Bright Yellow World

On January 1, I posted a list of my 2007 Resolutions. The last few weeks have felt impossible, but after looking at this list I feel like I really made some progress over the last year.

1. Get rid of all the clothes that I don’t like or that make me feel awkward, ugly, or self-conscious, regardless of their functionality. - CHECK!
I actually did a pretty good job of this! When I wrote this list, I weighed significantly more than I do now, and I’m fairly surprised by how much my wardrobe has changed over the last year.

2. Call my grandparents more. - Nope.
Um… I didn’t do so well on this one. I called sometimes, but I frequently got busy and didn’t think of it. I suck on this front.

3. Get out of my apartment after dark more often. - CHECK!
I did pretty darn well on this one! Frankly, having a boyfriend has helped immensely.

4. Pay off a substantial chunk of my credit card debt. -In progress…
I came up with a plan, which has now been implemented. The numbers haven’t changed dramatically yet, but they’re heading that way. This is a good thing.

5. Take a vacation. -CHECK!
I went to Big Sur! And spent a week doing absolutely nothing. And I’m going home for Christmas, though I don’t know if that qualifies as a vacation. Particularly now that my mother? Is apparently going bananas over the fact that I have a serious boyfriend. More on that later.

6. Explore at least three local places on my “list of places to see in the Bay area.” -CHECK!
I went to Sonoma, Half Moon Bay, and Big Sur. I think that qualifies!

7. Create a functional circle of friends in San Francisco. Preferably of people who know and like one another, as well! -CHECK!
In fact, I have several! This is very exciting!

8. Fall in love as frequently as possible. (This doesn’t mean with tons of
people, necessarily. It can mean places, smells, events, sounds…) -CHECK!
I think we can all nod confidently at this one.

9. Change the oil in my car when I’m supposed to. -nope.
Thank God for the Horse Whisperer. That’s all I have to say.

10. Try one new recipe a week. -sort of.
Although I did try a lot of new recipes, I did not stick to the one-per-week format. I was, however, a far more adventurous cook. And I can say with absolute certainty that I tried at least 50 new recipes over the course of the year.

11. Read 20 books. I’m not feeling as ambitious as the rest of you, I realize, but 20 is all I can imagine having the time for! -nope.
I don’t know if I even made 5. Whoops.

12. Start practicing again. -in progress…
I did start practicing again, and then I stopped. But I’m working on it. I’m finally starting to feel motivated again! And I’ve been a playing fiend recently!

13. Go salsa dancing at least once. -nope.
HW and I are planning on taking a class together in January, though. I’m WAY excited about it!

14. Figure out a way to give myself one day off per week, even if that means teaching less. -a resounding “nope.”

15. Excel at my job, and hopefully get promoted. -CHECK!
This is a really interesting one, actually. I did excel at that job, the one that I started with in 2007. And I would have gotten promoted. Instead, however, I just changed jobs. I should tell you good people about the good parts of my job at some point. They do actually exist.

16. Get my shoes repaired instead of wearing through them. -Ha! Nope.

17. Call people back in a timely fashion. (Really, I’m going to try. I promise.) -nope.

18. Take more pictures. -CHECK!
As evidenced by my flickr account!

19. Cry less than in 2006. -Hmmmm…
I’ll save the details of this for the Year in Review post later this month. There’s a lot to say on that subject. I definitely cried less, but the crying I did was over much bigger things.

20. Go to at least three of the street fairs in San Francisco. -nope.
This will happen. Eventually.
21. Hear more live music. -CHECK!
Seeing as I work for a live music venue, this wasn’t hard. And it was so enjoyable!

22. Call my sister in England at least once a week. -nope.
Sis is now back from England, but I don’t think I called her every week even while she was there. Again, I suck. The phone and I are not a good match, people.

23. Surround myself with people who care about me, and stop worrying about the people who don’t. -in progress…

24. Along those lines, stop trying so darn hard to make people care about
me. -also in progress…
I suspect that this will be a lifelong struggle for me.

25. Send more letters. -sort of.
I did this in the early part of the year. Not so much recently. Sorry, all!

26. Say what’s on my mind. At least, occasionally! -not really.
Oooh! But I did BLOG what was on my mind more! That counts for something!

27. Laugh more than in 2006. -CHECK!
Without question.

28. Learn how to stand up for myself without getting so pumped full of adrenaline that I start to cry. -uh… nope.
I’m starting to realize that this is just part of being me.

29. Remember to wash my face before going to bed. -CHECK!
Maybe not every single night, but a hell of a lot more than normal!

30. Learn to say “no” to things that hurt me, even if it means disappointing others. -Ha! nope.

31. Most importantly: Learn to say “yes” to things that, while scary, will make me happy. -CHECK!
I said yes to a lot of things this year, and they were good. Most notably, I took a risk and found a man who makes me feel amazing in every way. I think that deserves a prize right there!

All in all, I think I did pretty well for myself!