Resolved

(Post originally meant to be written over a week ago)

Ok, I don't usually make resolutions, especially not of the New Year variety. At one point in my life I did. And like all normal people, I failed miserably. So then I started "setting goals" for the year. Let's face it, that's just resolutions by a different name. So I stopped. And I had no intention of making any resolutions this year. A decision reinforced while I was watching the "same as last year with a slightly different set of faces" New Year's Eve countdown shows. I've also always believed that waiting for the "New Year" to make a change is ridiculous since 1) the fact that January 1 is the "New Year" is fairly arbitrary and 2) you shouldn't have to wait until one magic day to make new goals.

And then I heard from a variety of quasi-news sources that the most popular resolution this year was to not make resolutions. And you guys know me well enough. I'm not going to be just like everyone else. Uh-uh. No way. So somewhere relatively close to January 1, I made a resolution. Only one, but one with far-reaching repercussions. I have resolved to use my time more wisely. There are so many things I want to do, and I really have no good reason to not make them all happen. So with this one resolution I can cover all sorts of things like finishing projects, reading certain books, learning new languages, etc.

And now everyone wants to know, how am I doing so far? Overall, I'd say decently. Yes, I still spend way too much time wasting time on Facebook. Yes, I occasionally enter these fugue states where I stare blindly at the TV. But overall, I've seen some changes. I've finished a couple of craft projects, including one I started in the (early) 90s. (Picture coming soon on my craft blog. Really. I'll get it there.) I've done some organizing to get me set to do some other things. So I feel okay with it right now. The real challenge (I feel) is going to come when (if ever) I get put back in my regular position at work. The one that means I'll be going in the office far more often. Looking back, I waste a lot of time at work. Time I could use in many better ways. Sadly, part of my job entails sitting around waiting for things to explode, and I can use that time, I'm sure, in better ways. But we'll all just have to wait and see how this really happens, when it really happens. For now, just wish me luck. And if you see me on Facebook, ask me what I've done productive so far that day!

Feeling torn

Well, I made my weekly (roughly) trip to the library yesterday, where I discovered that they finally had the self-checkout totally up and running. Now, I knew this was coming, but you all know my feeling about U-scans (see post quite some time ago). It's going to be really hard for me to embrace this. Seriously.

Part of the fun, for me, of going to the library is chatting to the librarians when I'm checking out my items. I like knowing what they are up to, as well as listening to the comments they sometimes make on items I'm checking out and random suggestions they sometimes make about other things I might like. But now, it appears, I'm going to be getting a lot less of that. I also, having worked at libraries myself, have some concerns on how the self check-out is going to impact the inventory, shall we say. Maybe it's just me, but this somehow defeats the whole purpose of what a library is all about. Oh well, I must adjust and move on. And I'm sure I'll find a way to still chat up the librarians.

Random Statistics for 2008

For anyone who felt they needed this information, here are some random statistics from my life for last year. Please keep in mind that some of them do have small margins of error.

Books read: 143

Letterboxes found: 70

Summits of Stone Mountain: @6

Late night, fully clothed, not especially legal swims at Stone Mountain Park: 1

Late night, marathon hikes: 1

National Parks visited: 6 (OK, technically 5, but 2 separate districts in one of them)

National Monuments visited: 2

National Forests visited: 1

Insane, pointless, annoying fishing trips from Hades: 1

Sharks touched: 2

Sharks seen: more than 2

Weeks of vacation: 5+ (a number that is sadly going to go WAY down very soon)

Pairs of sunglasses lost: 0

Total miles biked: 1589.09 (compared to 1516.98 in 207)

Miles biked outside: 1013.68 (compared to 1105.88 in 2007)

Miles biked inside on very boring trainer while watching mindless television or reading: 575.41 (compared to 411.10 in 2007)

These bike statistics are actually very surprising to me as I thought this year was going to be a down year due to some medical can't-do-much-of-anything or pick-anything-up time. However, I still managed to come out slightly ahead, but not on the outside miles which are the ones that really count. But hey, the grand total is better!

Cross Stitch projects finished: 5

Other projects finished: Um, think I'll have to go with 0 here. Oh, wait, I did sew a couple things and do some crochet. Let's say 4ish, heavy on the ish.

(I'm really stretching to come up with things at this point)

Pairs of fancy socks purchased: I just don't keep track of this, but there were many:)

Stitches: I'm guessing it was about 8. They were all sub-cutaneous, so who knows!

Bones broken: 0

New Halloween decorations purchased: 0 (really, none!)

At which point I will stop, because I am really grasping at straws. Just consider this a little picture in the life of Myra:)