Happy 2012! Depending on where you are (or how hard you partied last night) these could be the first few hours of the greatest year of your life! Or not. I'm not really in charge of that kind of thing. It's definitely the first day of the year. Unless you live in the Far East, then it's the second. Or if you don't read my blog everyday (hard to imagine I know) then it could be anywhere from the third day on. Let's just agree that it's 2012.
So what does 2012 have in store for us? It's pretty hard to say for sure. It's safe to say that we'll start the year with the best of intentions. Most of us (including me) have a list of things that we're going to do differently this year. I've settled on five changes that I want to make in 2012, and while I can't promise that they'll produce life altering results, I can promise that there will be adventure, excitement, and questions. You knew there would be questions didn't you?
Does this officially make me a workaholic?
I'm not going to bore you with the goals that I set for myself with this blog. That's between me and the 36 million other blogs that I silently compete with in my own mind (I'm gunning for you Oprah!). The one change I am going to make though, is that I'm giving up my one day that I take off from writing each week (it was Saturday in case you didn't notice) in order to write some posts about my home city as a tourist destination. To be honest, in the 13 years that I've lived here, I've explored very little of Kelowna, and I want to take some time to get out and see just why people spend their hard earned vacation time here. I have some ideas, but it seems unlikely that everybody is coming to see where the Grapes of Wrath got their start, so I'll have to dig a little deeper. If I find anything, I'll let you know.
Do you enjoy doing anything enough to do it seven days a week?
Does anybody NOT resolve to lose weight?
OK, I realize that not
everybody resolves to lose weight. I know plenty of people who probably don't need to lose any weight at all, my wife included (First brownie points of 2012, check). I, on the other hand, would really like to lose a few pounds this year. Setting a target like this is new to me. My self-improvement goals usually tend more towards improving others than myself, so I'm really taking a shot in the dark here, but I'm going to aim to drop 25 pounds. Is that because 25 pounds is all I need to lose? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...Ummmm, no. It simply seems like an achievable target that won't cause me to abandon all hope the first time a weigh-in goes in the wrong direction. If I lose the 25 pounds, I can always set another goal to lose a little more. If I'm still trying to accomplish this goal next year at this time...Well, please know that I only went to that chocolate and whipped cream exposition so that I could cover it for you, my loyal readers. I'm such a giving person.
Do you have any weight loss tips for me, that don't involve dieting, exercise, or a terminal disease?
Am I really oblivious? Or am I just male?
I've been accused of being a little....ummm....unobservant at times. I'm not talking about important things like the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders changing their skirts from aqua to cyan. That I'd notice right away. I mean things that no man ever notices, like the four baskets of laundry blocking the top of the stairs. I usually just wander around them, or through them, or over them...to be honest I'm not really sure what I do as I usually don't even see them there. I sure hear about them later though. Apparently they are blocking the stairs so that the next person going downstairs will carry them down. You'd think there would be a sign for something like that, but it seems that I'm supposed to know these things on my own. So this year, I'm going to try harder to not be the "Oh I didn't see those there" guy. If you see me looking confused, directions are appreciated.
Do you have (or are you) an "Oh I didn't see those there" guy in your house?
Can I really fly more randomly than I already do?
A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to have to take a
last minute flight to renew my status in the Alaska Airlines program for this year. This year, not only do I intend to be more organized, I'm gunning for the next rung up the ladder. I want to qualify as MVP Gold on Alaska this year, so I'm making plans to fly at least 3500 miles each month. There's a couple of ways I can achieve this. With proper stops factored in, I could fly pretty much anywhere in the US (except maybe Seattle) from Kelowna and still make the minimum mileage required. Or I could fly from here to Honolulu, realize that I already have enough miles for that month and that there's no point flying back until next month when I need another 3500. Yeah, that sounds like a better plan.
Are you aiming for status in any airline/hotel/coffee/etc.... programs this year?
Do I have to buy a ticket to win?
Once, when I was younger, my New Years resolution was to stop breathing. I figured at the time that I was going to break whatever resolution I made anyways, so I might as well ensure success. Sadly it wasn't my shortest lived resolution ever, as one year I resolved to stop swearing, only to be greeted with a sumo hug from my friend right at midnight, thus posting my record at approximately 4 seconds. My least successful resolution of all time however, based solely on the number of times that I've failed to achieve it, is to win the lottery. I realize the odds of winning the lottery are astronomical, and therein lies the problem. I'm very rarely motivated to actually buy a ticket. Every once in a while the jackpot reaches some monstrous amount, and I'm reminded that I should probably invest a few dollars. My lack of faithfulness in ticket purchasing hasn't hurt me however, as in the 30 year history of Lotto 649, they've only drawn four of my six numbers three times, and the last time was exactly 20 years ago today. If I'd been playing my numbers in Italy however, I'd be retired and living on easy street by now. It's probably just as well that I didn't win that one though. Pizza and Gelato most likely wouldn't help me lose those 25 pounds.
Do you have any resolutions you repeat year after year?
