Monthly Reflection

First Published: 2022 June 30

Draft 1

So... I took a while off from blogging. I could make a lot of excuses, like that it was the end of the semester. If I look at my daily reflections, it somewhat supports that.

Anyways, life updates.

• I finished the semester

• I presented at a conference

• I¹ passed my second year exam

• I played at an open mic with a friend

• i think that’s it

So, looking at my goals for May, and thinking about that into June:

In May:

1. Blog daily. I still like how it forces me to think about something every day.

2. Write a poem a day. I need to do this more and I will try.²

3. Stretch daily. I like how stretching makes me feel, and maybe I’ll be able to touch my toes at the end of the month.

4. Listen to BiaY 7 times a week. This feels more aware of my tendency to listen to three or four in a row.

5. Finish a draft of the book I’m writing.³ This may be optimistic, but in theory these past two weeks suggest I can do it.

6. Practice guitar every day. I’ve been getting better and I really like it.

7. In professional news: finish a reasonable draft of my exam. I need to write this, and soon

Um

1. Did not do, gave up one week in.

2. ...I completely even forgot that was a goal

3. I stretched most days, though I’ve recently gotten back out of the habit

4. I think I listened 7 times since then

5. I apparently kept writing off and on until the 23 of May, getting up to 74382 words, which is still progress

6. I practiced most days

7. I just presented my exam, so I guess that counts as reasonable

Now that I don’t have that existential dread over my head,⁴ I think I’d like to get back into writing. July is apparently Camp NaNoWriMo, so I would really like to try writing here and a short story every day. I’ve already written a few⁵ of them and I really enjoy the fact that it’s done when I finish writing. I’d like to get back to the LitRPG I was writing, but it’s beginning to feel like an albatross. That transitions nicely into my goals for July:

1. Blog daily. I kind of completely have no idea what happened in May or June because I have minimal records from them. I don’t like that

2. Stretch daily. I liked how I was starting to get more flexible

3. Be able to run a 5k. I tried one at reunion, and did not do well

4. Listen to BiaY more. I would like to finish at some point, but it’s hard to motivate

5. Practice guitar every day. I still like the incremental improvements, and I think I’d like to start shifting more up the fretboard

6. Practice accordion at least 2x a week. I just got this and I don’t want it to feel neglected⁶

7. Write a short story every day. I want to force myself to do more creative writing, especially in short contexts

8. Maybe finish the book?

9. Finish either of the two songs I’m writing. I started working on a choral setting of Stabat Mater Dolorosa, and I finally put some words and a melody to a chord loop I really like. It would be nice to finish a project

Ok so having looked at what I thought my updates were, I think there are more. To check, I’m looking at my daily notes for the past two months in far more detail than I did to see why I stopped blogging. Since I stopped blogging I have:⁷⁸

• Seen a lunar eclipse.⁹

• Started jamming with a fellow chem grad student

• I think started working out with a fellow groupmate¹⁰

• Tried recording mental state of the day with my daily reflection.

• Bought a guitar

• Played at an open mic

• Saw my sibling at their institution of higher learning to celebrate a major life milestone

• Joined a new bible study

• Made lemon wine

• Bought new clothes

• Went on group retreat

• Went to a reunion and reconnected with a lot of lovely people

  • Ran a 5k

  • Saw my family

  • Got positive reviews of the lemon wine

• Went to a conference

  • Met many of my collaborators

  • Made new friends

  • Tried new food

  • Gave a presentation

Wow that really looks like a lot when I write it all out. Anyways, sorry for rambling, but also not really. I’m excited for the next month of 31 days of writing.