My life is like a plastic plate

Today is being spent catching up with all the work I didn't do during my PC's sick leave and Hell Week. I must admit I am enjoying getting rid of all the stuff that has been hanging over my head.

I've started preparing my next mission, which has come in to replace Operation Masking Tape given the change in plans. I still hope to move in the near future but I'm not so sure about the details, which is one of the reasons I've started planning my life a little more comprehensively. I'll explain...

I've felt for some time that the reason I battle to make progress in my life is the fact that I don't really know what it is that I want. I haven't really thrown myself into achieving things because they don't fit into a broader plan. My new mission is to create that plan. Now, Amanda has mentioned that I am just the teeniest bit anally retentive (okay, I'm a lot anally retentive, no need to rub it in). Most of my friends would agree. I like lists and plans and organisation. Problem is, I've never really applied this to myself, or my life. Most of my 25 years on this earth has been spent not really wanting anything at all.

That all changed earlier this year. I finally came to the realisation (not a moment too soon, I might add) that I needed to start getting some direction or I would spend the rest of my life miserable. I realised that my life was a montage of pointless jobs, single-serving friends and shabby flats.

My life, basically, was the 'life'-equivalent of a plastic plate. It works, but it's not pretty or solid and, sooner or later, it just gets thrown away.

I really needed some stability, a plan, and some goals; in other words, I needed to Get a Life.

Now, I understand that 'getting a life' means different things to different people. For me, it's all about looking life in the eye, owning up to the fact that so far I have made stupid choices and resolving to do better in future. Simple, huh? What I want is for my life not to be meaningless anymore. I want to build things. A home, a career, a family.

So I've started making 'The Plan', clarifying what it is I actually want out of life. I really started thinking about it earlier in the year (it was the driving force behind my desire to be domestic), but truth be told, it is a lot harder than it sounds. Try it: what exactly do you want out of life, and why? Let me guess, you didn't even stop to think about it. We never do.

The Plan is going to be a solid set of resolutions and goals that get me closer to the stuff I actually want (once I figure out exactly what that is). And it has a deadline: New Year's Eve. Could there be a better time to start changing the way I live my life? I think not.

I hereby dub thee: Operation Champagne Cork.