resolute

Most years I have determined that making a list of New Year’s resolutions is a stupid idea. I generally feel that making a fresh start should not just be for the New Year, and that if you’re going to reform yourself, starting any day of the year is just as good if not better than waiting for a specific date on the calendar to do so. I also think that the cycle of setting unrealistic goals for yourself and then getting depressed and guilty when you don’t meet them is pretty silly and self-defeating.

Yet this year, I guess because I have a blog, I am feeling the urge to make a list. I am doing this in part so that I won’t fall asleep at work, because I’m writing this on the 29th and it’s a lazy day. That may not be a good reason to resolve to do anything, but I think I’m babbling just a little now so I’ll get to the list.

1. Be less obsessive about the blog. The way in which this blog has taken over my workday, and the amount I bring it up in conversation to BF, is alarming. I care for all of my new blogfriends a great deal, but obsessing over anything on the internet is a pretty terrible idea, and obsessing is exactly what I’ve been doing.

2. Read more books. Because of school, because of life, I have barely read any books in the last couple of years. It makes me sad that reading has fallen out of my life, because I am/used to be a voracious reader. I have a big mental stack of books to read, and I own most of them. I just haven’t gotten around to reading them. The sadness of this loss was brought home to me when I got a $50 gift card to Borders from one of the attorneys I work for, and I couldn’t think of a single book I wanted to buy. Insanity.

3. Be more peppy at work. I’ve noticed that I’ve become quite the Eeyore at work lately, and Eeyores in this shaky economic climate can find themselves and their sad faces on the street. There’s no reason for me not to be in a good mood most of the time at work, because most of the time I’m doing stuff I enjoy.

4. Find an answer to the problem with my dad.

5. Finish the fairy cross-stitch project. I did good starting work on a gorgeous cross-stitched fairy, which I intended to give KJJ as her wedding present in April (2008). I didn’t finish in time and instead I made her pillowcases with hand-knitted strips sewn in (they were actually very beautiful), and the project has been sitting there unfinished ever since. I need to re-iron the Aida it’s on, and there’s the vast majority of the stitches yet to be done on it, but oh my heavens will it be gorgeous when I’m finished. What to do with it after that is really the question, because KJJ and I aren’t really friends anymore, and it’s too nice a present for a smaller occasion anyway.

6. Get aggressive about my book. I’m not going to resolve to do more writing, because I think that will have to wait until 2010, but the one finished book is ready for an agent. Ready for PRINT. And I want to sell it in 2009!

7. Save more money per month. By which I mean, save any money at all per month. This should be a bit easier now that my car payment is gone and I have some specific things to save for – an event in NYC in May that I want to go to, teacher training, and (gulp) the move that BF and I hope to make in ’09.

8. Judge less. In general – other people, myself.

9. Do yoga as often as I can! Yes, this is a soft pitch. Hell, it’s my list.

10. Go to the movies more often, and watch movies at home slightly less. True, movies at home are free (well, Netflix isn’t free per se, but the number of titles we cycle through every month makes it such a great value that it feels free) (plus, it’s on BF’s credit card, hee), and movies out are expensive, but it’s EMBARRASSING how poorly I keep up with movies that are out. I mean, I’m a film studies person. People who know me are amazed when they find out how few movies I go to per year.

11. Give more to charity. I give $20-$50 every couple of months, generally on impulse, to various charities who send me mailers – firefighters, the Sierra Club, litmags – but I’d like to do more. I especially want to get involved in microlending. It’s the best idea I’ve heard of to really make a difference, at the level of individuals who want to live better lives. Plus, if it’s actually a loan from me (I’m not clear on that part), I could just recycle that $100 back into another microloan and keep helping people virtually forever!

12. Gain an appreciation for Christmas music. Nah, that one’s fake. Happy New Year, everyone!