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catching up with my responsibilities...

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Oh dear, oh dear, I've missed two quarterly reports! So much has changed! Where to begin? When I wrote my yearly goals in January I was still in Berlin and not yet committed to moving to Latvia. Now, in early October, I've been in Riga for four months. I've got my residency permit, I'm working, and learning Latvian. This has certainly been a change for the better, but challenges loom. Living in Latvia is very expensive and the salaries are low. My progress in Latvian is slower than I find acceptable. I am still teaching English, which is like a daily trip to the dentist. So many of the goals for the year must be recalibrated or abandoned. First things first, let's go through the list and see where I stand:

2008 Goals:
Time to shake things up! I'm not sure I've taken the Berlin project as far as it can go, but I don't feel held here anymore. Now I have to reach for the next level, combining income and fun seamlessly into a solid groove. This won't happen without my Baiba. Job number 1 is bringing us closer together (geographically speaking) next year.
Practical Considerations:
1)Stop losing shit!!! Ok, this is getting ridiculous. Although I haven't lost another ipod, I've lost a lovely scarf, a gore tex jacket, and the belt to my overcoat, all on the bus or tram in Latvia. When will I learn to take care of my shit?? A little carrot and stick is in order here. If I lose nothing in 2008, or at least nothing of consequence, I get a treat, to be determined. If I lose anything valuable, or have it stolen because I was being an idiot, I add an extra year before I can replace my laptop. Deal? Deal!
Third quarter comment: I'm still losing shit. Let's see, what was it? A debit card, a cell phone, and a front bike bag with a bunch of stuff in it. That's it, no treat, no new computer!
2)Get real health insurance for 2008/9 and clean up any lingering health questions, like my teeth. It will cost more, but this is really basic penny wise and pound foolish stuff. Extra points for getting this all set in Q1, so there's no desperate race for the deadline.
Third quarter comment: I switched to a reliable ex-pat insurance, and even got my money back after the fly by night firm I'd been using for the past year double charged me for a renewal that I had cancelled. My teeth still need attention, and the prosthesis is still uninsured. Given that it is leaking again four months after its last repair, this is a really serious situation. I have an email concerning the guarantee in with the office in Berlin.
3)Manage all upcoming issues with the condo, which includes the ongoing water hassle
Third Quarter comment: There are new tenants, and the rent was raised $100 a month, so that is the good news. The bad news is that there was a $1,200 painting bill and the water issue is still unresolved. There were high water bills through the summer.
4)Understand and pay my German (and American) income tax.
Third Quarter comment: Taxes in both countries were submitted, and I owed nothing! I will have to file German taxes again for 2008 because I worked there during that year. On a related note, I have a bank account open in Germany that is costing me a service charge every month. If it drains the 20€ I left in the account, there could be trouble with the German credit agencies, so I need to get it taken care of.
5)Continue the cycling, add upper body work
Third Quarter comment: I cycled through the winter and into the spring in Berlin, and finished it off with a great bike trip from Berlin to Riga, the first time I'd toured in years. I was in really great shape when I arrived here, but since then my ass hasn't touched the saddle once and it's really starting to show. There are problems. Riga isn't a bike friendly city. We live in a fourth floor walk up with no parking downstairs, and there is no covered bike parking at work. All of that said, I'm on track to be a fat-ass again this winter if I don't find a solution, so I'd better get something together.
6)Really take a stab at looking for non-language teaching related work in Berlin
Third Quarter comment: I utterly failed at this goal, but largely because I decided to move to Latvia. I wish I had taken this goal more seriously, but having a good reason to stay in Berlin would have been an impediment to moving.
7)Get on some kind of schedule for learning Latvian
Third Quarter comment: I'm now taking classes two days a week and not paying for it! I need to do better speaking at home.

Financial Issues:

1)Continue to drive costs for travel down, especially to Riga
Third Quarter comment: Well, now that I live in Riga, I guess that's handled. The larger issue is making travel less expensive in general, especially trans-continental travel.
2)Drive daily living costs down while not depriving myself of cultural opportunities
Third Quarter comment: although I envisioned doing this in Berlin, we have been working on the same project here in Riga. We have instituted a weekly food budget, which is helpful, and I have budgeted a certain amount per week for culture. It is difficult to see how all this is working with my budget because I don't yet really have a handle on monthly earnings.
3)Research cheaper places to live. I'm not sure if moving is in the picture, but it's becoming increasingly likely owing to pressure on the dollar.
Third Quarter comment: I moved, but not somewhere cheaper. If anything, Riga is more expensive in real terms than Berlin. Now attention turns to trying to make Latvia sustainable.
4)Once again, it's time to find better investments. 5% is just not going to cut it.
Third Quarter comment: When I wrote this goal, neither I nor anybody else was thinking the U.S. would be going through such a serious and protracted financial crisis. Now it seems reasonable to hold on to what little I have. I was right to shift money out of Washington Mutual before it crashed, and I need to get the last little bit of non-FDIC cash out of a bank as soon as the CD matures. Will probably move the profit to Latvia where they have better rates. More research is needed.

Creative and personal issues:

1)At least one blog entry a week, no foolin', no excuses!
Third Quarter comment: Well, we can all see how well this is working. I even have about a two month gap in the summer. I couldn't be expected to blog from my bike because the laptop is to big to drag with me, but the blackout lasted much longer.
2)I think I need to be on some sort of writing schedule, just like I was on right after I quit Amazon. It's embarrassing to say, but there it is. I want to start with two hours a day, every day that I don't have to work. Let's see how it goes.
Third Quarter comment: It's not going well. I can make lots of excuses about having to work, but here it is Wednesday and I have plenty of time, yet I'm not doing anything serious.
3)Try to revive the Berlin friends network, make social inroads in Latvia. This latter goal is heavily dependant on learning the language.
Third Quarter comment: Making social inroads in Latvia is hard. It will be several months until my Latvian is good enough to use in social situations, so everyone I meet I meet through Baiba. I hope that will turn around soon, but much depends on my making progress in Latvian.
4)Stop wasting time!!! Seriously, I'm no advocate of “time management,” but how many games of Scorched Earth do you want to play??
Third Quarter comment: Now that I'm working, I'm doing a little better in this department, but working a worthless job is just another way to waste time, especially if you're not making any money.

Big Projects:

1)Figure out a 3-5 year plan with Baiba. What do we want to do, where do we want to go. We need to figure out what the goals are, how we are going to afford it, medical insurance for us both, and visa issues. The plan should be in place by the beginning of summer.
Third Quarter comment: We are slowly making progress toward this goal. We will be visiting the U.S. in '09, but the more I think about it the more I find myself committed to staying in Europe. Recent political and economic events in the U.S. have only strengthened my opinion.
2)Convene the Star-Chamber of sustainable living to figure out how to keep the party rolling. What are the options? Could we buy a piece of property together to hold down costs? Form a corporation? Has anyone found excellent ways of saving money, investing, or beating the system? Bill, Cheryl, Dave, Bao, Sandra, Jonathan, Carlos, Mera?... let's have a chat.
Third Quarter comment: other than electronically, no movement on this front. Bill has made some mention of a meeting in Buenos Aries next year. Pity that is almost exactly on the other side of the planet. We'll see.

So those are the hastily put together goals for 2008. Of course, part of the fun is to see how the goals change over the course of the year, but 2008 is a year for big changes. The old world gives way for the new. Here's to it!
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OK, so there were the 2008 goals with my October comments. Where to go from here. Certain issues like getting more exercise can and should be fixed immediately. Larger issues like the 5-year plan will take more thought. The biggest change is that I am no longer planning on my own. Baiba and I will have to make the big decisions together. Sometimes I miss the freedom to be in total control, but this is so much better than sitting in a coffee shop in Seattle watching the girls go by.