My 2011 to do list...

I have always been a list writer, I blame my Dad, he is a list-a-holic, he often has several different lists running, a long term one, a short term and a daily one, usually written on the backs of old envelopes (which has also led to me being almost unable to throw out old envelopes, I found about 50 cluttering up my cupboard the other day). Sometimes when I pop over now as a grown up (more-or-less) he will have a list of things for me to do (usually along lines of 'fix computer', 'find me an email backup program', 'fix mum's computer'). I do it too, I always have them for my thesis work and for round-the-house and just general lists of desires.

I was de-cluttering the other day and found a stack of old notebooks, I was flicking through them to see if they had spaec in them and I found a list from my teenage years, I am guessing probably for summer '96 or '97. I should have taken a snap of it but I didn't and now it is down in Melbs and I am in the country. It was funny though, amongst more mundane stuff like reading certain books I had written 'Learn the Internet', which I guess I can tick off now. It is funny to think of actually learning the internet, nowadays I feel more like I need to learn to not be on the internet. We had the internet at home quite early on as Mum was a masters student and the uni let her have a free dial up connection. I would sit there trying to find info and things to read, I remember I used to have to use a whole range of search engines to try and find something that was relevant.

Anyhoo that is by the by, I am writing a list for 2011 now. I read somewhere recently that resolutions are silly because they aren't really resolutions, they are desires and most  people won't actually act on them. I think that is true, however, I also think the act of writing down or vocalising your desires can often lead you to think about how to achieve them and can shift you from the just desire stage to the 'doing something about it stage' (or even realise it was a silly desire and you should stop worrying about it). I often find myself stuck in a rut and I lack the mental energy to pull myself out, so I sit forlornly at the end of another day or week or month thinking 'oh why have I not read any of those interesting books/ cooked any different meals/gone to the art exhibition etc' This is not really meant to be a list of resolutions though, more a to do list for 2011 that I can check back on and slowly cross off.

• Read more books. My reading has been terrible lately, I read for study, but even then I really just dash into books, read a few pages or a chapter, read footnotes and dash out again. To get me started I want to read the following fiction and non fiction books cover to cover:
• Enigma - Robert Harris
• Arcadian Friends - Tim Richardson
• My Name is Red - Orhan Pamuk
• Istanbul - Orhan Pamuk
• The Roman Forum - David Watkin
• The Venetian City Garden - John Dixon Hunt

• Go running again. I never completely stopped but I am quite sporadic now, maybe once a week. I like being able to run 5km, it made me feel special, I also found it good for mental health.
• Try some harder yoga. I did yoga all last year after being more of a pilates person (which I still do as well). I love my class but it is a general level class and I feel ready for a bit more of a challenge.
• Watch more movies. I have hardly seen any movies lately, I think I went to the cinema all of about 3 times last year. I think I can make a good start on this while house sitting as I can see 5 shelves of dvds.
• Be inventive and positive about ways to get work. I am applying for some postdoc things and maybe I will get lucky, but if not I must not mope and I must look for something other than sessional teaching, which drives me up the wall and stresses me out.
• Cook some new things. I love to cook but I have been in a bit of a rut lately, cooking much the same things on rotation. I always buy the same vegies from the market too. Maybe if I choose one recipe a week to try that will get me back into being inventive.
• Finish some sewing projects. I always plan to borrow mum's machine, perhaps post-thesis (handing in Feb 14 yay!) I will and set it up on my desk.
• Declutter cupboards and properly file all my articles and notes. I am generally OK at this but there is a lot that can be thrown out - old drafts and old notes I won't read again - and a lot that needs to be filed and entered into endnote so I know I have it and know where to find it.

I think that is all for now, it doesn't seem like a very long list. Perhaps I could add to it when I think of things or come up with other books to read. In other news I just made a list for today and tomorrow and I actually included two items that involved making more lists. I think I have a problem...

Caramelised Garlic tart I made for Christmas, a start on my plan to try new recipes.