Jamie’s 2008 Resolutions

(yeah, yeah, should’ve been posted on 1.1.08).

Once again, I’m going to get more personal than I’m inclined to be on a blog, but somehow sharing these goals with my readers, um reader, will help me stick to them and perhaps tie back and give meaning to some of my silly stories.

Also, this is purely organizational. If you’re the type of person who even writes down resolutions what are the chances you’re going to be able to find them a year later? I’m certainly not going to forget my URL.

The good news is that I delivered on my resolutions for 2007. It was a good year.

So, here’s 2008. Also, having turned 30 this year and all, maybe some of these are “New Decade Resolutions.”

Health

My resolution for this year is not so much about weight loss as it is about strength gain. I am very close to being able to do a pull-up so I’m going to make doing that pull up my fitness resolution. I hope to have that nailed in the first two months of the year.

Also, I have this crazy idea in the back of my head that I should get certified to be an Aerobics Instructor. There are times when I think that was my calling.

I eat like crap. Seriously, I sneak to the vending machine at work at eat packaged Rice Crispy treats. We're always celebrating something at work and I don't do well with sheet cake. At social events I pick and pick and eat without even realizing it and then I feel yicky. Sometimes I don’t eat during a “mealtime” because I’m just not hungry and I always end up eating later anyway, and it’s usually junk.

I go out to eat way too much. It’s expensive and the food just isn’t going to be as healthy as what can be prepared at home.

I’m trying really hard to plan meals and be more deliberate and aware about what I feed my body.

I’m attempting to cook but I often lack the motivation to do so.

I’m taking care of my body with exercise. Now I need to take care how I feed it.

Community

McKinney provides me with wonderful, wonderful friends. Still, there’s a bit of a yearning for a sense of community. I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to address this one but I hope that at year’s end I feel a deeper sense of connectedness with my place.

I’ve become active in the North Carolina Carleton Club. I have a dentist. I know exactly where to find the things I want at Whole Foods. I see people I know when I go out. I’m learning my way around and finding new surprises, theaters, restaurants, trails and bike rides. I found a place that can fix my Dyson vacuum. That’s all a start.

Professional

Mentors have made a huge difference in my life – professional and otherwise. I’m in a place where I can be that mentor and it makes me happy to know that in some way I’ve affected the people I work with and perhaps provided some wisdom or direction or support that was meaningful. I want to continue to do this.

I want to improve my poise. I get very energetic sometimes which makes me appear nervous (and sometimes I really am nervous and need to learn how to mask it). I want to improve my ability to articulate my thoughts cleanly (sometimes I repeat myself) without interrupting (my interrupting has something to do with my energy. I’m even interrupting my writing with all of my parentheses. I should use footnotes). I think that this, above all, will help me professionally.

But, there are some hard skills I need to continue to acquire.

Ten years ago I kept in touch with friends and family by sending letters and making phone calls (from a land line). I recorded interesting events in a journal. Now, I have a blog. In other words, we’re living in an interactive world and I’m extinct professionally if I don’t continue to learn about this.

Being in a creatively driven environment is still what makes my heart beat. A TV spot that evokes something. I am lucky to have that passion. I need to continue to seek creative outlets outside of work, because there are many ways I can get creative fulfillment.

I want to turn up my career a notch. There are many ways this could happen in 2008. I hope I have the opportunity.

Dancing

I did some East Coast Swing in college and loved it. When I moved to New York City I continued to dance all nights of the week at a club called Swing 46. Then I moved to Minnesota, got out of the habit, and when I returned to New York, Swing 46 was closed and the pals I used to dance with either moved, married, parenting, or busy.

Anytime I hear Swing music or see it on TV I get excited and say to myself “I want to do that!”

I’m off to a good start. I had a few private lessons, I’m taking a Monday night class, and I’m showing up at events here and there as I get more comfortable with my dancing skills and meet more people.

In fact, I’m supposed to be dancing at the Durham Armory tonight but the micro-layer of snow we’re having resulted in a canceled dance, so I’m home.

I had attempted to kick this one off early in December by going to a Dance Camp in Asheville (“One time, at dance camp”…There. I beat you to it). I ended up not feeling well and stayed in town. There’s another Dance Camp in Seattle on Memorial Day Weekend and I hope to attend so I can dance and see my sister.

Travel

Speaking of seeing my sister, Teri and I are planning a trek to Mt. Kilimanjaro for October 2008. There are a lot of moving parts but here’s hoping it’s another incredible life experience (In 2007, we went Southeast Asia).

I’ve flirted with the idea of living out of this country. Vacations are great, but I’ve never had the experience of living or studying or working in another country - that’s an experience worth having.

On occasion I think about the American work ethic and my own work ethic and there are times when I’ve felt if you put these two things in the same person (me) well, you end up pretty stressed and do things like checking your Treo under the table at dinner (people make fun of people like that).

I wonder what life would be like in, say, Italy, where nobody works for the whole month of August.

Stressing Out

Speaking of stressing out, I’ve got to stop letting work stress and frustrations follow me out of the office. This is crucial. Sometimes I come home so tired I end up just staying home and then I end up working more. Not good. Need to work just as smart and I do hard.

Needing to do things all the time

This may sound dumb, but sometimes I get really mired in lists and having to take care of things. I’m very good at getting stuff done but I need to get away from the list otherwise I’ll have to start putting “have fun” on the list. And that's pathetic

Like the shows on my DVR. Because they’re stored I feel like I need to watch them. I really don’t

I've got a sense of whimsy (at 4:00 pm on New Year's even I entertained the idea of driving 3 hours to watch the "pickle drop" in some random NC town).

I think it’s good that I need to be engaged and active. Consider the alternative. But I need to turn it down.

Friendships

I wrote about this in an end of the summer post but I have met many “Waukeela-like” gal pals down here and my goal in 2008 is to maintain, strengthen and initiate friendships.

Being 30 and figuring out some stuff

It’s funny. When I was in my 20’s everyone said, “Your twenties are all about working hard and you can have fun because you’re young and energetic and then you’ll be in your 30’s and you’ll want different things.”

I do feel like a different person than I was ten years ago. Had I made a list like this at 20 I know I would have checked off some key boxes.

But now, like clockwork, I’m like “Hmmm, I’m 30. How am I living my life? What do I want?” It’s changing.

I’m not in any kind of “need to get married panic” (I should be, based on the number of weddings I’ve attended).

And I’m not even sure if I want children (there are tummies and babies sprouting all over the place around me). I’m not sure you can know until you’ve got the other half.

I am at the point where I’m feeling a need for connectedness as much as I feel a need to be accomplished.

Can a woman have a family and have a kick ass career? To be honest, I’m not sure. Sometimes I joke that I want a stay at home husband. A woman should be able to “have it all” and I struggle with what that looks like and how to achieve it.

I’m in place in my life right now where I have a lot of freedom and flexibility in my choices. At times it’s empowering to know that “I can do whatever the hell I want” but at times the freedom makes me feel lonely.

The best thing I can do for myself is take advantage of the freedom – I have no mortgage, college tuitions to worry about. The only person I have to take care of is me and I oughta do a damn good job of it.

That’s all.