A Resolution

N.B. This isn't quite what I'm driving at with the rest of this post.

Ever since I started attending grade school, my family and I would have a little tradition.  It's probably not unlike yours, unless you're the kind who gets invited to a New Year's Eve party every year: the TV would be on, tuned in to Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, my parents would be running around to get the Martinelli and its appropriate fancy glasses (or they'll watch the TV and make some amazed comment about how old Dick Clark is/looks), and I'd have the job of running and getting pens and paper.

Pens. And paper.

Why, you ask?  To write down our resolutions, of course!  Promising we'd be better people every year, accomplish something amazing--you know the drill.  Around the time I hit middle school, though, that latter tradition kind of, well, died.  We didn't sit down and write resolutions anymore.  And once I got into blogging, I started just posting my resolutions instead.  Which is kind of what I'm doing now.

Except...not.

My resolution this year?  To not have a resolution.  I think I once remember reading with my mom in People or some like magazine many years ago about an actress (possibly Hilary Duff, but I can't remember for certain) who said that her resolution was to not make one at all.  Back when I heard that, I was bewildered.  Why would you want to do such a thing?  Resolutions are fun!  They're great!  They make you a better person.

Call me jaded or whatnot, but I don't think like that anymore.  Actually, to be really honest, I stopped thinking like that since last week.  I thought about what resolutions I wanted to make for 2012, and the "resolutions" that ran through my head were the same exact ones I had last year.  Ones I didn't accomplish, such as finishing my novel, reading a gazillion books, exercising more, blogging more (though perhaps on this tenet I've improved a wee bit within the past few weeks)...and it just got me more frustrated than anything (I was also probably suffering under this weird stress-anger thing from a wee mental/nervous breakdown to do said novel I was writing, but that's a long and different story).  Of course I've set goals for myself--I'm not an aimless person.  But I've realized that resolutions don't always make you a better person.  They don't always push you as much as you wish they did.  And when that ball drops in Times Square, you're not going to suddenly have the urge to accomplish much more than you did a second before.  Make goals for yourself, sure--but why limit to a year?  The difference between one year and the next is a mere minute: make lifetime goals, ones you know you can accomplish.

I still like watching the last seconds of the year tick by on TV, and I like clanging glass cups with my family and drinking Martinelli's or soda afterwards.  And yes, I still would love to be able to exercise more and perfect playing "Hallelujah" on the guitar and finish that goshdarn novel.  But if I'm going to accomplish them, it won't be just to check off a resolution.  It'll be because I want to accomplish it gratify a lifetime goal.

As a side note: If you're one of those people who REALLY take your resolutions seriously, I congratulate you, and please don't be offended by my post.  It's just that I don't know many people who do, including myself, as I find, and I think the only way to really have and fulfill a resolution would be to set mini-goals for yourself throughout the year in each month to fully accomplish it.  But who really does that?!  Again, if you do, cue the applause.  But really...do you, like, save people's lives everyday, too, or something?

Um, 2011? Why Are You Here?

(It should be noted that, upon writing the title of this post, the author typed "2002" instead of 2011. And when she tried to type "2002", she instead wrote "2022". She really fails at numbers and years.)

Yeah, so...why is it that after one minute jumping from 11:59 to 12:00, we're suddenly in another day which then means we're in another month which then means we're in another year? I mean, say WHAAAATT?

I've already wasted two days of this year--which means three hundred sixty-four days to complete the following resolutions (I've decided for this year to split some of my resolutions into months):

• Read a TON (namely, finish my TBR pile; not sure how to make this a monthly resolution, but I am aiming to finish the classics I own by this summer)
• Write a TON (my main goal is to finish my WIP before the end of this month, but also to participate--and maybe even win--NaNo, Script Frenzy, and FAWM...and maybe NaBloPoMo, too)
• Blog a TON (that means updating this two to three times a week--maybe do more if this really takes off--and update my tumblr more instead of staring at pictures on my dashboard all the time! That...doesn't sound creepy. :P )

My other resolutions--and huge biggies for me this year--are:

• To do everything faster! Really, I'm super slow at everything--have you noticed?
• Work ahead of time and not procrastinate...which I guess goes along with the first
• And since I just noticed that the second goes with the first, I'm going to add another on a whim: be more patient with people, more accepting, and try not to get easily angered by others' actions. Basically, can I ask to be a saint? ;)

What are YOUR resolutions? Happy New Year, my lovelies!

~J

Merry Christmas...and some NftN Updates

Merry Christmas, my lovelies! Hope y'all have a good one...and remember why we celebrate this day! And in the words of Tiny Tim..."God bless us, every one!" :)

I'm really not doing much...mostly writing (and trying to churn out these reviews for you guys!). But I just want to give you all a quick notice that I'll be posting a rant soon that I wrote a few days ago (if anyone would like a preview, just shoot me a line. I actually need a fresh pair of eyes to take a look at it before I post :P ).

Also, NftN will be seeing a few changes soon with my review system. My older reviews will remain the same, but those written from this day one will include a new layout. To check it out, look here (books), here (movies), and here (albums).

Have a safe and wonderful Christmas and New Year! :D

~J

ETA: for the record, Christmas really extends to past December 25--it actually ends on Twelfth Night, which is when I will switch up my design. :) So keep saying Merry Christmas and listening to that Christmas music--we're not through with celebrating it yet. :)

I Guess I Should Start with "Hi"...

With that said...

Hello. How are you? Merry Christmas.

I'm fine, thank you. Been busy...which is why I haven't been blogging lately.

So, er...yes, I did go AWOL. But I've been planning my comeback and, uh, here it is.

What have I been doing all this time? Well...

• STUDYING
• HOMEWORK
• Reading (a little)
• Watching movies (a lot)
• Writing (sporadically...hey, like my blogging!)
• Playing the piano and guitar (even less)

And since it IS Christmas...my comeback should be definite. With more:

• READING!
• MOVIES!
• WRITING!
• MUSIC!
• AND....REVIEWS!! (and tumblr...)

ALSO: I'm thinking of retiring "New Tunes" on this blog. I have way too many to do...I think I'm probably going to move it to my tumblr, where it will dwell very happily.

AND ONE LAST THING! Check out the poll to the left (if you can't tell your right from your left like me, it's your more dominant hand if you're a leftie and your less dominant hand if you're a rightie ;) ). Please vote! I'm trying to figure out what to review next. :)