Things I want to concentrate on NOW

a.k.a.
Controlling or trying to control the mikka-bozu tendency

The two books mentioned earlier were inspiring, really.

One of the tricks I learned is to try to concentrate on some items at a time, for a while. And see how things go.

Deadlines are a part of (my) life and have to be taken into consideration.

• I volunteer as AFWJ's Journal Editor and there are fixes bi-monthly deadline. I just finished the December Journal last week. I will be busy in January with the February edition and in March with the April edition. My last. Another volunteer will take over from May).
• University of London exams are held usually in May. It means that I have to start working on the 2007 exams NOW.
• I recently applied and was accepted in Penn Foster College's AA in business management program. The program and exams can be done online (we get the study guides by mail) and they are pretty flexible. I just have to make sure that I finish a semester within the time limit (one year)

For the time being, I concentrate every other month on the volunteering and try to regularly work at my BA in French exams, business courses and Japanese studies.

I also want to improve my translation and French skills and really want to apply by the end of March to the Boniface translation course. The reason why I have been kind of procrastinating is the admission exam itself.

See for yourself:
The text is here...
For the exam, we have to read the text and list the principal and secondary ideas, summarize the text in 500 words, translate the summary and answer some questions.

And I don't like that text (and its lack of focus) very much...

Things I did finish

OK, some people believe that I never finish anything. Untrue.

Here is a non exhaustive list of things I finished recently:

• sewing several pairs of trousers (pants) for this past summer and current winter (still need to sew two or so)
  
• successfully passed the third and last part of the Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation, English into French. I even did get a "mention" on the business paper. Don't ask.
  
• graduated from Penn Foster High School by correspondence. It took me almost three years, but I did it.
  
• successfully passed enough 2nd year exams of my BA in French from London University external program so that I am now finally a third year student
• changed job
  

Things I would like to start/do/finish:

Things I would like to start
Things I would like to do (as in more regularly)
Things I would like to finish someday

• Learn to play guitar
• Learn to play piano
• Practice Reiki
• Knitting
• Sewing clothes
• Study Japanese with Kumon
  
• Read more German books, mags
• Finish BA in French
• Start Boniface Translation course
• Painting, drawing
• Bookcoloring
• Expand my freelancing
• Read more French books, mags
• Try to read Japanese books, magazines
• Learn Italian
• Learn Spanish
• Update homepage + blog
• German diploma (maybe the Zentrale Mittelstufenpruefung)
  
• Be creative
• AFWJ Journal (February and April 2007)
• Pattern making software
• Writing
• Use French regularly
• Use crystals

Life of a mikka-bozu person---the beginnings

For most of my life, I have tried to find my "life passion", only not to find it. I looked everywhere, turned every stone possible on my path, but no life passion in sight.

And, one day, it just hit me. I just don't have "one" life passion. I will never be like Mozart, Freud or other artists who knew almost from babyhood what they were meant to do, who they were meant to be(come).

But I do have many interests. The list is quite long in fact.

I have come to accept the way I am: going from one interest to another, getting bored more or less easily when unchallenged or idle.

My husband calls me "mikka bozu". As in "starting something, but never finishing it". Or "let's see in a couple of days if you will still be interested". It became a private joke.

Recently, two ladies wrote two books about the subject:
"The Renaissance Soul", by Margaret Lovenstine (www.togetunstuck.com)
"Refuse to Choose", by Barbara Sher (www.barbarasher.com)
Her forum for "scanners" (as she calls us) is here:

Both books were interesting to read and I had a couple of aha! moments.

Not to mention a really good excuse to my patterns... I am officially a scanner.
Here in Japan, I am also officially an alien, just don't ask me from which planet (bad foreigner joke related to the "Alien Registration Card" that foreign residents have to carry on them at all times).