New Year's Eve eve

Well, it's resolution time again. I'll have to pull up my crazy brave list of goals from last year and face the music. Beliefnet has a great list of tips for making simple but effective resolutions, one of which is don' make too many. Now that's advice I can make use of.

New Year, New Cheer

Well, it's taken three days, but I'm finally reviewing my 2009 goals and the results are just a hair above average. The big winner is this here blog thing. My goal was to post 10 times a month and I posted 365 times! The key to my success was to shorten the posts and stop adding pictures. However, I have been severely chastised by my husband (who just started blogging a month ago) that blogs without photos are boring, so I plan to integrate some longer photo posts with my event posts. These longer posts will have to do with my goals, so with any luck, I'll do better at fulfilling in the coming year.



Besides the blog, I had intended to:

• Finish the first draft of a novel-- I'm only about half done


• Set up an office -- I have a table stacked with folders, but need to sift through file cabinets and get an actual desk


• Reconnect with friends and family--I did spend more time with a few people I've known for a long time, but didn't make any new friends; I did join a book club and a writing group and volunteered at 2 places.


• Grow organic vegetables -- I took a composting class and made some compost mix; I got self watering pots and planted peppers and tomatoes and basil. The basil grew like wild fire, but the tomatoes and peppers were less than satisfactory


• Travel more -- I went to the San Francisco area, visited friends and family in Richmond, VA and western Massachusets and Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, CA, had a "couples' weekend" in San Luis Obispo, and a 30th wedding anniversary week in a cabin near Glacier National Park (and blogged about it)


• Get a new job -- I applied for one job at CSULB


• Take better care of my health -- I've been pretty good in the last four months of maintaining a regular weekly exercises routine of 2 simple yoga sessions, 2 sessions with light hand weights, 2 half-hour or more walking sessions, and 2 meditation sessions; I have maintained my weight but not lost any

Some unexpected achievements this year were: listening to 25 recorded books, setting up a regular housekeeping schedule, and reading several writing magazines regularly.

So this year, I will pretty much attempt to do better on these goals than I did last year.

• Blog -- Continue short event-oriented posts and add longer pieces at least one a week focusing on my annual goals. Goal: 5 posts a week =260 posts (Continuing post series--Blog-a-rama--will feature blogs I like and why)
• Finish novel -- Set aside at least 5 hours a week for writing; continue to read writing magazines and books; set aside a long weekend for myself as a birthday present (Continuing post series--Scribblocity--will discuss thoughts about the novel and writing in general)
• Set up office -- break down office set up into doable pieces; (Continuing post series--Sanctuary--will examine what will make an office efficient and inviting for me)
• Friends and family -- Continue to volunteer; continue to look for opportunities to go out with friends; join at least one social group (Continuing post series--People who need people--will feature local volunteer groups)
• Organic gardening-- get out there and get my hands dirty; this year concentrate on herbs (Continuing post series--Down to the roots--will chronicle what's growing and what's not)
• Job--I will apply for Census job and at part-time agencies as well as investigate starting up a research business
• Travelling -- Visit New York City, take a camper trip with the family, take a long weekend by my self; take a trip with a friend (maybe Elderhostel); go on a cruise (Continuing post series--Road Trip!--will report on these trips)
• Health -- Continue exercise routine; do more biking and walking--2 pleasure excursions and 2 functional excursions per month; work up to having at least one vegetarian day per week (Continuing post series--Paniers a-plenty--will discuss bike and walk routes)

Long Beach Transit Puts a New Spin on New Year's Eve

Woohoo! On New Year's Eve from 6 pm to 2:30 am, you can ride the buses in Long Beach for free! What better way to while away the last few hours of 2009 than to be chauffeured around our fair city in a supersize Christmas red limousine. Most buses go downtown, so you can check out the festivities down there without paying for parking. Bravo, LBT.

Am I the Last Person in Long Beach to Hear about This?

Where have I been? I just heard today that some extreme individual will drive a car off the Pine Street Pier to celebrate New Year 2010. Actually, the goal is to beat the current automotive non-ground contract record, or rally car distance jumping record, as it's more popularly known, of 171 feet, and the man behind the gas pedal is Travis Pastrana. There will be a barge anchored in Rainbow Harbor for the car to land on, so don't expect any big splashes. The event is part of Red Bull. New Year. No Limits and will take place at 8 pm Long Beach time. Ticket information is hard to come by.

New Year's No Mystery

The New Year's Eve Mystery Club offers a nifty way to while away those leaden hours before midnight on New Year's Eve. On Dec. 31, beginning at 7:30 pm they're offering a sumptuous multicourse dinner at The Red Violin Cafe (45 Broadway), an interactive murder mystery and a midnight count down with Baby New Year's and a conga line. The price tag is steep, $100, but with all the trimmings it's well worth it.

Looking ahead, so to speak

In a clever ploy to avoid facing how many New Year's resolutions went unmet this year, I'm looking boldly ahead to 2010 with equally ambitious plans. A top priority is learning a new language and what better way to motivate myself than to visit a country where that language is spoken. A few companies book language classes overseas. BridgeAbroad features many schools in South American and also has a teach and travel ambassador program where you teach English in a foreign city and get room and board free. Cactus Worldwide combines 4 hour language classes with sightseeing and restaurants to test your new language skills. World Link Education has shut down its programs in Asia, but still offers classes in France, Spain, and Italy.

On a more practical note, Long Beach Public Library has an online language program available free through its website. All you have to do is log in with your library card

New Year, New Clear

Ah, nothing like the new year to winnow to inspire you to winnow away those pesky ezines that clog up the in-box. Clog my blog! Unconscionable! I’ve unsubscribed to at least twenty-five sites, mostly catalogs, although one was such a complex process that I may have resubscribed by accident. Sort of like stepping in electronic poop.

But there are a few favorites that I just can’t say good-bye to. Ezines say a lot about one’s dreams, don’t they? Mine could fill an ocean liner, but topping the list are travel, especially Europe, enlightenment, serenity, and slinging words, not necessarily in that order. Eons ago, we sat and watched the flicker of flames and dreamed tremulous dreams. Now, our eyes are just as bedazzled, but as least we don’t have to clean up the soot.

New Year, New Gear

After an embarrassingly long hiatus, I’m back with a new outlook on my blog. Long Beach is still the impetus, but I’ll try to add more of a personal touch. For an old stick in the mud like me this will take some effort. I’ve let go of several other writing responsibilities that were frankly bogging me down. Bogging my blogging! Unthinkable!

So, blogging is on my list of new year’s goals, just like drinking from my nifty new stainless steel water bottle, starting an organic garden, and taking an online class on novel writing. Creative expression is as essential to your health as thoughtful ingestion as far as I’m concerned.

Also, I have to keep up with my family of bloggers. My better half weighs in at Strategies for Smart Car Buyers. My bloggers 2.0 can be found at Obamathon Man and The Daily Reeder. Looks like 2009 will be all about connectivity in this household. Pass the laptop, please!