Lists - June

Laurie, over at Not Just About Cancer, has been using monthly lists in order to keep track of her goals for the year.  I joined her, although I must say that while she's following her monthly, I seem to only be going bi-monthly.  The last time I did it, it was in April!  At any rate, here's my list for April along with a status report (blue represents completed, green is no progress, and red is partial completion):

1. Complete two more interviews with Yup'ik elders or community members, with report written by June 1.  COMPLETED - have completed interviews; no report written yet.  However, that wasn't really my fault - the person who hired me was supposed to get back to me about how to approach it and she only just wrote today.  Report should be done by August 15.

2. Cancer blog analysis, with report written by June 30.  No progress yet.

3. Indigenous GIS proposal submitted (#3 from February's list).  COMPLETED and submitted to NSF!!

4. Conference proposal for International Conference on Indigenous Place Names (#5 above).  No progress yet.

5. Apply for a one-week writing retreat on Mt. St. Helens - Due May 1.  COMPLETED.  But I found out that I was not selected as a writer.  But that's okay.  I would've had to camp out on the hard ground.

6. Continue practicing qigong 4-5 times/week; meditate at least 2 times/week. Integrate stretching and strengthening exercises for my arms and shoulders for lymphedema every day.  This one has been up and down.  I haven't meditated much at all and  my qigong practice has decreased because of this travel to Seattle.  I have been keeping up with the exercises for my arms and shoulders - what helps is that I see my physical therapist weekly and I feel some accountability.

7. Try to phase out more sugars and simple carbs from diet; increase the Omega-3s/anti-inflammatory foods.  No progress, really.  I can blame the travel and living with my family, but in the end, I need to take responsibility.  I do try to eat veggies every day and I seem to be successful with that.

8. Shred old documents and file receipts and bill statements.  COMPLETED

9. Finish Riding the Waves mosaic. COMPLETED

10. Begin beadwork project for "Beading for a Cause".  No progress yet.

Five completed.
Four no progress.
One partial. 

Hmm.  I need to get better about referring to this list!  Okay, here's my list for June.

June's List
1.  Refer to June's List in order to keep on track and go from bimonthly to monthly.

2.  Continue changing diet and get back into regular habit of qigong/meditation; continue arm/shoulder exercises. 

3. Call program officer at NSF to see if I would still be able to submit proposal for student travel to Norway's conference.  If so, work on proposal and submit it.

4.  Analysis of Yup'ik interviews.

5.  Cancer blogger analysis and write-up.

6.  Create a mandala for Heather, who named my Herminator-2 cells.

7.  Create mosaics for Theresa (my cousin), Jovonna (another King Islander), and Kim (a friend from high school.  These mosaics are the result of a Facebook game? meme? in which you promised to create a piece of art for the first five people who responded to your post.  I had four responses - but I can't remember the fourth!  : )  I bought some shadow boxes for this purpose that are 12 inch x 12 inch.  Smaller in scale than my first two.  So, this shouldn't take too long.

8.  Make travel plans for Alaska in late July/early August and Norway in September.

9.  Reorganize work office space and start organizing King Island data.

10.  Continue work on Eddie's Wipe-out Kid's Version obstacle course in the backyard for his birthday on July 24.

Okay, let's see how I do!  : )

Lists - April

Laurie, over at Not Just About Cancer, has been using lists the last couple of months to help her stay on track for several projects that she's doing.

I made a list in February and then forgot in March. So, I'm reposting my February list - and the progress I've made - and then posting my goals for April.

February's list:
1. Interview 3 or 4 more Yup'ik/Inupiaq elders for the Alaska Statehood project.
Progress: I have interviewed two more Yup'ik elders for the Alaska Statehood project. I am having difficulty finding others to interview, particularly because I have to do them by telephone. I hope to get those completed this month.

2. Do research on breast cancer blogs - I'm trying to compile a list of the major complaints or problems breast cancer patients face which can be passed on to care providers.
Progress: I have been reading the blogs - but I haven't done the formal analysis yet. I just need a good amount of concentrated time.

3. Submit a workshop proposal for an indigenous project I'm working on with some other indigenous scholars.
Progress: The proposal hasn't been submitted yet, but it's finally moving forward again after being stalled - partly because so much has been going on with me.

4. Find and draft a grant proposal to buy me out of classes next year.
Progress: I didn't find a new grant program, because I found out that I received a Center for Humanities Fellowship at OSU, which buys me out of two courses next winter. I did submit a grant proposal to organize all the data and papers from the King Island Place Names Project. COMPLETED

5. Submit a conference proposal to bring students to the International Conference on Indigenous Place Names.
Progress: I've drafted a budget and wrote one page of a 15-page narrative. Yikes. Lots more to do.

6. Finish my mosaic.
Progress: The mosaic is finished and out in the back yard. I even glued the tiles on a brand new mosaic entitled "Riding the Waves". I hope that dad can help me put an edge on this one (which will be part of a bench on the deck) and then I can grout it and seal it. COMPLETED

7. Shred old financial documents.
Progress: Still sitting on my bedroom floor. I think I'll take them to the credit union tomorrow and ask them to do it! : ) Hey, my goal just said to "shred them" - not WHO needs to shred them.

8. Organize storage closet.
Progress: I asked dad to organize that closet because he was bored one day. Again, it just said to organize it, not WHO! ; 0 ) COMPLETED

9. Help Eddie create his Valentine's Day Box. I think we're shooting to make a Mario-kart look-alike.
Progress: COMPLETED. It was a fun project!

10. Meditate and practice qigong 4-5 times per week.
Progress: For the most part, I've been doing qigong 4-5 times a week. I haven't gone to meditation for awhile - the times just don't quite fit my schedule (right after Eddie's school one day and dinner time another day). COMPLETED

So, five of the 10 have been accomplished this month - with some help from my dad. Here's my list for April:

1. Complete two more interviews with Yup'ik elders or community members, with report written by June 1.

2. Cancer blog analysis, with report written by June 30.

3. Indigenous GIS proposal submitted (#3 above).

4. Conference proposal for International Conference on Indigenous Place Names (#5 above).

5. Apply for a one-week writing retreat on Mt. St. Helens - Due May 1.

6. Continue practicing qigong 4-5 times/week; meditate at least 2 times/week. Integrate stretching and strengthening exercises for my arms and shoulders for lymphedema every day.

7. Try to phase out more sugars and simple carbs from diet; increase the Omega-3s/anti-inflammatory foods.

8. Shred old documents and file receipts and bill statements.

9. Finish Riding the Waves mosaic.

10. Begin beadwork project for "Beading for a Cause".

Maybe this will be the kick in the butt I need to stay on track! : )

Lists

One of the blogs I read is written by Laurie at Not Just About Cancer. Today, she posted about creating her list of things to do, "lists are good", for the month of February, based upon a group called "List Lovers Unite" on BlogHer.

I use lists a lot, especially at work. This past fall, I went from using one notepad with a list of things to do - with sublists for each project - to five notepads with a list on it. This way, I could kinda keep track of what was going on with my various different projects. Anyway, here's my list:

1. Interview 3 or 4 more Yup'ik/Inupiaq elders for the Alaska Statehood project.
2. Do research on breast cancer blogs - I'm trying to compile a list of the major complaints or problems breast cancer patients face which can be passed on to care providers.
3. Submit a workshop proposal for an indigenous project I'm working on with some other indigenous scholars.
4. Find and draft a grant proposal to buy me out of classes next year.
5. Submit a conference proposal to bring students to the International Conference on Indigenous Place Names.
6. Finish my mosaic.
7. Shred old financial documents.
8. Organize storage closet.
9. Help Eddie create his Valentine's Day Box. I think we're shooting to make a Mario-kart look-alike.
10. Meditate and practice qigong 4-5 times per week.

The good news is that I finally feel as if I have better focus at work. Like I said a couple of weeks ago, it's not that I don't like my job. It's that there are other things I wish to spend my time on. I think I'm finally figuring out how I can incorporate my interests into my work . . . still working on some ideas, but I've had a couple of good conversations with friends this week that are fleshing it out.