The Plan

Once more, it is time to review and re-evaluate The Plan. This is the big, capital-P "Plan" that I keep on my computer at all times, which contains my rough budget, short-term goals, long-term goals, and a sort of "to-do list" of things that I need to work on, beyond just the mundane tasks. The Plan is hideously dated at this point, and so I am revising it, and writing it here, as I promised I would.

So here we go.

Budget: Under Construction (after financial aid, a big paycheck, and paying off all of my bills, I'll have some more concrete numbers to work with.)

Short-term goals (6 months or so):
  3.5 GPA
  Grad school research
  Grad school applications
  Letters from professors: Drake, Sigler, Hesford, Williams, Thacker, Lauriola
  Comm or English dept.? Narrative Theory is either.
  White Tie - paid gigs, publicity, long-form, website, twitter/facebook
  Mentoring - meet my Mentee.
  Get a passport

Medium-term goals (1-3 years):
  Lose 165 lbs. (this number was 190 when I last updated in March...so that's good!)
  Graduate
  Move away from Moscow - Boston, Chicago, Seattle, England, Hungary are top choices at the moment
  Find a real, 'grown-up' job in literary academia, communication studies, or improvisational comedy
  Save up $2,500 on top of paying student loans, regular savings, etc. for my travel fund
  Dance for a night without feeling awkward/uncomfortable

Long-term goals (3-10 years):
   Travel to all 6 inhabited continents
   Give a TEDTalk
   Teach a class at a university
   Perform in a large theater for an audience of 500 or more
   Finish my Master's Degree, possibly start on a PhD.

Things I will do to help me accomplish these things:
   Turn in all assignments
   Attend all classes I am able to attend (no skipping!)
   Check Princeton Review, University websites/department pages, and talk to advisors about grad school
   Apply to 3-5 schools with 1 week left before the deadline
   Call all professors I wish to study with
   E-mail professors for letters, stop into offices.
   Keep a calendar of all White Tie goings-on with my academic calendar and my events calendar, so as to stay aware of all of my obligations in one place.
   Meet with M. monthly to discuss changes in White Tie's direction.
   Apply for a passport
   Drink 1 gallon of water daily, and no soda
   No deep-fried foods. None. Ever. Lots of steamed vegetables and fresh fruits.
   Revive Iron Man In A Month (IMIAM) plan, start again at 30 days on 9/1, finish the school year at 21 days in 5/2012
   Keep a journal of all exercise and consumption. Examine weekly.
   Pack lunches and eat breakfast at home daily
   Speak with contacts in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Hungary about living costs, employment, etc.
   33% of paychecks into savings
   Take a dance class, attend Swing Devils 1/month minimum


That, dear friends and readers, is my Bible for the next 3-6 months, until it needs to be revised and re-evaluated again. This will all go in my bathroom in some form or another, and I will do my damnedest to adhere to all of the promises I've made here to myself.

QOTD:
"A belief in hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor."
Aldous Huxley
"A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive."
Pearl Bailey