#210 - part time

i've been doing some part time home care work. yes, work. wow. it's been awhile since i've had to get up at a certain time. it is not even 9pm and i am ready for bed. while starting at 9am shouldn't be too difficult, it is kind of annoying. i like to sleep in. i don't like to set my alarm. for awhile there i was waking up consistently at about 10. i will miss those days but it is kind of nice to get into a sort-of schedule. i say sort-of because this is just temporary. the couple i am doing home care for just needs someone till they are over a hump of sorts. then it's onto the next client, and the next, and the next. they all live in different areas of portland and it will take different amounts of time to get there. also the times of their care will vary. right now it's four hours a day (9a-1p), five days a week, ten blocks from my house. i can handle that. plus they are cute and nice. if this at all sounds like complaining or whining, it is not. i like it. i just like sleep better. why can't i be paid to eat, sleep, workout, listen to music, and play Wii?

#61 - goals

okay so i am not a vegetarian. i just like salami too much. i decided that if i want it i should eat it. life is short! so one night while i was trying to decide what to make for lunches and going over my credit card statements, i realized i was spending too much money. i was living over and above my means. i am not a very flashy person but i spend lots of money.

"we are consumers. we're the bi-products of a lifestyle obsession." -fight club

it's as simple as that. consume, consume, consume. whether it is new clothes, music, food or drink, i consume. i've decided i need to stop that so much. so i made goals. goals for february include a budget, work goals, food, exercise, books and sleep. these may seem a lot but they actually go well together.

budget
let's just say i was relying too much on my credit card the past few months. i've put together a simple budget where the main things:

• $200 - groceries (it may seem like a lot but i love to cook and eat so this is essential)
• $100 - going out (for drinks and food! this will be hard)
• $50 - misc stuff (if i can't afford it this month i'll have to save and wait)
• $100 - central america (been saving that much a month for my trip!
• $400 - rent and bills (why?!)

so a total of $850 in expenses. i could live on less easily but i love to eat and go out so i think this is justified. i won't mention what i spent on groceries and going out this past month...

work
i want to work a lot this month so that i can afford to save and eat well. i'm trying to work 4 shifts a week, which comes out to about 16 for the month. i worked exactly 16 this month. hopefully i can squeeze some extra shifts into this short month.

food
i've included a list of foods to eat every day: oatmeal, flax, 2 L water, salad, 2 other veggies, 2 proteins, 2 fruits, 1 yogurt, OJ, another whole grain, and seaweed. although it might get quite monotonous, it is healthy and can be interesting if i plan ahead. so basically i'll just check these off everyday.

exercise

• dodgeball - games on thursday and pickup on friday/tuesday
• cardio - 30 minutes of interval training every other day
• weights - lift every other day and include plyometrics every week
• rock climb - 30 minutes a week on tread wall

i love working out so this shouldn't be a problem.

books
to read 4 books this month, that's one a week. in order to reach my goal of 50 this year, i gotta do it! i created a little blog for this one called brandizzle reads. the reading is going slow right now, only read 3 this month so i'm gonna kick it up a notch for february.

sleep
i've realized i'm highly sleep deprived by my procrastination and general insomniac lifestyle. i've been sleeping past midnight and waking at 5 am everyday and that is not good. so my new goals are 6 hours on work days and 8 hours on non-workdays. it will be good for me. plus i'll spend less time online.

photography
almost forgot about this one. i started this project called brandizzle 365 where i will be taking and posting a photo everyday for a year. seems like a lofty goal. so far i have already failed because i was too tired to post at the end of the day. i think that's forgivable. i still took a ton of pictures that day. photography is my one form of art that i enjoy and so i am not only trying to get better at it, i am doing it consistently!

so those are my goals. i will look back at the end of february and see if i am successful. i made a chart so i can monitor my progress and will be dedicated to this. it takes 21 days to make/break a habit so if i can do it this month then i can for an extended period of time following. goals are good and i think these are SMART goals.