Thursday wasn’t just the start of a new year for me, it was time to come up with another list of New Year’s Resolutions. I take this serious. I always get a notebook out and write down my list so I can look at it anytime throughout the year.
This year I wanted to come up with 10 ideas to make 2009 as good as it can be. I want to stay away from the regular old lines where you promise to lose weight, quit smoking ... blah, blah, blah. I always try to be a little more realistic and a little more creative when I come up with my list.
I think I did a pretty good job at coming up with resolutions that — for the most part — are realistic and advantageous to me.
So here are my resolutions for 2009.
1. Get a DVR. I don’t know how much of my life has been spent rewinding and fast forwarding video tapes, but it’s stopping. And it’s not just the video tapes, it’s the time I spend programming the timers on my VCR ... I need to adopt some new technology. A DVR is going to be a purchase I make quickly in 2009.
2. I am going to stop sending the text message “K” immediately. I may have a few lapses early, but I am going to quit. I absolutely hate getting that message (and now, having said that, I expect my inbox to be full of those messages) and I’m sure others do, too.
3. I am going to become better at small talk. Let’s face it, my game has suffered a little lately. I used to be able to spit game 24/7, but it’s getting tougher now. I need to brush up on some new subjects like the stock market, global warming, and, I don’t know, Dancing With The Stars.
4. I will wake up at least three days a week when my alarm actually goes off. The older I get the later I stay up. That sounds kind of weird, but I’m a night person. I’ve never had trouble functioning in the morning, but there’s something about an alarm dictating my schedule that bums me out.
5. I will send no more emails or messages to people while I am talking on the phone with them. I guess that used to seem funny or cute, but not so much anymore. I think it’s probably annoying to people, even though they fake a laugh when it happens.
6. I am going to stop worrying about the past ... instead I will focus all my energy on worrying about the future. I think that is a better concept. I can’t change anything in the past, but I can certainly worry about the stupid things I will do next week.
7. I will spend more time watching television. Except for Family Guy, Two And-a-Half Men, The Hills and The Office, I don’t know when any shows come on anymore — especially when school is in session and there are ballgames every night. I just remembered to watch my first episode of The Mentalist a couple of weeks ago. I’ve got to regroup.
8. I will upgrade my gaming system past Sega. There was a time when I thought I would never let go of my Intellivision system, but that evolved into Nintendo and Sega. And I got stuck there. I need an Xbox 360.
9. I will give up my subscription to Sports Illustrated. I’ve got to have my Rick Reilly — before his column hits newstands. So I have to switch over to ESPN the Magazine. SI let Reilly leave and ESPN gobbled him up. The man is the best sports columnist working. ESPN doesn’t have a swimsuit issue, but I guess I can buy one SI off the newsstands.
10. I will win the lottery.
That way we can just forget about resolutions 1 through 9.
Benton, Ill. —
