New Years Resolution 2007

I'm not a big believer in public declarations to do so and so better, more often, or less often. My brain is wired such that if I make a list like that, I'd soon rebel against each and every word contained therein (including adjectives and conjunctions). So why bother? Who knows, maybe I'm rebelling against not making resolutions.

To clarify, in no way do I consider myself resistant to change, I actually like trying different routes, different routines, different modes. I certainly have a running mental list of actions I'd like to do differently in the future; I just am hesitant to voice them. Fear of failure or some such bs, no doubt.

Whatever. So I'll treat this sort of like a “someday list” in the GTD terminology.

D & I really need to travel more this year. We let our busy life dictate what and where we spend out free time, and we would have fun elsewhere as well.

We both need new passports too. (Wired suggests smashing them with a hammer to remove the RFID chip now mandated by law). I've taken her photo (though she's never happy with it), she has to take mine now.

Build our roof deck and our yurt, and our yurt at Marfa East/Ragnaranch/South Pocket.

I've been keeping a Moleskin notebook with a few thoughts regarding recently watched movies. I'd like to continue this habit. Pre-blog days I was more obsessive about scribbling on paper, post-blog those thoughts, fragments of thoughts, poetry ideas, phrases I read, yadda yadda, don't get retained. Film notes are a compromise. I do watch a lot of movies in a year, and hardly ever get around to noting down what I thought at the time. I haven't bothered to post any of these here, but I will eventually. Not that I'm trying to be a deep thinker about film, just training my brain to retain more nuance. Hey, I'm a film school drop-out, give me a break.

Exercise more, drink (slightly) less. Can't hurt right? I'm healthy enough, am no couch potato, but I'm no longer the athlete I was at the age of 17. I don't want my face to look like Keith Richards' face either. Too bad I'm Irish, with a green liver. I can drink more than you, almost certainly, but doesn't mean I should.

Read more books. Again, pre-blog days, I read 5-10 books a week, every week. Now one or two a month only (with periodic spikes either direction) is my norm. I love reading, I should do it more. Will mean less posting here, but that's probably a good thing for everybody. Also, as a corollary, read less politics. More history, more comparative religion, more poetry, more classic fiction, more natural science even, but less about what a fracked up President we have, yadda yadda. Might as well cancel a few periodicals too.

Sell a photo or two. I haven't really taken any steps toward this, other than building up a body of work that I like. My ladybug cow photo is going to be published, as I mentioned, but there isn't a big cash reward for that. We almost purchased a street level commercial space in our same building which would have been perfect to double as a photo gallery, but our oral contract was reneged upon, and we were outbid by a restaurateur across the street. Still, the seed was planted in my mind, and I want to cultivate it.

That's enough yimmer-yammer for an evening.

Tags: narcipost