Over the years, I would write a blog post, about halfway through the year, looking back at any resolution, goal, or wish that I made on or around New Year’s Day. 2020’s plans obviously took a… “turn”, with the rise of COVID-19. Here’s how they are going, so far:
Source Post: Here
1. Graduate From WKU in December.
This is still on track, although the final semester appears to be loaded. I have to take 2 final classes, plus a ‘Capstone’ class (a Senior Research Paper class), and all of them are On Demand, meaning that at least one of them will come out of my pocket. If I have to pay for 2 classes, then Graduation will be pushed back one more time, to May 2021.
2. Celebrate from February 15-23… the time period is a vacation… surrounding the 10th anniversary of my Double Heart Valve Replacement surgery.
This was a success. I’ve written about it before; it was a good vacation.
3. Don’t say ‘yes’ as much.
So far, this has worked… but mainly because of Covid-19. You can say ‘no’ much easier when ‘doing this puts my life in danger’ is a part of the equation. The part that sucks is that ‘no’ will be the likely answer to nearly everything social, for the foreseeable future, that involves more than 4 or 5 people or involves traveling via bus. With work, it depends on what’s asked and how long I’d have to do it.
4. Resolve the CT/foot/travel money issues by the end of April.
This is one of the few ‘positives’ that’s come out of Covid-19, and even that wasn’t a complete success. CT (‘Cincinnati Tradition Drum & Bugle Corps’), and the rest of the Drum Corps world, had their seasons cancelled by Covid-19. With that, the money that I had been saving up for the season went to other issues: some covered a couple of short checks; some went towards the purchase of a new laptop (a Mac!); some paid off a loan; and the rest stayed in Savings. The foot, however, has not been resolved. Yet.
5. Get to 195 pounds by Labor Day.
Losing the marching season (and, until recently, the closing of Planet Fitness) complicates this resolution. As of a week ago, I weighed about 209 pounds – still a good weight, considering I haven’t consistently walked or worked out since November. Can I drop about 15 pounds in 6 months? We will see.
6. Continue finding more ‘me time’; ‘fun time’.
There have been some fun moments this year: a dinner with a very good friend, her husband, and her brother, one of the few times we’ve been able to hang out in over 15 years; I joined a 26-week Programming program called ‘Code Louisville’, catching up on some podcasts and book reading/listening, to name a few. However, like a lot of folks, I could definitely use some time with friends and family, especially out-of-my-apartment fun. There has also been a lot of ‘me time’, although not exactly in the forms that I had envisioned at the beginning of the year.
Covid-19 has wrecked many plans but I will continue to try and adjust to “the ‘new’ normal”. I want to actually get close to my Goodreads goal of reading/listening to 25 books in 2020 (I’m currently listening to #6 and halfway through reading #7). I want to finish Code Louisville AND graduate from Western Kentucky University in December. I want to not catch COVID-19.
The Nexus 