You Say You Want a Resolution?

I'm getting clever in my old age.

You know the usual bell curve for resolutions? Start at zero on the y-axis, somewhere in the second week of December. Start making, and trashing, lists of New Year's resolutions. Around Christmas, you've got the perfect list, carved in granite, or, at the least, in Corian, a manageable, realistic list of things you're absolutely positoootly going to do in the upcoming year, things that will change your life. The curve peaks on New Year's Eve Day, when you can't wait to start doing all these neat things that will turn you into the Terminator of Shilly-shally.

There's a hiccup on New Year's Day, when, between the hangover, the Bloody Marys at brunch and the eleven corporately-sponsored bowl games, you totally forget the list, and another one the next day when you get to work and discover the large gaps in your "Done" list following the mandatory stupidity at the end of December.

From then on, it's all down hill, a ride greased by heavy application of the usual ointments: don't have the time, don't have the right equipment, don't have the cool outfits, my wife makes fun of me, my back hurts, the new season of CSI: Bala Cynwyd is airing, the flu, yadda, yadda, yadda (thanks, cousin).

So here's the new drill. I've already made and acted on my resolutions for the coming year. YES!

Want to lend a hand? I'm going to post them, HERE. On THIS BLOG. So you can help me keep track of them. Feel free to jeer or throw laurel wreaths, as the Holiday Spirit moves you.

Here's a list, still subject to some revision:
1. Walk to and from work every day (total of four miles, burning about 500 calories) [In progress]
2. Join and go to Taoist Tai Chi [In progress. Plan is to attend classes Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday]
3. Resume Eternal Spring practice, since it turns out that, no surprise, Master Chu is right. Most older folks don't have the leg strength or balance to do tai chi chuan properly, and nei kung develops these two qualities effectively.
4. Latin
5. French
6. Learn to play the drums. A real long-shot.
7. Write more, and sell more of my writing. The most important.

This should be enough. Keep watching for new developments.