so it isn't exactly the half-way point of the year. frankly, i have no idea what the exact half-way point is, for all i know this is actually the exact half-way point, i mean, february is a short month after all. anyway, it is time for a little progress report on my new year's resolutions. i know you all (read: joe and maybe casey) have been DYING to know how things have progressed. i would like to say, before getting to the nitty gritty, that i am still behind my stance on resolutions (although perhaps not the rather preachy way i shared this stance in my original post) - aim high. i mean not stupid high, like, "i resolve to grow 4 inches and become the next american idol" but not the self affirming pat on the back type resolutions encouraged by the "experts". uh oh, i am getting a little aggressive with the quotations marks, time to reign it in. anyway, let's see where i stand shall we?
- resolution 1: 6-pack, bitches! i try and fail ever year but i don't care. it's something to work towards and i like to believe that one of these years it will actually happen
-this is going much as it does every year. i exercise regularly but not frequently and i do absolutely nothing in particular that focuses on my abs or actually getting a six-pack. in truth i only really half want a six-pack; clearly the first half of the year was the half of me that doesn't really want one. i think i am going to modify this resolution. what! unheard of! well it's happening. buns of steel, bitches! i recently (today) discovered that the original buns of steel video, featuring the effervescent greg smithey, has been released on dvd. watch me promptly purchase it and feel a "bun rebirth, right down there" before the year is out.
- resolution 2: i would like to be making as much money through creative output (i.e. selling things i make) as i do at my job. this goal is more attainable than it might seem given that i make jack shit at my job
-well the good news is i am making even less money at my job now so this goal becomes that much more attainable. i have made some other, less direct, progress towards my goal. it is the sort of progress a more cynical person might call "not progress" but i know better. i set up a sewing room. i have a real and permanent place to work which is important. i also sold 2 outfits so if the resolution had been "i would like to be making as much money through creative output (i.e. selling things i make) as i do at my job over the period of 5 hours" i would be able to check this one of the list. oh well, i am closer to the goal than i was at the start of the year so, not bad for the midway point.
- resolution 3: cook dinner 3 times a week and bring my lunch to work 2 times a week (at least). this goal is actually more daunting to me than the previous one. if i hadn't discovered vegetarian taquitos from trader joe's i would upgrade it to impossible.
-this one has been going pretty well although to give credit where credit is due, joe has been cooking a lot more and the increase in my eating home cooked meals is pretty much directly proportional to his increased culinary activities. i do help out sometimes, prepare a critical component or, my favorite, jump in and stir at the last minute and then claim that we made dinner. technically i did not specify who would cook dinner 3 times a week so i am going to call this resolution achieved. round of applause.
- resolution 4: try out for a local play. on new year's i had a revelation that i am a closet theatre person. yes, i realise that theatre people are terrible. that is why i am in the closet.
-well this was always my long shot resolution. i mean, aside from the 6-pack abs which is my standing long shot. it has been a tough one. my google searching has turned up improv classes at the pan theater in oakland. this is basically turning into a new year's resolution to hate myself.
- resolution 5: make our backyard look less like an freeway underpass gathering place for homeless people and more like a place with plants that are being cared for.
-success! well, to be honest, the shitty bamboo fencing that is hanging, broken and dirty, off of the chain link fence atop a concrete wall portion of the backyard still maintains that hobo-chic vibe but overall it has been a transformation. like 'biggest loser' transformational. like 'nanny 911' transformational. like "they must have been doing it so wrong to make such simple changes and suddenly be doing it so right" transformational. i exaggerate you not. we have a vegetable garden with red and green peppers, squash, zucchini, red and green tomatoes, pole beans, radishes, onion, carrot (yeah those 2 are pretty much singular but they're there!), lettuce, and corn! the corn is thriving which makes me super excited. we have a lovely 2 tiered flower garden, some nice potted pansies and strawberries. we have an herb garden in planters by the kitchen with oregano, rosemary, sweet and pesto basil, chives, dill, sage, mint and parsley. and catnip but i am growing that in a secret location until it is hardy enough to withstand 3 cats who like to rub that shit all over their face. i am not calling this a done deal yet because we have a few homeless corners left to tidy up and i want to re-cover the garden furniture but i got this one in the bag. want a sneak peak of new year's resolution 2010? balcony cactus garden and a chicken coop. heck yes.
well as everyone knows, five is the perfect number when making a list of goals and having achieved number 3 i need a replacement. i suppose i could say that i could resolve to cook the 3 meals a week myself but as i've always said, if it ain't broke don't fix it so i am going to make a new one. i am going to try to write my blog at least 3 times a month. my plan is to write one every friday, the day i do not work at the museum. i realise that there are usually 4 fridays a month but i do believe in being somewhat realistic about resolutions. plus which i can't get enough of that resolution achievement high. it's like a runners high for people who prefer improving their life to running. i predicted 2009 would be the year i change my life. it still may be, it's only halfway done. it has certainly been eventful although not always pleasant. looking back over it so far, and at my personal progress-to-goal report, it has been a productive one. i am not sure how i feel about 2009. i will say i do not like that there isn't a really perfect word to substitute for nine which both sums up the essence of the year and also rhymes. like 'two-thousand great'(2008 - good year) or 'two-thousand boo'(2002 - bad year). perhaps this year is two-thousand rhyme. the year you spend all year looking for a word that rhymes with nine.
