The Dust has Settled

So the dust has settled on a new year, 2010. I can't quite believe where the time has gone but I seem to say this every year. Each new year seems to bring out a sense of evaluation to one's life and I am no exception. This year I have set myself some targets that I want to achieve, as follows.

1. Blog more. This was something I wanted to do more of in 2009, but for one reason and another it didn't quite happen. I only managed to blog a handful of times which isn't good enough. So I am going to set myself a target of at least one blog a week.

2. Continue learning Chinese. Although I have started to make a concious effort to learn Chinese I want to get into the high elementary/low intermediate bracket. I consider myself at low-mid elementary at the moment. I do sometimes struggle with motivation and time but when I do learn I feel better for it. This will give me a great sense of achievement if I can do this.

3. Visit a new country. I really enjoy travelling. Last year I managed to go to Thailand for the first time which was amazing. I want to continue this trend and visit more countries. Living in China should allow me to visit more countries in Asia such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos which would be fantastic. The world is a big place and so little time.

4. Run a marathon. During the summer of 2009 I started running a lot which really helped to improve my fitness levels. I would love to make it my goal to run a marathon, possibly the Beijing marathon as this is in October which should give me enough time to prepare. It is one of my lifetime goals to do this, and if I keep putting it off and off I will never do it.

5. Read more. Again this is similar to learning Chinese. I keep putting it off because of time or laziness but it is something I enjoy when I do actually read. I managed to read a few books last year on China, but that is nowhere near the level of books I want to be reading. A book a month is my target.

So there we have it. My targets for 2010. I shall keep this blog updated with my progress as much as possible and have a 6-month progress report in June. I wish you all the best with your targets for 2010 and a Happy New Year to all!