Rachel Mercer

In light of the New Year I completely forgot the obligatory blog post regarding my New Year's Resolutions, which everyone does, usually while giving the entire process the giant middle finger because honestly, no one really wants to change.

This is slightly more expanded than usual, I typically have short and sweet lists consisting of "kick ass and be healthier", but I am very optimistic for the year of 2009 and outside of my five year plan, there's a lot that needs to be done, and hopefully my supersaturated optimism for this year will help it start off with a big bang. Let me know what yours are!

Resolutions

Vague ideas of what I want to do over the next year, less specific.

+Read More
I usually feel confident that I absorb a decent amount of information on a daily basis, from my reader feeds to the multiple magazines that I subscribe to. However, I only managed to read 30 to 40 books last year and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal stating the George W. Bush completed around 60 books in each year of his presidency, my competitive edge kicked into overdrive and damn me if that man can run a country (albeit poorly) and manage to read more than me. I am however, cheating in that I am making 3 periodicals the equivalent of reading one book. Hopefully I'll be posting more in the near future about interesting articles that I pick up, or books that I find fascinating.

+Write More
I feel that to date I have done a decent job of updating my blog on a somewhat regular basis, but there are many times throughout the week where I am walking and lost in my own thoughts -- and I lose the thoughts forever because I never take the time to write them down. Leaving these thoughts floating around in the cavernous abyss that is my head will simply lead to more idle chatter, and sleeplessness. Should I in fact channel this into writing I feel that I could in turn make my writing much more clear, concise, and better directed.

+Breathe
One of the problems that I suffer is that I frequently work myself to the brink of exhaustion, only to pull myself away from the world in the form of sleep for several days and then I jump right back in again. Stefan Sagemeister is presently doing his once-a-decade sabbatical where he takes the entire year off and essentially reboots and his creativity sky-rockets. I feel that my ever-present state of exhaustion will eventually sap all of the creativity out of me and I will be a washed up twenty something with no future ahead of me. Therefore, I have made plans already to do little things for myself, such as attend NYCComiccon and SXSW Interactive because it is a slight break in my work, but so beneficial to me in many ways.

+Do my best.
Simple enough. Be the best that I can be at whatever task that I am tackling at the present moment, from my school work, to my writing, to my job. I am a perfectionist at heart so this is not difficult, however I feel that this always needs to be on my list, lest I lose track of my focus.

Goals

Concentrated and specific ideas of what I want to do over the next year, less of a resolution.

+Revamp my personal design.
I have become increasingly self conscious of my personal site, which is utilitarian in many ways. I'd like to start a business name of my own (MercerMedia is increasingly appealing). I feel that my dependence on Helvetica makes my design weaker, and less interesting. I'm hoping to do a complete redesign -- resume, references, portfolio, business cards, etc etc. To date I have played it safe, I want to do something innovative, creative, and unique.

+Be more outgoing.
In working on the ROFLthing events I feel that my continued sense of self-consciousness is frequently holding me back, especially since I know that if I were only comfortable around people that I perceive to be "internet famous" -- things would actually be okay. I need to work myself up to a sense of self where I feel like I can be a tour de force in any room, and network like a pro.

+Start a Webcomic.
I've been throwing around this idea of starting a short sketch-based webcomic. Nothing complex, just short and quirky. There is potential for writing one on my many neuroses, or just those awkward situations you'll find yourself in. I think this would also encourage me to draw more.

+Get that t-shirt store off the ground.
Another frequented discussion is a website that a friend and I have in the works to create a quality and discreet geek apparel site that would compete with the big'uns. If I do design for that, it would be totally sweet. Check this shit out guys, it's a-happenin' this year.

+Score a super-sweet internship/co-op
This is pretty straightforward, I will be entering my 4th year of college, and have plenty of work experience under my belt. Now I need to be working my way into the advertising industry -- and start getting those internships that I want, bad.