I do not believe in making New Year's resolutions. I don't make them. But. . . if I did, they would look something like this for 2009:
1. Remain healthy. I can rationalize this by saying I already eat an extremely healthy diet, take my supplements, exercise (except when injured), don't smoke, follow the red wine diet daily, do yoga, and get an adequate amount of sleep. But then, I've been doing all of these things for the past thirty years, so. . .
2. Lose weight. Like most of the rest of the population, I need to lose about 15 pounds. If I continue with #1 above, then what I would change is to eat less, exercise more. Sigh.
3. Be a good friend. That means staying in touch with friends and family, promise what I can deliver, and deliver. I can do that.
4. Go digital. I'm on my way. Televisions are ready for digital reception, thanks to Comcast. My camera is digital. I have a slide and negative convertor for translating them into digital format. A good rainy day project. And what about all those audio tapes and vinyl? (Some of us remember vinyl as an album.) I have software and tools to convert both to CDs. I'm about 30% through tape conversion. Vinyl is next.
5. Declutter life and mind. See #4 above. Quarterly I go through closets and donate anything I haven't worn in the past year. I swap books on Paperback Swap. I send out more books than I order, but use my credits for books I really want to read but might not want to keep. I try and banish thoughts that stress me, but the economy keeps creeping in.
6. Reduce carbon footprint. Easy one. I recycle everything. I switched to curly lightbulbs. I work ina home office. And I cluster my trips so that I don't return to the same place an hour later because I forgot something. If I don't need what I forgot, it waits until the next clustered trip.
7. Write. This is like breathing. If I don't write, I go nuts. I could break this down into smaller units. Finish Mad Max book 1. I locked it over the holidays. All I am waiting for is the last proofreader to return her manuscript. I have to complete the "business" of getting ready for more submissions: query letter, short synopsis, longer synopsis. Finish draft of Mad Max book 2. I should reach the end of the initial draft within a month. I'm about 55,000 words into it, but haven't started any rewriting or tuning of the manuscript. Begin research for Mad Max book 3. I have the first books on my table and am working through them. Blog. My friend and colleague Becky Mushko would like me to blog daily. I don't have enough to say that anyone would want to read, so I don't. Sorry, Becky. I'll try and do better.
8. Solve global homelessness and hunger. I'd suggest feeding the homeless to the hungry, but too many people don't understand satire. Besides, something like that was already proposed by Jonathan Swift a few centuries back.
So, I don't make resolutions. I'd break them all in the first month.
Must go. Mad Max 2 calls. Bye.
