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December 30, 2001: I don't make New Year's resolutionsI don't make New Year's resolutions. A New Year's resolution is nothing more than an unrealistic declaration of what you ought to do, with an implicit understanding that you will give up trying by February, with no loss of honour. It seems to me that the general aura of fatalism surrounding New Year's resolutions dooms any good intentions to failure. It is true that I make resolutions frequently, however. I make them most often around my birthday (at the beginning of August) and in September, when summer ends and real life begins. I'm mulling over a few now, and I'll implement them when the holiday season is over and life goes back to normal (gosh, wouldn't that be... the beginning of January?), but I'm reluctant to label them New Year's resolutions because of the aforementioned kiss of death. Here they are: Practice singing for at least twenty minutes, twice a week. Twenty minutes is enough to do a few exercises, which is the important thing because exercises will improve my technique. Realistically, a twenty minute session will turn into a hour or more, because I tend to get into it and start enjoying myself when I practice, if only I can motivate myself to start. Walk home from Rosedale at least three times a week. Aerobic exercise. Gotta get it. Hate going to the gym; it's boring and the overhead of changing, showering and getting dressed again gets on my nerves. Getting off the subway at Rosedale is a no-brainer, and it's shameful that I don't do it more often; there's no overhead because I don't have to change or go out of my way, it's walking which I enjoy, it takes me out in the neighbourhood, it's not boring because the scenery and the weather changes. There's absolutely no excuse not to do it. Cut back on fat and sugar intake. I mentioned this on the 25th. The impetus, of course, is that I plan to get pregnant in the late spring (inasmuchas you can plan these things) and I want to be as healthy as I can before we conceive. This is harder because I can't make any specific plans. Actually, I can. Let's make it: Eliminate, within reason, sugar intake during weekdays. I did this already, with my sugar fast, but that got derailed due to the delights of Christmas Good Eats. I'd like to get it back on track, because it worked quite well. It's no skin off my nose to avoid sugar during the week, as long as I can look forward to it on the weekend. As for cutting back on fat, I can't really think of a plan I can apply to that. I'll just try and keep an eye on it. The last thing I'd like to do is socialize more. I've become strangely reclusive in the past few months, and reluctant to talk to people. Even at our big housewarming party I was relieved to be able to go and fool around in the kitchen instead of making conversation. The company Christmas party was awkward, and I've generally been avoiding getting into situations where I have to talk to people, apart from Blake and a few friends at work. It seems the longer I go without socializing, the worse it becomes, and I don't want to turn into a hermit or a friendless freak (like my parents). I'm toying with having a few people over for drinks every Thursday night. Multiple benefits: no cigarette smoke smell or loud music to yell over, comfortable chairs, inexpensive drinks (from the liquor store less than a block away), I get to show off my lovely place, and it will, by necessity, stay clean. Those are my not-New Year's resolutions. I will use this space to keep track of my progress, so stay tuned. |