Of five year plans

I was puttering around online, checking out the rapidly growing Newfoundland blogosphere when I came across Laurie's blog and, in particular, her Five Year Plan.

I love these types of plans. I think they offer up fascinating insights into people. And pretty much everyone does them at some point. I have at various points in my life and I think they're often reflective of your mental state at the time. Especially since five year plans are often made when you're not very happy with the way things are going in your life.

(I don't know Laurie and I've only skimmed her blog, but she certainly seems less than content with her current life status.)

I had one when I was at MUN. While I forget the details, I believe they went something like this:
1. Try not to kill one of the editors of the Muse.
2. Graduate MUN.
3. Get into journalism school.
4. Get a journalism job.
5. Move out of father's house.
6. Get a girlfriend.

I had mixed results with that plan. I did manage to not kill one of the editors, I graduated MUN and got into journalism school. I moved out of dad's house, moved back in, moved out, moved back in...he really should have put a revolving door there.

It's best not to dwell on the whole girlfriend thing.

I believe the five year plan when I was 30 was something like this:
1. Get out of Clarenville at all costs.
2. Have sex again sometime before I die.
3. Stop making new "friends" with member of the opposite sex.
4. Get a job that paid more than $20,000 a year (Want to get rich? Don't be a journalist).
5. Get a girlfriend.

So the goals at 30 were more modest, but actually achieved. I did get out of Clarenville, I did have sex again, I did get a girlfriend, who became a fiance and then a wife. And I am now making more than $20,000 a year. So as a five year plan, that one went ok. I think it's important to set modest goals and be flexible with these plans. Aim too high, set too strict goals and problems arise. Plus, you normally don't have the flexibility to adapt when things inevitably go wrong.

Myself and Cathy are now into Year Two of the next Five Year Plan. The goals for this one were:
1. Survive being apart (she was in Rankin Inlet, I was in St. John's for the first five months of 2005. It sucked)
2. Survive the wedding.
3. Move to Iqaluit.
3. Get jobs for both of us in Iqaluit.
4. Make and save lots of money.
6. Travel extensively. Locations discussed include California, Costa Rica, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Greece, New Zealand and Australia.
7. Not get pregnant.
8. Get a dog.

So far, we're doing ok on the current plan. We're married and happily living in Iqaluit. Cathy is working full-time. I'm casual, but there is the possibility of that becoming permanent in the next few months. We're saving lots of money (the wedding and move up are already paid off) and going to California this summer (booking the tickets in a few weeks). And we're not pregnant.

No dog yet, though. I rather doubt that situation is going to last the whole five years.