So far I have spent the majority of this day in pajamas, drinking coffee and browsing a book about Catholic Saints. While I don’t consider these activities completely unproductive, neither are they particularly gung-ho. So, as today is the first day of the new year, I of course have been thinking about things I would change about the way I live. Like so many others, I will use the arbitrary start of the new year as the would-be turning point in a new existence. Few of my predictions are grandiose or require more than a couple hours commitment at any given time. This is by design. This is a list of the (mostly) possible, rather than a list of things at which I will eventually fail, which would only invite debilitating feelings of guilt and self-recrimination. Here goes:
1. Change out of my pajamas and take down the Christmas decorations when I’m done with this blog post. (This one is already on the “maybe” list…)
2. Take my dog for more walks. (Note the use of the nebulous “more.” I’m giving myself a lot of room on this one. I’ve not kept an accurate accounting of how many walks per week we are currently undertaking so “more” shouldn’t be too high a bar.)
3. Find new and exciting ways to cook green beans, the under-appreciated vegetable.
4. Reduce my cable bill. (I started with “Eliminate” but got anxious.)
5. Become less strident in voicing my political opinions to unsuspecting individuals (unless they’re idiots.)
6. Stop talking to idiots.
7. Invent a new color and call it “burnt ad nauseum.” (How hard can this be?)
8. Collect my mail before the mailman can no longer close the mailbox door. (The box is all the way across the street.)
9. Drink more Scotch.
10. Contribute more to my 401K, even if this effects my ability to accomplish #9.
Happy New Year!