Happy New Year

If tradition dictated that we make New Year's wishes, I'd be wishing the world's citizens were turning in their passports to John at the gates of Nutopia over which flatscreens were broadcasting the CNN headline War is Over. Alas, thanks to the good citizens of ancient Rome, tradition dictates we make resolutions. Like their mythic two-faced King Janus, we are pressured look back at our challenges and simultaneously look forward, resolving to make change.

I actually can't remember the last time I made a resolution at this time of year. Usually, I'd been too busy slinging drinks for amateurs or too exhausted from Christmas to really care. Last year, I spent New Year's Eve ending a relationship. Blegh. Fortunately, 2006 brought many good things. There have been more than 300 days of sunshine in my part of the world. I can drive with my top down three-quarters of the year (that'd be my car top, Jimmy). My mom quit smoking. My daughter landed out west. I got to know a group of fabulous new friends. I'm in a groovy new relationship with someone who likes martinis more than I do.

Why am I motivated now, as 2007 rolls in, to pay homage to the god of beginnings and guardian of doors and entrances? Perhaps because my friend Jimmy has been talking about resolutions for a couple of weeks and I finally stopped blocking him out yesterday. More likely, there are some things I want to do differently. Today I made a list. After removing all the minutia (go to the movies once a week, see more live music), I settled on not one, but four missions. I then did a little research into the success and failure of New Year's resolutions. Culling the useful 'expert' advice, I decided to go public with my goals. The idea here is enlist the support of friends and family, maybe an unknown Nutopian or two, and embrace accountability (trans.: invite mocking).

No, I won't be posting the details of my Cabbage Soup Diet or how many drinks I refused last week (as if the latter would even be on the list). Over the next week, I will articulate my four goals, some more challenging than others, each independent but inter-related, in separate posts. Briefly, and in no particular order, they are: reduce my overhead to fund an exploration into personal Mendelian madness; develop the perfect whisky and low-fat whipped topping dessert to pack to the bottom of the Grand Canyon; figure out just what color my rainbow is and why grey isn't a freakin' option; decide whether it's worth $19.99 to get the unlisted address of someone to whom you want to return Christmas ornaments worth only cents. Progress reports will come in the form of questions, quandaries (maybe conundrums), chronicles, and occasional cries for help or a cocktail.

In the meantime, an invitation: Make a resolution (or four) and be a co-contributor instead of a commenter here for the New Year. Send me an email, I'll send you a password, you can post your resolutions over the next week, and we can make this one big ridiculous-but-effective ether-therapy group.

Conversely, drop in once in a while, leave a comment or two, and help me work on number four in the list above. Whatever path you choose, have a fantastic New Year.