For the record: 2008 goals

That's part of my annual looking back and setting goals, I must say that 2007 was truly a banner year. I look at all the different areas of my life and I seem to have improved all of them, and a half to predict that many of them will probably go downhill in 2008. Briefly a list of achievements in 2007:

• Entered into a significant long-term relationship with a woman I love.

• Almost 30% yield on investments

• got two new great jobs (admissions counselor and tutoring)

• nearly doubled my income

• got a sweet new single apartment in a beautiful residential neighborhood

• acquired almost an entire set of furniture

• significantly upgraded many of my things (new TV, camera, MP3 player etc)

• achieved a 4.0 GPA

• went many new places, and tried several new things.

As far as my goals that I did not achieve from the last year they include:

• Publishing and other scientific article (this should occur in early spring)

• building my running to at least 5 miles (this is one area where I completely failed)

• doing 200 hours of community service (probably not even one... )

• traveling outside of North America

All that said, here are my goals for 2008:

• Get into an allopathic medical school

• at least he 25% increase in income

• match 30% return on investments I achieved last year

• use the money to continue to upgrade material possessions

• read the least 12 books with at least five on topics other than medicine

• return to working out at least four times a week

• move into an even better apartment

• spend less money on non-durable goods

• do some community service and try to get involved with a least one local organization.

• Travel outside of North America (at least get a passport)

• continue to achieve at least a 3.5 and get my MS degree

Last year wasn't pretty amazing year. I will be hard-pressed to make as much money as I did last year and it's hard to top finding the woman of your dreams or this particular apartment that I'm in. I do anticipate getting into medical school however, which will set me back in the short term but will clearly move my life ahead to achieving my long-term goals. It is quite possible that I will make no money and do almost nothing outside of school for the next four years but I'm having the time of my life now and over the next six months in order to make up for the fact that my life may fall into a holding pattern so that I can become a doctor.

Dateline 1/3/07

It is been a long time since my last entry, this is because I've been so busy the last few months. I successfully finished up the semester by acing medical pathology by getting above the 90 on the last two exams. I've been doing a lot of tutoring of high school students having picked up several students in New Jersey. This is keeping me busy for nights a week but has been helping me keep it positive cash flow. I've also been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend. We went to Vermont and had a great time, and stopped in Lake Champlain on the way back. The foliage was peak at that time and it was beautiful. We also went to Longwood Gardens for the holidays which was a great time as well as going to a hockey game and going to New York City to watch the ball drop for New Year's.

Watching the ball dropped the other day was a lot of fun. It was a hassle to get in because we had had a backpack and they were not allowed, but we dropped it was someone we knew a few blocks down and we managed to get in the 7th Ave by 8 p.m. we were next to Carnegie Hall which is several blocks away, but does have a good view of the ball and the countdown screen. We cannot hear the concerts in Times Square, but we did have a rowdy group of people around them several different countries and we had a lot of fun meeting new people in the meantime. We had been staying at my friend's apartment in Norwalk Connecticut, which is only about an hour train ride on the city. We had gone on a dinner cruise two nights before around Manhattan which was also beautiful and went to a friends birthday party in the east Village. I've been spending the last three days doing all the chores and things I've put off during Christmastime and exams, which is a list of things almost 2 pages long.

Looking ahead, I'm taking my girlfriend on a secret trip (secret in the sense that she does not know where we are growing). This idea came out of the fact that having her participate in the planning stages of going somewhere tended simply complicate the issue. I plan this whole trip by myself and all she has to do is show up, which should facilitate things significantly. He is also performing music and Carnegie Hall the following weekend on Martin Luther King Day so that should be interesting. Another pathology is over I should have a little more time to do other things besides studying but we shall see if that works out...