A promise is a promise

Resolutions No Responses »
Jan 062007

So this here blog has now seen three new years, and at the turn of the prior two, I made a few resolutions. For those who’d prefer not to read the old entries, I didn’t do so well.

I had been thinking a lot of resolutions- why people make them, why people can’t hold them. I think at the new year, there’s an increased pressure to make a new start, turn over a new leaf. The fact that it’s winter for most of us doesn’t help anything, nor does the influx of weight loss/gym membership commercials that hit the airwaves before the seat on Santa’s sleigh goes cold. People see the new year as the time to make a new start. New calendar year, new me. Sounds simple enough. Yet who can stick to it.

This year, I’m making one resolution:

I will not make promises I can’t keep.

A promise or resolution broken is a disappointment. Something acheived that wasn’t a promise- well, that’s just a pleasant surprise.

So I’m keeping the resolutions to just that one, and holding my ambitions in check. Yes, I’d love to read a book a week or lose 25 pounds or write in my blog all the time, but I’m not specifically trying or saying that I will. I can’t say I’ll have the time or ambition to do either of those things a week, a month, three months from now. So I’m not going to set up myself to fail in the dead of winter or in the heart of the summer.

I promise you nothing. Watch me keep that promise all year.

Maybe.

Posted by Tim V at 1:18 am

On resolutions lost...

Resolutions No Responses »
Feb 252005
So earlier this year, I made a few resolutions…let’s see how I’m doing.

Eat a new food each week: I gotta say, I’m actually doing pretty well here. While I’ve only written about 4, I tried 10 total, which without looking at a calendar, I’d say gets me close enough to current to call this a success. I plan on catching up with the write-ups, more on that below…

Read 50 books this year: I got off to a slow start here-I think I was at 2 books read after 4 weeks, which put me a bit behind my goal. Then I chose poorly- My Baseball Diary is not a book to be read from cover to cover, as I will explain further once I finish it. I will say this about setting a reading goal- it makes it harder to put down a book that turns out to be a bit of a bore, as you have all that time invested, it’s hard to just give up when you’re already a few chapters into adding another book to your list. So 50 may be shot, but I’m still going to see how close I can get…

Finally, and this is the big one:

Write in my blog five times each week, preferably on five different days: This is my first post in 12 days, so you can see how well that one’s going … Before that, I had 21 posts in roughly 6 weeks. Still below average, but not too bad. Sill me, putting my family and work before my blog. I don’t regret blowing this one, but I would like to write more. Stay tuned, there will be more to read here. There will be a least one more post on this page, and it may very well be directing you to an all new look…and where I will be writing more than once a week. Hopefully- I make no resolutions (for now).

Posted by Tim V at 10:48 pm

The weekly resolution decided...

Resolutions No Responses »
Jan 092005
Last week I declared two resolutions- blogging 5 times a week (give or take one) and reading 50 books in 2005. I also decided I would do something else once a week, and asked you, dear reader, for your help.

Here were the finalists, along with my comments:

Find a new and unusual website each week.
Submitted by my lovely wife. A good idea, doesn’t cost a cent, and doesn’t cut into my time much. There are a lot of weird sites out there, so no lack of material.

See a movie a week, once a month in a theatre.
Submitted by Mikey, along with several others I considered only briefly (I liked the idea of a new Cub Scout/Boy Scot badge a week, but that would become a full-time job.) I like the thought of it, but devoting 2 hours a week to an additional project is just too much time to offer. And once a month in the theatre? With 2 kids under 2, it’s a nice thought, but it would be pretty hard to execute.

Eat a new food.
Submitted by Jenny. I actually considered this one, too. I like food, and I like trying new things. Jenny also suggested that it could be a new product or an exotic food- and I appreciate the leeway I was given in this suggestion.

Learn a new word.
Submitted by Anonymous. Thanks for the suggestion, citizen. Perhaps someday I will do a blog posting on not using 75 cent words when a 5 cent one will do. So with this philosophy, enriching my vocabulary isn’t near the top of my list. I considered it in the guise of "I used a new word in my blog this week- guess which one it is!", but realized that I doubt I could interest my readers in such an exercise without offering cash and prizes. I do not have cash and prizes to offer.

So ultimately, it was a new website or a new food. The website idea appealed due to the cost (none) and level of difficulty (simple as could be.) I think the easiness factor ultimately ruled it out- finding a crazy website is like shooting fish in a barrel- along with the fact that I like eating crazy stuff. When I realized I already ate a new food in the first 7 days of 2005, we had a winner.

So, my new feature, 52 Foods, will begin today, with the food I enjoyed for the first time last week. I enjoyed food #2 yesterday, and I have foods 3 and 4 in the house, waiting to be sampled. I also saw that the new Chinese restaurant that the family and I visited yesterday has a cold jellyfish appetizer, another potential entry for this resolution. I didn’t try it- yet. I did take away the knowledge that jellyfish, like revenge, is a dish best served cold.

Posted by Tim V at 11:24 pm

All Aboard the Resolution Train

Resolutions No Responses »
Jan 052005
So I was contemplating the previous post on resolutions Tuesday morning as I went to get my monthly train pass. I had my thoughts on what I would resolve fairly well ironed out. Once I looked at my newly purchased train pass, I could see that the Metra commuter rail system had other plans in mind for me.

They printed 5 resolutions right on the train pass itself.

Now, I think it’s a bit bossy of them to come up with resolutions that are supposed to work for all of their riders. They don’t know me, or the guy sitting next to me. And 5? Heck, now I’m supposed to have 8 resolutions, over half of them transportation-related? Maybe not.

So what does Metra propose as resolutions for the train riders of Chicagoland?

I will teach railroad safety to my children
Not a bad idea on the surface, but do they have any idea how young my children are? My thought is there are other things I could teach them that may have a better chance of sticking. 16-month old Chloe, I’d like to teach her that she shouldn’t respond to her food on her high-chair tray like she was scratching a turntable. There’ll be time enough for scratchin when the eatin’s done. As for one-month old Declan, I think I’d like to teach him how to hold his neck up before I start drilling rail safety tips into his little, still-soft noggin.

I do also take issue with Metra for asking us to resolve this but not giving us the materials to teach our children properly. Shouldn’t they provide us with pamphlets like "The Little Engine That Could (Tear You in Half If You Got In It’s Path)" or "Freight Trains: Not Anywhere Close To Silent But Nevertheless Deadly"?
Resolution: Declined. Check back in a few years.

I will stand behind yellow line on platform.
Um, duh. Consider it done.
Resolution: Accepted grudgingly. Am I also to resolve not to take a nap on the tracks?

I will talk softly when on my cell phone.
Now we’re talking. I wish they would have said "I will only use my cell phone for short, quick conversations, all relating only to the time I will arrive at my destination." I am still petitioning for a no cell phone car- hopefully, they’ll still let me crank my iPod in there…
Resolution: ACCEPTED! (oh, should I have done that softly?)

I will obey all railroad signals.
Um, no. There is a gate near where I take my train that stays in the down position for about 5 minutes every morning when no trains pass by. Do I wait for it to go up? No. Does anyone else? No. Should we? No. Boo, I say to you, dear Metra! Boo!
Resolution: If you fix your signals, accepted. As it stands: Not a chance.

I will allow myself enough time to catch the train.
Well, yeah. I will also not be late for anything, always floss my teeth, never forget anyone’s birthday and generally do everything exactly the way I’m supposed to. As a matter of fact, Metra, I see your point here, and I’m going to change this resolution to "I will always do everything exactly right." Just as you, sweet Metra, will always be on time.
Resolution: I’m just about always on time, but if I’m not, I’m not dumb enough to risk bodily injury to catch my train. Metra thinks I am that dumb. Therefore, I decline to play along. Resolution declined.

So, ultimately, I have resolved to talk softly on my cell phone and stay behind the yellow line. I will also resolve to always wear pants while on the train, something else I already do without Metra telling me to on their train pass. Wait, maybe I should stop doing that so they have something to put on the February pass…

Posted by Tim V at 11:27 pm

You Say You Want A Resolution

Resolutions No Responses »
Jan 042005
Well, you know, we all want to improve ourselves…

It’s the beginning of a new year, and as we change our calendars, we all think of ways we can improve ourselves and try to start off on the right foot. The New Year’s Resolution. A chance to set goals that will be blown to bits by Super Bowl Sunday.

Why people choose the dead of winter to undertake these new challenges is beyond me. I’m sure it’s the whole first of the year thing, but maybe we should move New Year’s to summer. Maybe then I would resolve to get into shape (I haven’t made that a resolution yet.)

Here are my goals for 2005- I’m making them short and sweet, so that I may hopefully follow them.

1) Write in this here blog 5 times a week, preferably on 5 different days, but 4 times a week or 5 posts on 4 days is also fine. 5 is my goal, but I have a few other things to do (work, family, sleep) so I won’t beat myself up if I’m a little off. But I like writing in this here blog, and hopefully there are some who enjoy reading it.

2) Read 50 books this year. I take a train for about 25 minutes twice each day, so I should be able to get some reading in. I got this idea from Largehearted Boy, who resolved in 2005 to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I like reading, and once I get on a roll, a book a week is do-able. I’m trying for 50 instead of 52 because a) I don’t want to be a total copycat, and b) somehow, I think having two fewer books than weeks I will have a better chance of accomplishing this. Suggestions for books, and actual copies of books are more than welcome.

3) Largehearted Boy read 52 books in 2005, while other bloggers read a new magazine each week and listened to a new album each week. I’m looking for something else to do once a week. And I’m looking for suggestions. It shouldn’t take up too much time, as I will be busy blogging, reading and living my life. Whatever it is, I’d like to get the first one under my belt this week. Please leave suggestions in the comments or e-mail me directly. Time’s a wastin’.

Posted by Tim V at 11:29 pm
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