201 – July & the 2016 Goals

It’s been an interesting couple of months since my last post.  Two of my good friends got married Canada, another got married in Thailand, and I got to be there for both!  The Canadian ceremony was held on Toronto Island, and it was great to have had the chance to be there for the event.  My other friend got married just outside of Bangkok, and the Thai ceremony was a blast.  I got to wear short gold pants with a white shirt and gold bow-tie.  I spent a week in Bangkok after the wedding mostly just walking around and enjoying the city.

I always called Bangkok ‘Douchebag Mecca’ because I imagined the place would be over-run by the type of loud-mouthed-drunken party animal tourists I try to avoid when travelling.  However, I must admit that the city surprised me, and I enjoyed myself greatly.  I did a bike tour and a cooking lesson while I was there.  The food was fantastic, and I picked up three more cookbooks for my collection.

I’m back in Qatar now and the summer semester is winding down.  After today there two more weeks left before I’m back to Canada to visit family and friends.  I wish I had more time off but then again so does everyone else.

1. Be debt-free by… Aug 2018! 
Still on pace to happen.  The Canadian Debt is a memory, and this one is ticking away automatically.
2. Do a half-ironman triathlon.  Huphuphuphupkikikikikik!  That’s what the physio says. I suffered a partial quadriceps tear and have been off the bike and out of running since.  My leg is almost better now, and I’m going to start some light biking again in the coming days.  My next shot at this is going to be Bahrain in December.
3. Cook something at least once a month for friends. R has been pretty much the sole beneficiary of this goal to date, but stuff is getting cooked, so it’s all good.
4. Continue with Arabic by finishing the university’s level 3 & 4 courses. I’ve been thinking I might just demote myself all the way back down to level one.  Although I finished the level two course, I cannot honestly say that I passed.  Better to do it well and do it right.
5. Present on technology in language education at a TESOL Conference. I’ll miss out on presenting at KOTESOL this year but there are other venues worth checking out.
6. Get Published! I haven’t made in moves on this front, but it’s still on my mind.
7. Make a blog entry at least once a month. Today’s post keeps this goal afloat.
8. Learn about website design – take a course.  I’ve been teaching this summer so something will likely have to give between this goal and the Arabic goal.  I suspect this one will get pushed to 2017.
9. Keep the weight off and become healthier – keep exercising and educate myself on productivity and self-improvement.  I was 185 pounds when I wrote this.  I’m 187 right now which I’m quite pleased about since I’ve been relatively inactive for almost two months now.  I have noticed that my old habits resurface almost automatically when my daily routine lacks the structure provided by triathlon training.  It’s time to sort out my sweet tooth and cut back on the gummy candies, chocolate, ice cream, and even my beloved coke zero!