2010 Resolutions: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Happy New Year!
Good Morning, 2010. Nice to meet ya. What surprises will YOU bring?

It's good to get back to the routine. The Thanksgiving/Xmas holiday slow down always plays chaos on my well-oiled machine of routine. Just when I get a good balance of work/play , social/solitary, and write/exercise/play going the winter holidays come along and obliterate my safety nets like a big kid knocking down a house of cards. So while I'm not working today ( or at least not getting paid) I'm glad the rest of the world is. Pretty soon it will be back to business as usual for my soccer team, basketball team, writing group(s), tutoring sessions, multiplayer video game nights, and ,yes, even subbing. These are the things that sustain me, keep me sane, and help me survive.

Resolutions: Looking back and looking ahead.

First, let's review my goals from 2009:

1. Finish a manuscript, with the eventual goal of publishing. For me the golden apple is not money, or even fame but just being in the business. I love telling stories, especially for children. I just want to get to the point where I actually feel like a writer and I'm progressing.

2. Get a classroom teaching job in another country/culture.
3. Get classroom teaching job anywhere ( even here in MN).
4. Start my Montessorri training.

5. Get married.

6. Continue to grow in my knowledge and expertise in dealing with depression.

7. (Re)learn Japanese, Spanish, or German.

WRITING:

So I didn't break any records for blog posts in 2009. I can live with that. I have my first manuscript. In 2009, especially the fall, I've been dividing my writing time between journaling in my writer's notebook (long hand), this blog, my memoirs on my laptop, and various writing projects. So while it's not always easy to see, I've been much more consistent in my writing this year.

I've definitely seen a tremendous growth in fluency this year. My first drafts are better and I've actually learned the art of revision. My manuscript has gone through at least 5 or 6 revisions. I've lost count. But I've shown it to enough people to know that it's good.

I'm on my way!

Grade : Success!


TEACHING:

It's been an interesting year. Let's start with the International Job Fair last January. I got three interviews and one job offer. The schools in South Korea and Berlin, Germany were very attractive. I would have taken a job there in a heartbeat. Most importantly, having a non-teaching spouse was NOT an obstacle. That just shows me that this dream of ours IS possible for my wife and I. Also, the school in Taiwan offered jobs to both of us. We weren't ready to settle for a job teaching English (as opposed to teaching content, in English) last year. This year, I am.

After the job fair, I applied for many jobs in MN in February through July. I probably had about 10 or more job interviews with no job offers save a disastrous few weeks in the Minneapolis Public schools on a long call assignment. I really thought I'd get a job in the summer of 2009 for the fall of 2009. All in all, although I'm frustrated to not be working and making money, it has been fortuitous to have another year "off" to myself. It was in the Fall of 2009 that I finally started the writing habit and finished my first manuscript. With any luck I'll be submitting that manuscript to publishers within the next 30 days.

If it weren't for the "failure" of not getting a teaching job, I wouldn't be enjoying the "success" of having a manuscript right now. That manuscript is a precious first step on the road to writing for me. Twenty years from now that's going to mean a lot more to me than whatever job I could have had at the moment.

Teaching Grade: Fail
Lifelong learner grade: Proficient. You are learning to make the best of what life offers you.
Attitude grade: inconsistent. Some of the time you are happy and hopeful. At other times you have been bitter and pessimistic. While you will never perfect this, you must strive to remember that happiness is a choice.

GET MARRIED:

We did it! We got married in a beautiful ceremony in Monterey, California that will live in vivid memory ( and beautiful photos) for years to come. We enjoyed a brief vacation in Doris Day's hotel, nearby San Francisco, and then a smashing party at the Zoo in Minnesota. Many people, both old and young, told us that our wedding was the "best wedding ever". Apparently, whether they had been to zero or countless weddings before ours, the party stood out as being fun, playful, and at the zoo! People enjoyed the wildlife as well as our game show. The wedding party was a little rushed and hectic for K and I, but it gives me a lot of pleasure to know that my friends, family, and loved ones enjoyed the show.

Final grade: Success

DEALING WITH DEPRESSION:

I've written more on this earlier in this blog. I'm now at the point where I can advise others. I still experience setbacks but they are shorter and more manageable. I continue to grow in my knowledge of what works for me.

Final Grade: Advanced, Proficient.

LEARN A LANGUAGE:

I played around with learning German via Babble and Berltize CD's. Even considered getting Rosetta Stone. I considered rejoining the Japanese conversation group with JASM. Then I enrolled in a Spanish Immersion class through community ed. I (re)learned that to become proficient in a language, one needs daily practice, immersion, and hard work. My efforts at self-study by reading Spanish picture books at the library and magazines were as helpful as the weekly conversation opportunities. Bottom line: I'm probably not going to have the motivation to stick with this until I'm actually in a foreign country again. Which I think is fine by me.

Final Grade: Sufficient.


Looking Ahead:
My goals for the rest of 2010

January
1. Prepare for SECOND International Job Fair
2. Finish manuscript, cover letter, and submit to 1 publisher ( and later to multiple)
3. Keep working at everything else

February
1. reevaluate job market: Go international, Montessori, or other?
2. Keep writing

Onward!