Happy New Year

I would like to wish each of you a happy, prosperous, and healthy new year.
I’ve read (probably from some pop psychology source) that one is more likely to keep one’s resolutions if said resolutions are declared publicly. Valid or not, I’m going to give it a try to see if it works better than my usual method, which is to think about the changes I would like to make and the various things I would like to accomplish, write them down on Jan. 1, then immediately forget about them. What’s worse, despite writing them down, I can never seem to find them at year’s end to see how well I did.
With the above in mind, I’m going to list my 2006 resolutions on this post so that maybe I’ll be inspired to do a little better since you all will be watching. I’ll do a revisit at the end of the year to see how well I did.
Here goes.
In 2006 I hereby resolve to:
1. Be more organized.
This is a perennial favorite of mine, which, sadly, always goes unfollowed. My wife is a neat freak; I’m a slob. We have adjacent work areas, and hers is neat as a pin. Mine is a disaster. She calls my method of organizing my stacks of scientific papers, books, and journals the GAP method (GAP stands for great amorphous pile; she calls my briefcase the GAP with handles) We’re like the odd couple, except, unlike Oscar, I hate living in a disorganized mess. Maybe this is the year I’ll do something about it.
2.Follow my own diet more closely.
This one is also a perennial favorite, but one that is pursued much more closely than the previous one. I pretty much stick to the program most of the time, but it seems as if I always give in to all the Christmas junk in between Christmas and Jan. 1, which is probably why it’s always a resolution.
3.Become more digitally adept.
You will be able to see if I follow through on this one by how quickly (and if) I get this blog looking like a blog. I need to link to other blogs, put some color in to make it look more snappy, figure out how to add pictures, charts, photos, etc. I want to do all this, but I hate working my way up the learning curve to figure out how to do it.
4.Spend more time in my own kitchen.
If you’ve ever seen our TV it’s pretty apparent that MD is the cook and I’m the color commentator. Over the past couple of months I’ve gotten a little more into the cooking end of things, but I need to make an effort to spend even more time.
5.Learn about a culture I know nothing about.
I’m going to make a study of the Etruscans. I love Etruscan art, but I know absolutely nothing about the Etruscans, so this year all that will change.
6.Work on my French and Spanish.
I can speak both (French better than Spanish) well enough to get by, but I’m far from fluent in either. Before I shuffle off to my reward I would love to become fluent in another language, and the best opportunity I have is with one of these two.
7.Read more.
Anyone who knows me will think this a bizarre resolution for me because I read voraciously. But for some reason my reading volume has fallen off the past couple of years, and I need to get it back up to snuff.
8.I want to try my hand at fiction this year. After authoring or co-authoring a dozen or so non-fiction books, I’m ready to try something a little different. Pray for me.
9.Get our website up and functional.
It’s close. I hope to have it going within the next couple of weeks. I’ll keep you posted.
I guess that’s enough to keep me busy for the next year. Now that I’ve made these public maybe the idea that others are watching will keep my feet to the fire. I hope so.
Once again. Happy New Year to all!