18 months or 8 months?

My enthusiasm for my goal of being able to speak in simple conversations and read a Japanese newspaper by the end of December was tempered a little when I read that Khatzumoto did it in 18 months. Maybe a little more time than I have between now and then (8 months) will be required, but still, I’m going to bust my a** and try my darnedest. Any time that’s not spent on work and family will be devoted to learning Japanese. I’m that serious. I’m going to work this week to try to hit the 200-character limit (remember, unless someone helps get me the book before then, my kanji studies will be on hold until the first part of June, because I won’t have any disposable income until then).