WELL WELL WELL. 30 years ago, and also somehow eight months ago, I wrote a list of New Years Resolutions for a 12 months bursting with potential, job security, and creative freedom. So… how are we doing?
- Take at least 2 actual vacations, where I don’t work (except for maybe on writing projects, but you’re on thin ice, kid), outside of New York City. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha*sob*hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa
- Write every week. Definitely haven’t been THIS consistent, but I’ve been more consistent this year than ever before. It’s almost like I have a lot of… time… on my hands. After procrastinating while writing this blog, doing dishes, and drinking some coffee, I hope to do some writing today! We’ll see. The muse, she is fickle.
- Save $3500. So this one’s a surprise, because so far I’ve saved $3,250, and while I’m in Colorado (I’m in Colorado right now) I’m not paying for much, so I just got myself officially to a nice even $3500! And that’s with owing $3000ish in taxes for 2019 because healthcare in our country is fundamentally broken. I guess having four jobs and a handful of side hustles is paying off, despite also taking a 30% pay cut (a week after getting a raise, no less!). Probably also helps that I haven’t rode the subway or left my apartment in 4 months.
- Make and stay consistent with a budget. I guess this kind of worked? Quinn and I made budgets at the beginning of the year and have cooked a lot more especially as the pandemic stretched further and further out. And since we don’t have much use for the entertainment/going out portions of our budget, you could say we’re excelling.
- Make one YouTube video a quarter. Yeah no thanks. I don’t know why I keep adding this every year as if I’m actually interested in being a YouTuber again. It’s also hard because I hate using my new camera. Anyways. Failure. I don’t want to make YouTube videos.
- Make a healthy choice twice a day. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha*sob*hahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaa (I did go to therapy for a while before breaking up with her, I did start out the year eating healthy and working out a bit, and since I’ve been in Colorado I’ve been doing better at working out and eating healthy, but hey friends, it’s a pandemic out there, sometimes the healthy choice is just to stay alive. I just talked myself into turning this from a failure to an in-progress one)
- Order out fewer than three times a week. We’ve actually been doing this! Quinn and I made a cooking schedule so we each know at the beginning of the day who’s turn it is. Ordering breakfast in the morning sometimes doesn’t count because now that I’m not allowed to physically go to my favorite coffee shop every morning but can still order from them, I’m just doing my part to support local businesses.
- Read all the books I’ve bought but haven’t read prior to January 3rd, 2020. From my original list: Obviously by Akilah Hughes, Bad With Money by Gaby Dunn, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Phillips, Feed by Mira Grant, the rest of the Outlander books (I’m not sure I’m going to continue these for a while. Too much rape). I also did buy two new books, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green and Where Do You Think We Are? by Shea Serrano and finished both. They were excellent. Where Do You Think We Are? is a book of essays about Scrubs, and I cried the whole way through. There’s also a Scrubs podcast now which I also cry through. Lotta crying this year. No idea why.
- Stop over-explaining. I have my moments. I’m definitely more conscious of it now, which helps.
- Don’t go to your 10 Year High School Reunion. Does this count as a success since it was cancelled because there was a global pandemic?
So we’ve got 2 outright failures (not my fault) (well, mostly), 4 in-progress, and 4 successes. For a year like this, that’s not bad at all. Are they arbitrary benchmarks? Yes, absolutely. Do they help? I mean, does anything? Hope you’re well.
