Keeping with tradtion

I'm not much into New Years resolutions. If you'll remember, last year my New Years Resolutions were posted on January 7, and I figure that's a good place to start this year. For me, January 1 has never meant much. It's the start of the school term that really encourages a fresh outlook, so September, mid January, and June are usually when I set my goals. Well, not so much June, but since I started college more work needs to be done during my "off" time.

Honestly, I wasn't even planning on making resolutions this year, other than "figure out what I want to do with my life" and "get a job." Then I was watching tv before bed the other night and stumbled across What I Hate About Me. I'd seen the commercials and thought it had the potential to be really good or really bad. So I watched an episode, and lo and behold, it was pretty good! If you don't know what this show is, the person they shadow for each episode picks 10 things they don't like about themselves. They can be cosmetic, health related, something about their house, or even mental/emotional issues.

The show inspired me to write a list of my own, but I took it two steps further. I wrote down ten things that I dislike about myself, and then I made a list of things I could do that might help me change them. Like, I have really bad mood swings. So I need to try to eat better and exercise more, and I'm going to try meditating. I also know that I get moody in winter when there's no sunshine, so I'm going to make an attempt to go outside for just a little bit every day. In addition, I made a list of ten things that I like about myself, like I think I have pretty good money sense when I don't let myself be influenced by others. Basically, the lists boiled down into a short list of resolutions and goals. Now remember, for me, there is a difference. A resolution is something that doesn't really have a finish line. Maybe you wake up one morning and realize that it's been achieved, but it's really something that you need to work on for a lifetime. A goal has a definitive point where you can check it off the list.

Resolutions:
Learn to ask questions--I'm very bad at this. I never know how to get more information (or even that I need it) until I'm neck deep in "what the hell am I doing?"
Get in shape
Take more risks--I'm tired of standing on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun.
Be neater--I'm a slob and I'm sick of it.

Goals:
Get published
Find a life goal

Hopefully this list goes better than last year's. I don't think I accomplished a single thing on it.

No pictures of Hermes, but I do have a funny story. He's been spending a lot of time hiding from my parent's dogs, and for the longest time we couldn't figure out where. Then last night I looked for him in the living room, and caught him climbing out of the sofa! We have a sectional with two recliners built in. The fabric on the back isn't sewn in place to allow the seat to recline. He managed to squeeze back there and was hiding in the empty space inside the seat! Clever boy, isn't he?