Resolutions

In an attempt to make advance good on my third of several New Years’ Resolutions, I am going to do something very dangerous here: I am going to tell you my resolutions. This is dangerous because of what inevitably will occur around April or May of said new year, when a friend might come up and ask how I am progressing on that novel…. As my face flushes, I will mumble something about a disaster at work or my chronic bronchitis and walk away quickly.

But, what the hell. I might as well tell a few people (by a few, I mean the 4 of you who read this) – and perhaps the knowledge that my promises are recorded on the internet will help me to be a little more diligent about my commitment to my resolutions.

1. Dance more – I am starting here because it is the easiest of all the resolutions. I dream of dancing. I think in movement and have visions of choreography while listening to Florence and the Machine. I am a Dance genius actually. My only setback is that… I… can’t… actually… dance. So, I make the pledge to dance, whether it be in a class or in my living room or in the rehearsal space at the office, at least once a week. Which will be a whole lot more than I do it now, because now I only dance in my car.

2. Learn Spanish – This has been on many a list. But this year will be my year to become bi-lingual. Mostly because I just really have absolutely no excuse at this point. I live in Los Angeles! I work with people whose first language is Spanish! I have endless resources that will help me learn and practice this language!

3. Write more – This one might seem just as easy as the first – but the difference is that I actually write most days, for hours. Sometimes I just edit or revise, but many of my days at work are spent writing – it’s what I get paid to do, which is kind of awesome when you think about it. But I want to write more for pleasure. I find myself wanting to zone out to an episode of Real Housewives because my brain is so tired after work – which brings me to my next resolution…

4. Watch less TV – We have a really awesome sectional and a cat that loves to cuddle. These two things combined with a small apartment can create a perfect storm that forces me to lie prone under a quilt and be perfectly content with whatever Lifetime movie is on at the time. I can still watch a half hour to an hour of TV a day if I want – but other than that – it will be turned off. I feel like watching too much TV this year has actually made me less smart. And we can’t have that.

5. Get out of debt – I don’t even have that much. I am so close to paying off my car and I have one credit card balance that haunts me. It shouldn’t seem so daunting but it does. I need to clear this debt, so that I can take on new debt in a few years (in the form of a house) and not be totally overwhelmed by it. I am looking into debt trackers and payment plans that I can download onto my phone or Ipad to help me track everything and be methodical about it. I will let you know what I find!

Happy Holidays! I am off to Maryland and Georgia to spend time with my family, and I can’t wait.