24/2008
• Move my source code in to the Lab's source code repository
• Integrate my project with the Lab's build process
• Write a summary of the current state of the project
• Write a "to be completed" statement
  
• Write a "future work" statement
  

Kirby - Fitness/Marathon Goal

Updated on: 020080124 - This post has been superceded by the 100 Mile Challenge. Perhaps after completing that goal I'll start training for a half marathon.

Since it's been a while since I've been running I have setup a short-term goal of running at least four times per week, where one run is long (~5 mi).

• week 4: 1/20/2008 - 1/26/2008: 6.74 mi across 2 runs
  
• week 3: 1/13/2008 - 1/19/2008 : 10.54 mi across 3 runs - FAIL
  
• week 2: 1/6/2008 - 1/12/2008 : 8.95 mi across 4 runs
  
• week 1: 1/2/2008 - 1/5/2008 : 8.02 mi across 4 runs
  

Kirby - 020080116

This is my first update, the post title is read as year, month, day.

* Click here for an explanation of the leading zero in the year field.

---

Last weekend was busy with visiting friends and with family activities. I had a rough couple of days this week just getting motivated so I don't have a lot of progress to report.

I did manage to finally start my Master's paper. It's just a copy of the template with my major headings, but, it's a start!

Tonight I have a call with a potential business partner. Since I already have a lot on my plate I feel so-so about it, especially because it will be another long distance working relationship. I think right now I need a more structured, traditional work environment.

Cleanliness vs Godliness

I've never been a religious person yet I suppose that my new religion is one of decluttering and cleaning.

Item #1 on my list has been a challenge. Cleaning is something that I am actually quite obsessive about however, it must be on my time and not all of the time. For years, I thought that I was borderline OCD but I now know that this is not the truth. If it were, my place would be spotless all of the time and I would be obsessively washing my hands. Sadly, this is not how it is.

Weekends tend to be my time to catch up on all of those things that I don't have time to do during the weekdays because I'm at work. My desk is usually quite tidy at the office. The rest of my home is usually pretty clean. When it comes to my room however, I find it a real challenge.

I suppose it's because I have too much stuff crammed into a little space...

That said, I haven't made much attempt to clean things up however, I did manage to package up some parcels that have been sitting around and writing letters to people. Things are progressing as far as the room is concerned but at a snail's pace. I suppose I'll have to get to it next weekend...

Start me up!

Welcome to Stay Focussed!

This is a fun, online incentive to keep myself motivated to complete my “to do” list of life. The content will evolve but for right now, I just wanted to get the ball rolling.

So, here is my current list:

c Clean up my room/workspace
c Get more exercise
c Eat better
c Rebuild lottery fund savings account
c Purchase my dream computer
c Save enough money to find a new apartment

The voice of my “inner conscience” will be provided by the other person involved in this blog. Good luck to both of us.

Kirby's BIG Goals

Priority one is the Masters degree, the remainder are in no particular order

c Finish my Masters degree
c Become employed, preferably self-employed
c Go Flying!
c Visit Hong Kong with our son
c Complete a full marathon
c Consume less
c De-clutter my office

Masters from Hell!

When I started my Masters program in September, 02004, I could not have predicted that I would still be working on it in 02008. I remember hearing from faculty members that this would be the most fun time of my life, and that the experience would be much different than undergraduate studies. In some ways that was/is true, however, I am trying to complete it off-campus, and for me that just adds to the difficulty.

In any case, here I am. No more excuses, really, and no more blaming others for my current situation.

For me, this blog is to announce to the world that I will finish my degree. I owe it to my family, and I owe to myself.