Not so Resolute

I love the New Year. It's a fresh start, new slate, tabula rasa. Anything and everything is possible. What is most possible, however, is that many people will make resolutions and that most of them will break them before February. An article in the Washington Post gives some tips and tricks to making your resolutions stick. In fact, it was one of almost a dozen articles dedicated to New Year's Resolutions.

There was one on getting the most out of your digital camera (Did not get one for Christmas, so this is not useful...), one on banning misused and overused words and phrases from one's vocabulary(I noticed that "outside the box" is not on the list. In my opinion, anyone who uses the phrase "outside the box" is so inside the box, that the lid's been taped shut and it's been shipped to some red state via Priority Mail), one on mortgage and home buying resolutions (Let's hope not buying more house than one can afford is on that list!) and the typical career resolutions and fitness goals.

No matter how many articles are written on making and keeping New Year's resolutions, most are doomed to fail. Which is why don't make them. Or if I do, it's something that I'm bound to succeed at. Like, one year I resolved not to smoke. Unlike most people who resolve to stop smoking aided by patches, gum or just going cold turkey, I had the advantage of not being a smoker. So it was very easy to keep. I could resolve to go to the gym regularly (Already go three times a week for cardio/weights and another three times a week for yoga), eat healthily (done) or give up peanut butter (HEY!!! Let's not go crazy here!), but the fact is I'm nearly a perfect person (I guess I could work on being more humble...).

So instead of "resolutions," I'll set some New Year's "Intentions"--and they are:

1. Earn more money - Whether I sell that screenplay, win the lottery (both long shots...) or just get a new job, I need to being doing better than living hand-to-mouth. Los Angeles is expensive and I'd like to be able to afford living here. Rather than just subsisting here.

2. Find new place to live - Once I have the finances in better shape, my options for new housing will increase. I need more space, more privacy, more quiet. And an ocean breeze...

3. Get out more and meet new people - The fact that I'm doing laundry on New Year's Eve instead of hanging with some friends tells me--I need new friends. 'Nuff said.

4. Read more - I finally finished the nine zillion pages long book by Neal Stephenson (Yay!). I'm ready to rent more stuff from the library this year. I think I could manage a book a month. I'm going to start with something by Michael Chabon who wrote the awesome The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

5. Eat plenty of peanut butter! - Oh wait--I already do that. At least that's one I know I'll be keeping...