play it by ear, sam

so this weekend was a trial run for the summer and all I can say is "abort mission! I repeat, abort mission!"

I made absolutely no plans in the attempt to be very relaxed and play it by ear. The result: tons of internet surfing, a bit of yardwork, and a bunch of "how is it _____ o'clock already?"

Playing it by ear is totally my way on vacation. Not my way at all on staycation. It's the internet, man--- I just let life swim by as I amuse myself on the information super highway. So here is the new plan---plan as much as possible and stuff all the enjoyment in around a lax but planned, "work" schedule.

also---I _need_ to save money. I am living hand to mouth here. okay, anyone who knows me knows this isn't true.....but I am definitely not in my financial comfort zone (btw, my car insurance is WAAAY too high--any suggestions?) so I want to stay in town as much as possible, but still visit a little, vacation a little, and enjoy a lot. but I am also a person who does not do well with "relaxing." I cannot while away my time sipping mint juleps on the back porch unless I deserve them....I am very goal-driven, even if the goals are little....so here goes the planning:

1) I need to do one outdoor and one indoor task a day. This will keep my household affairs in order without concentrated effort. I did this last summer, and it worked wonderfully. I let it fall to the wayside over the school year, but I let everything slide this year--the sleeping sickness, you know? This weekend, I tried to "fix" my yard and I just could not get a handle on it--I did a lot of work with little result due to lack of efficiency. I need to make a list of tasks to be done and just do them one by one instead of trying to do a bit of everything in one day. Unfortunately, I want to paint all the rooms in my house this summer---that is not happy making for me.

2) I need to _really_ get some curriculum planning done. This year was a little to haphazard and unpaced for my liking (again, my fault--sleeping sickness) but I need to start off better next year. I am thinking of going in to school for a few hours a day from m-th (only open 4 days a week) and getting work done there. It will help me actually work without the distractions of home and be able to use the schools resources and their faster internet. One of my main goals is to get a handle on how I want to assess my students and take it from there. That, and really see what materials are at my disposal and learn how to effectively use them.

3) I want to get to know richmond better. I have lived here my whole life and still don't feel like i really know my city. So a bunch of exploring is in order: the river, parks, restaurants, museums, etc. I also want to get back into my "city cleaning" habits.

4) I want to regain the friendships I have lost ( can I still blame my sleeping sickness? It really has made life hard this year) so I am going to throw a bunch of get togethers and plan day trips and excursions.....all suggestions are welcome. I was thinking of doing a regular happy hour and also maybe setting up a potluck and a trip to the outlet malls and to busch gardens, etc. Heck, maybe I will even do something to make new friends. Focus on my meetup group??? Force myself to "hang out"? steal someone else's friends???

5) I want to save money--- so a bit of my summer is going to be devoted to analyzing my habits and seeing where I can cut costs. I am wasteful but not habitually so----so I need to find out where my money goes and who it is hanging out with and give it a curfew. Part of my problem is my "services." I got my car insurance b/c it was the least hassle--not b/c of the coverage or cost--time to look into that. Same with my rat extermination service, internet, cell phone, yadayadayada....

6) I want to go on a bunch of little trips since I am not going to go on a HUGE summer trip. I am going to PR with joe (so excited!) but that is the 2nd week of vacation and I have nothing else planned for all of july or august. I might stay with my sister for a week. But I want to go be touristy in DC and go to nearby wineries and maybe a plantation tour or just drive and see what I see.

so now I am just digressing---but the point is if sapnas do not plan, sapnas waste tons of time. Even "to do" lists are not adequate. We need schedules and time limits. We need goals and rewards. We need structure! Sapnas of the world UNITE!

ahem....sorry. please, please, please--help me have a great summer. I _need_ this. kick me in the butt if you see me wasting time. Aim for a cheek though, the tail bone is still busted. I do not want to waste a single day. If you plan, you can plan to have fun (or something like that--thanks, magnets!)