I don’t know about you kids, but I had a nice relaxed New Years in York, PA. We hung out with Ryan’s friends from high school and watched South Park and engaged in conversation while we drank some beers (and ate food, OH the food!) The evening culminated in a champagne toast of one champagne that was really sweet, and another that was skunked (or so I hear), and an awesome 80’s movie. (The Bikini Shop, some interesting 80’s dreck. In one throwaway scene, a dude is running and grabbed the top off of a rollerskating woman on the beach. Ha Ha, so funny. If some dude ever did that to me, he’d immediately get punched in the face. Fact. Although, to be fair, it was exactly what we expected.) The evening was awesome and low key and exactly what we moved back to this side of the country for.
In honor of it being the beginning of a new year, let’s look back and move forward on a few topics, shall we?
1. Health and wellness
Despite that 50 day hike in the middle of the year, I’ve ended up almost exactly where I was health/weight wise at the end of 2008 as I was in 2007. Overweight and a little out of breath upon exertion. The idea during and at the end of the hike was to maintain my current state of fitness. A difficult thing when you don’t have your own kitchen and a whole lot of control over what you eat. Also, being unemployed turned me into a hardcore grazer (and maybe even a bit of a food hoarder). Ideally, I’d like to lose about 35 pounds, turn into a hardcore runner and practice yoga about 4 times a week. Unfortunately, these ideals are unrealistic for me. Even though I have a job, I can’t afford weight watchers (you call it an investment, I call it a luxury). I don’t like to run as much outdoors here as I did in Seattle, so I won’t do it. (Most of that has to do with the weather, but a bit of it has to do with the fact that Philly doesn’t have a Greenlake. And dammit, I want that 2.8 mile circle to run around.) Also, I can’t afford a gym membership (again, luxury). As with the previous two things, I can’t exactly afford four classes of yoga a week. So I suppose these are the big goals. Things that I won’t accomplish this year, but eventually. For 2009 I’d settle to lose and maintain a loss of 15 lbs (at least this way I can fit into all of my pants) and do yoga from videos in my living room during week days.
2. Professionally
Hooray! Toward the end of the year I got a job! Whee!! But I also had a lot of time last year to think about what I want to do with myself for the rest of my life. I came up with a couple of criteria for the job that I will eventually have. It will be something where either I have control or will eventually have control over my work and also something where I can make a measurable difference in the world. I have finally stopped hedging and made a commitment to a field and am embarking on a super secret professional journey to get where I need to be. I’d tell you what it is, but I’m keeping things under wraps for a little while since there is a relatively good chance that I will have major setbacks. Conterintuitively, it’s important for me to keep this close to my chest to protect my frail ego and resolve. I’ll keep you updated, but later.
3. Everything Else
I suppose one of the big goals for me for this year will be for Ryan and me to move out of the Falcones’ spare bedroom. Let me stress that the Falcones have been nothing but welcoming and extremely generous to Ryan and me. I should give a public shout-out to their awesomeness: Nick and Mary, YOU ARE SO AWESOME. I can only hope that some day I can be as awesome (and kind and generous) as you. Free cat sitting for life, for realz.
But I miss my stuff and miss having my own space. I miss my bed. Sleeping on the torn blue foam fold out couch has been real and all, but man. My bed. And my sheets! And my knives!! AND MY CHINA AND CRYSTAL!! I miss you all.
Also, this year, I’d like to be more fashionable. I spent a lot of time wearing the same clothes every day last year, thinking about how I would be more chic and fashionable when I was done the hike. So far, that has not come to fruition, due to budgetary constraints. This year, I will wear more skirts! More dresses! I’ll make an effort to look pulled together and presentable whenever I leave the house. It’s something important to me, but something that I never really prioritized. This year I will make it a priority. (Starting with a hair cut on Saturday. For real, I’ve been saying I’d get one since I got off the trail and I STILL HAVEN’T DONE IT).
In conclusion, 2009 will be the year that I don’t do anything half assed: instead, I will use my whole ass. In everything I do I’ll strive to be present and in the moment. I may not do more, but at the very least in what I do, I will be there.