i'm a pixel here, myself

So, 2008. You mostly sucked as a year. I was thinking about it, and I have almost nothing to show for this year, despite feeling incredibly busy all the time. I only wrote two things all year (for yuletide and popoffacork); I sang some shows with some groups, but didn't do any theater; I have the same job I started the year with (albeit with a raise) and am working more hours for what feels like running in place. I did have a very nice vacation to Alaska with my family, though, so I'll count that in the plus column. But really, this just feels like a lost year.

For 2009, I have a few goals, but I'm not going to call them New Year's Resolutions because I will inevitably break them if I tie them to the year.

1. Lose 30 pounds from my heaviest, preferably by the time my college reunion rolls around in early June. I want to weigh somewhere between 165 and 170 pounds, down from a high near 200. I'm about 190 now, so this is doable, but it's going to take work. There are some related goals here, like cutting back my soda intake to one can per week (it's not *that* much higher than that now, but I need soda to disappear from my life and gradually is easier than all-at-once), going to the gym as often as possible, and getting at least eight hours of sleep a night. Some of them seem mountainous, as goals go, but I will work to get buy-in from coworkers and my roommate to try and keep me on-track.

2. ONLY ONE SINGING GROUP OR SHOW AT A TIME. This is going to be nearly as hard as (if not harder than) #1. I am a sucker; I say "yes" way too easily. But I have to remember that I get flustered when I'm doing more than one group at a time, and it means I end up not going to the gym enough, not taking care of myself, etc. I do enjoy it, so I'm not cutting it out completely, but it will take careful management to do #1, and this is part of it.

3. Take the GMAT and decide about business school. My new boss guy is actually helping here, because he really thinks I should go, so he's been nagging me about signing up for the GMAT. As anyone who knows me well will know, nagging (i.e. constant reminders) is one of the ways to get me to do things. I am still not 100% sold on the idea of going to business school, but I have some time -- applications to start school in the fall of '10 (i.e. class of '12) will be due in the fall of '09 -- and I should be able to figure it out by June so I can start working on applications. Part of this decision will be based on career trajectory, so we'll see what happens there.

4. Get laid. 'nuff said. Well, not exactly. I mean, I'd like what I've wanted for years -- a reasonably-attractive member of the same sex who's within a few years of my age who happens to like me back and isn't boring or crazy. Sounds easy, right? Right.