Back on these forums again

[Mona52]

Non-M related, personal, make-Mona-better goals...
Like I said before, last time, when I learned how to GAL, I really took that to heart, and since then I have not stopped.

In the last few years, I finished my BS in Computer Science and doubled my income going from a part-time clerical job to a full time IT job. Once I was able to get a little bit of experience, I was able to double my income again by landing a database analyst position at a local university.

Professionally, I hit the jackpot. My job is perfect for me. I come to work everyday and get to play with code and servers and speak to people who understand highly technical conversations. They encourage me to spread my wings and learn new things, some that have absolutely nothing to do with databases. As long as I am always learning, they are happy and I am ecstatic.

Professionally, everyday I try and do something I have never done before. I constantly look at what I do every day and try to make it faster or easier. It is great, because I try to take that mindset into other parts of my life.

After I got my degree and became comfortable in my career at the university, I knew I could not just stop there, so I am back in school full-time (nights, after I get out of work and the kids are asleep). I am finishing my Master's of Science in Computer Security.

I only have 4 classes to go, and this is where, personally, I am falling sort of hitting my goals at the moment. I am in 3 highly technical classes and no matter how hard I try, I cannot focus. I am about 2 weeks behind on my classes right now.

Last month, I got my Certified Ethical Hacker certification, and one of my classes will build on that and I will get certified in forensic investigation. The certs kinda go hand-in-hand, so I need to figure out a way to snap out of it and dig in and get this done. So far I have been unsuccessful in figuring it out.

I am kinda good at finding and clearing malware and other nasties on a computer, so another personal goal I have is to start a business helping local business owners keep their data safe. I created a business plan and entered the plan in a state-wide competition and I came in in the top 6. So I am sure my plan is good. But I am failing miserably at this goal. I have tried a ton of mailings, a radio add and promotional materials for local business owners. But they do not really know the difference between a virus and malware, so I have no idea how to explain what I can do for them so that they understand how much they need it. This personal goal in critical because I do not earn enough money to pay all of the bills and my H is not giving me anything, zero, nada. I took him to domestic relations, but he quit his job before we went. He started a new job a few days after the domestic relations hearing, and they tried to give me what he should pay from what they assume he might make at the new job. It is pennies and it will be another month or more before I start getting any of it. I cant tell my landlord, or the electric company I will pay them when my H pays me...

I hired a marketing person, and did exactly what she told me to do, but I still have zero customers. I tried to hire some professional appointment setters. They gave me my money back and told me they do not know how to get appointments...

I also turned a hobby into an additional source of income in the last few months, but it will take a year for any of the money to come in. I offered my services to a publisher to be a technical reviewer. At first I did not get paid for this, but they did publish my name in the books I reviewed. But now I have moved on to getting paid to review the code in books as they are written. I will not get any actual money until the book is published, and that takes a while. And they only let me have one or 2 books at a time, so it is not a lot of money, but I get thrilled when I see my name in a book

Last week I quit smoking. I had been a smoker for about 30 years. I quit in January of this year, but about 2 months ago, I had just "one" every now and then to make it through the stress. This quickly turned in to a full fledged, pack a day habit again. Today is day 6 where I have not touched a cigg and it stinks! But this pain makes me forget other pain, and sometimes makes the other pain worse, but I can handle it.

I have also lost 6 pounds in the last 3 weeks. This is much easier then I hoped, because I am rarely hungry anymore. I have been trying for over a year to take 40 pounds off. Now I only have 36 to go. Yes, I know it is unhealthy not to eat. If I could just remove the lump that is always in my throat, maybe I could swallow food. I do make it a point to eat as healthy as I possibly can since I am only eating a small amount each day. And I am drinking lots of water so I wont get sick.

These are about half of my non-M goals. It feels good to list them. I have been feeling my whole universe was revolving around one person. But this shows clearly that that is really not true.

Now I need to quickly pop back to my h and my plans for tonight. As my poor mother gets older, reality slips father away from her sometimes. In the kitchen, she has lost reality completely. She has a kitchen full of kinda stale, older food. I think she will only buy a can of food if it has been marked down because it has a dent (or more). Bread is just shy of having actual mold. I throw stuff out when she is not looking every time I go over there, but she gets mad. "That's still good!" My H moved in there on Aug 21st. So, tonight I am going to have a nice lasagna and a fresh loaf of Italian bread waiting in the oven for when he brings my S home. I will have my S invite him to eat with him and my D. My other D I will pick up when she gets off work and drop her off at my house, but I will not go in. That way my H can relax, eat one of his favorite meals, in his old kitchen, with his children, and I will be out on the town In my head, everyone wins?