Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

                                                                                                                  weheartit.com

I'm kind of happy 2010 is over.

Don't get me wrong, the year gave me lots of great things: I got to see Conan O'Brien live, I traveled to Chicago to see Hanson and Rooney with my girls, I get to MEET my beloved Alton Brown, aka my Food Network Husband. Oh, and I got a real job back in print, which at the end of the day still makes me very happy.

But the whole year felt like a roller coaster ride as I worked two jobs, cut hours back at job #2 and then left completely to pursue a full-time print position...which I found just when I was about to give up. Between the exciting moments, there was lots of confusion, frustration and some crying. More than anything, I wanted to put myself back together.

And, for the most part, I feel like I have. I work for a beautiful, well-respected magazine. I have an awesome music blog that's just beginning to take off.

I'm ready for you, 2011!

I’m not much for making resolutions, mostly because I think setting lofty goals is just setting you up to not reach them. For many years, I practiced the classic “lose weight” resolution…and never really attained my goal.

So instead of creating crazy goals, I try to set fun ones now. Things that I want to do more, do less or simply try. Here’s my list for 2011.

No TV during January
(Save football playoffs and keeping up with watching “Conan” online since full episodes are only available for one week – and I haven’t missed an episode yet.)

I used to not watch a lot of television. But once I graduated from college and lived by myself, I found myself with a LOT of free time on my hands.

So I filled that void with watching TV instead of reading or writing. The story lines moved faster and I could consume more. And I enjoyed how TV broadened by story-telling horizons.

This one has proven to be harder than I anticipated. All last spring, into the summer and even early fall, I was always busy either working or spending my precious free time with friends. Once I found my new job and my schedule slowed down, I re-developed the bad habit of sitting down to watch TV on DVD (I’ve amassed quite the collection in recent years) and “Oh, I’m just going to watch two episodes,” turns into four hours. Granted, I’m usually doing something semi-productive with my hands, like knitting, while I watch I feel like I’m wasting away my evenings and weekends. (Even worse is when I feed my “Real Housewives” obsession and catch up with shows online…)

This is precious time I could be using to blog or work on this ridiculous story idea I want to turn into a novel. So I decided all of January, I wouldn’t watch TV, period.

Turns out, the reason I turned to watching television endlessly during the weekdays is because the second I sit down in front of my computer to write, I end up playing on social media, don’t move all night (after sitting in front of a computer for 8+ hours at work) and all of a sudden it’s 11:30 and I should have been in bed two hours ago. If I don't even turn my computer on, there's a much better chance of me being in bed at a reasonable time.

I was hoping going cold-turkey on TV would help me find a balance after January is over. I’m only six days in, but I definitely need to work harder at this one.

Read more
This is a standing resolution. I would love to say I can read at least one book a month, but I seem to go in these weird spurts. I’ll drag on with the same book for three months but once it’s done, I’ll fly through three more in one week. I suppose in the end, I probably amounted to at least a book a month, but I want to read more regularly.

Visit IKEA
It’s sad but true. I have never stepped foot inside an IKEA. Which is especially ridiculous considering how HUGE the one in Houston is – and how close it is to my house. Perhaps my subconscious has been keeping me from it because it knows I’ll go insane the second I’m inside. But I would like to visit at some point this year.

Music
I have two goals in this department.

No. 1: Go to more shows of bands I like but don’t know every song.
The Dresden Dolls came in November and I would have loved to see them, but I didn’t go because I didn’t have anyone to go with and I liked them, but not enough to make a huge effort. I need to get out and experience more music. I’m starting with this one tomorrow, going to see two Austin bands that randomly messaged me off Quiet Company’s tweets.

No. 2: See a show in New Orleans.
I went to NOLA in 2003 to see Hanson on their acoustic tour, in lieu of driving to Austin on a Tuesday night, which was not easily accessible from the tiny east Texas town I went to college in at the time. I was in the city for maybe 18 hours total, and this was pre-Katrina. Maybe it’s too much viewing of “True Blood” that’s renewed my interest in Louisiana (I like the idea of it being this dark, gothic swamp full of voodoo queens.), but I’d really like to go back there. Especially for music. It seems like a fun adventure I need to have.

Photography
I have an awesome point-and-shoot camera Amanda recommended to me early last year. I love it because it makes me look like I can take awesome pictures - as long as I have some light...and most of the music venues I frequent don't. So I'd really like to invest in a good SLR digital camera and get better at photography. Amanda says I have the eye, and if it wouldn't have put me into a sixth year of college, I would have minored in photography...but why pay when one of your best friends can teach you for free?


And that’s it! Those are my lofty aspirations for 2011. What are yours?