As always, let’s start with the numbers …

• Physical Comics Read: 4 (85/89)
• Digital Comics Read: 0 (435/435)
• Trades/Graphic Novels Read: 0 (0/0)
• Books Read: 5 (85/90)
• Movies Watched: 1 (208/209)
• TV Shows Watched: 0 (52/52)
• TV Seasons Watched: 0 (96/96)
• Podcast Episodes to Listen to: 89

I’m not the only person who thinks htat January felt like a year and a half and is right now having a constant anxiety attack over everything. Projects like this are supposed to help ground you when everything is in chaos, especially when they are meant to simplify your life. I did read my fair share of stuff this month, but I have to tell you that some of it dragged because it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it would be or because my motivation to read it was lower than usual. I didn’t want to watch movies (in fact, there’s one I started on Kanopy two weeks ago and have yet to finish) and most of my television time was spent watching sports. At least when it came to podcasts, I made some progress, some of which was deleting episodes and shows I knew I wouldn’t listen to or follow anymore.

I could go on some long ramble about what’s going on in the world and how I’ve been dealing with it, but let’s be honest, you all know what’s going on and I can’t say that I am dealing with it any better than you are. Plus, that gets me kind of off topic when it comes to this blog. That is why, I think, I deliberately set intentions at the beginning of the year. I can keep track of things and then update myself (and you … both of you …) and have a tighter format for these posts. So let’s go.

Intention #1: Buy Nothing “old.” So far, so good. The “old” this month came courtesy of the library, streaming services, or other sources. I will say that there is some temptation to search through back issue bins or hit the used bookstores for stuff to complete a reading project, but I since I kind of have to go out of my way to do such things, it’s easy to avoid.

Intention #2: Set a “short box limit” for my comics. I’m not complete there yet? I’ve been reading through complete series and complete runs of things to decide whether or not I want to keep them (i.e., Miracleman, as detailed in my recent post). So it’s kind of a first step here. I recently bought a whole thing of new bags and new boards, so I might use that as another chance to go through my shortboxes and pick out things I don’t want anymore. Selling has been nonexistent, especially since the majority of my comics are dollar or quarter bin fare, so a lot of what I don’t want anymore and isn’t being shipped off to friends is getting thrown into the recycling bin.

Intention #3: Focus on experiences. A dinner out a few weeks ago and an upcoimng night at a local resort is a good start, although I do want to find out more things that are low-cost or free (these things that were planned were Christmas gifts for my wife and I’m looking forward to them). Maybe the springtime will bring some better options.

Intention #4: Consciously Reduce. I guess out of all of these, this is the least successful so far. I know that I’m not doing a lot of adding to things, but I’m not exactly reducing. I’ve made maybe one trip to Goodwill so far [and a side note: I know that Goodwill is a pretty crappy place to donate because of their employment and resale practices. However, aside from The Salvation Army–which is also problematic–there aren’t a lot of good donation options around here. Research is going to be required.]. I will say that meal prep has helped as has “shopping my pantry” because we’ve reduced the number of frivilous grocery purchases. But I’m hoping to get into a rhythm soon.

Intention #5: Keeping Myself Honest. I guess is the place where I beat myself up for not being perfect? Truth be told, I am doing my best to make sure that I “own” any bad decision made and account for any stagnation. But I’m also trying to remember to be patient while also speeding up when I need to.