resolutions: how to be a better person in 365...363...360 days

once again, i am facing another birth day anniversary.
the ending of another year of my life.
365 days washed away.

being born at the beginning of the calendar year has its benefits.

rather than making new year's resolutions. i make birthday resolutions.

this year, my birthday also falls on a monday
and we all know the universe was created on a cold winter monday morning! (heh)

1. walk the chicago marathon in '06

2. eliminate all credit card debt

3. exhibit, at least, four art shows

4. organize tax information

5. lose x number of pounds
i am not so much concerned with this number... which is printed in my calendar,
as i am the quest to be more fit, walk more stairs, eat more vegetables...
weight refects health.
health reflects happiness.

along with every woman i know, i resolve to wear a smaller size of jeans.
being numbers driven, there's a number involved.

in conjunction with this, i am returning to an old friend: www.fitday.com


6. donate 6 p2's (a p2 donation is platelets/plasma) at the american red cross
next time, i'll have better timing...
and avoid the humiliation of passing out.

7. remember & acknowledge birthdays

8. visit canadian relatives

9. visit montana relatives

10. visit the pollock paintings at the univerity of iowa, iowa city

11. stop along the way to hear a homily given by a dear friend

12. visit chagall's stained glass windows & henry moore's sculpture at the art institute of chicago
get some soup & a roll at 'au bon pain'
visit river road, for the only place to satisfy a vienna dog craving
hug margaret
visit the wife and her hubby

13. visit minneapolis & go on an art tour
"the public radio band"

14. visit milwaukee museum of art

15. watch 72 films

16. read 12 books... or more

17. put aside a determined sum for next move

18. made a budget.... and obey it

19. put all loose photos in photo albums

20. approach, at least, 20 galleries with portfolio

21. floss daily

22. moisturize

23. post a blog every other day

24. take a daily vitamin

25. drink at least 64 oz of: green tea, herbal tea, or water each day

26. bring payments under control

27. send, at least, one card to each grandma every month

28. clean out boxes

29. set 100 books free!!!

30. pilates: tues, thurs, sat

31. yoga: mon, wed, fri

32. walk, run, or bike nature trail: sun (or at least once a week)

33. LAUGH more often

i found this entry in one of my many, scattered journals:

It's simple, you just take something and do something to it, and then do something else to it. Keep doing this, and pretty soon you've got something.
Jasper Johns


the myth of Sisyphus
Sunday, Jan. 04, 2004

As most of the world takes stock and makes resolutions, I mark another turn of my personal wheel of time.

There's a rhythm to my resolutions, a continuity, a familiarity.
Sometimes, though, my battles feel hopeless and I feel a bit like Camus's Sisyphus:
"The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor."

Yet, as Camus surmises,"His fate belongs to him." In true Existential form, Camus argues that because Sisyphus chose to defy the gods, he can accept his fate because it is one of his own making. I am making a conscious decision to be a certain kind of person (healthy, fit, and artistically active!) The path may not be smooth but it's my path. May God give me the courage and the stamina to walk it!

ah yes, this year sounds alike like last year, sounds alot like...
life is circular, eh?