Plans for 2014

To be honest, a lot of my plans for 2014 looks suspiciously like things I said I’d get around to in 2013. Between my artist roommate and my occasional involvement with NerdBurger, I’m feeling considerably more motivated this time around, but only time will tell if I can translate that motivation into action.

Weave more chainmail. I did very little weaving over the last year,  and none in the last six or so months. The problem is, I’ve got so many bracelets and such sitting around the house now. I either need to try selling my wares somehow, even if only at cost, or I need a big, time-consuming project. I want to work/practice, but I just can’t justify the creation of any more trinkets that will ultimately remain in my own hands.

Read more. I spend so much time reading new environmental regulations for work (ugh, legalese), especially after I shifted positions at work about two years ago, I’ve fallen out of the habit of reading for pleasure. I’ve kept up with a couple of comic/manga series, but that’s about it. I’ve also read most things Sanderson, but as much as I enjoy his fantasy work (the wait for the next Stormlight Archive book may kill me), most of his material is fairly light. Meticulously crafted magic systems aside. My last read of any substance was China Mieville’s The Scar, and I read it almost two years ago. I blame Monster Hunter International. I bought that one mostly blind because of the positive word of mouth, but I ended up disliking it so much (never finished it; don’t think I even made it 25% of the way) that it put me off taking chances on new things for a long while.

Let’s Play videos. For real this time. I will admit, I have no real excuse for the foot-dragging at this point. The podcast has gotten me comfortable with putting my voice out there, and I’ve already replaced/upgraded recording equipment and editing software as better tech has come along. I just need to stop worrying about how terrible I’ll sound (everyone’s bad at the commentary in their early videos), and start recording and uploading. I will admit recent developments in YouTube land have given me pause, but I’ve never had any plans to attempt to monetize my videos, so the issues so strongly affecting some of the people I follow should only lightly affect me if at all.

Listen to more music. Much like with books, I’ve tended to play it safe and listen to the same old things over and over again for a good year or so now. Which isn’t so bad, given the size and variety of my mp3 collection. I used to love trying new music though, and I need to get back to it. I haven’t even done a great job of keeping up with new material from my favorite/safe bands.