New Year’s Resolutions 2011

A set of goals that I want down in writing so that maybe I will adhere to them. Accomplishing all of them is almost surely a probability zero event.

In approximate decreasing order of possibility:

  • Save $X from paychecks.
  • Enroll in the torture that will be Pilates class. Eventually, I’ll have to strengthen my core, might as well be sooner than later.
  • Go travel somewhere. Summer has your name written on it, Singapore and Southeast Asia.
  • Learn to do stuff at work. Find a niche and be more productive in general.
  • Strengthen ankles. Pointe? Still a little scared to ask such a thing, but it would be quite the rout if it actually happens. I might have to lose 5-10 lb, which would push this item down a few notches on this list.
  • Work on, and hopefully complete, writing down all this personal philosophy.
  • Be able to do: double (triple?) pirouettes, grand pirouettes, splits (or closer to), single tours, entrechat trois and quatre, brise, etc. etc. Learn the Russian variation for NC.
  • Go on a bona fide date. I already loathe putting this on the list, but it will probably have to be done at some point. I guess this is a little easier than the perennially elusive “get a girlfriend for seriously this year.”

2010 Retrospective

They say time makes everything seem better. Overall, it seemed to be a good year, possibly the best year ever. Not everything was puppies and rainbows, but I don’t wish to dwell on the perpetual sadness that is my life.

Some (all?) of the positive highlights:

  • Saw Marit Larsen perform live. Although the unwinding of this tale is anything but spectacular, it was still a moment.
  • Ballet, culminating in a Nutcracker performance. Still surprised that I actually did it, and how many friends showed up to watch. I think it was taking a step outside my comfort zone; nice to see I didn’t stumble.
  • Graduated. Although I guess I didn’t have a huge desire to do so. Stanford is pretty great, and the real world is kind of not as great.
  • Got a job. In the present economy, any job would be nice. Working at the googs is pretty incredible so far.
  • First smartphone, courtesy of employer.
  • Weddings of two of my best friends. I still tear up a little just thinking about them. One great bachelor party, one that still needs to be made up.  So proud of these guys. Congrats, K&E and E&A.
  • Fantastic trip to Europe. Visited Doug in his new hometown CPH, visited Sweden and Norway and the fjords. I guess Paris was okay, too. Brussels kind of sucked.
  • Stanford football setting a school-record wins.
  • Endless sequence of unrealistic crushes. Nothing like needless suffering to make one feel alive.

I think I can see a light at the end of this tunnel, although confidence building is still glacial. Frantically trying to write down and cohere these thoughts into something of a prescriptive philosophy.

Looking forward to a good 2011. Resolutions to come soon.

Thoughts on pants

  • I feel like it’s a design flaw that I can’t take off my pants when my shoes are on. (This is w.r.t. changing clothes for the gym.)
  • From Wikipedia: The word “jeans” comes from the French phrase bleu de Gênes, literally the blue of Genoa. I did not know that.
  • Really think someone should make sweatpants/warmups/pajamas with “PGOAT” across the butt.