Goals of 2015

Since 2015 is already underway, it would probably be a good idea to jot down my goals for this year. Publicly committing to learning how to draw has kept me pretty honest about keeping up with the work, and working through those times I really wanted to quit. With a little luck I’ll be able to work these through:

Draw Every Day

…at least for an hour. So far I have been pretty good about keeping up with this one. I have been either sketching in my sketch book, rendering charcoal onto newsprint, or toying around with a digital drawing tablet. This is distinct from the seemingly similar: draw for seven hours a week which is the same amount of time, but not the same amount of commitment. Just going to Art class and drawing once a week is not enough to get better quickly.

Learn How to Ride a Unicycle

What? Really? Yeah. It has been increasingly clear to me that having good balance is a worthwhile talent. Riding a unicycle is a good way to gain mastery over your balance. I doubt this will take more than a month to get good enough to feel comfortable riding around, so this shouldn’t be too hard.

Learn How to Ride a Horse

What? Really? More riding stuff? Biking around Orange County has been really fun. I have seen a lot of the more interesting trails and even more interesting people on them (There was a guy on rollerblades propelling himself with ski poles one day). In my exploration I have passed by a number of people riding horses around the trails which looks like it too would be fun. For hundreds of years before cars were common place people rode horses. Can we appreciate the present modes of transportation without understanding the past? I don’t believe so.

There are also some minor practical benefits to being to ride a horse (or donkey), such as being able to go up mountains. Having a horse carry me to the top of a tall mountain sounds a lot more convenient than climbing myself to the top.

Climb to the Top of Mount Balde, Wilson, and Jacinto

Nothing exotic here, just want to collect them all.

Learn how to Surf

When in Rome….. While I am in Socal, where surfing is a thing, it would be wasteful to not take advantage of the sunny weather and surfing waves. This was one of my goals last year, but I ended up not doing it in favor of focusing on art stuff. Now that I have a more rigorous routine in place for drawing, I am hoping to revisit this. The hardest step is the first, which is the one into the chilly waters of the Pacific.