I gave up watching New Year fireworks for the thrill of actually keeping a not-quite-New-Year goal of waking up before 7:30 for 7 days straight, and I did it! =) Sure, it's a minor thing to all of you people who actually do get up with the sun (although this is easier in the Canadian winter, because the sun hardly ever wakes up). It's still a nice little accomplishment for me. Check one off my list of goals for 2007!

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My dad was telling all sorts of crazy stories at the breakfast table earlier. It's a good thing my mom reminded me to run and grab a recorder. I caught some of the stories on video! =) He's an awesome storyteller, and he has such adventures.

He started by talking about the photography school my sister is thinking of attending next year. The school is expensive, and they don't really teach anything my dad doesn't already do. Then again, he's done everything--from aerial to underwater, from cars to fashion, and even sports and photojournalism as well. He refuses to be niched, and he loves breaking ground.

He regaled us with stories of his adventures, like the time that he was shooting a ship. They gave him coordinates, and he looked them up on Google Maps. He realized that he wouldn't be able to get a good shot because his fixed-wing plane would interfere with the flight path at the nearby airport. He called the ship on his cellphone and gave them new coordinates, spelling out a plan that would ensure the kind of shot the client wanted. At 1000H they would be at the coordinates he gave. They would keep their bearing for five minutes, then turn toward the sun. They would execute a wide circle and then continue on their journey. Impressed, the captain agreed, and everything went exactly according to plan. Result? A head-on shot of the ship that was so well lined up that it seemed to have been taken from a helicopter and not from a fixed-wing plane.

My dad's the kind of person who can move things to fit his vision, and for whom things also just fall into place. He told us about hitchhiking in Albay and how things kept happening for him. I managed to record that, so I might put it up on YouTube soon. =)

He can do anything he wants to, because he wants to. The strength and clarity of that desire could be part of the reason why people help him make things happen. My mom wrote to airport managers and mayors, arranged accommodation and fuel, organized exhibits--all because my dad had a dream.

My dad can make things happen, and things happen for him. I have that nature of my dad's. I haven't developed something more like my mom's, though. She's more methodical and pays more attention to detail. In the MBTI personality inventory thing, I think she would be an S-type (Sensing), and my dad and I are firmly Ns (Intuitive). It would be good for me to develop a little of that, but I don't have to do everything on my own, just as my dad works with others to make things happen. =)

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I have to confess a certain delight in knowing that my books are balanced and that I have a full year of financial information now behind me. I know my net worth and my expense breakdown. I've earmarked enough funds to cover my essential expenses for the next eight months. In addition to that, I have savings that I will divide into emergency fund, proper savings and an investment kitty. I've also been tithing 10% in an earmarked charity fund, and I plan to adopt a cause this year - maybe microfinance in the Philippines.

I'm still not quite clear what my cashflow will be like for the rest of my studies, which is why I've set aside a lot. My cashflow will be easier to figure out when I start working.

I'm thinking of immigrating to Canada. I need to find out what the rules are for RRSP eligibility so that I can use the power of tax-sheltered investments. I also need to find out what to do if I decide to live elsewhere.

It feels great starting the year with a pretty good handle on my finances. =)

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My Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal for the next eight months is to help huge companies imagine how they can help people connect by prototyping my research idea, figuring out how it can be improved and made into a product, and writing up my thesis.

A thesis is a pretty big goal. Just ask all the people who finish everything but their thesis. Even really smart people. Even my friends.

And I'm pushing even further than that. I want my thesis to be practical *and* research-worthy. I want to take it into the business world.

I'm going to need help making this happen, and I'm going to need a lot of personal strength, too.

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