12 hopes for 2011

Back to five months left in South Korea after extending my contract by a month recently. I'm excited about this year which is the year I am set to return home. I've been back a few times since leaving over five years ago but this time I am returning permanently.

Even though I'm going home I am taking a bit of a step into the unknown. There are a lot of things that I'll be doing that I haven't before with responsibilities on my mind that have never troubled me before. I'm thankful to have an amazingly supportive wife and together I'm sure this year will be fantastic.

My 2011 targets

1. Be a better husband for my wife at a time when she needs my attention, love and support. Moving to a different country won't be all plain sailing for her.
   
2. Help my wife get the visa she needs for living in the UK. There are some things I need to do and they seem to be straightforward but are essential.
   
3. Save a decent sum of money over the next five months. Again, this comes under being a better husband and being more financially responsible for the both of us. We're on target to meet the figure I think we will need to support ourselves for a while in uncertain times.
   
4. Try and not let my teaching deteriorate. The end is nigh! I have seen so many teachers just not try as they come closer to leaving. I'd like to be fair to my students.
   
5. Push myself at taekwondo and finish on a high. I think I only have two or three months left there so I'd like to improve my kicking and push myself more.
   
6. Have a few holidays and spend some time on a beach relaxing, enjoying the sun and Summer because I haven't done that here in a long time. When my time is up there will be plenty of time (if not money) for holidays but we really need a few weeks relaxing.
   
7. Leave Korea and the ESL teaching world for now to settle back to life in England. No more extensions now and no more living in a bubble. I'm looking forward to finally having a nice family Christmas back in England.
   
8. Find a decent apartment in city centre Manchester. I've checked some prices and they're affordable so we'll see what comes up. A city centre pad is what we need because we'll have all the transport links and my wife can gently ease into life in a city I know.
   
9. Lose a bit of weight and exercise more often. Perhaps a pipe dream but I would like to lose between 5-10 kilograms before I arrive back home.
10. Leave Korea on a positive note with no regrets and no bitterness. Many of my former co-workers have left on a sour note and have negative images and thoughts in their mind. I would like to go feeling appreciative for what this place has given me and feel positive about the times I'll be returning with my wife in the future.
    
11. Explore my country in more depth than I have previously and show my wife around the UK. Money may be tight at certain points and exploring my homeland may be a better alternative to expensive trips abroad.
    
12. Get a new job if possible. I have no idea what job I want. It's a clean slate but I wouldn't rule out some kind of teaching.

11 in 11: Simple 2010 personal goals

I've been reading a few blogs recently and seen some people have been coming up with lists of future plans (plans are what go through my mind all day long and keep me going!). I've seen a lot of lists where people have come up with 101 tasks to complete in 1001 days. I think this is a good idea for many people but not applicable to me because my future after Korea is very unsure. I'm not certain on what I'm going to be doing in one years time never mind three years. The uncertainty is exciting though.

February is almost here so I've given it a quick thought and tried to make a list for the remaining eleven months of 2010, trying to lay down some goals for the rest of the year that I want to achieve. The list is not particularly ambitious but everything there is something that needs to be done and can be done, barring procrastination or laziness. I wonder if I'll manage all of them.

In no particular order

1. Leave Korea and go home to England. This has been an ambition for a long time but I have set a deadline of December 2010 for when I want to be home. The only thing that can prevent this is lack of money, leading me onto the next one.
2. Save more money. I have a target in mind but I think I will have to readjust this and be more realistic. I plan to take a decent amount of time off after finishing work here in Korea so I will need some cash to have some kind of lifestyle back home.
3. Lose some weight. I've put on a few kilograms since Christmas and they need to come off. To do this I need to make some changes in my diet and drink more water to start with. Ideally I would like to lose 10+ kilograms. Perhaps that much is a pipe dream but at least it's a target.
   
4. Walk more. I've noticed that I don't walk anywhere near as much as I used to back home. This has caused me to put on a little more weight so walking more will help me lose it more easily. I really enjoy walking around, listening to my mp3 player and taking in life. I should get out more.
5. Get my taekwondo black belt. I'm on belt four of nine so the ball is rolling there. I'm confident I can pick this up if I practice harder and of course that will be easier if I lose weight. I think it will be pretty cool to have three black belts.
6. Travel to at least two countries that I have never been to. I love to travel so this should be easy providing I have enough money. I am thinking Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia would be good to go to.
   
7. Finish reading all the novels I have on my bookshelf right now. I have around twenty sitting there just waiting to read so before I buy more I need to finish them off, even the ones that I didn't buy or get as presents. One of the books is War and Peace though.
8. Become more familiar with my camera and be comfortable with the settings with the intention of taking more pleasing photographs
   
9. Be more positive about things in general and be more optimistic for the future. My wife is helping me with this.
10. Spend Christmas with my family at home in England. My last Christmas at home was in 2004. Such a long time ago.
11. Be a better husband for my wife.