Tuesday, January 4, 2011

New Year, New Unpro: Reso-ma-lutions

Happy New Year, Unpro-ites!

Normally, I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions.  Mainly because for two weeks, the dance and yoga studios will be chock-full with rude heavy breathers who take no heed of people who, you know, actually work out regularly.  (Note: by "heavy breather," I'm not judging people who are overweight and out of shape.  I'm just saying if you really DO want to get healthy, pace yourself and pay attention to the etiquette and habits of people who attend class in months other than January.  You might learn something!)

That said, this is an interesting new start.  I'm 30 now.  I'll be looking for a new apartment in a couple of months.  I want to make some other changes and advances as well, while still retaining my own life, which is fabulous and I adore it.

So without further ado, here are my New Year's Resolutions, pop culture and otherwise:

1.  Go to the movies.  All the time.  Even if it's a busy period at work and I don't want to get my ass off the couch.  I always feel better when I go to the movies.  Case in point: the week between Christmas and New Year's was a film-o-palooza for me.  And it was awesome.

2.  Write about said movies!

3.   When someone says I absolutely need to watch/read some fantastic new Oscar-bait movie/super-intense TV series/New York Times bestseller, consider watching/reading it rather than saying in my head, "if this many people are telling me to do it, I don't wanna."

4.  Get some kind of paid writing gig.  Not that I don't love getting "paid" in free DVD's and books, but I've been told I'm not too bad at this writing thing, so I might as well seek a little compensation.

5.  Keep a Moleskine and pen by my bed so when I wake up from some really cool/weird dream that would be a good idea for a story, I don't forget it in my insane apply contacts/get dressed/lift cat off of stuff pre-work apartment race.

6.  Get in touch with Dan Savage, whether it's a message for the Savage Love podcast or a fan-girly email.  Because I love him.

7.  Sign up for another burlesque class.  It's fun as hell, combats stress and makes me happy.  Come to think of it, just dance as much as freaking possible.

8.  Be open-minded when it comes to music, movies, TV shows, books, anything culture-y.  Specific tastes are fun, but discovering cool new stuff is even better.

9.  Work on creative writing.  A LOT.  This includes:
a) Getting my current draft of my 2009 NaNo all shipshape and perfect, so I can start sending it out to agents again,
b) Working on my 2010 NaNo, which may never ever sell but was still a story I loved telling and want to work on more,
c) Think of tons of new ideas and pick the best one for NaNo 2011.
d) Take classes: one-offs and hopefully longer-term if I can afford it.
e) This summer, apply for another writing residency.

10.  And finally: try to post here more.  I LOVE all of my readers and am so grateful you listen to me natter on every week, and I want to give you more of what you want.

What are YOUR New Year's resolutions, pop culture and non?

6 comments:

  1. Not sure I have any but yours sound pretty good.

    Happy New Year!

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  2. I like the "go to the movies more often one." I'm borrowing it!

    Happy New Year!

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  3. Happy New Year! I don't really do resolutions, but all yours sound both sensible and fun. I want to see more movies this year too - I love them, and it's not that hard, I don't know why I don't go more often! And I always seem to miss the ones I really really want through sheer laziness. Might have to adopt that resolution of yours :) (Oh and I definitely get that voice in my head about bestsellers - that said, the voice was proved right when I finally tackled Twilight)

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  4. I like your resolutions. I don't do resolutions as a general rule. And believe me, there are tons of ways I could resolve to be better. I just know myself too well and I know that I'm far too lazy to try.

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  5. Thanks for the comments, everyone!

    One other thing I hate about the whole "lose weight" resolution: all those annoying diet commercials that are like YOU ATE TOO MUCH AT CHRISTMAS LOSE WEIGHT FATTY FAT FAT. Shut up, diet commercials.

    Sadako--I've missed you!

    Mare--maybe we can go to some of those movies together!

    Laura--WORD about Twilight. In my case, I read it because I try to keep up with YA trends. Either way, UGH.

    Nikki--eh, you're having a kid this year. I think that's resolution enough. :)

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  6. Oooh, I adore your Dan Savage resolution, because I love him too :) Can't wait to hear about what happens!

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