Real Life Resolutions for 2011

[Madge]

Well, since the neopets thread is up I figured I'd chuck the real life thread up too.

How did we all do in 2010, and what are our goals for 2011?

My 2010 goals:

1) Get better at roller skating and by extension roller derby; continuing to skate at least 3 times a week
The skate rink near my house closed down. I continued to skate at least once a week for a while, lapsed for six weeks, then got back into it. I'd call it a partial success. I have gotten better! I've also been doing pole dancing classes the last couple of months, which has kept my fitness levels up, too.

2) Concentrate more on my studies - I don't want to have fears that I won't pass units again. If possible I want to worry about "Asian failing" rather than failing. ("Asian failing" is slang for "not getting High Distinctions in all your units" - far out it sounds racist but it's one of those things *wince*).
Yeah, I screwed up at this. Had lots of scares about failing units, this semester I got 54,55,and 58 for my units, scraping in a pass but there wasn't much in it.

3) When university is in session, have lunch with my francophone friend once a week and speak french in order to get back into the groove
This didn't happen, but more because Val was uncooperative than anything.

4) Eat healthier or something; learn how to use my slow cooker for delicious foods
I've done tons of cooking in my slow cooker and am more willing to actually cook things! Just last night I made a delicious potato and mushroom and bean curry.

5) Take up Peter Singer's charity pledge. It is going to be far less money to donate than last year's "Donate 10% of my income to charity" resolution (which I kept thankyouverymuch!). (His site says 1% of my income haha )
Completely forgot about that! That makes me a bad person .

My 2011 Goals:

1) Continue skating at least once a week, aim for twice a week. Continue with my pole dancing lessons, or similar exercise. Visit the gym at work whenever possible. Perhaps join a laser tag league?!

2) Concentrate more on my studies - I don't want to have fears that I won't pass units again. If possible I want to worry about "Asian failing" rather than failing.

2.5) Work on my final year project well before the damn thing's due.

3) When university is in session, have lunch with my francophone friend once a week and speak french in order to get back into the groove. And/or actually join the french meetup group.

4) I should have to cook a meal once a week, minimum.

5) Try and get assigned to a regional office for work ASAP, since I'll have to be there for a year and want it over and done with. At all costs try to get Paul to come there so I'm not alone and we can see how we'd go with the whole living together thing.

6) Get a fish tank and some rats.

[Fjorab_Teke]

Here were mine from 2010:

1: Drop a few gross habits that i've had since childhood. Sometimes i'll get close to kicking the one i'm most adamant about, then somehow i'll backslide.
- Almost succeeded with the main one. Most others are minor now too.

2: Get better about keeping a cleaner house. But YAY for dishwasher!
- Heh, sort-of. I've passed all my apartment inspections, and an office manager told me yesterday that i can't move - as in, they want me to stay forever.

3: Sort through and reduce some of the clutter of STUFF that we have. Really, do i need all this junk?
- Fail. We're SLOWLY going through stuff, but it's hardly leaving.

4: Rip and sort all my music, make actual headway on my long-in-progress favorite music project (with many stumblings and setbacks)...preferably completing it. I'll start again when i get my laptop back.
- Half-accomplished. Some of my music is still missing, and i keep having setbacks. iTunes scrambled a LOT of it a few months ago, but thankfully i had already JUST put what i had onto my phone. Yay for a decent playlist. But not-so-yay that i'll be starting over YET AGAIN. iTunes has the best database, but i'll be sorting it with MediaMonkey, hoping that works.

5. Exercise, especially to lose some fat and regain some mobility i lost when i broke my right arm at the shoulder and had it slung and thus "frozen" in place since the end of 2008. Make use of our new Wii. Hopefully my car (1985 Toyota Supra) will FINALLY get restored so i can make a fantabulous cross-country trip and have it here in California so i can go places - like horseback riding lessons (i haven't ridden since the arm injury).
- Mostly-fail. I've lost about 10 pounds, but it's not going any lower. *sigh* My arm does have better mobility, and part of that is from Wii-ing - though i don't play as often as i should. I haven't gone out to look for a riding instructor - laziness and fear that i will put a lot of effort into not finding one i like. I wish i had laser tag within two hours of here. My car is STILL not restored, but we at least do have two cars out here now. I do plan to drive back to Tennessee this summer if it looks like i can get Bullet restored, then go visit my alma mater, attend my annual APP-fan gathering, and drive (parts of) Route 66 back to California from Missouri.


For 2011 - rinse, repeat - i detailed it up there. Also...
- Find something active that i like to do around here, and find a way to make setting up the Wii less cumbersome.
- Get specialist doctors' appointments: psychiatrist and dermatologist (got the allergist taken care of already), see if i can get things worked out for my home gyn - silly Tricare.
- Revive my paper journaling/scrapbooking - every year i get the most awesome diary, and then it doesn't get much use.

[Faun]

I'm not sure if I made any last year, so here are my new ones.

Get better levels in school.
Mine are really bad at the moment. Usually (Not to be big headed or anything) I'm top of the class for English, and now I'm near the bottom. ;__;

Finish some more pages of my scrapbook.
This should be easy. I have at least two boxes of pretty craft stuff that never gets used.

And last but not least, learn how to draw hands.
I don't know why, but I have such a big problem with drawing hands. If I'm drawing a specific character in the same pose as the reference picture, then they look sort of ok.

[Usul_Princess]

Link to 2010 thread.


Mine from 2010:

-Get on the elliptical for more than a week!

Pfft. I've been coming up with unconventional ways to avoid exersize and getting the desired result. I lost 27 lbs since October, so that brings the total weight loss up to 51 lbs over a year and a half if you include the occasional yo-yo.

Spoiler: open/close

April 2008 - 246 lbs
October 2009 - 236 lbs

December 2010 195 lbs.

Take that, elliptical!

-Get my B.A. by Spring 2012 Going 3/4 time until I'm finished.
Well, it'll be a B.S. and I'm getting it a year early, so yay!


-Stop being boring?
Meh, I'm workin' on it. I do socialize more, and have since cut off ties with friends who are going nowhere.

Get some R&R.
Well my schedule did force me to take off more time from work than I would've liked, but I'm ready to get rid of that job now.

2011 is going to be a longer list:

-Keep the weight off, and keep losing.
-Get my GPA up to a 3.0.
-Have $2,500. in savings to move out of state.
-Get a renewable scholarship for a Master's program.
-Secure a real job that can support me.

If possible I want to worry about "Asian failing" rather than failing.

^ This. I officially second it.

And last but not least, learn how to draw hands.

Yeah, I made that resolution when I was 17. Now all my drawings have hands that are strategically obscured somehow.

[Alecko]

I don't think I've ever decided on proper resolutions before. Hmm.

- Cut down severely on internet use and video games.
- (Kind-of linked to above) Be more social, even if it means just sitting down in the living room with my housemates
- Improve my diet; actually try and cook decent meals at least once a week; cut down on the junk food.
- Finish writing my book in time for NaNoWriMo 2011 (for part two).
- Do more art.
- Keep my damned room tidy.

[Fury]

I never make new year's resolutions but I think I must this year. Whether I'll keep to them or not is another matter...

1. Get a new job.
This is a priority. My job is a farce and I don't get paid well for it.

2. Be more creative.
I used to draw and paint so much but I have gotten very lazy in the last few years. On top of that, I get extremely angry with myself when things don't turn out how I want them to so I end up walking away from projects in frustration. I must try to rid myself of my inhibitions.

3. Keep saving money.
I am proud of how much I have saved so far but I should try to save more. I went through a phase of buying tons of Neocash and I am disgusted at myself with how much I have spent on it over the years. I'm cutting it out completely and will try not to spend unnecessarily in general.

4. Make more of an effort with my German.
Instead of spending inordinate amounts of time on my laptop/playing games in the evening, I need to use more of the time to practice German and build up my vocabulary. The next time I go to Germany, I want to be 10x more confident with speaking!

5. Experience more of the world.
This is an easy one, haha. My boyfriend and I went to Florence and Berlin for 3 days each last year and we had an incredible time. We're planning a couple more holidays this year - probably a longer stay in Florence and maybe Venice or Rome!

[Kantark]

1. Sort my career out

This should be my biggest priority. My job is rapidly becoming a farce. For the past I've-lost-count-how-many years I've been told things are imminently about to get better and recently the opposite appears to be happening, and I'm getting tired of waiting to see what will happen next. But I'm starting to realise I'm amazingly stubborn and lazy.

2. De-clutter.

My sig does not lie. But nobody really needs a photocopier. Least of all in the kitchen. Least of all one that does not work properly. (and believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg.) 'Use it or lose it' must be my mantra.

3. Exercise.

I used to do a fairly physical job. Now, less so. Consequently I don't get anywhere near as much exercise as I should. This would be relatively easy to sort out, even just getting up an hour earlier and running or jogging or cycling regularly. But I'm lazy.

4. Socialise more.

With families and demanding jobs my friends have more and more demands on their time and consequently I go out less and less these days, I need to make an effort to get out more, do new things, meet new people. But, again, I'm lazy.

5. Turn creative ideas into reality.

I'm often coming up with ideas but few ever see the light of day because I get stuck on something or busy doing other things and then lose interest. I've got a list a mile long of things I've been inspired to do but are still waiting to be done (the NT comics mentioned in the Neopian goals thread being a prime example). I never seem to have the time (and this does tie in with point 1 a bit), but I need to *make* the time. Less time in front of the computer staring into space = more time doing things.

6. Try and be a bit more cheerful and positive about everything.

[Marah]

I like your resolutions a lot Kantark, I think I will have to steal some.

1. finish or otherwise end whatever I'm doing with my study.
2. Advance in my job but also occasionally respond to different jobs just to practice.
3. Move to a bigger place (this one is allready in the works, unfortunately in my own small city but it is the best I can do for now.)
4. Exercise!!!! (and loose weight, I would like to fit in all my clothes again.) Maybe join a sportsclub also for the social part. Being single when most of my friends are couples, married, living together and sometimes completely glued together is not always easy and once in awhile a bit lonely. (Doesn't help that most of my fun single friends live in big city too far from my work to actually move to right now.)
6. Try and be more cheerful and positive, also don't hold grudges. (the last one is going to be so hard, I do that so well.) Don't always assume that people think the worst of me.
7. Do adventurous stuff! I really need to make some kind of mini bucket list for 2011, there are so many things I would love to do and I just need to start doing them!

[thelonetiel]

The only real goal I have is one I actually picked up in September, when school started. I'm trying to eat meat only once a day. I'm rather conscious of the environmental impact, but mostly, I have several vegetarian friends and they all seem to be rather skinny. So I see it as an effort to reduce my calorie intake, and be more environmentally friendly at the same time. Luckily, my school is pretty good about offering good vegetarian options, so it's been pretty easy so far. I just need to remember to keep it in mind and try to slip less, as I do think I've lost weight since pledging this to myself.

I have no intention of ever going full vegetarian, I'm a devout omnivore, but it does surprisingly make me feel better about my eating habits.

You guys are all awesome, everyone here has very admirable goals. I wish everyone luck in the new year.

[Marah]

I have several vegetarian friends and they all seem to be rather skinny

I've been a vegetarian for 16 years and it never worked for me. I blame the cheese. Maybe I should cut back on that? (It is also one of the least environmental friendly ingredients left in my diet, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to eat less off...)
Anyway, I found that learning to cook without meat allowed me to appreciate vegetables and what you can do with them a lot more. when meat or fish is always the biggest part of your meal, veggies often become some kind of garnish. Which is a shame because they can be so tasty! So eating vegetarian meals occasionaly is also a great way to try delicious new recipes you otherwise might have never known about.

[EofS]

4. Make more of an effort with my German.
Instead of spending inordinate amounts of time on my laptop/playing games in the evening, I need to use more of the time to practice German and build up my vocabulary. The next time I go to Germany, I want to be 10x more confident with speaking!

If you ever need someone to ramble at in German, I also desperately need to practice mine more (ie, at all). Drop me a pm auf Deutsch sometime.