Continuing my annual tradition of resolutions, here is what I hope to accomplish in 2013 personally.
Because a number of friends have started turning 30 and I’ll be turning 27, in addition to working toward my original list, I’ve started thinking about what I’d like to accomplish by the end of my 20s.
UNDONE IN 2012 TO BE DONE IN 2013— (a) I failed to do another round of stand-up; (b) participate in a Story Slam; (c) I couldn’t for the life of me get any of the Philly helicopter companies to return my calls for a ride; (d) the Girard Trolley to the Zoo; (e) join the neighborhood Compost Co-op
JANUARY: Happy thoughts jar — Inspired by someone else’s idea, I want to write a small note to myself each day about something I’ve done or seen or heard that made me happy.
FEBRUARY: Style — I want to take a step forward into adulthood, buying my first proper suit, paying a bit more attention to how I present myself, buying some clothes that actually fit me and aren’t hand-me-downs. I also will pay for a haircut for the first time since high school, do more old clothes downsizing to be donated, buy and better shine my shoes, etc., I’d also like to write about the professional value, with a lede looking back at My Back on My Feet interview, in which I wasn’t very well dressed and was told about it later by the COO.
MARCH: Guitar — I failed in 2012, so I will keep trying to learn a single guitar song.
APRIL: Join — Whether it be a French meetup group or really find a volunteering opportunity I believe in enough for it to stick, I’d like to have a distinction beyond my work.
MAY: Health — Leading up to the idea of perhaps trying for a marathon in 2014, I’d like to first grow to the November Philly Half-Marathon by doing a mud run and trying to grab a spot in the Broad Street Run.
JUNE: Tourist fun — With patrick (for our living-together bucket list!), I’ll go to Old City and offer tourists a poem or a short story for $5 donation as written on typewriters.
JULY: International Trip — Get abroad, meeting a goal of at least one global trip every year so long as I can afford it.
AUGUST: Domestic trips — Between visiting my sister in San Francisco, doing some camping/backpacking or other opportunities, I want to continue to get around this big country of ours.
SEPTEMBER: Creative Writing — I want to keep writing on the creative side, submitting to flash and short fiction contests and perhaps working toward something a bit larger, either the ‘Road Trips with Michael’ compilation or another.
OCTOBER: Pose Nude — In college, I was rebuffed the chance to pose nude before an art class. I want to prove comfort with myself to do this.
NOVEMBER: Painting — Aside from as a child, I’ve never painted anything, ever. I’d like to give something a try, on canvas after developing my own idea.
DECEMBER: Publishing — I’d like to get another Phillymag clip, Inquirer op-ed; published in some creative writing anthology (Rust Belt Anthology); Create Blurb and/or ebook with Japan writing (‘Fingernails’ in Docs) and an anthology of friend’s writing; Story Shuffle anthology
Cool personal stuff I did in 2012 not part my resolutions below:
- All Year: Story Shuffle every other month with friends!
- JANUARY: Hosted an online privacy panel aired on C-SPAN 2 — It was quite fun.
- JANUARY: My cousin’s wedding — I was one of his groomsmen, enjoyed his bachelor party
- APRIL: Won a Foursquare contest — my cofounders and I swept first, second and third place and earned a week-long car rental we used to go down the shore.
- May: Pen and Pencil Club membership –After years of admiration, I was finally sponsored and joined the country’s oldest journalism club.
- JULY: Vegetable garden — My first gardening experience and what a success
- SEPTEMBER: New offices — Moved into sweet digs at 4040 Locust Street
- SEPTEMBER: Keg Bowling – Enough said.
- SEPTEMBER: Barnes Foundation — What a remarkable experience
- NOVEMBER: Open Air Philadelphia — I participated in the enormous 3d light show.
- NOVEMBER: John Hodgman — Saw him perform at the Underground Arts
How did I do on my 2012 Resolutions?
- JANUARY: Do food better – I only buy whole wheat pasta, I’m still making some healthier choice in the supermarket and in restaurants. I’ve brought together many of my mother’s recipes and tried to venture into making new foods.
- FEBRUARY: House stuff — I installed shelves to make a proper linen closet, completed my long-promised bedroom bookcase, cleaned out my basement in preparation of half-finishing it; I did several cleaning out of old clothes, in addition to having a new half bathroom installed and completely renovating the upstairs one.
- MARCH: Be funnier — I’ve tried to tell jokes to friends more often, though I managed to completely fail to do stand-up again.
- APRIL: Be fitter — I continued to bicycle regularly and played basketball, including winning the championship in a neighborhood league, though the Broad Street Run again sold out quickly and my pushups, private running and other exercise was a middling success.
- MAY: Write more creatively — I submitted into several short story collections and was accepted into one. I attended my first Story Slam but didn’t actually participate.
- JUNE: Smaller memorable trips — Though I failed to get a helicopter ride scheduled, with SACM, I saw the Phoenixville Firebird Festival and did New Year’s Eve in NYC.
- JULY: International Trip — With SACM, I visited Spain, where I got to watch a bullfight and run with the bulls.
- AUGUST: Domestic Trips — With SACM, I visited Birmingham, Alabama and Miami Beach
- SEPTEMBER: Big Philly Things to Do — With SACM, I did City Hall peak tour and sat in on a Quaker meeting and did the full , though I didn’t ride the Girard Trolley to the Zoo or join the neighborhood Compost Co-op.
- OCTOBER: Speak smarter — I continue to focus on speaking more slowly and succinctly.
- NOVEMBER: Play some music — I learned some chords and found the process, but got stuck and fell off the process. I’ll have to return to this.
- DECEMBER: Improve your finances — I paid to my Roth IRA, my IRA, refinanced my mortgage to a neat 15-year, 3.5% deal, paid down my student loans quite a bit more and donated $100 to Philabundance.
