2018 Goals, Laugh Later
There are two types of fun: the kind that's momentary or fleeting, and then there's the prolonged fun/suffering that eventually makes for one heck of a tale. The first might manifest with too much whiskey on a Wednesday night. The latter is more of an endurance test, and ain't nobody cracking a smile at the time. That's usually me a quarter of the way up the Grouse Grind, aka The Stairmaster from Hell. Every damn time, the sight of the quarter distance marker provokes an asthma attack. I don't actually have asthma, but I imagine the symptoms are similar.
Myra/Kettle Valley Trestle Trail, 2017
At the start of every year, I set a personal goal, or more so, a mantra such as, "be patient" or "persist, persist until you succeed." On January 1est, nursing a hangover (from hell), I challenged myself to be uncomfortable. Well, even more, uncomfortable than my current state of dehydration.
Rather than shying away from my fears, letting doubt sink in, I'm going into 2018 headstrong. Two primary goals of mine are: publishing my writing and shooting a black bear by spring. Even as I type this, I feel my hands and feet get clammy. My imagination is running wild, envisioning the hot stench of grizzly bear breath roaring down at my petite frame. I'm also equally eager to stock my freezer with vacuum-sealed packs of bear pepperoni sticks. Can you guess what all my family and friends are getting for Christmas this year?
Through the Chasing Food Club, I hope to use urban dwellers' stories that hunt, fish, and forage as inspiration. My mission is to inspire and urge people to find what they love and start doing it often as they can - don't wait, no excuses. Skipping university, I've always been self-conscious of my slanged speech and horrid grammar. Vietnamese is my first language, and I don't even speak that well. And those that know me personally will know, "Jennyisms" is a very real thing. I once ended a speech saying, "there's hope at the end of the tunnel." My colleagues were in an uproar of laughter and still poke fun at me. Publishing my first story and blog post will be a massive milestone in overcoming this insecurity.
Myra/Kettle Valley Trestle Trail, 2017
Black bear by spring. I've said it out loud, and it's now out there for the world-wide-web to see. Therefore I have to do it, right? Taking a page from Tim Ferriss's, "The 4-Hour Work Week", I'm setting big hairy audacious goals in quarterly sprints. Until a few months ago, I couldn't tell the difference between a shotgun and a rifle. While I'm writing this, my hunter's safety is still 20 days away. Not to mention I haven't registered for my PAL yet. But I work well under pressure, and I don't have a single doubt that the deep freezer (which I've yet to buy) will be stocked. Did I mention I'm doing all this while moving and starting a new high-stress software sales job? Challenge accepted.
I understand the luck is an outcome of being patient, persistent, and keeping a positive mind. There is nothing I enjoy more than too much wine, good food, and savage bantering. But this year, my calendar may be filled with more, "why did I do this?" kinda moments. I'm ready to embrace the challenges and laugh about them later.
What have you always wanted to do? Share your story with me here.
- Jenny Ly
