2006 New Year's Resolutions Debriefing

It's been a pretty busy year for me, filled with all kinds of suprises (some good, some bad). Anyway, I thought I would go through the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year last year and see how I did.

1.) Get down to weighing 190 pounds or less by Spring Break.

Done. By Spring Break, I weighed 188 pounds. I didn't do this in a healthy way, however, so it came back pretty quickly. I'm currently back to 200 pounds. I am, however, working out and trying to lose the weight the hard way.

2.) Do an informational interview with one club owner.

I didn't get this done, and I'm not too stressed about it. My overall career goals have shifted over the last year, and interviewing a club owner is no longer relevant to my job search. We'll call this one a draw because I obviously didn't accomplish it, but I no longer think it was important anyway.

3.) Make at least $100 in a way that doesn't involve working at Fridays or student loans.

Done. I made somewhere around $1500 working for an attorney this summer. I also made money selling books and starting my own style website. Thanks go to amazon and google adsense!

4.)Develop photographic ability - take at least one roll of film a month.

Incomplete. I started off doing well, but stopped taking pictures after the first couple months. What kept me from succeeding was the fact that real film photography is a pain in the butt to learn. I wasn't always sure if my settings were good, so taking pictures was a crap shoot - I didn't find out whether I was doing things properly until I got the roll back. I'm going to look into getting a decent digital SRL camera so I can learn the fundamentals of photography and get instant feedback on my efforts.

5.)Read "Delivered from Distraction" and apply its principles.

Done. To a certain extent. I've begun taking Omega-3 supplements, which the book recommends as an aid for reducing the effects of ADD. If you have ADD, I'd recommend taking them. It makes the prescription meds seem more effective.

6.) Get skydiving license.

I didn't accomplish this. In part, because the weather didn't cooperate. On most of the weekends I had free, the weather was either too cold or too windy to go up. And by the time the weather started cooperating, I didn't have the money to drop $50 a jump to get the license. I am planning on jumping at least one more time this semester before I move to Cali.

7.) Make at least one new mix tape.

Done. I made a mixtape right after Spring Semester finals. It's kind of crap though, so I don't want many people listening to it.

8.) Learn introductory Russian tapes.

Unaccomplished. And this one stings me. I failed to go through the tapes, and I really should.

9.) Tan at least once a month.

Draw. I'll admit, I went a couple months without tanning. But tanning once a month doesn't make me healthier or wiser, so I don't really care.

10.) Spend a day a month completely on my own. Bring a notebook and write down/draw whatever comes to me.

Draw. While I didn't spend a day each month on my own, I did spend at least 12 days completely alone. Which I really enjoyed.

11.) Do at least ten hours of community service.

DONE AND DONE. I spent a lot of my time last year volunteering for the Pro Bono Project. Some of it was for class credit, some of it wasn't.

12.) Make twelve complete stangers laugh out loud.

Done. In fact, I probably got twice that many people to laugh out loud. Whether they were being genuine or not . . . I don't know. ;-)

13.) Search for a creative outlet for energy - spend at least two hours a week doing something that sparks my imagination, whether it be painting, drawing, mixing, producing, etc.

Unaccomplished. And I'm pissed at myself for failing on this one. Needless to say, it will be on my resolution list of '07.


14.) Plan and take a day trip to a wierd destination in the Midwest.

Unaccomplished.

15.) See at least two live DJ shows

Unaccomplished.

Final Breakdown of How Many Resolutions I kept:

Accomplished: 6
Unaccomplished: 6
Draws: 3

Closing thoughts:

I think I learned this year that I need to spend more time focusing on resolutions that are actually important to me. Hopefully, my 2007 resolution list will reflect this lesson.