Deliverable

One of the main reasons people tend to eat poorly is a lack of quick and convenient healthy choices. (Grabbing a banana and juice puree at the health food store next to my apartment is one choice that meets both of these criteria.) To that end, I need to remember to keep the following packaged food on hand at all times.

• Cans of soup (Cambells or Healthy Choice low sodium)
• Crackers
• Apple Juice and/or Orange Juice
• Whole grain cereal
• Annies Mac & Cheese
• Tuna
• Frozen vegetables
• Cous-Cous
• Microwave popcorn (Keeps me from purchasing other less nutitious salty snacks)
• Voila Meals
• French Fries (Not so healthy but these can be used sparingly)

Because my schedule can be hectic, I’ve hesitated to purchase alot of fresh vegetables and fruits. They always seem to go bad on me. Usually what happens is that I’ll have a stretch of really busy time where I’ll have to eat out alot and I forget that there is a bunch of broccoli or half-used squash gathering moss in my refridgerator. What I’m wondering is that maybe it’s ok to just plan on purchasing a few staple vegetables to have on hand, whether you use them or not? What’s frustrated me in the past is the lack of consistency in my cooking habits. It was like a rollercoaster: Purchase alot of vegetables, cook a nice meal or two and then not cook for two weeks. I felt like I was wasting all this food and wasting all this money. Perhaps it was the extremes I was going to that was the problem. I think I need to reframe it so that these staple items are a part of my monthly purchases whether or not I use them. The trick here is to make it small. Always have fresh lettuce on hand. Know that lettuce in the spinner lasts about 2 weeks if you don’t use it and be prepared to buy more lettuce every two weeks. Maybe do the same with Zuchinni, or something small. The concept is that by planning on these small expenses, you avoid the bigger expenses of A.) Eating out and B.)Putting bad food in your body. The same has held true in the past for milk. It’s good to just plan on buying milk once a week, whether you use it or not. Even if you only use it twice all month, the 4 dollars you invest purchasing it each week (and thus always having fresh milk on hand) might keep you from choosing a McDonalds Crappy Meal, or a 10 dinner someplace else because you had milk to cook mac & cheese, or to use in a recipe, or for breakfast cereal. Rather than thinking of this as wasted food if you don’t use it, it’s better to think of this as insurance against eating improperly. My guess is that I’ll end up cooking more if I have food on hand consistently.

Financially for one month it comes out roughly to this:

• Lettuce, twice a month – $4 dollars
• Broccoli, 2-3 times a month – $4
• Zucchini, twice a month – $3
• Milk, one litre carton a week- $4
• Bread, 2 loaves a month – $4
• Apples, one month supply – $6
• Onions, one month supply – $3

Total: $28 a month

Those are the bare essentials that I’ve succesfully used in the past. $28 dollars a month insurance against bad eating habits and expensive meals. We’ll see how it goes.

In creating new habits, I’m realizing the benefit of establishing a baseline of where you currently are in order to have a clear place to move upward from. This is true of money (it’s important to know where you spend your money currently in order to define places of improvement) and I think it’s also true of diet. I know that I’m eating better today than I used to (for now I’ll define “used to” as the time before say January 1, 2005), but I want to be clear about how I currently eat so that I can see how to better refine what has become a good thing for me.

Here’s how I’m eating these days. I’ll break it down by meal.

Breakfast.
Just eating breakfast is a step forward for me. I’m still not as consistent as I’d like, but I’d say I’m eating something as my breakfast probably 2 times a week. (It might be more.) For breakfast I usually eat:

• Piece of fruit
• Bowl of cereal (usually something “whole grain-like”… Cherios, or one of those Fruit and Flakes type cereals)
• Glass of juice

From time to time I’ll have a bowl of oatmeal instead of the cereal. Occassionally I’ll go to McDonalds and have a sausage and egg McMuffin with hash brown. (Don’t really do this that much… it’s more of “once in a while”, rather than a regular occurence). I don’t like to eat a huge breakfast, but definitely feel better if I’ve got something on my stomach to start the day. I just need to remember that I do indeed feel better when I’ve eaten before starting my day, and do this more consistently.

Lunch
I have trouble sometimes with this meal. What the hell makes for good lunch food when you’re making it yourself? I purchase lunchmeat and end up not eating it alot of times, because the whole “bread/processed meat” thing isn’t as appealing when I do it here for myself. (I’ll go and get a sandwich at the Deli from time to time… somehow that’s different). Maybe it’s because the sandwiches I make for myself aren’t that appealing. Maybe it’s those little packages of lunchmeat that you buy. (I never know how long they last in my fridge and I’m alternately worried that the meat has gone bad, and frightened that it still might be edible after 3 months because of all the preservatives.) Sometimes I’ll have leftovers from the night before (see “Dinner”, below…) or perhaps soup. So lunch usually comes out like this:

Sometimes…

• Leftovers (Chinese, or home-made if I’ve cooked)
• Sandwich(es) I make here (Lunchmeat & Provolone with mustard and or mayo/etc.)
• Sandwich (with a dollar bag of chips) from the deli and a soda (sometimes… don’t drink nearly as many soda’s as I used to
• Can of soup (I’ve switched to those lower sodium Cambells soups. Not as much there, but healthier, I hope).
• Salad (spinach or romaine)
• Combinations of the above

When I do have to eat out because of scheduling, I’ve been alot better about not eating junk. My fast food consumption has dropped way down. As my exercise routines are bearing more and more fruit, I’m finding that it’s just not worth the calories for me anymore to eat at these places (McDonalds/Wendees/Slices of pizza/etc.). Ditto with my soda consumption. That’s something that I attribute alot of my physical progress to. There’s a hell of alot of calories in a bottle of soda (not to mention the refined sugar) and I’ve been finding that when faced with the temptation, I’m measuring it against my leaner meaner waistline and just not wanting to lose the later. It’s the same with the fast food temptation. I’m still tempted big time by it (I love McDonalds fries) but just want the slamming body more. When I do eat fast food, I’ll skip the value meals and just order a cheeseburger and a small fries and drink water.

Dinner
I still need to work on this one as well, but it’s gotten better. I’ve at least developed a couple of options for cooking at home that are palatable. My marinading strategy has been quite effective. I usually have 3 or 4 types of marinaded beef or chicken on hand, and frozen vegetables. Combine that with some cous-cous and I can throw together a meal pretty quickly. (I’m thinking that it’s also pretty healthy.) I usually keep a couple of Voila meals handy as well. They’re kind of a frozen “meal in a bag” that you just throw in a skillet and heat up. Sort of a healthier tv dinner. When I eat out here in the neighborhood, it’s usually Chinese food. I’ve have a couple of dishes that I like (Beef Mei Fun, and chicken and shrimp with mixed vegetables) and I’ll usually add an order of onion rings (occassionaly fries). I’ve eliminated the sticky fried sesame chicken that I used to get quite frequently.

Probably the biggest shift I’ve made when it comes to dinner (and lunch) is what I do when I have to eat on the run. In the past I’d grab a slice, or McD’s or something else damaging and go. What I do now is stop at the health food store by my apartment and get a banana and one of those thick juice purees (the name of the company escapes me at the moment). I find that the banana is like the meat of the fruit world. Very filling and stays with you longer. Likewise with the juice. This will usually tide me over until I’m able to eat a better proper meal.

So, here’s my usual dinner menu(s):

• Cook at home (chicken or beef with vegetables & cous-cous/rice)
• Local chinese food (either Beef Mei Fun, or Chicken & Shrimp with Mixed Vegetables with an order of onion rings)
• Sometimes I’ll have a salad as well
• If I have dinner out (non local chinese food) it’s usually pretty healthy

Conclusions
I’ve made a great deal of progress with regards to my eating habits. I think that it comes from realligning my values and habits to make my health a number one priority. It’s not perfect yet, and obviously will always be a work in progress. I need to come up with new strategies for cooking healthy and quick dinners (and lunches) for myself at home. I have however come up with one good strategy for eating on the run (banana & juice puree). Good stuff, and a strong foundation to build on for better long term health, I think.

Goal: A clearly defined target that is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Action-based
• Realistic
• Time-bound

M. Sent me this. I need to really keep this in mind when setting my goals.

I’m trying something new here. I’ve done a good job at establishing strong habits that will support my creative process. (Regular exercise, eliminate/police my home hotspots, new evening/morning routines, better tracking of my finances thru Quicken, weekly assessment of goals/actions, etc.). It’s time to begin setting out short term goals, and then to assess my progress on them. To that end I’ve set up a “Monthly Goals” category. The idea is to take these new habits and use them as the foundation for realizing my creative ideas. I’ll begin modestly, taking this month to month. Baby steps.

I want my focus this month to primarily be on my acting. This doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on my other projects. It means that this month I will take massive action towards furthering my acting career. I will assess this process on July 31st, and post again then. Any time that I spend on other projects (Book, September dance project, songwriting) will be considered an added bonus. (Great if I do, but I won’t beat myself up if I don’t.) Any time spent on projects other than acting will be time that I choose to spend, just as the time I’m spending on my acting is time that I choose to spend.

“These things I will focus on for the next 35 days. I will assess this process on July 31st.”

Overall Goals

• Make each goal SMART
• Give 100% of myself to my monologue class. see update 7/1/05 below
  • Memorize my monologue completely and have it down cold

• Warm up my body and my voice before class each week. (Reason: I want to be completely open and able to give my best during each class.)
• Spend time (define the amount of time) each week practicing my voice & speech (Reason: I want speech that is crisp and clear and completely within my control.)
• Spend time (define the amount of time) each week singing. (Reason: Strengthen my voice/build endurance.)
• Create a master “Acting Contacts” list. (Definitions: People that I’ve met who are in the industry that I want to keep up with/build better relationshiops with/learn from.)
• Create an “Action Plan” for regularly contacting/learning from/interacting with the people on my “Acting Contacts” list.
• Read (define #) plays/screenplays by the end of the month.
• See (define #) at least 3 plays/readings/performances by July 31st.

—-
Plays I will see this month:
OTMA – Atlantic Theatre Company
Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls – Victory Hall (Jersey City)

–Update: 7/1/05–
Well, my monologue class has been cancelled. She offered a truncated make-up seminar on Saturday’s but that time will not work for me. So I am left pondering the meaning of this and I’m suddenly left with a hole in my schedule.
—-

Hot Spot: Areas of your home or workplace that tend to collect clutter.

Forest Fire: When left unattended, “hot spots” become raging forest fires. These forest fires can (and will) adversely effect your mental stability and well being.

Fact: Putting out forest fires takes a hell of alot more time than preventing them while they’re still in the “hot spot” stage.

Really easy for me to feel like I didn’t accomplish anything this week. I went to the RL dinner/show thing on Monday night (which went well), but I still put off calling TM & RJ. I didn’t read any of my plays (to look for possible monologues) for my upcoming class, though I did read “Death of a Salesman” on the train to VA yesterday, so I guess technically it does count for the week. (No monologues there, but I may have found one in “Class Action”. I need to double check that play because I think it might be written for high school level kids…). I didn’t read the two chapters of my monologue book.

I did no actual work on the book, though I did meet EK for lunch on Friday. In addition to catching up we also kicked around a couple of possible ideas for the logo. I didn’t email that logo company with questions about their policies.

Baggage ending up being the most creative thing that I did this week. It felt good to have the creative energy flowing again collaborating with FS. We put together a show that I’m proud of and performed it on Friday night. That’s a good thing. Alot of Thursday was spent digging out the old Baggage CD’s and working with Logic. I didn’t really track the time spent on this, but it was a good bit of time. Some on Wednesday, most on Thursday, and then the rehearsal/performance on Friday. I ended up with a nice performance video that I may put up on the web at some point. (Really tough for me to not be so self critical about this. The question that I keep asking myself is “Is this something that I’m proud for people to see who aren’t my friends?”. “Is it professional quality?”.)

Organization wise, I didn’t even attempt any of those goals. (Assess/Sort left closet drawers, stuff under bed, shoes in closet). I guess in the back of my head I definitely had the sense that these were “It would be cool if I got to these, but it’s not pressing” type of goals.

As to my “New Habits” goals, I didn’t get to any of them. I did play trombone on Friday evening and it sound ok, but from a tactile “how did this feel, and what am I really capable of musically” I know that I’m coasting big time on the horn. Nowhere near playing at my potential. It hasn’t been where my focus has been for a long while. I never wanted to become one of those players who “just gets by”.

Anyway, a bit of a different format for my post here today, as I’m out of my environment abit (visiting family), and not doing this post as my usual “start Monday” thing. I guess I’m feeling like being really hard on myself for this past week. Definitely some good things happened:

• I loved my mask class on Thursday evening
• I loved the energy of working creatively again on the performance for Friday night
• The process of finally getting back to the Baggage files helped me learn a little bit more of Logic, which is a tool that I’ve not dealt with at all but need to. I also realized that it’s been two years since I last did anything with this. I think now that I finally have at least done a little bit of tweaking some of the files, it will be easier to repurpose this thing and use these recordings in some way.
• I love the time that I get to spend with M.
• It was cool to see myself on the “big screen” on Sunday. That left me a little bit hopeful, which helps.
• The meeting with SE on Thursday was 50/50. She wasn’t crazy about the fact that I jumped in and took this monologue class without consulting her (though I think she eventually realized that at 5 classes it wouldn’t kill me, and dealing with new material would be helpful). I think though one of the things that I took from it is that ultimately even if she hadn’t said positive things about my time there (she was very supportive actually and had quite a few good things to say…) ultimately it wouldn’t have mattered. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am a better actor than I was when I went in. That is what ultimately matters.
• I picked up the tapes from ST from the Salon on Sunday. I’d not expected to be able to get that done.
• I’m realizing that my inner critic is more insidious than ever. So easy to downplay the significance of things. The fact that FS and I were able to put on that show on Friday is pretty huge. I was using all of my talents. All of my creativity. I was acting as an actor, a director, a pianist, a trombonist, a mover/dancer. We left that show with a cool video and the desire to work again when she returns in September. That’s pretty damn major, even if it wasn’t on my list of “to do’s” for the week.

After speaking with M this evening, it occurred to me that perhaps I’ve been thinking of things in reverse. I’ve been focused on “I must practice “X” amount, or I must do “X” thing. Like it’s some type of contest. What I really love is making stuff. I love that feeling of saying “I made this”. “This is my creation”.
The tools and skills (trombone/piano/voice/speech/bass/guitar/recording studio/etc.) only exist to serve and make possible the creations. They are not an end in themselves. Playing trombone 3 days a week for 15 minutes isn’t the right way to think about it. “Performing “X” piece of music on a certain day”, or “Creating this recording” are goals. Playing trombone is just a tool/skill to achieve those goals. If I set a goal of “I will perform at this level of excellence on this day”, then I need to practice only enough to meet that goal. No more or no less. I need to focus on creating compelling goals. The reason I don’t practice trombone is that I have no compelling goals. The gigs that I see presently in NYC do not excite me. I need to either find a way to look at the available gigs differently, or I need to create my own compelling opportunities to play. Friday’s performance was the type of performance on trombone that is more interesting to me. The type of performance that engages all of my skills. I had enough skills to make the trombone playing passable, but I know that it wasn’t the best I can do. Perhaps then I can use this as an opportunity to set a compelling goal. “Public performances with FS when she is here in September”. Boom. More compelling goal. Also a goal that could potentially engage all of my creative elements.

So, I leave this post feeling alot better than when I started. Really interesting to see how things progress. Onward!

Time to send this into the wild…

• Read “Class Action”. (More possible additions throughout the week.)
• Re-Read the first two chapters of monologue book

Acting – Business

• Attend R.L.’s performance/dinner Monday evening. complete
• Call TM
• Call RJ

Music – Creative

• Write out one “Next Action” for the book. Complete this action. Rinse and Repeat. Record each “Next Action” in Clockwork as I complete it.
• Baggage: Write out one “Next Action”. Complete this action. Rinse & Repeat. Record each “Next Action” in Clockwork as I complete it.

Music – Business

• Meet with EK on Friday, re: Book Logo
• Email logo company re: Does initial price count towards higher res. versions if I like what they produce?

Organize

• Left Closet Drawers: Assess / Sort
• Stuff Under Bed: Assess / Sort
• Shoes in Left Closet: Assess / Sort

New Habits (Potential)
Let’s try something different this week. Last week I said “Do “x” activity for “x” amount of time on “X”, “Y”, and “Z” days. This week I’ll make the number of days the goal, and fit them in organically. I’m purposely leaving the amounts of time blank on these things. It’s easier to build on success than it is to build on failure. I’m trying to set myself up to succeed.

• Play trombone at least 3 days this week.
• Play bass at least 3 days this week.
• Sing at least 2 days this week.
• Play guitar at least 2 days this week.
• Do voice/speech at least 2 days this week.
• Transcribe one 30 second commecial

These things I send out into the Universe:

• I have a photo-page for my main website that is easy to update, scaleable, exportable (if necessary) as new and better archiving/display systems come along. I can store comment data on my photos in such a way that this information is easily ported to future systems.
• I have a consistent sleep schedule that is healthy and that works for me.
• I cook healthy meals for myself quickly and efficiently.
• I track my finances efficiently and effectively. This information gives me a greater grasp of my current financial situation, and allows me to greatly inprove my financial situation.
• I maintain successful morning and evening routines that are heatlhy and effective for me.
• I implement my evening and morning routines Monday-Thursday & Saturday-Sunday.
• I sleep in my bed Monday-Sunday. (No sleeping on the couch…).
• I file things on my computer in my A-Z filing system as I work throughout the day, ending each day with a clear desktop. I regularly assess my filing system and discard any files that are no longer valid or refile as needed.
• I exercise my upper body for 20 minutes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and my core muscles on Tuesday & Thursday.
• I have a published beginning practice method
• I have a published advanced practice method
• I support myself with increasing prosperity

The week in review…

Acting – Business

• Create an “Acting Pack” to keep in my bag at all times that contains: Up-to-date Resume, 5 of each Headshot complete / see below
• Create a resume & headshot file in my filing cabinet that has 20 of each headshot ready to go, (complete) and 40 resumes printed on decent paper changed / I purchased creme colored paper and will print them as needed (complete)
• Purchase a decent folder at Staples to serve as my “Acting Pack” and resume paper for printing my resume’s at home (Tuesday) complete / I opted to just use one of my existing folders for now.
• Carry this “Acting Pack” with me every day this week. complete / I began this on Thursday after my interview.
• Visit Backstage.com at least once this week. Check the listings. Save all potential’s as .pdf. / forward / I didn’t do this this week. I guess I’m a bit intimidated by the thought of actually sending out my resume/headshot, which is the reason I’d be looking in Backstage in the first place. Need to address this.
• Get a haircut / complete
• Interview for Monologue Workshop (Thursday) complete
• Visit the U. Office w/updated resume / forward / Didn’t do this, but I feel the pressure building. I suspect there will be movement on this very soon.

Acting – Creative
I visited The Strand and Westsider Books and researched possible plays for my monologue class. It turns out that Westsider Books actually has a terrific selection of plays to choose from. It’s much better than the Strand, and you can actually sit down. (I visited the store on Broadway between 80th & 81st. Apparently their other location 72nd between West End and Broadway has an even better selection.). I ended up purchasing 3 plays to go through more fully. “Class Action” by Brad Slaight, “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder, and a collection of 2 one acts… “Sweet Eros” & “Witness” by Terrence McNally. I plan to make reading and researching plays a more regular part of my schedule, as this is something I’ve never done. (Actually am amending this to my original entry that I posted last night… this was a bit of unplanned creative acting work that came about spontaneously after my interview on Thursday. Thought it was important to document everything I can about last week. I have a tendency to overlook things that I’ve done, or not give myself full credit for them.)

New Habits (Potential)
Well, I made a start here, and had success one day with this. I also discovered a new time management/project tracking tool which may prove to be helpful. Clock Timer is a nifty little web based utility that allows you to track the length of time you’re spending on various tasks. The beauty of this is it’s simplicity. I wish they allowed you to track how much you spent on each task each day, but for now I’ll just take a screen grab and file it in a “completed tasks” folder. (This feature may actually be there, but I only used it one day.) I’m hoping this will be a simple way to provide myself with a reality check… to let me know how much time I’m actually spending on various tasks. The point of this is not to track this time spent like it’s a competition. (I’ve done this in the past… as though I’m going to get some type of medal if I could only spend “x” amount of time practicing/working on a project/etc.) The point is to give myself some clarity about where time goes, and how much time I’m actually spending on various things. So, though I didn’t meet my established “goals” with regards to playing bass/trombone/etc., I’ll treat it as a work in progress.

Even as I set out to document here how long I spent on Trombone/Bass/etc., I ran up against what I always do. Once you capture the amount of time spent on a thing, it’s a pain to calculate the total time spent for the week. (That’s why I wish that Clockwork would just keep track of things by date…). Maybe it’s enough that I capture it without tracking the totals? It’s going to take another few weeks to find some type of balance with this.

Bottom Line?

• On Wednesday I played trombone, played bass, sang, worked on my speech, and transcribed commercial copy.

Maybe the amount of time is irrelevant. Perhaps all that’s important is the consistency. The amount of time that I spend on thing will find it’s own balance.

Finances
Balanced my checking account. Brainstormed a method of tracking my finances effectively.

Other: Things on my bulletin board that I cleared

• Installed Office 2004 complete
• Scanned Far Side comics complete
• Scanned old photos complete
• Moved old business cards to closet drawer complete
• Completed Birthday Card project complete
• Moved the remaining small projects from bulletin board to GTD Tiddly Wiki. complete / The bulletin board is now completely free to be used for my “Important But Not Urgent” projects. (Book, Baggage, etc.) I’m hopeful the blank canvas will help me complete these projects.

Thethings that I moved to the GTD Wiki for later processing were mostly small. (Sort/Assess Let Closet Drawers, Sort/Assess things under bed, Sort/Assess remainding old software/audio disks). They fit into the “Not Urgent, Not Terribly Important but Things I’d Eventually Like to Do Nonetheless” category.

Here’s something to start with…

Acting – Business

• Create an “Acting Pack” to keep in my bag at all times that contains: Up-to-date Resume, 5 of each Headshot, (what else? Performances I want to see? Acting contacts?)
• Create a resume & headshot file in my filing cabinet that has 20 of each headshot ready to go, (complete) and 40 resumes printed on decent paper
• Purchase a decent folder at Staples to serve as my “Acting Pack” and resume paper for printing my resume’s at home (Tuesday)
• Carry this “Acting Pack” with me every day this week.
• Visit Backstage.com at least once this week. Check the listings. Save all potential’s as .pdf.
• Get a haircut
• Interview for Monologue Workshop (Thursday)
• Visit the U. Office w/updated resume (I keep rolling this forward… I’m not certain about this one…)

Music – Creative

Music – Business

Organize

• Feeling pretty organized…

New Habits (Potential)
I’m experimenting with these to find the best fit. I’ll assess these and adjust at the end of the week.

• Play trombone for 15 minutes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday
• Play bass for 15 minutes on Monday/Wedesday/Friday
• Sing on Wednesday/Thursday (w/lesson tape) — (This would normally be Tuesday/Thursday… this week my Tuesday is completely booked)
• Play guitar for 15 minutes on Tuesday/Thursday
• Do voice/speech for 15 minutes on Tuesday/Thursday

These things I send out into the Universe:

• I have a photo-page for my main website that is easy to update, scaleable, exportable (if necessary) as new and better archiving/display systems come along. I can store comment data on my photos in such a way that this information is easily ported to future systems.
• I have a consistent sleep schedule that is healthy and that works for me.
• I cook healthy meals for myself quickly and efficiently.
• I track my finances efficiently and effectively. This information gives me a greater grasp of my current financial situation, and allows me to greatly inprove my financial situation.
• I maintain successful morning and evening routines that are heatlhy and effective for me.
• I implement my evening and morning routines Monday-Thursday & Saturday-Sunday.
• I sleep in my bed Monday-Sunday. (No sleeping on the couch…).
• I file things on my computer in my A-Z filing system as I work throughout the day, ending each day with a clear desktop. I regularly assess my filing system and discard any files that are no longer valid or refile as needed.
• I exercise my upper body for 20 minutese on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and my core muscles on Tuesday & Thursday.
• I have a published beginning practice method
• I have a published advanced practice method

Whales do not sing because they have the answer. They sing because they have a song. — Gregory Colbert, from “Ashes and Snow”