A Bit of Retrospective Perspective

Well, those of you who follow my Facebook with a near-religious fervor (I know there are PLENTY of you out there) know that some time last week I attempted to install Windows 7 on my computer. You'll also know that I wiped my computer clean, remembering (like all good computer-repair amateurs) to back up all of my files onto an external hard drive. The event included a positive status:

"Point of optimism to the day: Installed Windows 7 Professional."

That positive status was almost immediately contrasted with the following status:

"I stand corrected, because apparently I can't restore the files I backed up on my external hard drive. The backup program is incompatible with Windows 7. Fantastic."

Oh, Facebook, how I reach out for you to stroke my ever-so-fragile ego when the world seems to fail me. Instead I ended up inciting a flame war between Apple users and PC users...I don't want to go back to that at all, actually, since this post has nothing to do with the actual back up that went awry. I actually ended up restoring all my files after about three days of work and emo moping (ask any of my roommates, they'll tell you that was the case), so I suppose the story's a happy one in the end. But the interesting thing is that I've been going through all my files that I restored, trying to figure out what I want to keep and what I want to scrap, and it's kinda made me think a bit.

Truth be told, there's some pretty good writing buried in the deeper corners of this hard drive, and even though I always talk about expanding on it, I truly want to this time around. I've made a lot of positive changes this month already, and I think I'm on the track to continue to make more. So my goal? A realistic one? I want to finish a book by the end of my internship. It may just be the end of my first draft, it may not be a good book at all, but I want to have it done. And I'm not sure whether or not I'll take on NaNoWriMo this year, but if I do, I certainly want to win this time. No excuses, no sicknesses, nothing but success.

You see, I want to prove to myself that I'm ready for the real world. This Disney internship is a nice buffer between the end of college and the beginning of unemployment, but I need to show myself that I'm ready to take myself seriously. I plan to show you all, too!

Here is my writing schedule. I plan to keep to this every day for the next 30 days.

Sunday: Blog on The California Chronicles
Monday: Blog on Struck Lightning
Tuesday: Gaming Blog? (Still in the works)
Wednesday: Vlog on The California Chronicles (OOH, VIDEO!)
Thursday: Write for Project Storm (OOH, MISS-TEER-EE-US...)
Friday: Post for The Hero's Accomplice
Saturday: Blog on The California Chronicles

The catch to all this? Public accountability. Notice the "Post" for The Hero's Accomplice? That's the name of the book that I attempted to write for NaNoWriMo last year, and I plan to post chapters/segments as I get through with them. Also notice that this plan includes a revival of my old opinion blog, Struck Lightning! I really love that blog, and I really love forcing my opinion on others. So why not?

My real goal is to end this program with a portfolio of work that I can show off, both to potential employers and myself. I know I'm capable of more than I'm giving myself credit for, but I've gotta start acting like it if I expect anything to come of it.

So, everyone, I need your support! Make your friends read this blog! And the other stuff! Leave comments! Make me feel loved! I love feeling loved! WHEE!

In the meantime, I leave you tonight with the second vlog I made about life here in California! Caution, 'cause it rambles a bit...have a great night!