Weekly Goals

So I'm not sure if anyone noticed but I listed a few goals for myself for this past week on the right side of my blog. One of them was to clean, paint and organize my laundry room. The job is not done completely. I still have to add some black accents like light switch plates and a throw rug and maybe some other decorations. Looks pretty plain right now. At least the hard part is done. I'm not very happy with it because the polyurethene I used on the cabinets left a yellow tint on them instead of looking pure white like I had hoped. Oh well, at least they're much, much cleaner.

BEFORE

AFTER

My second goal was to read the Great Gatsby. I've read parts of this book a few times in the past but have never finished it. I'm still not done but almost there. For some reason I generally don't like to read fiction as much as non-fiction but I try to force myself to balance it out once in awhile. I think I know now why I never finished reading this book in the past. I don't really like it. I thought it would be interesting to read something set in the Jazz age and it's just one of those books that is considered a classic that everyone reads in highschool. It was depressing to me.

I have a hard time understanding people who are on a mad pursuit of money and all that it offers. I could relate in some ways to the character Nick Carraway. He was surrounded by rich people but never felt like he fit in with them. I went to highschool with students whose families had a lot of money. I worked in a restaurant located in an upscale department store serving people who had a lot of money. I've been to numerous parties in the past held at nice homes serving very expensive champagne. I would never make the generalization that rich people are less moral. However I do think materialism is a sad trap the devil uses to keep our eyes off of God. I know people who have been very successful monetarily and it's clear they think money is the end all to happiness. These same people tend to have a pride about themselves for what they have accomplished yet are always on a pursuit for more and more and more. I also know people who have experienced the same degree of success yet view it as an opportunity to give to others in need. They are honest and humble and generous. It's those people that remind me that money in itself is not the problem but the choices we make in how to handle it.

I have two new goals for this week. I'm going to read The Secret. I don't agree with many aspects of this theory but I think it might help my uninterested attitude. I also need to organize my shoe closet. Not that I actually have a separate closet for my shoes but more like a shoe corner that is so small it often gets very messy and disorganized. I doubt I can read another book in one week but I'm aiming high since the house goal is much smaller from last week.