Who can tell me sth about YOUR dream?
 

I suggest we all lighten up slightly and share one or two of our own personal dreams (i.e. hopes, goals, aspirations). Tell us all something that you hope to make come true in your own life, and I don't mean something like "I want to get into Brittany Speare's pants," but something concrete that you have a chance of making a reality.

I'll go first. My dream is to overcome my current difficulties enough that I can get paid as a writer and one day become self sufficient again through my writing skills (OK, go ahead and laugh, but the Cellar is actually a place where I'm attempting to refine whatever meager skills I might have in that area, and I know I'll need a good spell check program). :blush:

Hmm. I'd like, over the next two years to achieve a high enough level at TESOL to be able to get a job working teaching with the refugee council. I'm mulling over the merits of learning either Urdu or Punjabi.Not to any high level of competence but enough to get by on a basic converation, y'know, be able to introduce myself and understand someone else's introduction, offer simple directions etc. All depends on what time I have over the next year or so.

I would also like to finish a story I am working on but again that's one of the things that gets pushed to the bottom of the list if I have studying to do.

On a longer term basis I'd like to know more about England between the 9th and 11th centuries. Much of my knowledge has been superceded by recent archaealogical findings and the research done by some of the current crop of Historians. I'd like to find more time to read and see what current thinking is on a few issues.

I'd also like to be better with money so I can dig myself out of the financial hole i so merrily dug myself into :P

A friend of mine has patented a method which increases productivity and lowers errors in developing large systems. I am working with him to develop it, and my dream is that it will succeed and make the entire world more productive and better operational, effectively ending scarcity, changing the way all systems are programmed, and making me personally fucking filthy rich. We may know by the end of the year. Wish me luck.

What good is it to be rich and have to hide like Osama. You will, you know, when the jillion people you put out of work, come looking for you. :hafucking

I am extraordinarily gifted at avoiding the public.

Undertoad, you have to be an engineer with all that efficiency talk (It's ok, I'm an engineering graduate student).

Marichiko, way to go. What kind of topics do you like to write about?

Snake, SW engineering, which is probably not real engineering by your standards! I know enough about engineering to know that I'm not one.

Oh, you know, household hints, recipes, stuff like that. :D

Actually, I have several areas that I'd like to write in. One is young adult fantasy/fiction. I actually had written the first 4 chapters of a novel aimed at the 13 and up set, but my manuscript was destroyed when I was evicted. I'd also like to write my entire story if I could find a publisher for it and get organized enough to sit down and write the whole thing coherantly. I DID manage to save most of my journals from the past 5 years (I've formed the habit of writing in a daily journal as an aid to my memory), and I would like to refine them into a single book. I also think I might be able to make a go of it writing science articles for a general audience. I actually took a graduate journalism course in science writing just for fun when I was getting my Master's at CU. I'd have to have all my notes on stickies tacked to the sides of my computer screen, but I do that now anyhow when I write.

My greatest difficulties are getting organized enough and staying focused long enough to accomplish something worthy of submission, and the hurdles that every unknown writer has to overcome to get published in the first place. I am currently actually attempting a project, that if successful will go a long way toward rebuilding my self confidence and may possibly prove to be my first step on the road. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for asking! :)

i would like to really get my business clicking so that in 3-5 years i can build a cabin up on the mountain so the family can spend weekends there. my son can play in the snow and enjoy all four seasons on our own property and i can retire there - in the distant distant future. i would like to work for about the next 15-20 years and then semi retire to read and write. that is about it.

win a grammy.

You can have Homer Simpsons, he doesn't want it.
Seriuosly though, what will that do for you? Person achievement as a musician? Recognized by “the industry”? By your peers? By the public? Does it make you an undisputed professional? Give you a ticket to ride? Just because it’s the generally recognized industry award?
Would making 10 platinum albums in a row be as good, or does the grammy signify more than financial success. This may sound like a bunch of stupid questions but remember those of us on the outside don’t know what the ramifications are to somebody in the business. :confused:

To win the fucking lottery and be done with all this damn work !!!
In real life to get the 40 achers of pine in Mississippi I own cut , build a house or at least a shell on our land on the Spring river , ritire there , sit by the river drinking beer watching the drunk scantaly clad pretty collage girls float by in the summer , and in the winter fish and just hang out by the fire .

Yeah man, I always thought the Grammy(TM) was the award that least matched up with actual meaningful quality.

Does "sth" mean something or is Marichiko copying a typo or something from Echo?

Was wondering that too dar512. I'm getting interested UT, can you elaborate at all? You're sounding like the next joelonsoftware. That's a good thing for reference.

At the moment it's to get a picture published in a major publication. Do at least one pro trip into somewhere unfriendly and come back with something that makes it worthwhile. Get a Ducati S4R off my own back. Be fincially secure enough personally that if everything around me fell down it would have no impact on me personally. That's a tad longer term. Also conflicts heavily with the S4R when one considers insurance for a 21y.o on a 1000cc bike.

I'd like to know what makes you think I have no chance with those pants.

(Oh, wait, would she have to be wearing them at the time?? Never mind.)

My most cherished fantasy has no hope of coming true ever, barring a spectacular lottery win, which is highly unlikely since I never play the lottery.

As I've written elsewhere I have become interested in playing poker. I would like to become a winning player (with the bankroll to match) at $10 limit tables. This is a potentially reachable goal within the next 1-2 years.

As a more long-term professional goal, a year ago at a conference I heard the CIO of the Pennsylvania public university system speak on the subject of grooming the next generation of IT leaders in higher education. As I listened to him describe some things he's doing in his organization, I thought to myself, "Hey, that sounds like it would be a great place to work." This has turned into one of my objectives: to one day be in charge of a department that will make IT workers on the outside say, "wow, that sounds like a great place."

A more vaporous goal is to someday visit various tombs and monuments in Egypt. This is complicated by various financial and logistical hurdles, so it may not happen.

Does "sth" mean something or is Marichiko copying a typo or something from Echo?

It's textmessage-speak for "something," and I'm pretty sure Mari was intentionally paralleling the structure of echo's thread title.

Sure Jag, I could talk about this all day! It's wild!

Basically, what happens when people set out to develop a complicated piece of software? Or even - something very complicated period, like an airport? They sit down and write specifications, sometimes in English with additional diagrams to map things out here and there. They may have a few tools like data flow diagrams and other kinds of flowcharts. They give all that to the programmer/developer/whatever to implement it, and since the specs suck horribly, the program/system/whatever doesn't work the way it was intended and/or doesn't work at all.

Some massive percentage of IT projects fail completely. Not just go over budget, not just go late... some major design decision that is critical to its operation is made incorrectly, or some connection is forgotten that can't simply be patched up without so much major rework that it's not worth completing.

My friend's idea ends all that. By placing certain specific logical constraints on how something is described, he's worked out how to avoid ANY missed connections, ANY missed information. And a system described in this way has special properties that make programming complicated systems almost *trivial*.

What my friend has developed is a new way of thinking about data design and process design. It expresses itself in flowchart form. It is utterly simple and yet utterly perfect in many different ways... ways you realize only when looking at it for days on end. It may in fact change *everything*! Everybody could develop this way. It could very well change how databases operate and even how most programming is done. We just don't know yet!!! It has to be pitched and licenses successfully sold to consulting houses, to give it the boost it needs so that we can continue to develop it, teach it, sell it.

What I wrote on the website:

---
The Business Architecture Method is a graphical business modeling tool.

It's a tool -- to document systems, processes, business rules... really, whatever you can think of. It kinda looks like a flowchart, but simpler.

Its basic, yet completely logical approach enforces how a system is documented. This, in turn, leads to huge advantages. The time to develop systems is reduced. An entire business can be modeled... and clarified to any detail. And its diagrams can be understood by just about anyone.

It creates new economies of scale. It details the scope of any system or project. It perfectly documents business processes. It produces ideal specifications to programmers. Anyone can be taught to read it in two minutes; anyone can be taught to write it in two days.

Its remarkable approach is U.S. Patent No. 5,418,942, 5,564,119, and 5,960,437.

(And yeah I apologize for the patent approach, but this is most definitely an invention... it's the kind of thing that seems obvious, but if it really were obvious, everyone would have been doing it this way all along.)

My dream.....wow....I want studio space, unused, open, industrial looking space somewhere in one of the america's major cities (new york and chicago come to mind first). I want to make enough money in SW engineering (nods to toad) that I don't have to worry whether my band makes it or not (nods harder). I want to spend my evenings either making culture (with the band, or maybe various poetic *things*) or taking it in, and I need an area that will supply me with a constant stream of culture. I want a balcony over, at least, the 20th floor of some building. I want a wet bar...

2 questions:
Can we get a concrete example?
Looking for vulture capital?

I hear you loud and clear.

yup ;) -copying the typo, that is.

Man, everyone who has responded here has some great dreams! I hope every single one of them comes true (including my own, naturally). And I do think every single one of you has at least a fighting chance of making your dream a reality. Contrary to the way I may sometimes come across in my posts, I think America (and the U.K. - nods to DanaC and Jaguar) is still a place where such dreams can come true. I simply see how the Playing field in the US could be made a more level one for certain groups of people, that's all. ;)

I must say this is one of my favorite threads of late.

Good Question
 

I'd like to continue in my progress with languages. I'll also be needing acceptance into a local lib-arts institution for a particular program they can provide. I'd like to be able to translate valuable forgotten classics that I believe can aid in a resurgence of dead arts and languages- for the modern mind. There have been obscure ancient classics that have been essential for me in my life. The quality of this life hits highs as a result of feeding my thoughts with material that inserts its inspirational cues and timeless wisdom even when i'm not noticing. Yes this means i'm a gluttonous pig in the food for thought arena but it's better than junk food! In this ambition someday people like you would benefit from this buried treasure as well. As for clams;I really only enjoy money when it's made of paper so I probably won't be shaking hands with you potential billionaires unless you need to dial into a dialect. Thanks for reminding me of what the heck i'm supposed to be doing, and why I do what I do now Marichiko! (NICE WORK) And for those of you who know who you are in this statement; It's the lowest act to be petty about someone else's dreams. You only humiliate your self. Thanks for letting me share mine. :blush:

Find the big love of my life (and be her's too), founding a family.
Write a book, I have a great idea (well sounds good to me), but I'm no man of many words.
Getting happy with my work either in the Army or in the secret services or working for UNO or sub-organisation.

Flip, that's a beautiful dream!ad astra per asperum! I think gluttony for the love of knowledge makes for a broad mind and a great spirit, so keep chowing down, little piglet! What you do now, my girl, is apply to THE UNIVERSITY. Study those damn SAT's. I can help you, and I guarantee that you will score at least 700 verbal and high enough on the math to guarantee your admission to ANYWHERE! You go, girl, go! You can leave us all behind in the dust if only you start believing in yourself the way I believe in you! :)

Quite frankly, I no longer enjoy making goals, etc., because of the massive letdown I got from the last time I made long range plans and they wound up being shattered for the most part.

HOWEVER, I do hope that when I switch my medical team in Novemeber, that they will provide better care for me, and then I can get back to making new plans. :thumbsup: And that's all I can say for right now.

A concrete example is difficult right now only because so little has been officially published. And it requires the explanation in order to see the big picture. I could show a piece of it but you'd only say "what's the big deal?" because it takes two days of explanation to really get into why it works so well. You learn to read it, then you learn to write it, then you try putting it together yourself, then a little light comes on and bing, you realize how much better this is.

The guy is pretty resolute about not having investors. He can't see an up side, if the idea works well it will quickly become viral, he thinks. He is the sort who demands total control. Quirky, as one would need to be to think about data for long enough to come up with this.

I disagree with his approach; I think it needs to be marketed, and it would benefit from a load of money to kick it off. Marketed to the right people, but still.

Unlimited beer money! Is that too big of dream? :-P

Ya gotta chase that dream, buster!!!

But chasing makes you thirstier and compounds the problem. :biggrin:

"HOWEVER, I do hope that when I switch my medical team in Novemeber, that they will provide better care for me, and then I can get back to making new plans. And that's all I can say for right now."

Good luck with that Lady Syc. Let us know how it works out.

It is very difficult for me to work out what I want from the future knowing that the future doesn't exist. Sitting here trying to think of my goals and dreams, I come slightly unstuck as every dream relies on the future. I dream of now being different, but now will never be different to what it is.

Lady Syc hit the nail - dreams of accomplishment and acquisition rarely satisfy. Of course, some things take time to complete, like Mari's writing and Dana's teaching. As long as the process or journey toward this dream is also your dream. If you're writing in pursuit of money or critical acclaim then writing isn't your dream, self-definition is. If it is creation that flows through you via the particular channel of words, that is the right reason.

I got a little caught up in this dream-making some years ago. Attracted by the glamour, money and fast-moving lifestyle, I set my heart on an advertising career. I liked the idea of sitting around in a studio bouncing ideas around a table, of winning flash new clients to the pleasure of my hard-to-please boss, getting promoted at a lightning rate and earning more in a year than both my parents had in their lifetime. The reality of course is quite different. The 'glamour' of fast cars and top restaurants is fleeting and unsatisfying, and in any case reserved predominantly for those at the top of the profession. The 'bouncing round ideas' dream of unrelenting creativity is day after day surpassed by the uninspirational reality of deadlines and client-driven nightmares. It doesn't matter how good your idea is. Chances are it won't get heard because the boss didn't come up with it and even if it is it will be picked and battered to pieces by a client who doesn't want to spend money and especially does not want to change. Dreams of fast promotions and euphoric bosses flatten in the face of a plummeting economic climate, always forcing me to remember that I will never be as important as the next FTSE fluctuation. And the money goes on the drinks and coke and Guardian subscription you need to keep up with your less talented but more motivated peers.

All I am saying is that dreams are dreams and life is something very different. Make sure you're dreaming of reality otherwise you'll never wake up. Make your life your own dream, don't chase other people's.

Saying that, I hope everyone here finds the happiness they are looking for, and at the very least, if you insist on having dreams, that they don't turn into nightmares.

I agree, Cat. Life is about the journey, not the destination. In my case I write for the sheer love of it. There are many days when my creative spirit seems like a vast stretch of the Sahara desert, and all I feel is the frustration of my words evaporating of all meaning as they hit that dry desert sand. But then there are those moments when words pour onto the page and I can't type fast enough to keep up, and the whole endeavor becomes more than worthwhile. Like any creative person, I'd love to discover that what I do resonates with others. Since I can't seem to fit into anywhere in the regular world any more, maybe my writing can become the way I one day earn my living. Fame? Fortune? Those are not what I seek. If I recieved a fortune, I'd give most of it away. If I became famous, I would hide.

Literary fame is the best kind of fame. Everyone knows you but not nearly as many will know what you look like, even if you have your picture printed on the dustjacket of your latest hardback. So you can still go to the mall or to the movies or get yourself into interesting situations and not be bothered much with people yelling "Hey!! It's ______!!!" If I am to be famous, that's the kind of fame I want. Of course, if someone's an attention whore, that won't work so well. :D

There are two very different types of grammys. The "rock star" grammys for best performer, rock song, yada yada yada are voted on by a stack of people who shouldn't be making any sort of decision about those things. I'd rather have 10 platinum records than one "Artist" grammy.

The technical grammys are a whole different animal. They are voted on by an exclusive group of people who are leaders within that field. The best analogy to winning a technical grammy would be Bret Farve, Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino all getting together and voting you "Best Quarterback". It's peer recognition of the highest form.

-sm

My dream? To live a full, happy life on the Southern California coast (back to my hometown) in a dinky house on/near the beach and not worry about having the newest, fanciest gizmos and crap. I would be more than content to be a single father and go surfing w/ my boy everyday of the week. Just me, him, and the waves; Its all I could ever ask for.
And if i can find a trustworthy partner (hasn't been successful AT ALL), she could tag along too. I've had my heart ripped out so many times i've all but given up on finding someone who I would like to grow old with.

Something I read somewhere else in the Cellar made this thread bubble up from the recesses of my mind.

UT, what ever happened to your friend's invention? Did he have any success with anyone over the last couple years?

I would like to enroll in and complete a Masters Degree in Liberal Arts through Excelsior College

I would like to be employed and be amply compensated in a position where I can actually use my best assets to make other peoples lives better and feel like I am making the world, or at least my small part of it, a better place.

Hey, wow. I missed this the first time around. Fascinating. Am I understanding correctly that this system is designed such that new information is routed through a error-checking process before it can be assimilated? If so, that's exactly how my brain works. Did your friend diagram his brain?

Did he invent Project Management before Project Management was cool?

No, sadly.

There has arisen an entire field called "business architecture" and he has talked with a lot of the top people in the field, but they can't figure out exactly what to do with him, because he's talking on a different level than they are. Sorta like going to a welding shop and talking about the properties of particle physics in metals.

It's not really an error-checking process, but a flowchart (kinda) of describing things (and processes) wherein everything is broken down into its lowest-level component parts.

I know, but what I mean is that it functions like one... essentially it won't let you make an error, because of the way the information is organized:

I would like to earn a doctorate in music...play on broadway in orchestras...possibly on stage as well, and record a vocal album...then teach music at a university. I also want to go to Australia, go scuba diving, and swim with a whale shark.

I, too, share these simple dreams:

Meet a nice woman, marry, start a family.

Based on some rather interesting captions I wrote for some rather bland photos, I have been told that I could write amusing children's books. I would also write science fiction.

Other things I would like to do:

Live in the country.

Learn to fly a plane.

Become fluent in Latin.

Own and drive a vehicle without a petrol engine. Petrol engines are the chains that shackle us to the oil companies. Diesel (running on biodiesel), electric or steam - any of them will do.

Invent something useful.

Write a book (nothing heavy, just funnies and introspection)

Travel in the US

Travel outside the US (Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland, Kenya, New Zealand, Australia...etc)

Learn more about plants and have a greenhouse

Build a log home in the woods, with a river and lots of land--then:

Get an Irish Wolfhound, and a pet cow

Edit: Win a bit of money, not tons, just enough to quit my job, go to Hocking College, and become a park ranger.

I want to get my PhD in literature or rhetoric and write my thesis on performance of gender as class in mid-century Egyptian film and literature. The really big ambition is that I would like to get a grant to go to Egypt for research.

I want to be respected as a dancer by my local dance community, and as a writer about dancing by dancers everywhere.

I would like to eventually teach on the grad-school level, and have a small house with a child, a dog and a vegetable garden (I already have a husband).

I also think a lot about eventually being able to sell the clothes and costume accessories I make. I have a long way to go technique-wise (recently got my first real sewing machine), but I think I have great design ideas.

my dream is to do what I want a never work. Life is suppose to be easy, easy is right.


That and a few pieces of shiny red leather furniture...

Short term: Dump the job as homeowners association president. I wouldn't mind getting on one of the local boards in our city.

I dream of having my children finically independent of me and have them completely launched into society as productive happy people with a clear future ahead for each of them. We are close. The last is entering her sophmore year in HS, one his senior year, and the oldest is entering her Jr year in a major university. All of them are very good students.

I dream of owning 50 to 200 acres of property with trees, water, and building a solar home with minimal use of on the grid electricity.

I have most of the material goods anyone could want at this point so there are not many things on the list, other than trading up for quality.
I have an very good income. We have done much and achieved much so far. I have reached a number of life goals that most could only hope for and will in most cases never achieve, and for that I feel very very fortunate. I started with little and made many correct choices along my short life that got me here. Along with some determination, personal sacrifice, and hard work any of you should be able to achieve most anything in life. Don't give up and don't quit.