Makeover for Life

http://www.farbeyondthestars.com/how-to-imagine-your-ideal-reality/
Now I read that blog yesterday, and it got me thinking. In fact I thought of it alot while I was at work today, too.

Now 1 of my brothers will ask me about my goals & dreams a couple times a year. I used to joke to my brother that he was like a racehorse. If you have ever gone to a horse race, then you probably saw that horses had "blockers" on their head that prevented them from getting distracted by anything around them. All the horse could see was straight ahead which was toward the finish line (their goal). My brother has been in the military for 25 years and he has more college degrees then anyone I know, and he got them all by the time he was 40. I wish I could be more like him.
I had already come to the conclusion that goals were something that you actively work towards, and dreams are just that...DREAMS, a fantasy, some far-fetched idea that could be the next Monday night movie or best selling novel. In my wildest daydream I can be 4 inches taller, with different colored eyes & famous living in a mansion instead of this dorm room I'm sitting in. But of course I know that daydream will never be reality and I accept that.


Now according to some people, we all have to have a goal, but if a goal is something that you are working towards, then I must not really have any goal. I have a hard time sticking to just one thing at a time. I lose focus easily.
"Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you do, be, and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen." Part of my problem has always been to analyze the heck out of everything and to take forever to make a final decision on anything. Usually if I do decide to go for something, it will end up being to late.

Now in the blog mentioned above, Everett says to dream big and list what you want to accomplish in one years time.
I think I will do this slightly different then what he probably had planned.

PLAN A:
My goal for the rest of this Summer: weed out my room!! By the end of Summer it will become my "minimalist dreamworld".
By the end of Autumn: Pay off my old court fine of $1,500.
For the end of March: I hope to get my driver's license back & hike to Phantom Ranch for a birthday weekend.
By July 2011 (1 year from now): I want to buy a used van that is already converted into a living space.
And in about another year~Summer 2012, I want to travel, take & sell photos while living in that van.

I'm still debating whether I really want to take on the burden of owning a vehicle again. I can make a list of pros & cons about owning a vehicle, so I might just scrap that idea. If I decide not to get a van then I will just skip the court fine and continue saving money...for "plan B" which I will explain when the time comes.



http://manvsdebt.com/sell-your-crap-survey/
This is another interesting blog that I probably should read more often. Adam asked for pictures of clutter, and today I sent him quite a few pictures of different areas of my room...OMG, what was I thinking? Now if that don't motivate me to declutter this roomful of crap then nothing will. I have no idea what he will really do with the pictures, but I'll have to send him new pictures in September of the "new & improved" room.

Payday

Payday was June 30th (3rd payday for June)
worked~68.73 hours
Take home pay~$255.53
$127.76 went into my savings account and as of today, I have about $325 saved in that account right now. Saving money sorta reminds me of the old tale "The Grasshopper & The Ant". The grasshopper would be someone who spends the whole paycheck on fun stuff or materialistic stuff and the ant would be the person trying to save as much as they can.

The state of NH is still taking money out for 3 kids, even though Kevin is now 18 and graduated from high school. It was supposed to be 40% for 3 kids before and now it should be 30% for 2 kids, but NH is not very good with math. Time to get my papers together to send to NH....well it seems that NH is just a bit slow. I got a letter in the mail (after payday, but dated before payday) that from now on NH will be taking out $162.

Seeing as I will have some extra money I contacted Qwest to have wi-fi hooked up in my room, and it finally got hooked up today. Now I have to pay $69 for the modem (a 1-time fee) and $25 a month for 6 months, then it will cost $45 a month...not counting all taxes/fees.