It’s the first week of 2010 and I need to start mapping out some of the things I need/want to do this year before I easily get into the swing of the daily routine. (hehe get it ‘swing’) So in the same vain that we count down the last ten seconds of the year before we swing into the new I have a list of ten things to do:
1 ) Travel
Duh, this is supposed to be a travel site, it would become a pretty lame site if I never went anywhere. I can’t keep writing about Rio and Lima (even though I haven’t really posted any of my Lima articles yet) for a whole year and expect you the reader to keep coming back. I’m a monkey, not an idiot and I’m insulted if you confused them. More importantly is where do I want to travel, the big trip of the year I’m hoping will be Tokyo but I also plan on exploring Toronto, Chicago, LA and maybe NYC. Additionally I want to take a minimum week long travel on bike (motorcycle or bicycle – which yet I’m not sure)
2 ) Start Graduate School
I plan on working on getting my Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages or better known as TESOL degree started this year. A Master of Arts in Teacher Education will help me in the long run of becoming a successful traveler. I just hope that being bilingual (English/Monkey) will help me to be more marketable, I’m also working on my Español and 日本語 (Nihongo/Japanese).
3 ) Credit Debt
Yeah in order to do some long term travel I need to clear off any credit card debt, who knew a few subscriptions to MonkeyGirl Mag could rack up so much debt. I get the magazine because I like to read the articles, that’s it – I swear.
4 ) Perfect Poo Flinging
I’m good at a lot of things but just once I would like to be great at something, and I think I have the commitment to be one of the great flingers. Sure I have the natural ability but I just haven’t dedicated myself to master the art, and yes it is an art form.
5) Sort out the College Loans
Ok, so college came and went but the loans remained. Realistically this is in the same idea of clearing off the credit card debt; I can’t save up for a trip if I’m in the red because of loans. I would like to figure out a plan on how to pay off the loans in half the time allotted.
6 ) MonkeyBrewster.com
I want to continue to develop, promote and grow this site into something worthy and comparable to some of the big shot travel writers. What this means is that I have to continue to dedicate time to the site and all the behind the scene work that is needed to continue growth for the site. Also I realistically don’t think I could dedicate the time need to create a site while traveling, so if it is developmentally ready when I do long term travel I don’t have to waste time on the behind the scenes part. With that in mind I will be playing the numbers game on Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and just simply maintaining a steady flow of visitors.
7 ) Round the World Trip
I want to be more than just a vacation traveler; I want to be a serious backpacker. I can spend all my life dreaming of that great day, or I can make it happen by planning, preparing and setting a departure date.
8 ) Bucket List
I don’t live long enough to check off only one thing a year, and who knows maybe I’ll never complete the list but I would like to continually work towards the list. That way at the end of the day I don’t have any regrets, only memories and stories.
9 ) Alcohol
Alcohol, beyond the buzz. I want to learn more about and understanding the complexities of what I drink. I want to explore the complexity of hops, the depths of grapes and the contributions a barrel can make to a fine bourbon. Who knows maybe I could become the first monkey wine expert (a wine expert who’s a monkey not a monkey who makes good wine but I guess I could do both)
10 ) Find Mini-Clothes
Sure I’m furry and cuddly but monkeys need clothes too. You see people putting sweaters on their dogs so why they heck can’t I too have some cool nifty outfits. I got a cool biker jacket, chullo (Peruvian hat) and a Santa hat (made especially for me while in Peru) but that is only going to get me so far.
So these are my ten resolutions countdown for 2010, I hope you enjoyed it and feel inspired to create your own or imitate some of mine. There is plenty of room to share, except for poo flinging that is mine and while I do enjoy a good challenge the ancient secrets I possess, passed down from monkey to monkey son cannot be divulged. Overall the greatest success is if I’m still around this time next year to see the progress I’ve made.
Good luck on completing all your resolutions for the new year!
Since you can’t share a drink with me, share this post with others!
January 7th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
beginning to like this lil monkey more and more. Good luck w grad school, credit cards, loans, and most importantly, poo flinging. Crackalackin!
take it from us, the less stuff you have, the less you owe, the better.
As for grad school, if you are interested in teaching abroad, you may not need a Master degree. Teaching cert will also go a long way as well. I know of individuals doing so with a BA successfully.
Whatever you decide, best wishes to our fav monkey!
January 7th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
beginning to like this lil monkey more and more. Good luck w grad school, credit cards, loans, and most importantly, poo flinging. Crackalackin!
take it from us, the less stuff you have, the less you owe, the better.
As for grad school, if you are interested in teaching abroad, you may not need a Master degree. Teaching cert will also go a long way as well. I know of individuals doing so with a BA successfully.
Whatever you decide, best wishes to our fav monkey!
January 7th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Yo Monkey, you got a lot a goals for the year. I’m excited to see and read about your progress.
I hope you’ll share the alcohol tips you learn, too! And just don’t go flinging poo my way, and we’ll be good.
January 7th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Yo Monkey, you got a lot a goals for the year. I’m excited to see and read about your progress.
I hope you’ll share the alcohol tips you learn, too! And just don’t go flinging poo my way, and we’ll be good.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:10 am
GotPassport The masters is free, plus it gives me more time to clear off my debt so I might as well take advantage of it.
Adam Don’t worry about the poo flinging you have a wombat and well I can respect that. As for the alcohol I’ll be sure to share, I’m working on finishing up a post on how some of my homebrews came out and Peruvian Beers.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
GotPassport The masters is free, plus it gives me more time to clear off my debt so I might as well take advantage of it.
Adam Don’t worry about the poo flinging you have a wombat and well I can respect that. As for the alcohol I’ll be sure to share, I’m working on finishing up a post on how some of my homebrews came out and Peruvian Beers.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:06 am
Lofty goals but totally obtainable with some hard work! Always good to get the financials in order before you take off semi-permanently.
I can tell you already have good taste in beers from the photo!
January 7th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Lofty goals but totally obtainable with some hard work! Always good to get the financials in order before you take off semi-permanently.
I can tell you already have good taste in beers from the photo!
January 8th, 2010 at 2:24 am
Yeah the financials are important indeed. Once I finish my wordpress for dummies I’m going to crack open my personal finance for dummies.
January 7th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Yeah the financials are important indeed. Once I finish my wordpress for dummies I’m going to crack open my personal finance for dummies.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:40 am
Oh! I read Personal Finance for Dummies a year and a half ago! A gift from my parents with some sort of subtle undertone I’m sure!
January 7th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Oh! I read Personal Finance for Dummies a year and a half ago! A gift from my parents with some sort of subtle undertone I’m sure!
January 12th, 2010 at 4:20 am
automatic millionaire sounds cheesy but a good book to consider by David Bach. Suze Orman is another financial guru. We like them both. To save $$ we checkout our books form local library.. don’t buy, especially if you are trying to stay uncluttered to ready for RTW trip. Amazing how things pile up quick. Might also consider ManvsDebt on twitter.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
automatic millionaire sounds cheesy but a good book to consider by David Bach. Suze Orman is another financial guru. We like them both. To save $$ we checkout our books form local library.. don’t buy, especially if you are trying to stay uncluttered to ready for RTW trip. Amazing how things pile up quick. Might also consider ManvsDebt on twitter.
January 12th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I might just have to check out and sign up with my local library. I haven’t been there since I moved to my current location, although the University I work at has a small library too, hmm I must explore. Thanks for the tip!
January 12th, 2010 at 10:39 am
I might just have to check out and sign up with my local library. I haven’t been there since I moved to my current location, although the University I work at has a small library too, hmm I must explore. Thanks for the tip!
February 12th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Hey Chimp, So good luck with the year ahead! Teaching abroad vs. Master's degree. Hmmm… if the Master's is free, then go for it. But if you want to travel and get paid for it, then teach abroad. If you find the right country, they'll pay you to travel, set up shop w/ an apt & give you hands-on teaching experience for your resume. (JET/Japan offers a minute financial package tho). This is why in a few days, I”ll be flying out to Korea to do it. Master's degree? Alas,… not doing me a lick of good in Video or the Arts, but it has given me a “slightly” higher earning wage for the ESL job. How'd the Peace Corp work for you?
February 12th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Thanks! JET is one program I didn't apply to because I missed the deadline and would have had to wait a year. In retrospect I should have still applied but I'm ok with a free Masters, heck now that I have time to plan I might apply so that I may go after I finish my degree. Good luck in Korea, I know they are offering a lot of ESL jobs there but I had my heart set on Japan. Although to be honest I've never been to either.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Nice resolutions, haha!!! We actually have a lot of similar ones, minus the poo flinging. ;-0
February 24th, 2010 at 2:00 am
Thanks! and well I don't expect you humans to appreciate the fine art of poo flinging. good luck on yours!
July 16th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I’m slowly making my way through my list, although most of these aren’t easily quantified. I completed my motorcycle journey recently, ticket for Japan this December was bought a month ago. Clothes kind of hard finding good mini clothes but I’m surely improving my knowledge of alcohol. Plus the past 3 days were pretty awesome for site visits, broke past 200 today, yay!
July 16th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Great list! How are things going so far? 5.5 months left!