Semi-Annual Cycle Winds Down

Christmas has come and gone bringing me to the final week of this semi-annual project cycle.  I didn't do badly at all.  My weight hovered just above target.  I looked back over my health log to discover that I had lost about 4 kg a year ago which is when I banned a few items from the shopping cart.  It has been pretty static for the entire 2021 calendar year as has my waist.  But I did well with treadmill consistency, if not intensity.  I will focus more on intensity in the coming half year, letting the anthropomorphic results play out as they will.

My intent to write a book fizzled entirely.  Bad habits, mediocre commitment, unwillingness to do what it takes.  An attempt to go All In for a month totally failed.  Yet it's an important frontier to me, so it remains as my Frontier Initiative for the coming cycle with better focus on set times and milestones.

I did well on reading, as I usually do.  That repeats as my Self Initiative.

I want to entertain in my home, meaning a combination of tidying and making friends and taking initiatives.  Planned three, did one.  Give it another go as my Friends Initiative.

I wanted to offer assistance to an OLLI Committee.  Latching onto one was not as straightforward as I expected.  It's hardly an impenetrable USY Clique.  Give it another try with more persistence as my Community Initiative.

Went to three day trips with new experiences.  One of my reliable and gratifying initiatives.  I  made a few modifications to this Travel Initiative.  This cycle the trips will all be in my bordering state of Maryland.  Having driven its width for the first time, there's a lot there to sample.  I will accept not only a day trip to a new place or new experience but allow a short overnight or two night stays if that enhances the experience.

Having a YouTube presence could have made a fine Long Term project.  I learned how to do a basic presentation, settling on a cell phone video instead of camera, tripod, microphone.  It would really cost more than I want to spend and don't feel sufficiently motivated to pursue this.  It will be abandoned, for now if not forever.  My replacement Long Term Initiative will be to complete the renovation to My Space so that it also becomes my Sanctuary, my go-to place for motivation and for comfort.  Once done right, always done.

I submitted three articles to publishers, more counting Medscape, which I probably should give up.  The writing came early in the cycle, some good stuff, a lot of false starts.  Then a stretch of half-hearted efforts.  I really like expressing myself.  I'm not a troll on internet response opportunities, but I think what I express should have substance, require planning, go through an editor, and appear for others to read.  It remains my Mental Initiative with better focus on set times to write, places to offer the writing, and mileposts to keep me on track.

The family room upgrade got started but it needs professional help.  I could make progress for an hour or so but never the five-hour stretch that it would take to transform this to optimal living space.  Better to abandon this project.  Instead, for my Home Initiative, I always enjoyed the challenges and rewards of my gardens.  A change this time.  Outdoors for vegetables, front entrance for herbs.  Rethink and replant Aerogarden.  Last time I enhanced soil in the beds.  This spring I will need to cut back adjacent overgrowth that hides some of the surface that full planting requires.  Made lots of mistakes in previous years, learned from them.  Fewer mistakes this time.  The effort brings me a small measure of cheer, something in short supply.

My Family Initiative included targeted time with my wife, something I expected more of in retirement.  To accomplish this, I allotted a trip, one of serious tourism.  I got some resistance.  Instead, we settled on an interesting road trip to Mammoth Cave National Park and a few days in the Poconos.  This time I shifted some of the categories.  Family is still targeted wife togetherness though in smaller regular aliquots, special dinners, TV time, small two person projects.  Things that would not get much resistance.

Purchase Initiative has become surprisingly hard since I don't really want anything that I have to save up for.  I bought a car on short notice as my dear Honda became undriveable.  Not a planned purchase at all.  Having gotten a gift certificate from B&H Photo from my kids for my birthday, I set out to spend it.  I don't even know what most of the doodads that they sell are for.  Delegated this to my wife who selected a hand scanner towards the end of this semi-annual cycle.  I desire experiences more than things.  My landmark anniversary approaches next summer.  If our health and public health allows, this may be the opportunity for spending a little on post-retirement travel.  That's the initiative, to be introduced on our mid-point anniversary on Valentine's Day.

Financial Initiative also takes some thought, since I have ample funds, now augmented by a monthly Social Security check.  I've been logging my expenses each month, placing on an Excel spreadsheet, and tabulating expenses by category each quarter.  It's tedious on the days that I transcribe this, gratifying when I'm done.  This continues.

So this semi-annual cycle reaches its conclusion.  Some successful, a few abject failures but at least giving me an ideal of what motivates me and what I am willing to commit to.  Very much looking forward to the revisions and continuations as they start playing out next week.