2010 resolutions (with special appearance by 2009)

• December 19, 2009
• James Skemp
• StrivingLife

I don't much believe in New Year's Resolutions, or the like. Instead, I believe that if you want to change something, you should just do so.

But, it's nice to have a start date, so here goes.

2009 'resolutions'

Not necessarily resolutions, these were things I decided to do or try in 2009.

Stopped drinking soda

I've flirted with soda for a long time, switching back to Mountain Dew after college, and drinking Dr. Pepper throughout. After putting on more weight than I cared for, I decided to quit drinking soda, period, around May of this year. I lost more than a few pounds, and while I still can see a soda and think it will taste good, I know better. I've switched to drinking mostly just water, with some periods of Gatorade and juices. I effectively gave up alcohol as well, but I never drank much as it was, so that wasn't difficult.

Purchase at least one album a month from a new-to-me artist

This is one I tried for four or five months, kicked into overdrive near the last few months, and have put on hold in December. I was so into this that I actually created a basic app to help me find new music. I plan on starting this again in 2010, and sticking to it.

Stopped chewing my nails

I seem to recall that I chewed my nails even before my parents divorced. Around October 10th I stopped chewing my nails, and over two months later, I still don't know why. This is the longest it's been in well over 15 years. This is my biggest accomplishment this year.

Paid off my car

I paid off my car 2+ years early. Next up are my students loans.

Stopped watching television

The hardest part was skipping the new episode of the show I liked watching. After that, it was rather simple. With 3+ years of Netflix, game consoles, books, technology, and the Internet, it's been rather simple. Note that I still watch some shows online, but consider the two sufficiently different.

Things I'd like to do in 2010

Purchase at least one album a month from a new-to-me artist

I started doing this in 2009, but eventually got a bit carried away and 'paused' in December. Having found some really great music while I was doing this, I'm looking forward to doing this in January.

Take at least one picture every day

Sometimes I think my muse has died, as lately I've had no interest in some of the things I liked doing; taking photos is one such thing. I think my problem in the past has been that I think it has to have appeal to a large audience. Since that may have been holding me back, screw it - I'll take a photo of whatever I want.

Write something every day

Quasi-post, although it won't be posted here, but rather somewhere else. It'll be for my own purposes only, and will have no format, per se. Again, seems like my muse is MIA lately.

Get a solid 3 months of savings

I've been flirting with the amount, but my goal has been to get a solid 3 months of wages in savings. Once that happens, I plan on ramping it up (4 months, 5, etcetera) as time goes by.

Pay down my student loans at a faster pace

This somewhat conflicts with the previous, but since my car is paid off, I'd like to get my student loans paid off sooner. At this point if I keep what I'm doing it will be under $7k, but I'd like to see them right around $6.5k by this time next year. Ultimately, however, since this is fairly good debt, the previous has higher priority.

• new years
• resolutions