I'm the lead singer in a mood swing band...

Long time...

2011-12-20T04:47:00.002-05:00

... no see.

My last post was in November 2009. Seeing as how it's December of 2011, it's clear that time flies when you're not completing these goals.

In my defense, over the last 2 years...

... I got laid off from the paper.
... so I started my own business.
... which wasn't making money quickly enough so I got a part time job.
... and then another one.
... Michael and I got engaged.
... and then married.
... so we moved.
... his parents were both in the hospital (at two separate times) for over a month each.
... my father had his hip replaced.
... my grandparents spent more time at doctors or in hospitals than ever before.
... so my grandparents moved in with my parents.
... so my parents had to reno their whole house.
... meaning Mike and I had to reno their house.
... we took a 10 day honeymoon to Maui.
... and now that things have slowed down (ha!), it's our first Christmas as a married couple, so naturally we're hosting 14 people for Christmas Eve while both working retail for the holiday season. Along with our other jobs.

But after a couple months of financial hardship, overextended calendars, and general unrest, Mike and I have decided to take stock of our situation and try to goal-set our way out of it. Instead of attempting a second round of "101 goals in 1001 days" which, to be honest, was just too long of a time frame for a) me to stay interested in the exercise and b) my goals to stay relevant to my life, I've decided to attempt a more manageable "30 goals to 30." Since I will be turning 30 on 1/18/2013, approximately 395 days from now (approximately = exactly), that's a reachable deadline.

I've already started drafting the goals. Coincidentally, some of the goals looked the same as before without realizing I was repeating myself. "Hold a yard sale," "Save money," "Lose weight" - just a few recurring themes. But I also discovered that I completed a few of the goals without remembering they were goals.

005 Buy a Laptop - Out of necessity, I was forced to buy a laptop when we discovered that I couldn't run a home based business while sharing the same laptop that Mike was trying to run his home based business from. Now I am the proud owner of a (bargain) Best Buy refurbished MacBook.

041 Go Hiking 3 Times - I've gone hiking well over 3 times at this point. One benefit to Mike working at REI (besides his sweet discounts) is that he now wants to share in my lifelong love of the outdoors. We've hiked all over the Wissahickon, climbed over frozen waterfalls at Rickett's Glen, and trod through a bamboo forrest to a hidden waterfall in Maui.

068 Wear a bikini on the beach - Once I got to my wedding/honeymoon fighting weight, I wasn't afraid to "tie one on" so to speak.

080 Visit Karen in DC - It took a 5 hour Megabus journey, but I visited Karen in 2010 for the Rally to Restore Sanity held by Jon Stewart/Stephan Colbert. It was pretty goddamn great.

092 Get a facial - A luxury, but nothing is too extravagant when you're preparing for a wedding apparently.

Once I've completed my "30 by 30" list, I'll be back.

047: Surprise, surprise

2009-11-12T16:47:00.002-05:00

Double dipping is not just a social evil explored on Seinfeld reruns, it applies also to this list. I planned a surprise (Goal #47) for Michael (Goal #78), but have decided since the nature of Goal #78 is supposed to be "romantic," I wouldn't try to kill two surprises with one stone.

On November 1st, the Eagles played the Giants. (The Phillies were also playing the Yankees, but that's not part of this equation.) My huge distaste for sports, however, is. I. Hate. Watching. Sports. Yes, somehow I ended up in Philadelphia, the obnoxious sports fan capital of the US. I'm just missing that gene.

Michael, on the other hand, quite enjoys watching football. He also enjoys his friends, who he never quite manages to see. That's where I come in, goal's a-blazin'. I invited Scott, Lauren, Erin, Tim, Beckah, and Anna over to watch the game. In my house. With beer. And snacks. I even made PIZZA DIP. I know, I'm thinking the same thing.

But I kept the whole thing a secret from Michael, even the part where Scott and Lauren were coming in from NYC (with Erin, all the way from Minneapolis!) He was thrilled, and I even got a 24-hour reprieve from nagging reminders to get my shoes out of the middle of the living room. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

Added bonus: The World Series interrupted the game time for the Eagles, so they swapped kicked off out for 1PM. I had a theatre commitment, which kept me out of the house the entire time. Michael got to see all his wonderful friends, and I got out of 3 hours of listening to people scream at the TV because this, that, or the other millionaire didn't catch a ball.

015: Wake me up before you go go

2009-08-05T15:25:00.005-04:00

Jitterbug...

Jitterbug...

This goal had nothing to do with Wham!(period) It is however about a book that put the boom boom into my heart.

My not-best-friend, Mary, turned me on to Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume one sunny day on the beach at LBI. I can safely say that discovering the book was the best part of that weekend, somewhere in between the cripplingly painful sun poisoning and finding sand in all my nooks and crannies.

The epic love story, replete with it's haunting naughty passages and clever metaphors, quickly jumped to the top of a list that includes Lolita, A Clockwork Orange, and Brave New World. (Not to sound too academically pretentious, I've also developed a more recent passion for the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga.)

Just a week or so ago, I stumbled into a used book store on Prince Edward Island in a vain attempt to get a few moments of quiet time during a family vacation. Moments before my mother found me and dragged me back to 24-hour-a-day family bonding, I found a hardbound copy of Jitterbug Perfume. The surprise was opening the cover up and discovering that it WAS the illusive First Edition, First Printing that I'd hoped to stumble on one day. I took my lucky strike, and my $10 (Canadian), and walked out with a new prized possession.

The book seems to retail around $65 in mint condition, which mine is not. But this copy does have the worn, Velveteen Rabbit quality that I always love to call my own.

050: Home, where my thoughts escape me

2009-02-17T22:03:00.002-05:00

As I am currently in pursuit of real estate advertising, AND I've got these pesky 101 goals to complete, I double dipped last night at a First Time Home Buyers' seminar for one of my clients. It just so happens that this would have been the seminar I attended anyway given that it was run by Trish Kelly, "Agent to the Stars," who reps all the homeowners in the local theatre community. I love it when a plan comes together.

My ears are still ringing with things like "Private Mortgage Insurance," "80/10/10," "money" and a host of other foreign words, but I do feel much more informed than I did 2 days ago. I also realize now that it isn't completely out of the realm of reality for me to purchase a home in the not so distant future. Anna attended with me, and I know she spent all day window shopping on Realtor.com, but I somehow doubt I'll get very far on my grand total $700 in savings. My future is also so fluid that I'm scared to even consider a $100K+ investment when I don't know if I'll have to pick up and move to grad school in a couple years. On the other hand, an investment like a starter home could be a brilliant move pre-grad school. Grad students, as I understand it, have a hard go of it trying to work. A nice little investment property that I rent out and turn a profit on could be a smart idea.

I guess the punchline is that with an investment this big, there are a ton of reasons to move forward... and stay back.

035: Coffee Talk

2009-02-07T14:18:00.002-05:00

Somewhere in my recession depression I started saving every spare cent I had, and that meant that I could no longer afford the $6.25/week coffee habit. I also couldn't stop drinking coffee. It isn't just the headaches - there is something uniquely morn-ing about a cup of hot coffee. The start of my day is so sinfully WITHOUT routine that I wasn't about to let a little penny pinching ruin the only ritual I had.

And then Michael got a coffee pot. Now, every morning I wake up, grind some beans, and slowly revive myself with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. I've been doing so for sometime, and I completely forgot that it was one of my goals anyway. So, there it is. Goal #35 - now a treasured part of my morning routine.

007: Everything I needed to know, I learned from my family

2008-11-23T13:29:00.003-05:00

I'm not entirely comfortable checking this one off the list since my mother did most of the work, but I guess it was a joint effort nonetheless.

I'm just glad that we will now have a complete collection of recipes from the Sisak/Diener family. I've made several jokes lately about this, but I actually AM excited that I have all my grandmother's Depression recipes. Not because I just took a giant paycut and I have to start tightening the purse strings, but because the taste of egg noodles, browned butter, cottage cheese, and sauerkraut really grounds me.

030: Mo' Rockin'!

2008-09-30T13:15:00.003-04:00

I'm starting to believe the story I'm telling people:

"When I was a wee girl of 4 years, my family took me to Disney World. I have 3 distinct memories from that trip: meeting Jiminy Cricket, being given a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear that was larger than I was, and eating couscous at the Restaurant Marrakesh in Epcot Center. Since then, I've wanted to travel to that far off land of Morocco where, if Disney World taught me anything, all the people eat couscous and all the women are belly dancers."

Or perhaps, I believe this story:

"For my 9th birthday, my mother and I planned an International Themed birthday party. We made sure each continent was equally represented: First, Moroccan dinner in Philadelphia at Fes, followed by Patriot-friendly Lady Liberty cake, then snacks (Euro-fondue, Chinese egg-roll, Baked "Antarctica") and a showing of everyone's favorite daddy-from-down-under, Crocodile Dundee! (It was 16 years ago - I don't remember what we did from South America.) I was such a huge fan of the Moroccan restaurant that I've always wanted to travel to that far off land where, if Fes Restaurant taught me anything, all the people eat couscous and all the women are belly dancers."

Either way, I am about to fulfill a 21 (or 16) year old dream of traveling to that couscousin', belly-dancin', North Afican far off land. In fact, somewhere inside of 96 hours from now I'll be elbow deep in Casablanca and I can't wait.

EDIT: I went.

039: So this is a trinity?

2008-09-27T10:20:00.002-04:00

It seems like a lifetime ago when Anna, Scott, and I were cohabiting in that giant So Phi row home. Now that my bedroom is stacked on top of my wee living room and kitchen, it seems less likely that I will be able to cram a large audience (or even large cast) into my home for some potluck and play readings.

Therefore, I am editing this goal in light of the move to read "Engage in Play time at least thrice." Same idea - to invite friends over to socialize and create. But in a less claustrophobic sort of way.

003: You weren't the only one, two, three, four (oh! won kay...)

2008-09-19T20:08:00.006-04:00

How am I going to save enough money to self-produce for the Fringe next year?
How am I going to save enough money to go to Nova Scotia one month and Minneapolis the next?
How am I going to save enough money to pay off my student loans?
... buy a house?
... start a business?
... get a dog?

If you ever walk by me and notice a thin veil of sweat on my brow, chances are that I'm mulling over the sordid details of my financial future.

However, as of today, I have $132.66 in my retirement fund! According to Fidelity, I will have enough money to retire in 2045.

Retirement Countdown: 37 years!

EDIT:
9/22/08 - $138.10!
9/27/08 - $133.10... so this is what the shirt-and-tie meant when he said "aggressive investment" and "lose money in the short term."
1/5/09 - $1011.23!!
2/7/09 - $1184.09

052: "I shall paint my nails red..."

2008-08-25T21:33:00.003-04:00

"... because it is a ten-minute moratorium."
(Carole Satyamurti)

Of all the many goals on this list, it almost seems silly that I would focus on something as commonplace as painting my nails. For some people, throwing down some scratch every week for a manicure is no big thang. On the other hand (no pun intended), pampering myself is not only a money-saver, but probably a life-saver as well.

So once a week, I place a ten-minute moratorium on cleaning my house. There is a ten-minute moratorium on checking my Blackberry. There is a ten-minute moratorium on flipping through channels.

I remove the survivor polish that has managed to hold on despite a week of pounding the keyboards, washing the dishes, scratching the itches, and opening the cans. I file the nails to keep the overachievers from growing noticeably longer than their weaker siblings. I give all 10 digits a hot bubble bath, and then I dress them for a new week.

Last week, they wore gold.

This week, my exhibitionist nails will be nude.

036: Shaw, fo' sho'

2008-07-22T16:48:00.003-04:00

GBS from A2Z

* Androcles and the Lion
* Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress
* Arms and the Man
* Augustus Does His Bit
* Back to Methuselah
* Caesar and Cleopatra
* Candida
* Captain Brassbound's Conversion
* Fanny's First Play
* Getting Married
* Great Catherine
* Heartbreak House
* How He Lied to Her Husband
* John Bull's Other Island
* Major Barbara
* Man and Superman
* Misalliance
* Mrs. Warren's Profession
* O'Flaherty V.C.
* Overruled
* Press Cuttings
* Pygmalion
* The Devil's Disciple
* The Doctor's Dilemma
* The Inca of Perusalem
* The Man of Destiny
* The Philanderer
* The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet
* You Never Can Tell

026: Basking Robbins

2008-07-22T16:36:00.006-04:00

I stole the title from a published article. But it fits.

Another Roadside Attraction (1971)
~~Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976)~~
Still Life with Woodpecker (1980)
~~Jitterbug Perfume (1984)~~
Skinny Legs and All (1990)
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas (1994)
Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates (2000)
Villa Incognito (2003)
Wild Ducks Flying Backward (2005)
B is For Beer (to be published in the Fall of 2008)

048: This post will be edited

2008-04-08T23:04:00.010-04:00

In the spirit of keeping track of 100 films and whether or not I've seen them, I've got a running tab of said 100 films. For the record (and, I guess this blog is "the record"), I will be watching ALL of the AFI's top 100 films UNLESS I've seen them more than a dozen times or I've watched them in the last 2 years.

1.CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2.CASABLANCA (1942)
~~3.GODFATHER, THE (1972)~~
4.GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5.LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
~~6.WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)~~
7.GRADUATE, THE (1967)
8.ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9.SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10.SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11.IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12.SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13.BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
14.SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
~~15.STAR WARS (1977)~~
16.ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17.AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
18.PSYCHO (1960)
19.CHINATOWN (1974)
20.ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
21.GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
22.2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23.MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
24.RAGING BULL (1980)
25.E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26.DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
~~27.BONNIE & CLYDE (1967)~~
28.APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29.MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30.TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
~~31.ANNIE HALL (1977)~~
32.GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
33.HIGH NOON (1952)
34.TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35.IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36.MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37.BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
38.DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39.DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40.NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41.WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42.REAR WINDOW (1954)
43.KING KONG (1933)
44.BIRTH OF A NATION, THE (1915)
~~45.STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)~~
46.CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
47.TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48.JAWS (1975)
49.SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
~~50.BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)~~
51.PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE(1940)
52.FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53.AMADEUS (1984)
54.ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
~~55.SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)~~
56.M*A*S*H(1970)
57.THIRD MAN, THE (1949)
58.FANTASIA (1940)
59.REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
~~60.RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)~~
61.VERTIGO (1958)
62.TOOTSIE (1982)
63.STAGECOACH (1939)
64.CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65.SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
66.NETWORK (1976)
67.MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE (1962)
68.AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN (1951)
69.SHANE (1953)
70.FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
71.FORREST GUMP (1994)
72.BEN-HUR (1959)
73.WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74.GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
75.DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76.CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77.AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78.ROCKY (1976)
79.DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
80.WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
81.MODERN TIMES (1936)
82.GIANT (1956)
83.PLATOON (1986)
84.FARGO (1996)
85.DUCK SOUP (1933)
86.MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87.FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88.EASY RIDER (1969)
89.PATTON (1970)
90.JAZZ SINGER, THE (1927)
91.MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92.PLACE IN THE SUN, A(1951)
93.APARTMENT, THE (1960)
94.GOODFELLAS (1990)
95.PULP FICTION (1994)
96.SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
97.BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98.UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99.GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

008: Conquer my Korean cuisine cowardice

2008-04-05T20:15:00.007-04:00

After a hard days work, have you ever hunkered down to a big bowl of unidentifiable consumables that look like spinal cords floating in a haz-mat red liquid? I have, and that was the last time I ever ate Korean food.

Needless to say, a cuisine that's signature dish is fermented (read: rotting) cabbage doesn't elicit any mouth watering from my end of the world. But I will put down the cheesesteaks and Tastykakes for a few hours tonight and paint the town haz-mat red once again. Anna and I will be stepping out to Miran on Chestnut Street tonight for our first try at Korean Barbeque. I'm no expert, but I read a primer on Korean bbq. Unfortunately, it would appear the exhumed cabbage will be making an appearance on my plate this evening.

But this is one small step for my taste buds, one large step for my 101 goals.

EDIT:
In the light of the following day I can say that Korean cuisine is not as terrifying as my first experience would have suggested. In fact, I had quite a delicious dish of Bulgogi and, yes, Kim Chi as well.

In the beginning...

2008-03-08T22:22:00.004-05:00

... there was a list. And Natalie looked at the list, and it was good. But it wasn't finished.

It should be obvious to anyone who's ever met me that I am simultaneously and without exception "ambitiously goal-oriented" and "cripplingly procrastinating." Both descriptions fit in equal measure, and both can refer to personal, professional, academic, physical, metaphysical, artistic and culinary aspects of my life.

In a recent stroll through Google, I discovered this website. I was attempting to set some financial goals for myself (in fact, I think I was Googling "setting financial goals" when I found the site). Now the idea of coming up with 101 things I can conceivably accomplish in the next2.75 years sounds daunting but for the prospect of completing 101 goals in just 2.75 years!

I would like to invite friends and family to join me in creating their own lists of 101 goals to accomplish in the next 1001 days. (Realistically, I think there are 102 goals – the first is to create a list of 101 goals.) So if you wanna be my goalfriend, complete your list in time for my "In the Beginning" Party on Saturday, April 5, 2008. What's 1001 days from April 5, 2008? 1/1/11! As a bonus, treat yourself to a New Year's resolution free 2011! Take the year off!

So, it seems the manifestation of my "quarter-life crisis" is 101 reasons to light a fire under my ass. What a "crisis." I have my whole life ahead of me – except for the most awkward parts. Those thankfully, are over and done with.