Back in the Saddle

With ChristmaHannuKwanzYule behind us (wait...is Kwanzaa over?) it's time to consider the dreaded Resolutions. We all do it. Even the folks who make a show of declaring that they are absolutely NOT making new year's resolutions have something they really want to accomplish in the next year. We may or may not promise ourselves that we'll actually do it, but there's always something we hope to succeed in.

I have three things. Well, five if you count a Twins World Series and the return of NHL hockey, but since I don't have any control over those they don't really count. Curiously enough, all my resolutions are to continue or resume doing something I did last year, not to stop doing or substantially change how I do anything. I think it's a sign that I'm finally approaching where I want to be with my life, and hey, it's only taken thirty-one years. Prompt, I'm not.

You all are hereby granted permission to smack me upside the head if you catch me backsliding on any of the following things after January 1st:

1. Lose ten pounds.
Three years ago, I quit smoking. Yay!
I gained 25 pounds in the next two years. Crap!
Last year, I lost fifteen. Yay!
Time to finish the job. Crap!

Do you miss pizza? I do.


2. Face politics again.
I've been hiding from the news. When Emperor Bush starts spewing the daily lie ("the economy is strong!") it's hard not to shriek and turn the channel to something safe like Animal Planet. But the time for mourning is over, and I need to face the grisly truth and prepare for the '06 gubernatorial race. First step--start watching the evening news again. Then, the books.

I have a stack of very worthy but lamentably unread political books. Howard Dean's new treatise on grassroots politics. Joe Trippi's discourse on politics and the internet showed up under the tree the other day (from my brother-in-law, who is so fantastically liberal he makes me feel stodgy. Thanks!). "Dude, Where's My Country?" has been stalled on chapter 6 since November. Robert F. Kennedy Jr's new book arrived tied to a box of Pepcid, on loan from Mom. (I'm a little concerned.)

I think I'll ease myself in with the "Bush Survival Bible". A little sarcasm goes a long way.


3. Finish the [bleep]ing novel.
Hey, it's half done. I took a couple of months off to write a short (in the most generous sense of the word) story, but I really need to get in there and finish the Big One.

I love my shiny new laptop and its wireless network, so I no longer have the "my desk isn't comfortable!" excuse. The couch is plenty comfortable. And my mind should work at its peak if I exercise and eat like I should, right? Right.

I don't suppose pizza is brain food?