New Year's Resolutions: A Reflection

The first photo of me in 2010

Last year was the first year I have ever written a New Year's Resolution and it was a fun time as some of them were funny and some were serious.  I took them all as serious as I could have, whether they were made in jest or in earnest.  This is the list I made with a reflection on why I included such strange things in my list.

1.  Don't Die.

So far, (so far, so far, so far) so good.  I chose this because it's the obvious thing no one ever resolves to do or not do.  I didn't want to die.  Not that I wanted to live, but that dying sounded like a bad idea.  A significantly worse idea anyway.  I was right, but just barely.  I have wanted to die a lot this year, but I have had the best year of my life.  In 2010 I've had more success, more praise, more vindication, more validation, better friends, better adventures, better traveling, better food, which out weighed less love, less stability, worse emotional life, worse luck, worse health, worse mental state, making 2010 a good year.

2.  Get a cat.

Lalo (Alien Versus Predator) Cura is a great little kitty.  However, he is a terrible roommate.  He destroys things, and is VERY needy. I'm glad I have him though because I would be super lonely without him.

3.  Listen to more pop-punk.

This was a total failure.  I did get addicted to "Teen Hearts" for a while and really jammed out on Tell All Your Friends like it was 2003 again.  I'm glad I failed though because I got into some other really great music such as Band Of Horses, She & Him, The Bloody Beetroots, and Best Coast.  It was a good music year for me.  Nothing I should be embarrassed about anyway.

4.  Maintain a Trotskian Positionality.

This is actually a joke that refers to an essay about The Big Lebowski and The Dude's drink of choice, the White Russian or the Caucasian (vodka, Russia; kahlua, Mexico) and it's relation to Leon Trotsky (kicked out of Russia, lived in mexico).  I tried to drink white russians basically everyday, and failed.  I drank three bottles of coffee liqueur this year, which translates to... 75-ish white russians which equates to more than one per week, but I didn't drink all of those myself.  I also drank countless bottles of Jim, Jack, and Johnny.

5.  Take more pictures

I have definitely taken less pictures this year, though I know they've been better.  I took hundreds at weddings in 2009 and most of those are bad shots waiting to get to good shots (though one of my best pictures I've ever taken was at one of those weddings).

6.  (The Unspoken Resolution)  Don't Fall In Love.

I'm pretty sure that I failed at this.  I'm pretty sure I did twice, maybe as many as four times, but definitely once.  I know I was pretty down on myself twice, once I was very regretful, and the other still may turn out to be an all out volcano of self-hate.  Wish I could have been as heartless as I had set out to be, but I'm glad I failed, because that's not who I am/what I want to be.