There is no such joy as upon the road thereto.

About to "celebrate" my 2 year anniversary at my first real job.

Short-term goals:
- Solidify an exercise regimen
- Get my hobbies back rolling. (I miss my trombone, and playing with other people)

Long-term Plans:
- Turn this job into something I want to get out of bed for every morning, or find one somewhere else. Not that I hate this job every day, just some days...
- Find a woman to love that loves me back
- Convince said woman, if necessary, that pregnancy is overrated, and adoption is awesome
- Adopt multiple children over the course of the next 20-30 years
- Save enough money before I die to seed a scholarship, hopefully with enough time to be actively involved with selecting the first few. I want to play God with people's lives. I want to sit on high, and judge their adolescent souls.

Straighten out both my head and my spinal column, both of which have had me in one kind of pain or the other for the past two decades. Already a fair way there, just a matter of keeping on keeping on.

Be awesome at my current job without killing myself with overwork.

Build a Green home, probably straw-bale construction, photo-voltaic roof tiles, graywater system. Have two gardens, which I will probably have to hire someone to help me maintain (see spinal column above), one flower, one vegetable.

Save enough money to endow a foundation or trust for...I haven't decided yet. There are so many things I want to help fix on this planet.

Your talk about scholarships reminded me of something. I got this idea from a book. In the HIGHLY unlikely scenario that I have kids (more likely going to a niece or nephew) the first one who completes a full term with an Honorable Discharge in the service or stays in the longest (medical discharges will be sorted out later) gets whatever money I had in my bank account when I die.

Johny is 18 and Jimmy is 16. Johnny enlists and completes a term, then leaves. Jimmy enlists and stays on for 2 or 3 terms. Jimmy gets my money.

Sparkly Weasel:

werepossum:

Sparkly - I've known some SEALs. Celibate is not a word I'd associate with any of them.

No, but it's a word I associate with myself.

As long as it's your choice, nothing wrong with that. And if you do have kids, you'll probably feel differently about inheritance. You'll want to help them all out as much as possible.

mshcherbatskaya:
Straighten out both my head and my spinal column, both of which have had me in one kind of pain or the other for the past two decades. Already a fair way there, just a matter of keeping on keeping on.

Be awesome at my current job without killing myself with overwork.

Build a Green home, probably straw-bale construction, photo-voltaic roof tiles, graywater system. Have two gardens, which I will probably have to hire someone to help me maintain (see spinal column above), one flower, one vegetable.

Save enough money to endow a foundation or trust for...I haven't decided yet. There are so many things I want to help fix on this planet.

Sometimes the hardest part of a journey is finding the correct path.

I've always wanted to build an underground house, with one wall of windows facing a stream or river. You can heat and cool the thing with very little energy, they're very quiet, and with Hycrete (hydrophobic concrete) should last nearly forever. Build it with a geothermal ground-source heat pump and underfloor cooling and heating coils beneath tile floors and a gray water system (not really needed in Tennessee, but we do have droughts) and plant wildflowers across the roof. But once you get your house paid off it's hard to get enthused about going into debt again. Plus, to buy that kind of land I'd have a really long drive at $4 and up per gallon. :(

My plans? Same as always. Keep working at my job, and keep putting together various projects. A novel here, a fanfic there, a comic or two if I can find a willing artist...

My immediate plans include building a computer that will be able to surpass my current ghetto machine in both cost and power. Over the summer, I'll be teaching immigrants in an English As A Second Language class to get as many juicy community service hours as possible. After completing high school, I hope to get into MIT for Nuclear Engineering, but Biological Engineering looks just as appealing right now. If that plan fails, I've got prepaid tuition for just about any school in Florida, which is actually better than it sounds. The University of South Florida has a really nice biological engineering program.

Build a Battlebot
Try to get a career in engineering
Build world-conquering cyborgs
Hail to the king.

My short term goals are to move back to Canada, trade my laptop in for an XBox so I can finally GTAIV/MassEffect/Forza/CoD4, write LSATs, and build myself a sweet bicycle. The overarching goal is just to make a decision in 2008- sorting out where I'm going to go for graduate school and whether I'll do an MA or a JD/LLB, and whether I want to work in the Dept. of Foreign Affairs or domestically.

Larenxis:
Also to be in a band that lasts longer than a month, DM a successful campaign, and make a full length movie.

You band? What kind of instrument do you play?

I need help with mine. I'm undertaking 2 years of film school but the movie industry is so terrible in Australia, to do anything I'd like, I'd have to travel overseas. So I was thinking of doing a creative writing course. Perhaps I could review movies of continue script writing.

I plan to finish my 4-year degree in Theatre: Acting/Directing and Japanese Language, then ship off to a good school to get my Master's in Theatre (I WANT Guild Hall, but they only accept 6 per year into their Master's program, so I doubt it'll happen).

If all goes according to plan, I'll get married, live in a flat in Chicago or New York, never ever have children (maybe adopt, but I'm not pushing anything the size of a watermelon out of this body), and be a prominent stage director. I'll also accept transitioning to film, both for acting and directing. If all doesn't go according to plan, I still get married and live in a flat, but I'll be a translator.

And if I don't continue to play D&D that entire time I'll probably go crazy. :-D

After i manage to hack into the usless American Government computer systems i am going to steal millions then tun off to an island in the south pacific, oh and if you are the american government please realise that i can and am.

Realy guys crime pays.

If i get caught ill be sentenced as a Child, and so ill get a fine and community service last time i checked.

But if all that fails im going to become a Genetacist as i would like to help the world by inventing cures ect.

Or if posible a games reviewer that would be my ideal Job.

Finally finish that novel I've been working on
Gig regularly with my band
Travel to the States and through to Central America
Meet the lady of my dreams

I'm not asking for much.

WlknCntrdiction:
1. finish this semester at uni on my web design course.
2. apply for, study and finish the computer animation course im transferring over to cause the web design course aint cutting it for where i want to go or do.
3. finish learning how to drive, strap my parents down so they can actually get the time to come with me to buy a frikkin car.
4. over summer study the book "games testing all in one", learn 3d studio max, silo 2, zbrush, brush up on photoshop, get a work placement somewhere as a beta tester.
5. start computer animation course whilst working at several games companies as a tester.
6. begin my climb up the hierarchial ladder of the games industry until i become a 3d modeler/animator.
7. sidenote - be sure not to get married, have kids or "settle down" before i am earning over £50,000 a year, im serious, and even then im abit skeptical, you dont really need a piece of paper to tell two people that they love each other, if she wants to get married and i dont then it obviously wasnt meant to be.

of course when you set things out like i have they tend to never go to plan, funny how that happens lol.

id like to add to my list:

also over the summer i will be bulking up some more and just generally becoming a healthy being than the one i look at in the mirror each day, i am happy with my body, its slim, sexy etc but i know i can do better and i intend to, just once i get this stupid assignment out of the way lol.

most likely wont have kids cause i just dont feel i cud ever look after someone else and provide for them, its different for a gf/wife cause they are also providing and know what they're doing, having to teach someone from scratch everything that i learnt from my parents and outside influences i would find a chore rather than enjoying the rest of the life i have and will excel at.

also not to get married, and no im not trying to be different or trying to non conform to conforming cause im well aware that that is still conforming to non conforming, r u still with me? lol.
me and some of my co-workers were talking about marriage and one of the customers pipped in and told me she thought i was right, her and her bf have been together for 20 years and they havent thought of getting married cause everything is great the way it is, they feel the same way as me, that a piece of paper cant tell u that u love someone. and for all those saying "well the religious significance blah blah blah" please tell it to someone who cares. by your definition if religion governs everything(and thank god(pun intended)that it doesnt) then we shudnt love someone until we want to marry them, just because someone doesnt want to marry doesnt mean that their love for each other is any less than the love between two ppl who are married.

its all subjective really, love is subjective, i personally see marriage as a status symbol, in a world where status is everything nowadays, maybe in the olden times marriage meant something but today to me it means nothing. footballers selling their wedding pictures or exclusive rights to be at the wedding, doesnt sound romantic to me. and for us mere mortals, im aware im gunna garner alot of negative feedback when i say this, women dont want their wedding to be upstaged by one of their gfs weddings which just happens to cost more and oh shes got those new petunias that only bloom once a year at her wedding, see where im going here? it becomes less about love and more about materialness, who has the better wedding, thats the only thing people care about. some of you may say thats not the case but you tell me that you wudnt want your wedding to be extravagant to say the least, you ask women how they imagine their weddings to be and its almost always the same answer "i want it to be big blah blah blah".
to me i think the people who dont want to get married prove their love more than those who want to get married, you lot are conforming to a ritual which was once sacred but is now all but a farce.

and yes im aware there are ppl who have been married for a long time(my parents included for 26 yrs and my grandparents 50 yrs this july)and still love each other as much as they did on the first day they got together. however theres one key difference, they didnt have everything us younger generation have today, they actually valued what they had and that includes love, today we can just nag our parents for whatever we want(not me though i work lol)and they give to us, this gimme gimme gimme attitude today really makes me sick tbh, and im rambling so let me get to the point.
marriage isnt right for everyone, to me its a waste, it means nothing to have a piece of paper telling u u love someone. i cud proudly stand up and say i love my gf without feeling embarrassed or ashamed that we're not married. "omg if they have kids they're gunna be illegitimate", blow me, they're still gunna be more loved and cherished than your kids and we'll actually discipline them properly(im not talking whipping or smacking here)and they will grow up to be very powerful and influenctial people.

and like darth i want to finish my book, eventually lol.

wow i only wanted to add abit to my list, i guess i got carried away lol.
yeah, thats all, for now anyways.
p.s. i know i contradicted myself.

Become a doctor. After I get my degree, I (to quote the Hellgate commercials) am going to London.

[quote=Alotak]After i manage to hack into the usless American Government computer systems i am going to steal millions then tun off to an island in the south pacific, oh and if you are the american government please realise that i can and am.

Realy guys crime pays.

If i get caught ill be sentenced as a Child, and so ill get a fine and community service last time i checked.[quote]

Unless the CIA just kills you outright and covers it up.

Short term: Finish painting my Space Marines, Finish writing my campaign, Learn how to play Call of Chulthu.

Long term: Finish my bach music without failing, Be in a successful band, Find a better job, Stay with my girlfriend.

Its a pretty awesome road ahead =D

WlknCntrdiction:

also not to get married, and no im not trying to be different or trying to non conform to conforming cause im well aware that that is still conforming to non conforming, r u still with me? lol.
me and some of my co-workers were talking about marriage and one of the customers pipped in and told me she thought i was right, her and her bf have been together for 20 years and they havent thought of getting married cause everything is great the way it is, they feel the same way as me, that a piece of paper cant tell u that u love someone. and for all those saying "well the religious significance blah blah blah" please tell it to someone who cares. by your definition if religion governs everything(and thank god(pun intended)that it doesnt) then we shudnt love someone until we want to marry them, just because someone doesnt want to marry doesnt mean that their love for each other is any less than the love between two ppl who are married.

its all subjective really, love is subjective, i personally see marriage as a status symbol, in a world where status is everything nowadays, maybe in the olden times marriage meant something but today to me it means nothing. footballers selling their wedding pictures or exclusive rights to be at the wedding, doesnt sound romantic to me. and for us mere mortals, im aware im gunna garner alot of negative feedback when i say this, women dont want their wedding to be upstaged by one of their gfs weddings which just happens to cost more and oh shes got those new petunias that only bloom once a year at her wedding, see where im going here? it becomes less about love and more about materialness, who has the better wedding, thats the only thing people care about. some of you may say thats not the case but you tell me that you wudnt want your wedding to be extravagant to say the least, you ask women how they imagine their weddings to be and its almost always the same answer "i want it to be big blah blah blah".
to me i think the people who dont want to get married prove their love more than those who want to get married, you lot are conforming to a ritual which was once sacred but is now all but a farce.

Well you see in America, marriage is a tax deduction. The government gives you tax breaks for being married. So you see, being married not only says that you love this other person, but it's cheaper, once the big event's paid for anyways. The real problem with marriage in my family is that they're all Roman Catholic. And what am I? Wiccan. Huz-zah. Mind you, if I fall in love with a Catholic and have to have a Catholic wedding, I'm cool with that. As long as it happens outside where I can still feel connected to my own beliefs. But I can see my mother now... "We'll have to book a church, and a priest..."
"Uh, try a broomstick and a priestess..."

Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. Leave for a larger city, and work as a cop for a bit and try my luck at being a federal agent.

Survive. Eat a lot of cake. Write a book. Make a videogame. Write some more music. Enjoy life.

BlazeTheVampire:

Well you see in America, marriage is a tax deduction. The government gives you tax breaks for being married. So you see, being married not only says that you love this other person, but it's cheaper, once the big event's paid for anyways. The real problem with marriage in my family is that they're all Roman Catholic. And what am I? Wiccan. Huz-zah. Mind you, if I fall in love with a Catholic and have to have a Catholic wedding, I'm cool with that. As long as it happens outside where I can still feel connected to my own beliefs. But I can see my mother now... "We'll have to book a church, and a priest..."
"Uh, try a broomstick and a priestess..."

i think here in england atm they are pushing to give some benefits to people who are together but who arent married cause atm if you're not you're basically getting shat on repeatedly and no one should be forced to marry just so they can live "better" supposedly.
damn government being ruled by the church, its only the beginning trust me, next the church will pass that anyone not believing of god be "smited" because they're "evil", i should write out my will now just in case lol.

Well I'm going to amble my way through my final year college exams, spend the 6 weeks after mostly in a drunken stupor and/or partying, begin Uni, spend the next 3 years in a drunken stupor and/or partying, then see where that takes me besides the liver ward at my local hospital.

[quote=BlazeTheVampire Well you see in America, marriage is a tax deduction. The government gives you tax breaks for being married. So you see, being married not only says that you love this other person, but it's cheaper, once the big event's paid for anyways. The real problem with marriage in my family is that they're all Roman Catholic. And what am I? Wiccan. Huz-zah. Mind you, if I fall in love with a Catholic and have to have a Catholic wedding, I'm cool with that. As long as it happens outside where I can still feel connected to my own beliefs. But I can see my mother now... "We'll have to book a church, and a priest..."
"Uh, try a broomstick and a priestess..."[/quote]

Marriage is a tax deduction if only one person works. It used to be a penalty, i.e. a married couple who both worked paid higher taxes than two single people with the same combined income. The Republicans changed that when they won Congress in '94 - it was one of the Contract With America items.

Being married outside is the only way, unless it's a quickie J.P. affair. I always feel closer to G-d outside than in any church.