Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Years everyone!
I want to start this year off right by making it into work early enough that I get to leave before it's dark, so I'll be rushing this post. But I did want to post on the first day of the year.
I've never really made New Years resolutions. At least, none that I ever really thought of as resolutions. The term "new years resolution" always seemed silly to me and just asking to be ignored.
This year, though, I've decided to make goals. Maybe I achieve them all, maybe I won't. But I'll at least I'll be able to figure out some sort of level of progress for myself. I also reserve the right to change any of the goals if a change in circumstances occurs that makes it necessary.
So here are my goals:
1. Not let my mind keep turning constantly on subjects that negatively affects my life. I tend to be always be thinking about stuff. This often ends up in me rehashing memories, often making them worse each time I think about it. I waste alot of time doing this. For example, my issue with Christmas gifts from my family wasted alot of my time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making alternately angry, upset, and depressed. This year, I will try not to let it happen as much.
2. Get in better shape. Now I'm not talking about losing weight exactly, but that would likely be a by-product of getting in shape. When I was young and underweight, I wasn't really in good shape, which is why I'm not saying weight. I just want to have more energy, be less tired, and have an easier time getting up in the morning.
3. Go to atleast one state I've never been to before. After goal #1 and #2, I figured I'd make #3 something less vague. In 2005, I visited seven states I had never been to before. This past summer, I made it one of my summer goals to go to a new state and I never did it despite Delaware (a state I have never been to) being less than an hour's drive from me. So this year, at the very least, I will make a trip down to Delaware.
4. Go to atleast one away game for a Pittsburgh team. I guess I'll get the travel goals out of the way now. Last year I went to see the Steelers play in Green Bay. This year, I saw the Pirate play in Philadelphia (twice). This year, I want to continue the trend. And it must be a place I haven't seen the team play yet, so seeing the Pirates play in Philly again this year won't count.
5. Make a trip to Vegas. Pretty much self-explanatory except to point out that my previous trips have been with my family. This time I want to do and see things that I didn't get to during those previous visits, which means doing anything besides sit and gamble.
6. Make a trip to the Jersey shore (not counting Atlantic City). The reason I'm not counting Atlantic City is I've been there before. But people I know around here would probably be surprised that I haven't been to the shore.
7. Do things I've never done before or go places I've never been. I'm making the number to reach three. Any combinations of things I've never done or places I've never been. And I'm not talking about something really ordinary, like going to the new Best Buy on rt. 70. I'm talking about going to see the Liberty Bell or the Philadelphia Museum of Art or going spelunking (which are all stuff I've done since moving to Jersey).
8. Go on more dates this year than last. I never mentioned the dates of this past year because they came at times when I wasn't really blogging and nothing became of them. Also, because the number is pitiful except when compared to the year before, when the number of dates was zero. This year, I'm setting the goal number to be three.
9. Get my apartment in good shape, including reducing the amount of crap I have in "storage". Basically, right now, my apartment is only in shape to have over friends who know me too well and the guys I play poker with, who seem to enjoy viewing the entropy of a bachelor's life as all of them are married. I will take days off if necessary to achieve this. The goal is kinda vague, but I'll describe it for now as being able to bring someone who doesn't know me too well, or my parents, without doing any extra cleaning.
10. Finish 5 novels and watch 150 movies. The movie number is a goal I found a number of people have on the internet. The rules I'm using is that a movie counts the first time I watch it this year, even if I've watched it before. It doesn't count the second time. So the next time I watch Die Hard, it counts towards the goal. The second time, it does not. For the books, the number five is a number I just pulled out of the air that seems reasonable. I'm not planning on reading any novels thatI've read before, but either way, I'm making it the rule that previously read books don't count. Non-fiction books that are of seriously length, I do count. Basically, any book that's not a children's book like I would read to my niece or a book of that type of length would count. I haven't decided if audiobooks will count.
I just realized that I wanted as a goal to have a specific place to go for next New Years Eve rather than staying home or finding a bar two hours before hand in the newspaper, but that's a goal confined to a specific day and not over the whole year, so I'm not including it. Besides, I also decided that, if I can arrange it, to try and make NYC for NYE next year and that might require some thinking that the goal might get in the way of. Also, I think ten is a good number.
I'll try to keep you up to date. I guess blogging more could be considered an unofficial goal.
I want to start this year off right by making it into work early enough that I get to leave before it's dark, so I'll be rushing this post. But I did want to post on the first day of the year.
I've never really made New Years resolutions. At least, none that I ever really thought of as resolutions. The term "new years resolution" always seemed silly to me and just asking to be ignored.
This year, though, I've decided to make goals. Maybe I achieve them all, maybe I won't. But I'll at least I'll be able to figure out some sort of level of progress for myself. I also reserve the right to change any of the goals if a change in circumstances occurs that makes it necessary.
So here are my goals:
1. Not let my mind keep turning constantly on subjects that negatively affects my life. I tend to be always be thinking about stuff. This often ends up in me rehashing memories, often making them worse each time I think about it. I waste alot of time doing this. For example, my issue with Christmas gifts from my family wasted alot of my time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making alternately angry, upset, and depressed. This year, I will try not to let it happen as much.
2. Get in better shape. Now I'm not talking about losing weight exactly, but that would likely be a by-product of getting in shape. When I was young and underweight, I wasn't really in good shape, which is why I'm not saying weight. I just want to have more energy, be less tired, and have an easier time getting up in the morning.
3. Go to atleast one state I've never been to before. After goal #1 and #2, I figured I'd make #3 something less vague. In 2005, I visited seven states I had never been to before. This past summer, I made it one of my summer goals to go to a new state and I never did it despite Delaware (a state I have never been to) being less than an hour's drive from me. So this year, at the very least, I will make a trip down to Delaware.
4. Go to atleast one away game for a Pittsburgh team. I guess I'll get the travel goals out of the way now. Last year I went to see the Steelers play in Green Bay. This year, I saw the Pirate play in Philadelphia (twice). This year, I want to continue the trend. And it must be a place I haven't seen the team play yet, so seeing the Pirates play in Philly again this year won't count.
5. Make a trip to Vegas. Pretty much self-explanatory except to point out that my previous trips have been with my family. This time I want to do and see things that I didn't get to during those previous visits, which means doing anything besides sit and gamble.
6. Make a trip to the Jersey shore (not counting Atlantic City). The reason I'm not counting Atlantic City is I've been there before. But people I know around here would probably be surprised that I haven't been to the shore.
7. Do things I've never done before or go places I've never been. I'm making the number to reach three. Any combinations of things I've never done or places I've never been. And I'm not talking about something really ordinary, like going to the new Best Buy on rt. 70. I'm talking about going to see the Liberty Bell or the Philadelphia Museum of Art or going spelunking (which are all stuff I've done since moving to Jersey).
8. Go on more dates this year than last. I never mentioned the dates of this past year because they came at times when I wasn't really blogging and nothing became of them. Also, because the number is pitiful except when compared to the year before, when the number of dates was zero. This year, I'm setting the goal number to be three.
9. Get my apartment in good shape, including reducing the amount of crap I have in "storage". Basically, right now, my apartment is only in shape to have over friends who know me too well and the guys I play poker with, who seem to enjoy viewing the entropy of a bachelor's life as all of them are married. I will take days off if necessary to achieve this. The goal is kinda vague, but I'll describe it for now as being able to bring someone who doesn't know me too well, or my parents, without doing any extra cleaning.
10. Finish 5 novels and watch 150 movies. The movie number is a goal I found a number of people have on the internet. The rules I'm using is that a movie counts the first time I watch it this year, even if I've watched it before. It doesn't count the second time. So the next time I watch Die Hard, it counts towards the goal. The second time, it does not. For the books, the number five is a number I just pulled out of the air that seems reasonable. I'm not planning on reading any novels thatI've read before, but either way, I'm making it the rule that previously read books don't count. Non-fiction books that are of seriously length, I do count. Basically, any book that's not a children's book like I would read to my niece or a book of that type of length would count. I haven't decided if audiobooks will count.
I just realized that I wanted as a goal to have a specific place to go for next New Years Eve rather than staying home or finding a bar two hours before hand in the newspaper, but that's a goal confined to a specific day and not over the whole year, so I'm not including it. Besides, I also decided that, if I can arrange it, to try and make NYC for NYE next year and that might require some thinking that the goal might get in the way of. Also, I think ten is a good number.
I'll try to keep you up to date. I guess blogging more could be considered an unofficial goal.
Labels: 2007, goals, new years
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