Happy New Year 2013! I’m going to set my annual goals for this year.

I’m spending this holiday season relaxing at home.

At the end of the year, I spend two days making beef stew and Osechi.

I’m more of a person who wants to spend New Year’s relaxing and not going out.

I will be on vacation until the 3rd, so I hope to enjoy this fleeting break to the fullest.

Well, you may or may not be able to keep it, but even if you don’t worry about that, just having something you want to do will change the way you spend your year.

So, I’m going to make my annual goal for this year, too.

English, conversation and diary writing

English has become unavoidable in this day and age. I want to graduate from the level of reading and writing only and improve the level of conversation.

Conversation, I’m thinking of spending some money to learn. Even though I’m going to spend a lot of money, I think it’s going to be less expensive than the traditional ones because the lessons are basically internet-based, using Skype, etc.

I would like to challenge TOEIC positively.

As for writing, I would like to use diaries and other means of training, whether they are public or not.

Launch of new website

I’d like to change the design of this blog after almost 3 years, and I’d like to consider starting a new site with a different theme.

I may be able to give you a more concrete report on this goal soon. It may be the least hurdle of all my goals for this year.

Violin Enhancement

I’ve been playing violin for 11 years now, and I want to strengthen and improve my skills a bit more.

Last year, the weight of violin was rather low, so I would like to leverage it with a view to restarting lessons.

Challenging the Graduate School Entrance Exam

This may be my biggest goal this year. I’m thinking of going to the Open University of Japan for graduate school. I chose it because I can get a master’s degree while keeping my job. If there is a similar program at night, that would be fine too, but for now I think the Open University is enough.

I’m not going to go for an « MBA » because MBAs are expensive and I don’t see much value in them nowadays. I’m thinking of trying a more practical field.

Of course, I may not be able to due to various circumstances at work and other factors, but I’m pretty seriously considering it at the moment.

In any case, it is important to get a degree while working, not studying abroad. In this day and age, a company does not guarantee your future, so you should not simply take a break or quit your job, even if you are studying abroad.

I will report on this in detail at another time.

That’s all.

今年は比較的ハードルの高い目標が多い気がしますが、そこはまあ守れなくたっていいやってくらいの軽い気持ちで肩の力を抜いて、今年もいつもどおりゆるく目標に向かっていきたいと思います。