A new year, a new start....

Well it's 2008 and time to follow my friends' examples of goal setting. This is the first chance I've had to do so, hrm... where to begin...

Moving house. Ok, this one is done, and I'm glad! It was an exhausting process, but I'm happy in my new home, so it was worth it. An open invitation goes out to you all to come visit, wait, after the whole "Corey Party" I should rephrase that to, my friends, are welcome to come visit me any time, in fact I will be having a house warming party soon :)

Finding a new job. I am well and truly over working at Renault, and have started to look for something else. I have a interview coming up for a Office Manager position which I have been told is mine if i want it. The only problem is it's located in Clifton Hill (near Richmond) so the travel time will be a bitch. I still haven't made my mind up yet whether the extra money is worth it. We will see. In the meantime, I will try and find something else in the local areas.

Looking after myself better. For those who don't know, I am anemic, which isn't that serious (except I bruise really easy and badly), and it can be exhausting. When my iron levels are too low I appear pale and get the shakes pretty bad, and sometimes can pass out, but generally it's no big deal. It's normally caused by lack of sleep, stress, or when I don't eat enough iron rich foods. I had to have an injection every week for 6 weeks a little while back, and I don't wanna go through that again. Therefore, I need to get more rest, and learn to say "No" occasionally so I don't burn out.

Learning to harden up a little and not be so sensitive. This will be by far my hardest task. I am the first to admit that I get very emotional and am too sensitive for my own good. I have tried to change, but its hard to break old habits. Plus, I'm scared of changing too much, as I don't wanna lose myself. My compassion and sensitivity is a big part of whom I am and I think without them, i would be less of a person. I just need to find a comfortable medium.

Learning to open up and trust people. This too, will be very hard for me to do. I always try to be there if a friend needs advice or just someone to listen, but personally, I find this very hard to do. There is so much about myself that I haven't shared with any of you, (except Ben and recently Ez) and it's not that I am deliberately concealing information from you, it's just that I find it difficult to open up. I will work on this, as i think it's important to share with one another, plus confiding in Ben and actually sharing the information helped me a lot and took some of the pressure from my shoulders. I was able to work through some of my personal demons that have been haunting me for years.

Travel. I have wanted to do this since graduating, it's just with having to work full time to support myself, it was never a possibility. I really want to go to Europe, especially England, so I can go home and see my family. I really miss them. Now that I have moved, I should be able to start saving and go overseas. Which brings me to my next goal....

Savings and Paying off credit cards. Yes this is the boring and "grown up" goal. Moving and starting a better paying job soon, will allow me to pay off my credit cards and get some savings behind me. This will allow luxuries like holidays to become a possibility. I'm going to really try and save!

Finding time for myself. I am always so busy that I can't remember the last time I had nothing to do. Hence the reason why it's 25th January, and I'm posting something that should have been done on the 1st. I pretty much start work at 9am, go to the studio straight from work, and get home around 10:30pm most weekdays. I work alternative Saturday mornings from 9-1pm and every 4th saturday night from 7:30-11pm. I WORK TOO MUCH! lol. I try and fit in my friends and occasionally my family in the remaining time. I miss the days where I had nothing to do. I am going to try and put aside a few hours a week for me, even if it means just catching up on sleep. Ah, that's sounds nice right now as I'm buggered.

Confidence. Ok, so I have learnt over the last year to fake this pretty well. I am MUCH better than I use to be, as a few years ago, I was completely inside my own shell. I think meeting you guys made a big difference, along with teaching at the studio. I have learnt that everybody has insecurities and needs reassurance from time to time, and this is OK. There are some big personalities in our group, who are always the life of the party, and then there's the quiet, observing people whom are sometimes overlooked. I think I fit somewhere in the middle, and for the most part, its a comfortable place to be. I need to work on my nerves, especially when it comes to performing. Whether it's dancing or singing. Karaoke has helped a lot, and I actually tackled a difficult song ("Alone" by Heart) last week, although I'm sure it didn't sound that great, the fact I tried was encouraging. And as for dancing, well I'm about to dance my last Gold Latin Performance (in April) and moving up a level to Gold Star. I'm over half way through both Gold Street Latin and Gold New Vogue performances, which means I have completed more than 11 Gold exam. Considering I never thought I would find the courage to start my Golds, I am really proud of myself. I still get shit scared before each exam, but I'm getting there.

Experiencing new things. I am determined to do and see some new things this year. I'm 26 years old and there is so much I haven't experienced. I've never been to a Drive-In movie, I haven't seen the sunrise from the beach, I haven't seen Australia outside of selected Melbourne areas, Sydney, and the theme parks in Queensland. I haven't been swimming with the Dolphins (something I've always wanted to), or gone on a cruise, or even taken a real road trip. I wanna experience so much this year, starting with something as small as a sunset. I will concentrate on this goal a lot over the next six months, so anyone whom wants to join in and motivate me, feel free.

Ok, I could go on, but this is far too long as it is. So there you have it. My Goals for 2008. Thanks for reading.