Are you doing 20 for 2020? Do you have any resolutions? It’s almost March — how are they going so far?

Last year I accomplished 15 items on my 19 for 2019 list. Hopefully I can outdo myself this year! I’ve already done a few of them, and others are in progress. I’ll post an update sometime around the halfway point, and my final results at the end of the year.

1. Finish reading A Series of Unfortunate Events.
   These books shaped several years of my youth and undoubtedly primed me for the existentialist period of my mid to late teen years. I actually created the first website about them, LemonySnicket.net, before there was even an official site. There was a rather active message board with hundreds of members, a few of whom I’m still connected with. (Most of them ended up hating me because there was drama and I got depressed and shut the whole thing down.) Anyway, I only ever read through book 9 or 10. Last year I reread the first two books, then read the second book in Russian. This year I’d like to (re)read books 3-13, and possibly the related series All the Wrong Questions.
   

2. Collaborate with another musician (or more than one, if possible!).
   I approach music in a pretty solitary fashion, so I hope this goal will encourage me to connect in new ways. Connect in 2020! I’ve been working with Micah McCaw on a video (more on that soon), and there’s a chance I’ll be collaborating with someone in early April. I’ll continue looking for opportunities!
   

3. Make vegan cheese again.
   When Adam and I first got together, we dove head-first into the wild world of artisan vegan cheesemaking, with the aid of Miyoko Schinner’s Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook. In those days, stores weren’t brimming with vegan cheese options, least of all aged cheeses. We made brie, Boursin, gouda, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan… Then Adam ended up working for a vegan cheese company and cheesemaking lost its luster. Now I’m finally back at it, and I’ve already made sharp cheddar several times, as well as gouda.
   

4. Finish a second draft of my YA novel.
   This sounded more appealing when I first thought of it. Lately I keep thinking, “What’s the point?” So much work with no indication that it’s worth it. I can do a lot more with music in way less time. On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to do #5, which is…
   

5. Pitch the book.
   In its current state, the manuscript is useless. If I edit it and make it presentable, there’s a remote possibility that someone might want to read it and represent it. Making decisions based on remote possibilities is kind of my whole thing.
   

6. Start or join a group.
   My ideas for a group include a writing group, a music career support group, a general creative career support group, and a young adult / children’s book club (for adults). I’d love to join a local chapter of the Feminist Bird Club, but there isn’t one. (There is a group that I guess exists for a similar purpose, but I haven’t felt confident that I’d be welcome there. And so I don’t have a group to go to, but I also don’t feel like I can start a Feminist Bird Club chapter, because I don’t want to step on this other group’s toes.)
   

7. Participate in Adam’s book club.
   Adam started a book club last year. I keep saying I’ll participate, but every time I find out what the book is, I opt out. I should read the next book whether it interests me or not.
   

8. Go to Eugene once a month.
   I don’t see my family and friends in Eugene often enough!! I’m not doing very well on this one so far. I didn’t end up going there in January, and I’m running out of time for February. I might need to standardize my visits by scheduling them for the same day each month or something.
   

9. Connect with out-of-town (-state, -country) friends.
   Visiting, video chatting, messaging, sending postcards. This month I visited my friend Alli in the Bay Area, so now there’s just everyone else.
   

10. Practice Japanese via video chat.
    I have vague plans to do this with someone, now I need to follow through.
    

11. Work with a personal trainer.
    In progress! I’ve had several sessions already. The reasoning is pretty much that I’m not getting any younger. I want to challenge myself more physically and build a stronger base that I can hopefully maintain in the future.
    

12. Take lessons or a class.
    I have no clue what kind of lessons or classes, but I want to live in an atmosphere of growth. It also strikes me as a nice way to meet people. The problem is that lessons and classes cost money.
    

13. Walk for 20 minutes every day.
    I got this idea from Gretchen Rubin. Last year I spent way too much time inside whenever I wasn’t traveling. Going out for daily 20-minute walks will help me disconnect from distractions and connect to the real world. It’s already going great! I’ve seen so many Varied Thrushes.
    

14. Go out 20 times to pick up at least 20 pieces of trash.
    I want to be a more active steward of the earth, and it would be nice to also make a positive impact on my neighborhood. I’ve done it five times and it’s only February, so I’m off to a good start!
    

15. Get new photos taken.
    Done! I got new Harlequin photos taken, for reasons that will become clear very soon. I do still want to get some non-Harlequin photo taken as well.
    

16. Make two videos a month (ideally every other week).
    I missed January, but I made two videos in February. One is for my new song “Envy,” and the other is my 2020 Tiny Desk Contest submission (see #20). I released these in the same week, but in the future I plan to space them out more evenly. Possibly I’ll release them every other Monday.
    

17. Go to the Portland Japanese Garden at least four times (winter, spring, summer, fall).
    Adam’s sister and her family gave us a membership to the Portland Japanese Garden for Christmas. It would be great to see the garden in each season!
    

18. Learn two more good cover songs.
    I’m getting a lot of mileage out of “Rainbow Connection,” but I could stand to have a few more options under my belt. (I should also get a belt, come to think of it.)
    

19. Take a trip with Adam.
    Last year we went to Vancouver, BC, and it was so nice to make some memories together in a less familiar setting. Hopefully we can find the time and resources to do something similar this year.
    

20. Enter the 2020 Tiny Desk Contest.
    Done! Check it out above! I think this is my strongest submission so far.

I started 2019 with a list of 19 things I wanted to accomplish during the year.

Ta da

1. Teach Georgie (my Senegal parrot) a new trick.
2. See my friends Angelica & Becca. (Saw Angelica, didn’t manage to see Becca.)
3. Go to a dentist.
4. Finish first draft of book.
5. Go to a writers’ group.
6. Plan a birding trip with my friend Becky.
7. Go birding with my mom.
8. Go back to Japan.
9. Find a new favorite board game.
10. Do The Curated Closet.
11. Read a book in Russian.
12. Go to a Japanese conversation group.
13. Change my Facebook page photos four times.
14. Brush up on French.
15. Write a monthly newsletter.
16. Make a vlog.
17. Plan two family get-togethers.
18. Get a stamp made.
19. Have (new) friends over.

In the end, I did 15 out of 19, which I think is pretty great!

I’ve been thinking about the items I didn’t complete and trying to figure out why I didn’t complete them. In the case of teaching Georgie a new trick, I slacked on deciding what trick to teach her. Then I settled on teaching her to stretch her wings up when I said “Wings!” But to do this, I needed to notice and reward her whenever she happened to stretch her wings up. In the months that followed, I kept an eye out but only caught her stretching like this a couple times.

In the case of birding with my mom, I didn’t have a strong idea of when or where or how this would take place. I also haven’t been making it down to Eugene as often as I’d like to, and that’s pretty much the only way it could have happened.

My goal of “doing” The Curated Closet was a little vague. I read some of it, but didn’t really carry out the steps.

As for brushing up on French, it would have been nice, but in the end it just wasn’t important enough for me to make time for it. Russian and Japanese held my attention, which is fine.

Of all the items I completed, the most valuable have been the ones that have connected me to other people. Some tasks that sounded somewhat impersonal ended up strengthening relationships more than I expected. I’ve gotten so much happiness out of creating monthly newsletters and reading responses from friends and fans. Finishing the first draft of my book led me to attend the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, Oregon, where I had the great honor of meeting and hanging out with author/artist/bird rehabber Julie Zickefoose. Getting a stamp made involved a collaboration with my friend Rebecca DeMoss. And because I use the stamps all the time, I’m constantly reminded of how much I admire Rebecca’s art and what an important friend she has been to me, even though we don’t talk as often as we used to.

Some things I’ve accomplished that weren’t on my list:

I went to the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
I went to a Portland Birds & Beers meetup.
I made a music video.
I went to AWP (the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference).
I entered this year’s Tiny Desk Contest.
I started making my own seitan.
I started re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, with the goal of finally finishing the series. (I only ever read 10 or 11 books out of 13.)
I orchestrated most of the songs for the next album.
I got a new(er) phone that has been great for taking photos on my tours.
I wrote a new song completely in Russian.
I was interviewed by the National Audubon Society.
Adam and I took a trip to Vancouver, BC.
I applied for a huge writing fellowship.
I put together an event at Literary Arts showcasing three other queer writers along with a screening of my music video.
I did a major update of my resume.
I grew my Portland piano studio to 6 students.
I reached level 19 in WaniKani (a Japanese language-learning program), which means I’ve learned more than 600 kanji and 2000 vocabulary items.
I played Sofar Sounds shows in Frome (UK), Boston, Boise, and twice in Seattle.
I read 26 books.

Now it’s time to take what I learned from 2019 and create my list of 20 for 2020! Did you have a list of 19 for 2019? How did it go? Are you doing 20 for 2020?

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Already looking ahead to 2020.

I posted an update in April and called it “triannual,” then I almost let my second update slip away from me. I’ve knocked out 12 items on my list and I’m on track for a few more.

1. Teach Georgie (my Senegal parrot) a new trick.

Uh, sort of in process? I want to teach her to stretch her wings up when I say “Wings!” To do this, I need to reward her every time I see her stretching her wings up. Unfortunately I haven’t caught her doing it a single time since I decided on this trick. But we’ve been practicing her old tricks almost daily, so she should be in the right frame of mind when the moment comes.

2. See my friends Angelica & Becca.

In process. My plan is to see Becca in early October when she visits Eugene, and to visit Angelica sometime in November. I could potentially see her in October, but parts of my schedule are up in the air.

3. Go to a dentist.

Not only did I have many appointments earlier this year, I went back in July for my six-month cleaning.

4. Finish first draft of book.

Done. And more recently, I did some major editing of the first 25 pages for a writing fellowship application.

5. Go to a writers’ group.

I still haven’t gone to a proper writing group, but I have gone to many One Page Wednesday events at Literary Arts, and I’ve read my own work twice.

6. Plan a birding trip with my friend Becky.

In my first update, I didn’t count the birding I did with Becky when she visited Portland. Now I think I need to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And anyway, it sort of satisfied my main criterion, which was for it to be at a place where neither of us lives. Sauvie Island is technically part of Portland, but I think it was far enough away. Hopefully we can do some more birding before the end of the year.

7. Go birding with my mom.

I (still) need to figure out how to make this one happen. We have done some birding from her living room window.

8. Go back to Japan.

Technically this is in process, but it’s officially happening! I’ll be in Japan for a couple weeks this November/December, playing eight shows!

9. Find a new favorite board game.

I found THREE new favorite tabletop games: MachiKoro, Wingspan, and The Mind. I even played Wingspan AT THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY HEADQUARTERS.

10. Do The Curated Closet.

Still in process. I had called this one “Dress for success,” but in my first update I renamed it to something I thought was more actionable. Since then I’ve picked up The Curated Closet one or two times but definitely haven’t finished it. Nor have I completed any of the steps.

That being said, I do feel like I’ve been more conscious about my personal style, and I’ve made definite efforts to up my game.

11. Read a book in Russian.

In process! I decided to lower the bar for myself and read something that I could get through more quickly, so I’m reading the Russian translation of the second book in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

12. Go to a Japanese conversation group.

I have gone twice, which is only one time more since my last update. Hopefully I can squeeze in another one before 2020.

13. Change my Facebook page photos four times. √ √ √ √

Probably I should try to do this again before the end of the year.

14. Brush up on French.

This just might not happen, and I’m okay with that. I’ve worked a ton on Russian and Japanese this year. On the other hand, I can see me squeezing this in sometime in December, hellbent on completing my list.

15. Write a monthly newsletter. √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ _ _

Almost there! I’ve sent out a monthly newsletter every month this year. (The October newsletter is all ready to go.) Each newsletter includes a free download of an unreleased demo, along with some of the story behind the song. The response to this has been lovely, with people emailing me back very thoughtful messages. I’m glad I started doing this!

16. Make a vlog.

Finally, I made a vlog for my niece Genevieve! Actually it’s a product review, but that counts, right?

17. Plan two family get-togethers.

I didn’t exactly plan two family get-togethers, but two family get-togethers happened because of me. Basically on two occasions I told my mom I was coming to visit, and she told everyone else and they all showed up! Score.

18. Get a stamp made.

My friend Rebecca DeMoss (the Becca of goal #2), who did the artwork for A Troubled Piece of Fruit, made THREE amazing stamp designs for me! If you come to three of my shows, you can collect them all — on programs, in your own journal, wherever — and get a special prize!

19. Have (new) friends over.

I have had multiple new friends over, and multiple old friends!

Some things I’ve accomplished that weren’t on my list:

1. I went to the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

2. I went to a Portland Birds & Beers meetup.

3. I went to AWP (the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference).

4. I entered this year’s Tiny Desk Contest.

5. I started making my own seitan and never looked back.

6. I started re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, with the goal of finally finishing the series. (I only ever read 10 or 11 books out of 13.)

7. I’ve orchestrated most of the songs for the next album.

8. I made a music video!!!

9. I got a new(er) phone that has been great for taking photos on my tours.

10. I wrote a new song completely in Russian.

11. I was interviewed by the National Audubon Society.

12. Adam and I took a trip to Vancouver, BC.

13. I’ve done a lot more reading than I have in any other recent year.

14. I applied for a huge writing fellowship. Huge fellowship, huge application.

15. I put together an event at Literary Arts showcasing three other queer writers along with a screening of my music video.

16. I learned a fun cover song for my upcoming shows. 😏🎶

That’s it for this update! I’ll post at the end of the year (or early 2020) to let y’all know how everything turned out.

And if you want to get my next free demo in your inbox next week, sign up for my newsletter here. :)

With nearly four months of 2019 behind us, it’s time for an update on my 19 for 2019! I’ve knocked out 8 items on my list and I’m on track for two more. I’m so glad I decided to do this — it’s helping me do a lot of worthwhile things that I might have otherwise postponed indefinitely!

1. Teach Georgie a new trick.

There was one day where I sort of kind of tried to teach her to spin around, but we both quickly lost interest in that particular trick.

2. See my friends Angelica & Becca.

Becca is moving away from Oregon, too, so I’ve added her to this goal. She should have been on there anyway, because even when we both lived in Eugene it was so easy to go forever without seeing each other. Even though it always made me so happy to see her! Clearly I need to make more of an effort in the seeing-friends area, in general.

3. Go to a dentist.

I went to a dentist! In fact, I went to the dentist five times. There was the preliminary examination. There were a couple rounds of fillings, and a broken crown replacement. There were deep cleanings and a polish. Then there was me going back in because I was afraid I needed a root canal, but it turned out the crown replacement was just still sensitive.

4. Finish first draft of book.

It needs a ton of work, but hey, it’s a first draft and it’s DONE.

5. Go to a writers’ group.

Technically I’ve gone to a reading series, but I did read my own work for a group of other writers, so I’m saying it counts.

6. Plan a birding trip with my friend Becky.

I did go birding with Becky, but I wouldn’t say I “planned a birding trip” with her. She came to Portland and we went birding. I think this goal is really to plan a birding trip to a place where neither of us lives — maybe Eastern Oregon or the coast.

7. Go birding with my mom.

I need to think on this one and figure out how to make it happen. Hmm.

8. Go back to Japan.

It looks like my 2019 Japan tour will be in November. On the sooner side of things, in June I’ll be playing some shows in the UK and Kaliningrad, Russia!

9. Find a new favorite board game.

I may have found two new favorite board games! One of them — Wingspan — I have yet to play. I pre-ordered it as soon as I heard about it back in January, but demand exceeded production and I’m still on the waitlist.

[EDIT: I FINALLY GOT IT THE DAY AFTER I POSTED THIS!!!]

The game I have played is MachiKoro. Adam got it for me after I returned from my first Japan tour in 2017, to help me cope with missing Japan, but we never actually played it until this year. It was super fun — kind of a mix of Settlers of Catan and SimCity.

10. Do The Curated Closet.

I had called this one “Dress for success,” but that isn’t an easy item to check off. A more actionable plan is to read The Curated Closet and follow its steps.

11. Read a book in Russian.

I haven’t even begun to think about this, really, BUT I have been doing a Skype language exchange with my friend Vlad from Kaliningrad. So maybe keeping up on my Russian is just taking a different form than I expected.

12. Go to a Japanese conversation group.

I finally went to a Japanese conversation group a couple weeks ago and I’m so glad I did! The people were super friendly and welcoming. I definitely plan on going again.

13. Change my Facebook page photos four times. √ √ √ _

So far I have changed photos three times! One more to go and I’ll be able to check this one off, though I’ll want to make sure I don’t wait till 2020 to change them again after that.

14. Brush up on French.

I do still want to do this, but it always feels less pressing than Japanese and Russian. Probably I need to set a more specific goal.

15. Write a monthly newsletter. √ √ √ √ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I’ve sent out a monthly newsletter every month this year, so I’m on track for this one! Each newsletter includes a free download of an unreleased demo along with some of the story behind the song. The response to this has been lovely, with people emailing me back very thoughtful messages. I’m glad I started doing this!

16. Make a vlog.

Finally, I made a vlog for my niece Genevieve! Actually it’s a product review, but that counts, right? It’s a video, and in it I’m talking and being silly instead of just performing a song. I haven’t seen Genevieve since I made the video, but word on the street is she dug it.

17. Plan two family get-togethers.

Zero progress on this. I need to get moving on it, or I’ll end up trying to cram two get-togethers into one weekend in December.

18. Get a stamp made.

My friend Rebecca DeMoss (the Becca of goal #2), who did the artwork for A Troubled Piece of Fruit, made THREE amazing stamp designs for me! If you come to three of my shows, you can collect them all — on programs, in your own journal, wherever — and get a special prize! It looks like there’ll be more to come, too. I’m so excited about these stamps, I can’t even tell you.

19. Have (new) friends over.

It’s been tricky, because this year has been so busy, but I did have a new friend over for an hour once! And old friends have stopped by on a couple occasions. I’ll be continuing to work on this!

Some things I’ve accomplished that weren’t on my list:

1. I went to the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

2. I went to a Portland Birds & Beers meetup.

3. I started working on a music video.

4. I went to AWP (the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference).

5. I entered this year’s Tiny Desk Contest (see right).

6. I made seitan for the first (and second) time and not only was it super easy, it was also much tastier than the packaged stuff.

7. I started re-reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, with the goal of finally finishing the series. (I only ever read 10 or 11 books out of 13.)

8. I’ve orchestrated several songs for the next album!

9. I got a new(er) phone that will be great for taking photos on my tours this year!

That’s it for this update! If you want to get my next free demo in your inbox next week, sign up for my newsletter here. :)