New Years Resolutions
It has been my belief for the last two years that September is the real start of the new year. The time when my living circumstances change, and the time when I can make a fresh start of things. So, with that, I make my New Year's resolutions before the school year starts. It's worked moderately well, but I feel the typical success rate for resolutions is pretty lackluster anyways, so I don't feel too bad.
1. Be More Social: Failed the letter, but succeeded in the spirit. I didn't spend much time in my room, so not having people over wasn't too bad. And I did go to other people's rooms, and out to terrace a fair amount, especially in second semester.
2. Be Neater: We'll call this a success. I think I was neater than I have been, but since there's no quantifiable measure of neatness, it's hard to say.
3. Do Theatre: Moderate success. I was in a show in the spring, and did help out with at least a couple. I've noticed I'm drifting away from the organization, though, but I don't know if that's a good thing or not.
4. Be more fit: Failed. For a couple weeks I went running with Wiley, but that broke down when the sleep deprivation hit.
5. Keep in touch with OA group: Succeeded for a while, but eventually fizzled out. I don't think we did anything from December on, but I certainly did better than I have in the past.
6. Keep a regular JP schedule: Failed, especially in spring semester. I met with my advisor in the beginning, then didn't do anything while he was away, then became too embarrassed/scared to meet with him, and then cue vicious cycle.
7. Think about why I drink when I drink: We'll call it a success. Again, no quantifiers here, but I think I became more conscious of my drinking habits.
8. Be more cultured: Almost there... I had one left, I think, or maybe two. So close.
And now this years resolutions:
1. Service: As mentioned earlier, do at leas 4 hours of community service a month. To this end, I should probably sign up for some SVC things, but this isn't actually part of the requirement. I should aim for humanitarian type things, but for the purpose of the resolution, any kind of service will count.
2. Exercise: Okay, so past resolutions on exercise haven't worked well. Since my LJ posts tend to be depression fueled, and exercise does the whole endorphin thing, let's make the resolution this: For every LJ post, I need to exercise for at least half an hour within a day of postingEdit 9/19: Within -12/+48 hours of posting. I have no two-day stretch with no free time, and I should be able to bank exercise, but not for too long. Exercise can be construed broadly, but shouldn't be just running to class. If I have time for writing an whiny emo blag entry, I have time to get my ass on a treadmill, or go dancing, or whatever. (This entry and edits to it I will exempt because of OA).
As an additional goal (not quite full resolution status), I'm going to make an effort to use the pullup blocks on the way up to my room at least once a day. We'll see how well that works out, but if I had to guess I'd say it'll fail pretty quick once classes start.
3. Journaling: I've gotten a pocket journal (one of the black, leather bound kinds). I need to keep it and a pen in my pocket whenever I go out. Exceptions would be to exercise and any time I have very few pockets, but leaving it behind should be the exception rather than the rule. This one I'll let go if it turns out I don't write in it at all, but so far I've found it helpful to have with me. I've started recording notes on the day and doing Highs and Lows before bed. I don't have one for every day since getting it, but at least half. This may also go by the wayside when school starts in earnest.
4. Artistry: I've had this drawing kit sitting around since getting it for christmas last year (two years ago?). I haven't used it at all... This is a shame. The resolution related to this will be that I should spend at least an hour on Friday working on something artistic. Drawing, maybe. If I do get a guitar, practicing on that.
Since I don't have any class on friday, I'm going to actually try to make it be my day of self-improvement. Artistry, sure. Community service is a good one. Hell, even working on my thesis.
5. Food: Some of you know I was mostly vegetarian for most of spring semester. I think I'm going to continue a modified form of that. Eat foods where the meat content is less than 5%. Okay, so that's not a strict rule, but basically if I can identify pieces of meat, don't eat it. If it's something like beef broth, or beans with the occasional piece of ham (coincidentally, my breakfast), that's okay. I'll also grant myself one meat dish per week, with no roll-overs, plus two extra per week of break. Food should be enjoyed, and if there's a truly wonderful meat-based dish, I don't want to miss out on that, but I should be thinking hard about it. I'm guessing my exemptions will be used disproportionately for lamb.
Insert more resolutions here over the next week before classes start.
Other changes that don't qualify as resolutions:
1. Be More Social: Failed the letter, but succeeded in the spirit. I didn't spend much time in my room, so not having people over wasn't too bad. And I did go to other people's rooms, and out to terrace a fair amount, especially in second semester.
2. Be Neater: We'll call this a success. I think I was neater than I have been, but since there's no quantifiable measure of neatness, it's hard to say.
3. Do Theatre: Moderate success. I was in a show in the spring, and did help out with at least a couple. I've noticed I'm drifting away from the organization, though, but I don't know if that's a good thing or not.
4. Be more fit: Failed. For a couple weeks I went running with Wiley, but that broke down when the sleep deprivation hit.
5. Keep in touch with OA group: Succeeded for a while, but eventually fizzled out. I don't think we did anything from December on, but I certainly did better than I have in the past.
6. Keep a regular JP schedule: Failed, especially in spring semester. I met with my advisor in the beginning, then didn't do anything while he was away, then became too embarrassed/scared to meet with him, and then cue vicious cycle.
7. Think about why I drink when I drink: We'll call it a success. Again, no quantifiers here, but I think I became more conscious of my drinking habits.
8. Be more cultured: Almost there... I had one left, I think, or maybe two. So close.
And now this years resolutions:
1. Service: As mentioned earlier, do at leas 4 hours of community service a month. To this end, I should probably sign up for some SVC things, but this isn't actually part of the requirement. I should aim for humanitarian type things, but for the purpose of the resolution, any kind of service will count.
2. Exercise: Okay, so past resolutions on exercise haven't worked well. Since my LJ posts tend to be depression fueled, and exercise does the whole endorphin thing, let's make the resolution this: For every LJ post, I need to exercise for at least half an hour within a day of postingEdit 9/19: Within -12/+48 hours of posting. I have no two-day stretch with no free time, and I should be able to bank exercise, but not for too long. Exercise can be construed broadly, but shouldn't be just running to class. If I have time for writing an whiny emo blag entry, I have time to get my ass on a treadmill, or go dancing, or whatever. (This entry and edits to it I will exempt because of OA).
As an additional goal (not quite full resolution status), I'm going to make an effort to use the pullup blocks on the way up to my room at least once a day. We'll see how well that works out, but if I had to guess I'd say it'll fail pretty quick once classes start.
3. Journaling: I've gotten a pocket journal (one of the black, leather bound kinds). I need to keep it and a pen in my pocket whenever I go out. Exceptions would be to exercise and any time I have very few pockets, but leaving it behind should be the exception rather than the rule. This one I'll let go if it turns out I don't write in it at all, but so far I've found it helpful to have with me. I've started recording notes on the day and doing Highs and Lows before bed. I don't have one for every day since getting it, but at least half. This may also go by the wayside when school starts in earnest.
4. Artistry: I've had this drawing kit sitting around since getting it for christmas last year (two years ago?). I haven't used it at all... This is a shame. The resolution related to this will be that I should spend at least an hour on Friday working on something artistic. Drawing, maybe. If I do get a guitar, practicing on that.
Since I don't have any class on friday, I'm going to actually try to make it be my day of self-improvement. Artistry, sure. Community service is a good one. Hell, even working on my thesis.
5. Food: Some of you know I was mostly vegetarian for most of spring semester. I think I'm going to continue a modified form of that. Eat foods where the meat content is less than 5%. Okay, so that's not a strict rule, but basically if I can identify pieces of meat, don't eat it. If it's something like beef broth, or beans with the occasional piece of ham (coincidentally, my breakfast), that's okay. I'll also grant myself one meat dish per week, with no roll-overs, plus two extra per week of break. Food should be enjoyed, and if there's a truly wonderful meat-based dish, I don't want to miss out on that, but I should be thinking hard about it. I'm guessing my exemptions will be used disproportionately for lamb.
Insert more resolutions here over the next week before classes start.
Other changes that don't qualify as resolutions:
- I'm going to try using composition books for class notes. I used to be a 3-ring binder man, back in the days of handouts and such. Then I gradually transitioned to spiral bound notebooks. Those work pretty well, and have the ability to tear pages out (for problem sets especially), but with my near total transition to LaTeX for problem sets, and the continual wear that my spiral binders seem to accumulate, I think a new solution is in order. I'm going to try comp books, see if they are more durable. I may still do problem set sketches on loose-leaf paper, but as much as I can keep them in the notebook, I'm going to try to do so.
- I've also taken to wearing a rune necklace that I bought in Pike Place Market. 10 points to whoever can guess which one it is (hint: it's not Thurisaz).