short and long term goals

Well, first off, let me state the obvious... that working through the weekend sucks. I know you all know that, but it really does. Especially when you are working full time and salaried, and that is that and you don't get any time off really to compensate, except for coming into work on monday at lunch time. Oh well. Not too much I can do about that.
So, to move on... I was working late this weekend at a thing that I had largely planned for my empolyer, and it was very nerve-racking, but it the end turned out very well, and I'm happy. My boss was too, which in this case, might be a little more important. But the only problem, was that I was a bit bored all weekend. It was all speakers, tons of them, and while they were very good... and the topic was very good... I find that on a beautiful Saturday, it is very hard for me to concentrate on anything for too long a period of time. And 9am to 9pm is too long (plus 8-1 on Sunday)!
So... instead I found myself thinking about all sorts of things that I normally don't have the time to just sit and think about. Wedding details, not just for myself but for my Ro as well... and for Espo, who's wedding I missed this past weekend... but of course, for Trav and I as well. I thought about China, and wrote some not too bad "feeling narratives", representing not only my feelings there, but my feelings about it now. Something I hope to keep doing until I have something about each major place we went, because I know that the longer I wait - the harder it will be, and the more my memories will fade. Which I can hopefully prevent with these narratives and my pictures, which I am going to be putting together in a scrapbook/travel journal of sorts. I'm very excited about that project, which I think will turn out beautifully in the end.
The third thing I really thought about, is something that I had considered before, but not in such depth. That is my short and long term goals in life. In this, I actually sat down and wrote out a listing of my personal goals or wishes for in my lifetime, about 12 of them total, and then went through them to decide if they were really short term goals, mid-term goals, or long-term goals. Most of them were long term. I see this as actually a good thing. Short-term goals are good, and quite necessary, but in over abundance they become a distraction from the grander things that we really want for ourselves, from the more important things in life. And while all long-term goals will, eventually, become short term goals... we really need to have both to be balanced. So while for now my biggest goal is to excel in my new position at work (and in doing so, knock the socks off of the President of the Institute!); I have many more long term goals that will give me something to work towards. I also found, that while all of my goals are important to me, and I plan on knocking at least 11 or the 12 off before I get too old to do so, really there are only 2 or 3 that are vital to my happiness... and the rest are just icing on the cake, things that would make me feel more fulfilled and successful.

So here is a partial of my list, with vitals in red (my list is sitting in my car, so I'm not going to go get that right now, but I will remember as many as possible without f*ing them up!):
1. To learn Chinese.
2. To get my M.A. (and possibly a Ph.D) in Asian Studies, Conflict Resolution, Non-Proliferationn Studies, or something that embraces one of those.
3. To get a job that makes me feel challenged, and something I would be truly proud of... working as a researcher, working for the government, or working in cultural awareness for a big international company.
4. To get completely out of debt, and be able to save a good deal of money towards important life points (specifically for a. wedding expenses, b. buying a house, c. money for children's futures, and d. toward retirement).
5. To visit China again, and take Trav with me, so he can see this place that has enchanted me for as long as I can remember.
6. To travel and see more of the world: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Japan, the Congo, Italy... etc!
7. To find some simplicity in my life, some organization. Sounds a bit stupid... but to just got through all my things and either get rid of it if its not important to me, or store it properly if it is. To go thru all of my old clothes and dump the ones that I'm never going to wear again, but that I keep holding on to for one reason or another. Clutter really can make your whole life seem more scattered.

So those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head that aren't too personal to get into. If you notice, many of them will fall back onto number 4. Sad, cruel fact of life... money runs the world.

Well, anyway... I guess that's enough rambling for now. I'm going to take a nice long shower.

Zai jian!