January has always been a rather odd month. Outside of a freak snowstorm, the month of January has very few redeeming qualities and seems to last longer than November and December combined. Perhaps I’m not alone in this overcast impression. I surmise my sentiment stems from the abrupt conclusion of Christmas and New Years and the realization that spring is still three months away. And while that loathsome groundhog up in Punxsutawney never, ever sees his shadow, I wonder how it is possible to celebrate the inevitable shadowless varmint with quite the vim and vigor seen in up north. Maybe if groundhog stew was on the menu every February 2, Phil might unleash his illusive shadow once in a while and bless us with an early spring. But instead, Phil’s captors revere him as a saint of sorts as they handle him with kid gloves and celebrate this peculiar day of note. If Phil lived in Kentucky, we’d probably eat him. Slight difference I know but something must be done about his perpetually poor performance.
For some, January offers birthday celebrations, tax refunds, and meaningless hockey games, but for me, January is the proverbial armpit of the year with nothing but cold weather, 14 hours of darkness, frozen landscapes, icy roads, school cancellations, and empty resolutions, which is why I am writing this critique in the first place.
I’ve never really had a good New Years resolution other than the year I vowed to quit smoking. And while my attempt to cease all nicotine goodness lasted well over ten years, today I am resolute in my cessation and looking for other areas in which to tweak. Rest assured, there are plenty. I have pondered with some intensity where I want to tread in 2009. Here is what I am thinking:
Coffee – I have thought about giving up coffee as my New Years resolution but I cannot conceivably imagine my life without caffeine. Life without coffee is like sleep without dreams, at least for me, and what an empty proposition that is. I have tried tea but it is just not the same, plus it is way less cool. Can you imagine sipping hot tea over the morning sports page? Maybe drinking tea with crumpets is feasible but not with sports outside of cricket. And since I don’t know what a crumpet is, I guess I will continue my relationship with coffee this year.
Soft Drinks – I have been told that if you eliminate soft drinks from your diet that you will lose 10 pounds. I pondered this notion for a second and wondered if I would like myself any better if I lost ten pounds. And while I was drinking a Mountain Dew (caffeine) I decided that no, I don’t think I would. Now if soft drink cessation would cause me to gain 10 pounds of muscle mass, I might have a realistic resolution for 2009. Since it does not, I am on to my next option.
Meat – I never really ever considered not eating meat. I like eating meat and since a good steak is one of life’s little thrills, I will continue my plan of offsetting all the vegetarians in the world by eating more than my share. I do, however, offer my condolences to those who disagree with this philosophy. Perhaps we can settle our differences over a nice piece of steak flavored tofu and a fresh vegetable juice…with some coffee, of course.
Work – Last year I vowed to have a full-fledged book idea in place prior to December 31, 2008. While this didn’t happen, I did review some nice ideas around about December 19. Sure, procrastination is fundamental to any New Years resolution, be it exercise or book writing, but I wonder if I spent less time blogging and more time in character development if I would make any more headway. I would venture a guess that I would but blogging is much more fun and plus I get to renew my book resolution yet another year. What luck!
Well there you have it. My 2009 resolution is to repeat my 2008 resolution which is to have a feasible and well developed book idea in mind by the end of this year. In a “back to the drawing board” mentality, I proudly stand beside this decision and vow only to abandon this resolution if it has not been completely fulfilled by 2010. Whew…that’s a load off. Just a thought!
For some, January offers birthday celebrations, tax refunds, and meaningless hockey games, but for me, January is the proverbial armpit of the year with nothing but cold weather, 14 hours of darkness, frozen landscapes, icy roads, school cancellations, and empty resolutions, which is why I am writing this critique in the first place.
I’ve never really had a good New Years resolution other than the year I vowed to quit smoking. And while my attempt to cease all nicotine goodness lasted well over ten years, today I am resolute in my cessation and looking for other areas in which to tweak. Rest assured, there are plenty. I have pondered with some intensity where I want to tread in 2009. Here is what I am thinking:
Coffee – I have thought about giving up coffee as my New Years resolution but I cannot conceivably imagine my life without caffeine. Life without coffee is like sleep without dreams, at least for me, and what an empty proposition that is. I have tried tea but it is just not the same, plus it is way less cool. Can you imagine sipping hot tea over the morning sports page? Maybe drinking tea with crumpets is feasible but not with sports outside of cricket. And since I don’t know what a crumpet is, I guess I will continue my relationship with coffee this year.
Soft Drinks – I have been told that if you eliminate soft drinks from your diet that you will lose 10 pounds. I pondered this notion for a second and wondered if I would like myself any better if I lost ten pounds. And while I was drinking a Mountain Dew (caffeine) I decided that no, I don’t think I would. Now if soft drink cessation would cause me to gain 10 pounds of muscle mass, I might have a realistic resolution for 2009. Since it does not, I am on to my next option.
Meat – I never really ever considered not eating meat. I like eating meat and since a good steak is one of life’s little thrills, I will continue my plan of offsetting all the vegetarians in the world by eating more than my share. I do, however, offer my condolences to those who disagree with this philosophy. Perhaps we can settle our differences over a nice piece of steak flavored tofu and a fresh vegetable juice…with some coffee, of course.
Work – Last year I vowed to have a full-fledged book idea in place prior to December 31, 2008. While this didn’t happen, I did review some nice ideas around about December 19. Sure, procrastination is fundamental to any New Years resolution, be it exercise or book writing, but I wonder if I spent less time blogging and more time in character development if I would make any more headway. I would venture a guess that I would but blogging is much more fun and plus I get to renew my book resolution yet another year. What luck!
Well there you have it. My 2009 resolution is to repeat my 2008 resolution which is to have a feasible and well developed book idea in mind by the end of this year. In a “back to the drawing board” mentality, I proudly stand beside this decision and vow only to abandon this resolution if it has not been completely fulfilled by 2010. Whew…that’s a load off. Just a thought!
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