the beginning of 2024 threw me a lot of curveballs so i got a later start than usual with some of my goals, and that is precisely why i like to do this mid-year check-in. it’s helpful to see what i’ve accomplished [which is almost always more than i think i have], and it gives me the opportunity to adjust and change plans as needed for the second half of the year.

to begin, here’s where i stand with each of my goals for the year.

volunteer once a month. i have not averaged once a month on this, but i did volunteer at the say gala in may and did a volunteer shift at my neighborhood open streets one weekend. i will be doing more open streets shifts over the summer and into the fall, and i hope to continue volunteering with say once a quarter or so. i also want to start donating blood again regularly, so after i waited the necessary amount of time post-india and piercings i went last week and did a platelet donation and will hopefully be making this a monthly occurrence.

get back into running. my main goal with this was to remove the pressure to run and go when i feel like it and give myself grace when i don’t, and for the most part i have succeeded. some weeks i run twice and other weeks i don’t run at all, and the result has been that when i do go i enjoy it. abi and i have been talking about signing up for a 5k in the fall to give us some kind of consistency, but i’m going to stick with this general plan for a little bit longer.

expand my network. this one looks different to how i envisioned it when i wrote it in december, especially because in many ways i’ve shrunk my network while i’ve focused on taking care of myself. thanks to sanjeet’s monthly “wine down wednesday” get togethers i have met some lovely new friends, and i have a few ideas for how and where i’d like to continue working toward this goal. we’ll see at the end of the year how successful i am.

explore more of upstate new york. may was a great month for this! maggie, abi, and i did a quick weekend trip to beacon at the top of the month, and dillard, jane, chrystal and i spent memorial day weekend exploring the finger lakes region. i’m already happy with how i’ve done this year, and if i’m able to get somewhere else in july or up to tarrytown / sleepy hollow in october for some of their halloween activities that will be icing on the cake.

finish setting up my apartment. when sarah was here in may we crossed a lot of things off my list, including a trip to ikea and the subsequent furniture assembly. i need to do some de-cluttering and finish hanging things and then hopefully i’ll feel ready to share some photos later this summer. i just renewed my lease for two years, so i am very excited to continue nesting in this space.

write and send one postcard a week. so far so good. i don’t always write one a week, usually waiting until the end of the month and then writing 4 or 5 in one fell swoop, so in all honesty i’ve probably averaged more than one a week. i’m lucky to have done a lot of travelling to cool places in the first half of the year so i have collected some great new postcards along the way.

take advantage of my met membership. i’ve been slower to get going on this one than i would have liked, but it has been so nice to use this when friends come to visit since i can take one guest with me each time i go. one of the main things i appreciate is that with this i can pop in to see one exhibit without feeling the pressure to see as much as possible since i know i can go back anytime, followed closely by the early hours access on weekend mornings before the museum opens to the public [especially clutch in summer when the museum is packed all day].

do more jigsaw puzzles. surprisingly even for me, i have completed one puzzle on my own and two others with friends, which is more than i expected for this midyear update. when i was in memphis in march sarah and i helped dillard finish her frida kahlo puzzle; in april i did my subpar parks puzzle; and during our memorial day trip we did a road trip puzzle that dillard brought. i still need to do the memphis puzzle dillard sent me a few months ago, so i know i’ll get at least one more before the end of the year.

rest! when i wrote this goal at the end of 2023, i had no idea what the first half of this year would hold or how important this one word would be for me in 2024. the last six months have been a roller coaster, and whenever i have felt myself becoming overwhelmed or stressed i have allowed myself to take a step back, say no to plans when necessary, and take care of myself. it’s always a work in progress, but i’m doing well with this one so far.

and my stretch goals:

go to shakespeare in the park. in true 2024 fashion, shakespeare in the park is not happening in central park this summer while the delacorte theater is being renovated, and instead there are a number of free productions and movie screenings happening in all five boroughs. i’m hoping to get to one if it works with my schedule, and if not this will move to a main goal for next year when they’re back in the park.

see hamilton on broadway again. this one is being saved as a celebration for when maggie and i both have full-time jobs.

and here’s what the rest of the year looks like.

a lot of travel! this somehow became the year i turned into jet set veena, and i am loving it. coming up i have:

• august — road trip to memphis
• september — denver to see amos lee and indigo girls at red rocks and also orlando with my parents
• october — currently nothing confirmed but hoping for a weekend visit to tarrytown
• november — memphis twice! november 1-4 for my 20-year rhodes reunion and then again around thanksgiving through marathon weekend
• december — will be in memphis at the beginning of the month for marathon weekend and if all goes according to plan i’ll leave for 3 weeks in india just before the new year

visits from sarah and jesse. sarah is back in town! she is staying at maggie’s while maggie is visiting family in italy, and you know i am loving having her back. she arrived the morning of my birthday which was so lovely, and she’ll be here for a few more weeks. and jesse is coming to visit soon! i’m excited to show her around my neighborhood and have a few days to catch up with her.

two days at the us open. the us open is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do each year i’m here, and i’m so excited to be able to attend two days this year. the first i’ll be going with some of my rhodes classmates who will be in town for their annual labor day weekend trip and who will also be celebrating walshie’s engagement. and the second day will be with alexa and a few of her friends.

hopefully get to attend cgi again. last year the clinton foundation offered cgi passes to alumni in the area and i had a great time attending the sessions and meeting some very interesting people. if they do so again i will for sure be in attendance.

20-year rhodes reunion. as i mentioned above, this year marks 20 years since my class graduated from rhodes, and we’ll be celebrating the first weekend of november. i was on the fence about attending since it’s so late this year and so close to marathon weekend, but after thinking about it and remembering how much fun i had at our 10- and 15-year reunions i ultimately decided it was worth the double trip. and as icing on the cake i’ll be able to be with my family for diwali and an early birthday celebration for my mother. i still can’t believe they let us graduate 20 years ago, and it’ll be fun to catch up with everyone.

as you can see, in many ways 2024 has not turned out how i expected, but that’s also half the fun of writing these posts. so here’s to the second half of the year and whatever surprises it entails!

xx