Happy New Year's! Ring a (Door)Bell!

Yes, I celebrate the harvest year's cycles. I don't like the timing of the Roman one--right in the coldest heart of winter, right before the weather takes a truly nasty turn. Blech. I'd rather start my new year in abundance and (some) warmth.

Anyway, I did not make resolutions on the Roman new year, largely because I didn't 'celebrate' it like most people I know--for instance, I've never been slobbering drunk, never gone home with a stranger because I was drunk and he was (as far as I could tell, being cross-eyed drunk) cute. Ish. Or going out, drinking a lot and then not remembering how I got home but finding a homeless person crashed through the windshield of my car. It seems a nonsense holiday to me, a party person's ode to senseless over-indulgence in preparation of some form of self-punishment.

Most of the 'self-punishment' association comes from the habit of making resolutions. There's almost an air of "Next week, I'm going on a diet/quitting smoking/cleaning up my life, so I'm going to tie it on and ride my bad habit like a pony until someone takes it away!" to it, which seems just silly to me. How often does that practice lead to anything like a lasting change? There's too much of a hangover (from overindulgence of any sort; alcohol, chocolate or cigarettes) to make a proper start of it.

So my new year's celebrations, which I decided to move on my personal calendar in order to make the difference in my mind, involve drinking several glasses of water, getting to bed early or at least on time and planning a full, nutritious breakfast so I can get a good start on the new year. Makes a bit of sense, yes? Hard to break a habit when you're broken from over indulgence the night before.

Anyway, here's my New Year's Resolutions for the next calendar year:

1. Knit from stash before adding to it. I will do a one for one exchange--I knit one ball/skein/bit of yarn/project, I can add that much more yarn. Not that I'm obliged to do so, but I can. I hope to have some breathing room at the top of my stashtainer by next new year's.

2. Knit myself a sweater. I keep talking about it, I never do it because I'm a pile of chicken excrement, but this year, I will.

3. Be braver. This covers a lot of ground, with some bullet items to indicate I'm brave. To whit:

• Using a knitting technique I've never used before. For me, this covers cables, entrelac and crochet borders.
• Finish up my first novel. It's going to be crap, but you have to write your first, crap novel before you can write a good one. I really need to get this one off my desk so I can get on with the good stuff.
• Start my self-employment gears actually going. I did some hobbyist writing this summer, I need to start acting more professionally as a writer. Also I need to come up with multiple income stream sources (income springs?) and start working on those.
  
• Restarting my music gears. I've already chatted with my creativity teacher about trying again at the voice lessons, only learning a new method of singing (there are several; bet you didn't know that. God knows I didn't, either,) and getting going on my piano practice.
• Dating. I hate to add that one because it means I will actually try to add it to my calendar and the thought of dating gets me about as excited as the thought of dusting my room. But it is a means to an end, and since I want the end, I will have to suffer the means. I'm an Introverted Intuitive, we're not about the process, people. If I could just find a guy who is not physically repellant, good natured and willing to put up with me, I'd probably marry him in a heartbeat. I'm so not picky, it's unnatural.
  

4. Take myself more seriously, just in general. It ties into the need for professionalism. Even when I worked in an office, I wasn't very professional, and I think it's because I've never taken myself seriously. I never valued myself properly, I never thought others would, either, but now's the time to start, I suppose.

5. It's trite, but I'm going to try losing weight again. I hate to do it (mostly because it's both boring and it trips my crazy triggers, since weight loss is all about numbers and my crazy is all about numbers, too) but it's expensive to be fat. Jesus. They get you coming and going--wages for overweight people--women in particular--are lower, clothes are more expensive, insurance is more expensive, so we just don't feel the financial love anywhere.

It's pitiful. I won't lose weight for possible health benefits (I have no health negatives from my weight, sorry, and I am, technically, middle aged so I'd think I'd have one or two by now), I won't lose it for social congruence, but I will lose weight because I'm just that cheap.

I worry about my priorities.

So, tomorrow, on the first day of my new year, I have set myself a schedule. I'm kitty-sitting during the days, so I'm going up early, writing on my novel for a few hours, taking a walk in what I hope is mild warmth, working on some geneology research on my family, making religious observance to celebrate the new year (even though, technically, it's All Saints/All Souls) and then off to knit group. It will be a long day, but, I hope, a rewarding one. I may leave the geneology for later in the week, when I'm home (not at kitty house), but I'll have to see. I may just do more research on how to do my research. There are websites, you know.

And a happy, bright and blessed new year to you all!