Well, today is the day: New Years Eve. For those not already in the know, I am uber indifferent to the very notion of NYE. I don't really get the desire to celebrate the coming of a new day. Shoot, I am up past midnight right now and I didn't feel the need to drink champagne and find someone to kiss. Just plain silly.
Regardless of my indifference, I picked up the fun idea to list some intentions (not resolutions, but intentions) for the coming year by a dear friend of mine. I figure that, given I am midway through my first year as a doctoral student, this would be as good a time as any to give this a go. I also figured I should share these to give myself some accountability. I also have worked hard to make sure these are goals that can be measured (my friend Kevin would be so proud of me for writing SMART goals). I figured this will be easier for me to judge my progress than having goals like "be a better person"...cause that seems (a) like an awful goal to begin with (better than what? What was "wrong" that needed to become better in the first place? Why the desire to be "better" even?) and (b) it doesn't give me anything to work toward other than a vague shadow of a quasi-goal. So, without further ado, here are some of my intentions...
1. Cook 90% of my meals. I have done decently well at this during the past couple years, but find myself slipping at certain points. Hopefully this will keep me honest, especially with me traveling for conferences.
2. Purchase 75% of non-food items from secondhand/thrift/goodwill/craft websites and stores. Here's to economies of scale and supporting individuals rather than conglomerates.
3. Take Grrtrude on long morning walks during weekdays. Sometimes this happens, but I need to wake up early on a regular basis so we can burn off some of her energy.
4. Take Grrtrude on long afternoon/evening walks 2-3 days a week. I'll admit it - I got real lazy after classes last semester. Thankfully I don't have classes that end at 9:00p regularly, which means longer walks will be easier to do for the both of us.
5. Exercise 2-3 days a week. I am not counting my mile walk to and from campus as exercise either. I am talking about going to the gym, running, or using BetCi, which is on the indoor trainer.
6. Go camping once a month during the summer.
7. Write 3 letters each week. If you want some real snail mail, send me your address!
8. Journal at least once a week.
9. Make a portion or all of any gifts I give. I figure this will help me make gift-giving special. Food, crafts, and/or some other fun things will be made for those who I love. Get ready!
10. Carry my camera with me regularly. I have a nice one, so I might as well use it, right?
Ten should be good for now - I have some others, but I gotta leave something to the imagination, right?
And what am I doing for New Years Eve, you ask? I am spending the morning reading (I hope to finish book #5, and start book #6, of the break), having a low-key evening with friends, and ringing in the new year by giving my Number One Grrl in my life, Miss Grrtrude Anne, a big kiss. Let's hope her breath doesn't smell too much like dog treats...
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