Sep 3, 2009
September Monthly Goal Meet-Up
Rebecca, brilliant chick that she is, has asked for participation in a Goal Meet-Up project. Since I was planning on posting about my new goals anyway, I’m gladly joining her experiment.
Wanna hear it? Here it go!
So I’ve moved all my stuff and have been living with the GF since the end of June. At first, I had a hellacious transition period because I moved with to Atlanta with no job and all my job leads were in California. Initially, my plan was to keep looking for permanent employment in Cali, and get something short term (waiting tables) in the meantime.
Well, sometimes life has other plans. After just a few short weeks of looking, I landed a great job in Atlanta. Of course, while I was job searching and mooching off the GF, my only two priorities were 1. Find a job so that I could be a contributing member of the household 2. Don’t drive the GF bonkers.
Once I got the job all squared away, and I started believing the GF when she said she wasn’t going to kick me out, I started to relax and think about life in the A. Since I’m going to be in Atlanta, I don’t want to be miserable. I needed to get a life (and the GF strongly agreed).
So, in typical Monica-style I made myself a list, a “How to get a life” list if you will, of goals and stuck them on the vision board. They are in order of importance and the go a little something like this:
Five things I need to work on
- Meeting new people and Making friends
- Getting my bills settled
- Learning my new environment
- Building my brand
- Being a better friend, partner and family member
What I’ve done so far:
- I have joined several meet-up groups and have gone to one of the events. I have also joined a book club, and I foresee a lot of involvement there. I have contacted a few local branches of my sorority, in hopes of becoming more active there.
- I have created a budget and a mint.com account (thanks, Jenny Blake). I’ve called all my creditors about why I didn’t pay them all summer, and I’ve set up payment plans to get me back on track.
- This is supposed to me be exploring Atlanta neighborhoods by myself without the GF’s GPS, but some Atlanta neighborhoods are scary and I shouldn’t be in them by myself. I’m tabling this til next month.
- 4. I have had one meeting with a guy that could potentially build my website, but he’s not used to wordpress and I want to keep a wordpress framework, so it probably won’t work between us. Anyone know any good (inexpensive) web designers?
- 5. This will be an on-going goal. My sister lives in Atlanta and I want to make sure I spend time with her. My mom gets lonely back home, and I need to keep good communication with her. My brother, bless his heart, has finally joined the 21st century and has email, so I want to write to him more often. I want to keep in contact with my NC peeps, ‘cause I love and miss them. And I need to more honestly communicate in my relationship with the GF. I can check that I have been doing all these things in August.
Next Month
- Calling and/or emailing my friends in NC at least once a week. I’ve gotten out of touch with my MPA family
- Watch how much money I spend at the grocery store. (I tend to go a bit overboard.)
- I need to (a.) join (b.) go to (5x wkly) a gym; working out outside isn’t working for me.
- Call my mom and sister twice a week, send my brother one email a week. Send text messages to friends when I think of them.
- Build a marketing campaign for Cosmopolitan Urbanist (and find a web designer)
- Attend more meet-up events
- Contact local commercial developers.
- Show my emotions.
- I think I’ve found the organization that I’d like to work with next, so now I have to bring myself to their attention. I’m going to attend their September board meeting, and say something useful while I’m there.
- (Carried over from last month) Get a map of the interior of I-285 and explore different Atlanta neighborhoods, by car.
Wow. This is a lot of goals. But since they are (mostly) things I was going to do anyway, I think I’m ok.
The traffic inside I-285 (the Perimeter) is too scary, like the uncharted Atlantic Ocean centuries ago, full of sea monsters and capsized boats on the map. I don’t dare driving inside the Perimeter. I only explore what’s around the MARTA stations and where the bus can take me…
How technically involved are your web design needs? The AmeriCorps Alums chapter is reaching out to universities to recruit a web development intern who will basically be working for free, but if you pay your web designer, I think our *future* intern may be able to recommend someone who can work with you.
Gene Shiau´s last blog ..Volunteering at Atlanta Community ToolBank
Great stuff with #2 on last month’s accomplishments! I’m so happy I was able to help play a part in getting your finances organized. And kudos for calling the credit card companies and coming up with a payment plan. You go girl!!
Jenny Blake´s last blog ..Christopher Morley on Life & Individuality
Wow! You seem to be in full throttle with everything – but doing great, so congrats
I always like Jamie Varon’s blog designs (@jamievaron), she might be a good person to touch base with concerning your website. I also have a friend Mic Funk (micfunk.com) who pretty much rocks – tell him I sent you if you contact him.
I love how ambitious your goals are for September, and am looking forward to connecting again at the end of the month. Being in a new city is extremely challenging, but exhilarating at the same time. If anyone can excel, I’m betting it’s you
Rebecca´s last blog ..September Monthly Goal Meet-Up
Hi, I am following you from Rebecca’s blog and decided to take the challenge. Wow, what a list..congrats on your success from last month and willingness to carry over to the next month. You’ve got a lot on your list, but I am sure you can check them all off by the end of the month. I look forward to sharing encouraging words throughout the month. Feel free to follow me at zestolife.blogspot.com. Many blessings, Cj
Cj´s last blog ..Cash for Refrigerators – Are you going to upgrade your appliances?
This is fabulous! Congratulations on accomplishing several of your goals. Thanks for the motivation. You have given me hope for life after a horrific storm! By the way, there are several of your goals that should be on my list of goals, however I’m moved by #8 “show my emotions”…yeah I like that one mostly! I’m curious of how you are going to accomplish that one. Keep me posted.
@Gene: I am almost never outside the perimeter, so I won’t be exploring those neighborhoods. And since my personal and professional interests tend to be urban in nature, I need to focus on the in-town neighborhoods.
@Jenny Blake: Thanks girlie, for your comment. You blog often inspires my goals
@Rebecca: Thanks for coming up with this great idea. I’m excited to be a part of it. My goals are a bit ambitious, but I need them to stay focused on my longer term goals. Thanks for your comment!
@CJ:Thanks for stopping by! I’m looking forward to reading your goals and giving you the support you need to be successful.
@Shannon: Hi new friend! I’m glad I given you some motivation! I tend to be reserved so showing my emotions is a big deal. I will keep you posted on my progress!
xoxoxo
Thanks for commenting on my goals!
It sounds like while you have a ton of goals, many of them are good, positive and, most importantly, natural steps when you move to a new place and get settled in.
Also, re: webdesign, if you have a small budget and depending on your feelings about it, you might want to look into outsourcing. There are plenty of sites where you can hire professionals for cheap from other countries where the currency is much less than US$. They often have options to follow the person’s progress online. My company has had great success with this method after having problems with multiple local web designers who cost an arm and a leg.
Cassandra Jowett´s last blog ..September monthly goal meet-up
Fun goals! Being in a different city is definitely a challenging, but exciting experience! I kinda’ like this blog design! Are you working on a different site or looking to spruce up this one?
@Cassandra: Thanks for the tip! I haven’t thought about outsourcing, but I’ll be in touch with you to discuss it more.
@Ian: Being in Atlanta is fun and exciting, but sometimes (often) I miss my friends and knowing that any day of the week, I would have a group of folks to hang out with.
I like this blog design too, but it wasn’t really what I wanted when I started this site. It just looked the best of all the themes I tried on. I have ZERO tech skills so I couldn’t even modify this one. I just need someone to help me.