Holy crap, what a month it’s been. Technically six weeks, since I’m posting this 2/3 of the way through April, and five weeks into pandemic isolation. This is definitely an event we’ll talk about for generations, and a hundred years from now they’ll point at this period the same way we talk about the Spanish Flu. In an attempt at some semblance of normalcy, here are this month’s excuses progress on goals.
We’re 17 weeks into the year, or roughly 33% done.
Read 20 books in 2020: Well…I’m still in the middle of Obsidio and Mistborn, but I did finish Which Witch? By Eva Ibbotson with my daughters, and we started her The Ogre of Oglefort. With the isolation, the girls have taken to listening to a lot of books on tape though, so our bedtime reading has tapered slightly. I’ve been too restless to read for myself, but I’ve been working through Mistborn when I’m trying to fall asleep (not that it’s boring, but I find that a chapter relaxes me enough where I can finally drift off). Regardless, that makes six books completed, or 30% complete. This is still achievable, but I need to play less Minecraft and read more.
Write 38 Posts in 2020: This is my 7th post, marking this goal 18% complete. Like many of you, I’ve had a hard time motivating, and even more so with this particular goal. I might have more thoughts to share at some point, though.
Get back on Schedule for Togahan #4: I haven’t made much progress here. I’m currently 228 days behind schedule, slipping about 40 days more from the last report, which pretty much lines up with mid-March when isolation began. I haven’t been able to focus a lot, but I’ve eked out about a day a week to work on this. I’m still waiting on feedback from a few beta readers, but they have their own hands full, so I haven’t wanted to bother them. In the meantime, I’m processing the feedback I’ve gotten so far, fixing definite problems and grammar tweaks. Some things I can’t really fix without derailing the whole story, but to some point they get into a gray area of whether something’s a feature or a bug. Regardless, one mud-sucking step at a time, I’m moving forward.
Record the first chapter for A Togahan’s Tale: Still haven’t started, and it’s not looking good for this summer either, what with the pandemic’s impact on all schedules. Well’ see.
Walk 5+ miles Every Day: Comparing with last month:
| This month | Last Month | |
| Days | 110 | 65 |
| Successes | 86 | 53 |
| % Success | 78% | 82% |
| Average daily miles | 5.51 | 5.61 |
| Total miles | 605.93 | 64.73 |
Yeah, as with all the goals, this one’s been slipping. Cooped up in the house, I’ve been taking extended walks at the end of the day (rather than shorter walks throughout the day in my work complex). But on the rainy days, I’ve holed up instead (and played Minecraft, with my daughters and by myself).
Like a lot of folks, I’m trying to hold on to some sense of schedule and normalcy, but for all of us, that’s gone out the window. Truth is, I was struggling with a lot of this before, and the pandemic just made the ramp steeper. Still, all things considered, I’ve been lucky so far. My wife and I still have our jobs. We’re able to work from home, and our daughters have been wonderful playing together, and for the most part, keeping up with their schoolwork.
“This too, shall pass,” I keep telling myself. Just one more day, just one more step. We all keep going. Together, we’ll get through this.
Be good. -Pete