Last year, my friend Sara asked me about my resolutions that I had for 2009. For some reason, I took it very seriously and wrote a lengthy post about my resolutions. I accomplished most of them to some degree. I'm not going to worry about the ones that I apparently wasn't as resolute on as I could have been. But we both enjoyed the process so she wrote me this year for my 2010 resolutions. And here they are...
- The first one is an important one and one that will shape the rest of the year: Start thinking big. Big and Fearless. I'm tired of feeling like I drown in the details of life.
- I did not make as much money this year as previous years. In general, I'm having a "is this where my career should be?" point in my life. As I approach 40, I'm getting too old to compete with college age consultants for building simple websites. But what else should I focus on doing? Hmmm...
- Take photos of all my friends in some sort of photo that represents them. In costumes. Staged. I really want a nice photo book at the end of the year with everyone I know. This requires some long term planning.
- Keep losing weight. I felt like I was on a good nutritional path before the holidays arrived. I can feel it's in my grasp. I just need to keep everything in focus and not get side-tracked. Keep up with my existing routine of lifting weights and running.
- Get my god-damned comic books on my website with donation links and places to buy printed issues. I was so close to get everything up a few months ago and then I got side-tracked. I'd love to do another issue, but without money to hire an artist, it's not going to happen.
- Learn Spanish. Learning a little Mandarin was pretty painless (using Fluenz). As long as I give it an hour or two a week, I make progress.
- It's time for more social outlets. I don't what this would be: a photography group, a gay rights group, a musical group...something.
- I bought t-shirt silk screening supplies over a year ago and I've never used them. Why not? It would be fun to be making my own t-shirts. It's not even that hard, I just need to get over the hump of making the first one.
These are some resolutions that I doubt will ever come to pass but are fun to think about:
- There is news that the Apple Tablet will be coming out soon. I think they will have a new format for printed materials delivered electronically. I'd like to learn that as quickly as possible and try to get in on comic publishing for electronic formats.
- Start a NYC chapter of the Tea Party Movement (I'm only half-joking. This would be hysterical and I could write a book afterwards.)
- On a side note...chairmanswife.com and dearbartender.com are two URLs that I have that are expiring soon. Maybe I should finally do something with them. This past year I laughed at the notion of building a content website. Who would ever visit? Now I'm in a mindset that maybe I should just build it and not worry about the results so much. (Think big, Keith!)
- I had a thought when I was making chocolates this year. I could write a book about all the chocolates. I have recipes now for almost 20 chocolates, each with a flavor from a different part of the world. I could write a few pages about each of the places and their local flavors. I could have copious pictures of the process of making the chocolates. It would all make a cute little Christmas-y book to give to people.
Some updates...
I saw a book on developing your programming career from one of my favorite publishers. Perhaps I should read it and start putting into practice some techniques for growing my career. And on another side note, there's all of a sudden a lot of little work in my lap.
I went to meetup.com and looked for some groups to join. And so I joined the following:
- Gay Tech Meetup
- Queer Sangha
- NYC Gay Men's Book Club
- Pin Up Studio Photography
I know it's a little gay-centric, but hey...I like the company of gay men. Meetings start this Sunday, Dec 27th, so I'll be 3 days ahead of schedule on completing these resolutions!