Well, this has been a year of success, and I have a feeling next year will only get better.

That’s what I wrote in last New Year’s post. Then, 2016 happened.

You know what I’m talkin’ about. It started with celebrities dying, then it seemed like every one of my friends was losing a loved one, and by February, I was like, dude, my Grandma’s in the hospital and her health’s not great, I don’t like how this year is going. And it went exactly where it looked like it was going.

Well, goal have been hit and miss this year, so might as well get on with it the round-up:

-Not die. I’m re-phrasing this from previous years – the original was “survive another year” followed by “Screw survival, I want to LIVE.” I’m living now, so I’ll be happy with keeping myself safe in the process! – Well, I’m good on this one. Can’t say the same for everyone this year.

-Get my Multi-engine rating. – Made it through this one.

–Get my IFR rating. – Almost there, but not quite.

–Writing wise, finish a revision of Skybound. I think that’s reasonable. – Still focussed on flying, but actually got some decent work done on this. Ultimately, not a full revision, but I’m pleased with how it’s going.

–Short stories:write one. Any one. I do about one a year. It’s fine. – I wrote one. Actually, maybe two, can’t remember when I wrote the short one, but Saturday’s Child was a good long one and a solid story, I’m very pleased with it.

–Reading: I think this year, if anything, the goal should be to read more books period. Gonna put The Name Of The Wind on that list again though, along with my new favourite author’s newest book, Illuminae, and Chad Ginther’s trilogy finale, Too Far Gone, and if I can make it to that one, Sherry’s sequel, Mabel, the Mafioso Dwarf. Also, at least one female author and at least one POC author. – I did none of these….no wait, I read a female author – finished Elizabeth Wein’s Black Dove, White Raven. Also read Gerald Brandt’s The Courier, and looking forward to the sequel.

So – the multi-IFR is the biggest thing at this point, and there have been so many obstacles thrown at me this year, it’s frustrating that it’s taking me this long, but my Grandma’s death hit me hard. I’ve never lost anyone close to me before, and it affected me in ways I didn’t expect. That and the long breaks between lessons due to weather and maintenance and my work schedule have made things even harder. And miscellaneous things I won’t even bother to list.

But I don’t know any other way to deal with things besides plowing through head first. So without further ado, my goals for 2017:

– Not die Same as always.

– Remain happily married. Realized I missed that one last year, and husband is miffed he didn’t make the list. Maybe to be more specific, I’ll throw in see a movie or go out for dinner once a month, since that tends to be our date night thing. Husband and I are great together – have to be grateful for that. Can’t imagine my life without him.

– Finish my Multi-IFR.

– Quit my job. It’s like a ball and chain, it’s exhausting, and while I like my co-workers for the most part, and they’ve been the one redeeming element aside from getting paid, it’s a terrible environment for someone like me to work. It burns me out, and it’s stopping me from succeeding with flying. While I’d originally planned to wait until I’d finished my MIFR to quit, I might have to just take the plunge. I won’t find another job that pays as much, but my first flying job was pretty much guaranteed to not pay as much as my current job, so while it’s scary, it’s inevitable, and I think it’s time.

– Editing Skybound: make significant progress. I’m on a roll with this one, I’m enjoying the story and world, and really getting into the characters,  so this one has been good. Also, having my regular critique group meeting monthly gets me focused on having a scene ready to present each month, so I’m making steady, if small, progress without it being an overwhelming thing that I need to set aside to focus on flying.

– Short stories: write one more. Same as last year. Usually one just randomly comes to me and I’m like, omg, I have a story to write.

– Reading: I haven’t had as much time to read lately, so I’m just going to simplify this one to reading more. I may have only read like two or three books last year, so I’m going to make a reasonable goal of reading five novels. Five seems like a good number.

– I feel like there should be something else, something nebulous, and I stopped to think about it, and what I want to put down is I want to do something to honour my Grandmother’s memory. I want to be like her and practice the things she taught me, from growing plants and cooking, to being kind and loving my family. I’m going to have family over for dinner and board games sometimes. I had my brother and my dad over for Christmas eve for a quiet evening, just the four of us, and it was really nice. We’ll do that more.

2016 was a shit year, but I’m a stubborn bitch, so 2017 better be ready to bring it.