It would have been unwise not to expect this obligatory list. Why? Because everyone is doing it!
Kidding aside, I have put much thought into my resolutions for the New Year. This is a serious contemplation of my life and its priorities. It may be impossible to accomplish all that is included in this almost silly enumeration of life activities, yet I shall endeavor to treat each with preeminent import.
A new year brings with it the opportunity for renewal, for contemplation of priorities, and for a serious reconnoitering of life. It is a chance to seize control of our headlong flight through the days in an attempt to regain some semblance of commandership in our own lives. That being said, I did not wait for a holiday to realize that some aspects of my life needed to change; neither is this the harbinger of doomed resolutions. I have never treated New Year’s resolutions as an opportunity to fix things ignored for 12 months prior. It is, however, a common time for reflection and realization in my world.
There is no doubt that many resolutions are broken within the first few months of the year. People are simply too weak-minded to demonstrate sufficient resolve beyond that timeframe. Sad as that may be, humans are inherently weak to the core and too easily deterred from their own priorities.
When setting New Year’s resolutions, the precursor to success is abundantly clear: set realistic and attainable goals (do not resolve to accomplish that which is impossible as you are only setting yourself up for failure) and ensure resolutions carry a reward for success (if you do not have a reason to accomplish the goal, there will be no impetus to do so). For my 35 years on this planet, every resolution I make has always been based on decisions made in the previous year. You will see that as a common theme. Essentially, I do not believe resolutions should be a surprise or developed from air. In my case, making them New Year’s resolutions is simply a way of conglomerating important decisions made prior to now so that they can be used as a road map for the coming year. I make resolutions throughout the year, essentially whenever they’re needed, and roll them to the next year as priorities (as opposed to new or dramatic changes in my life’s direction as it currently exists).
Therefore, I resolve to:
focus more on my offline writing.
Blogging continually has been my primary outlet for writing. Early February 2006 is my three-year blog anniversary. This represents a considerable investment of time, energy, and creativity. I do not intend to forsake blogging, but it is necessary for me to refocus these efforts to some degree on the career change I declared only a few short months ago. My mind full of ideas and a sincere desire to pursue this calling, I must reiterate its importance to myself and thereby execute a dedicated plan to expend more effort on this undertaking than heretofore I have devoted. This is a dream; it is a part of me that cannot be denied. This is what I want to do. This is what I need to do. I suspect my blogging will suffer to some small degree while my attention is refocused on this life-changing objective, but I will make every effort to minimize such effects. This is, after all, writing, and that is what I want to do. I will attempt to strike a balance between my offline and online transcriptions. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I hope to have my first novel ready for publication — if not already published — within 18 months. A corollary of this resolution is that I will consider pursuing some kind of creative writing education, whether that be a few courses here or there, mentorship, or some other form of advanced guidance.
spend more quality time with The Kids.
Do not misconstrue this resolution to mean that I have in some way neglected The Kids in the past. That would be a terribly flawed assumption. During the past year, however, I have allowed work to consume far too much of my time. Working 70-80 hours per week often leaves me terribly fatigued and without energy. In turn, my reduced vim has degraded the quality of time that I spend with the fur people. We still play, we still lounge around together, they still have treats on a regular basis, and they still get tons of love. That said, they deserve more and they deserve better. You may correctly extrapolate that Grendel’s recent health crisis (which, BTW, is ongoing) is a contributing factor. It has certainly helped me to realize that they could easily be lost to me. You already know that I am ardently in support of quality versus quantity. I want to ensure they enjoy as much of my devoted attention as possible, certainly more so than they have received in the last year.
refocus my efforts on my health.
My life’s quiddity has been negatively impacted by many ongoing battles of late. The most significant of these is work: I have devoted far too much time to a job that is unworthy and undeserving of such dedication. With far too many hours of my life spent with no return on the investment, bonhomie and personal care have suffered as fatigue and malaise conspire to interfere with normal activities. My workout routine diminished to only two or three days per week rather than the six days it should be. My smoking has increased as compensation. That is unacceptable. My gym routine will therefore be once again a cynosure in my life. As early morning is the only time I can promise to the gym, I must once again make the effort to change my schedule from long days and late nights to early mornings and early to bed. Will this somehow detract from what dedication I can afford work? I sure as hell hope so. They deserve no better than they give, although I’d be incapable of giving so little, but my job must still come second to other considerations — health being one of the utmost importance. Similarly, I will quit smoking. I have smoked off and on for the last 15 years. Sure, I have quit before and gone without lighting up for years at a time. Why I picked it up again after at least three of those episodes is a debate not worth having. The point is that it accomplishes nothing, serves no purpose other than to degrade quality of life, and — let’s be honest — costs way too damn much.
delay until 2007 the purchase of my new car.
You know how much I love my car. You also know how much I love the Lexus IS 350, especially after the gloriously fulfilling test drive Rick and I enjoyed a few months ago. Being a Toyota product, my Lexus still drives as well today as it did when I first drove it off the lot in September 2000. It has no rattles, no road noise, no problems, and only a few “first year model” idiosyncrasies that cursorily vex me to a minor degree. My intention was to wait for the second year model before purchasing a new one, something I still intend to do. However, I promised myself I would wait until Q3 or Q4 of 2006 before pursuing that. I have since decided that it would be neither disruptive nor disappointing to postpone that move until early 2007 (Q1 or Q2). My natural tendency to want the latest and greatest has already vociferously offered its opinion on this matter, but luckily I was able to overrule its clamoring and apply some self-control. There are no significant financial considerations other than allowing myself to save and invest a bit more while focusing my efforts on my next resolution.
diligently pursue the purchase of a home.
I have owned houses before. Nevertheless, I have done the apartment thing for several years. Part of this was because Derek and I could never agree on where to buy a house. Sharing expenses at that level also requires a significant investment of time which Derek was unable to make (due to his health problems). With his death in September 2004, I found myself pleased that we had not purchased a home. Had we done so, it is likely I would have been left with a too large house and related costs that would be burdensome and unnecessary. As I am quite stable and no longer have a roommate with whom I must share any such decision, I feel more comfortable focusing my attention on personal needs and wants in this area. I am extremely meticulous about where to buy a house; it must be here in the White Rock Lake area in which many of my friends and I currently live. That simply means I will not write a check on the first abode that is adequately sized and appropriately priced to fit my requirements. I admit I have little control over the availability of houses in this area, so I do not intend this resolution to be an absolute. It is meant to focus my attention and efforts on watching for opportunities and availing myself of any such property that may find its way to the market.
read more.
For the same reasons that time with The Kids and time for the gym have both suffered in the last year, I also find myself worryingly in arrears concerning my reading. I no doubt will find the inherent collision between reading and writing as far as available time is concerned. Accepting that, I want to increase my consumption of the written word to satiate more ably my brain’s desire for additional information, stimuli, and entertainment. Given other priorities, I do not for a moment try to deceive myself into believing I can reach the same level I enjoyed in high school and several years thereafter. I consumed books at that stage in life, easily reading more than 100 books annually. Simply put, I had the time. There will be no comparable availability in the future as I dedicate more and more time to my writing. Nevertheless, as I decrease the hours wasted on my unscrupulous and out-of-touch employer, I intend to capture some of those moments for the joy of reading.
increase quality time spent with friends and family.
I will not resolve to spend more time with friends and family as that is a premium in my life already, and it certainly will remain so if I am successful in even a few of my resolutions. My focus will therefore be on spending more quality time with those I love and care for. It matters not how often I see them so long as time shared is of the utmost quality.
Diligently and attentively consider my list at all times.