2009 resolutions

I don't feel the need to make a list of things I probably won't accomplish in the next year. So, I'm going to do my best to make a list of things I want to do and think I can actually achieve or complete. This year, I did some cool things that I didn't resolve to do, and I didn't do a lot of the things I did resolve to do. Let's start by reviewing 2008's resolutions:

I will read at least 15 books this year.

One of those books must be Underworld by Don DeLillo, which is 827 pages of postmodern goodness. I'm 100 pages into it right now.

That's a negative, ghost rider. I think I read around 3 or 4 books this year. However, I started the year with 2 and now have 3 magazine subscriptions, plus I had about 42 students and all their papers to read, so I figure I'm off the hook for this one.

I will completely boycott Wal-Mart.

This one was easy. I don't miss it one bit. I had a bit of trouble earlier in the year with Rich's Gatorade situation, but I was able to find it online after all.

I will take up running again. As proof of this, I plan to run at least one race.

Nope. I do jog when the mood strikes me, but the mood has not struck me to run a race. I'm okay with this.

I will conquer my anxiety with flying and travel in general. 

It's a work in progress. I saw a hypno-therapist earlier in the year and took my beloved Valium on my recent trip, but I think "conquer" was a bit ambitious of me. I'm not upset by this because I feel a hell of lot more normal than I used to, but I know I'm going to continue to struggle with it.

I will watch less TV and spend that time doing more satisfying activities such as writing, reading, cooking, cleaning, or planning/grading for my classes.

Heh.

I will visit NYC if it kills me!

You know, it didn't kill me! It was actually pretty fun, albeit cold.

I resolve to do more yoga!

Since I only said "more," any yoga would have qualified. Recently, I've been attending an Ashtanga yoga class. I haven't been very consistent with my attendance, but at least I make the effort.

Without further ado, here are my 2009 resolutions:

• Do even more yoga! I would really like to get into a home routine, like maybe 15-20 minutes in the morning and another 15-20 in the evening. The Ashtanga class is okay, but I don't love it. I'd like to do it at home, but I don't think I have the dedication to do yoga with no one telling me what to do for more than 20 minutes. It's more manageable in small increments I think. 
• Read and write more. Yeah, another "more." So sue me. I've found that my job really conflicts with this resolution. I don't want to read because I'm constantly reading for the classes I teach, and I have a difficult time accessing the creative writing part of my brain when I'm teaching and tutoring because I have to be invested in what someone else is writing. Even blogging is impossible when I'm in the midst of grading a batch of papers. Summers are great because my mind isn't tied up, but what I really want is--like yoga--to develop some kind of routine. Maybe it'll just be on the weekends, but I need a regimen.
• Get better at knitting. 
  
• Eat more vegetarian meals. You know, what you put in your body is a personal thing. I'm really sick of eating foods that don't work with me. 
  
• I resolve to be working toward some kind of degree or certification by the end of the year. I'm leaning toward getting TESOL certified.
  
• The most important, yet maybe the most difficult, resolution is to simplify. Everything. This is not to be confused with making everything easier. Things that are simpler are often more difficult, but they require very little except hard work and maybe a change in perspective. I've been trying to simplify for a while now, and I hope with a move in my future, simplifying my life will get a little easier because I can start fresh with a much smaller house. 
  

These don't really seem like resolutions to me for some reason. It's sort of like this is what I was planning to do all along, regardless of the time of year. I think I like that.