« First-of-Month Meme | Main | Mike Royko, "How To Ease That Hangover" »
Some thoughts on New Year's
"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to."
- Bill Vaughan
I hear you, Vaughan. I remember feeling so grown up when I was eight years old, and could stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. (Does anyone remember the Marx Brothers marathons that WGN used to run on New Year's Eve during the mid-1970s? Those were great.) These days I'm thrilled - no, make that relieved - to make it until midnight.
"New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions."
- Mark Twain
Hear you too, Twain. New Year's Eve, like St. Patrick's Day, is Amateur Night for drinkers, and is best spent safely at home. And I've never been big on resolutions, except...
"Nothing changes on New Year's Day."
- Bono
The turning of the year itself changes nothing, except the need for a new calendar on the wall. You have to make change happen. So I'm striving, if not strictly resolving, for three changes: 1) getting my two books-in-progress finished and sent off to publishers; 2) exercising five days a week, no exceptions (I've slacked off this year); and 3) career.
December 31, 2010 in Personal | Permalink
Comments
I like your resolutions. I'm working on mine -- to be creative every day and step away from the computer/electronic devices more often.
Posted by: Julie at Dec 31, 2010 11:39:31 AM
I agree that making change happen is the key. I went from resolutions to making things happen several years back and it was empowering.
A few goals of mine for 2011; releasing a third book, continuing my fitness regimen (begun 18 months back), and reading more (with less time spent online).
Happy New Year!
Posted by: Jim at Dec 31, 2010 3:06:05 PM
I'm not much on arbitrary "event" days like New Year's Day. It seems like the first day of spring is the better time for beginning things. In any case, I used to resolve each year to give up some one thing: chocolate, pizza, popcorn. It was when the kids were little and my intent was to show them that you could practice self control. The year I gave up beer, my daughter somehow found a way to put that in a little theme she wrote for her grade school class. I'm sure the teacher thought I was an alcoholic since I was "off beer now."
I think one (me, at least) should make a fresh resolution EACH MORNING rather than once a year. Resolve that is fresh tends to be more persuasive, and by July, my annual resolve would be history.
Posted by: Paul at Jan 1, 2011 7:44:09 AM
