Happy New Year, one and all! I just had a quick, light dinner, and as soon as it digests, I’m gonna drink champagne and say goodbye to 2009. It wasn’t a bad year, all things considered, but I am looking forward to 2010.
Wow, 2010. It looks weird to write that. Remember a decade ago, three quarters of the world was frantic with the idea that the planet might be obliterated because of the Y2K computer issue? It seems like it was only a few years ago, not a whole decade.
Anyway, I usually say that I don’t like to make resolutions, necessarily, because I always break them, but this year, I’m going to attempt to commit myself to trying a couple of new things I’ve been interested in.
First of them is to take curling lessons. In case you don’t know what curling is, and you don’t feel like clicking the link, it’s pretty much like shuffleboard, only played on ice. It’s more popular in Canada and the UK than it is here, but I think the sport is gaining in popularity because of all the branches of ESPN and other sports-based networks that show non-mainstream sports. (Wow, I used the word “sports” a lot in that sentence.) I’ve seen it on TV several times in the past five years or so, but I saw the Olympic women’s curling team trials on TV the other day and I decided that it’s something I’d like to try, so I looked up whether there was a league here in the Raleigh, NC area, and it turns out there is, and they have lessons. The next session is on January 8th, but I can’t participate, so I asked them to put me on the mailing list so I can take part in another lesson in the future. It’s only $10, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. One of my favorite Canadian online buddies told me that I’d probably like it and that curlers as a group are generally nice people, so that made me kind of excited about it. I want to spend some time getting in better shape first, and to maybe learn a little more about the sport, but hopefully when the next session comes around, I can go on and participate. I have a hard time with bowling because of carpal tunnel damage on my wrist, so having to control a 40 lb. stone might be difficult unless I strengthen my arms!
The second thing I want to do is try to extend myself to interest groups here in my area. I’m starting to get a little bored with not knowing anybody in my area. I found a child-free group in the area called No Kidding! Raleigh, and they have events and gatherings every so often. It would be nice to know some similar-minded people in this area. I’ve gotten their newsletters for a couple years, but I’ve never been active in their forums, so I think I’m going to start there. They also have get-togethers at bars (I think) one day per month, but right off the bat, I’m not sure if it’s something I’d feel comfortable with, plus, I can’t always afford to drop money on drinks in restaurants. I figured that participating in the forums is a good place to start because I can get more comfortable with the people online before attending an event in person, and we’d all kind of know a little bit about each other before meeting up, so that might ease the uncomfortability a little. Not that I’d be opposed to befriending parents, but I wouldn’t know where to start with people who have kids, seeing as we don’t have that in common at all. I do know this, though — I definitely want to see if I can find me a decent handful of friends in this area in the next year or so. I think the No Kidding! group is a good place to start.
The last thing I want to try to accomplish this year is to learn how to draw. Kel has a couple books on drawing manga, and I always liked the Japanimation-style artwork, even though I’m not a fan of the cartoons themselves, so I decided I’d give that a try. I am not an artist by any means. I even suck at drawing stick figures. But, you know, you gotta start somewhere. I’ve thought about maybe doing some kind of comic strip or something for my website if I practice and get pretty good at drawing. I told Kel, though, that he’d have to write the words. I’m not good at coming up with things that are funny and witty until a few hours later, after I’ve thought on it for a while. He’s pretty good at coming up with hilarity on the spot.
Then there’s the obligatory attempt to lose weight, exercise daily and eat more healthy meals. Oh, and practice the banjo more. I haven’t picked it up in a week or so.
But, yeah, 2010 is going to be about not being a shy chicken and trying to get myself out there in the real world a little bit more.
Okay, it’s almost time to start drinking. I hope you all have a great night, and if you’re out there partying, be careful and use a free taxi or designated driver if you’ve been drinking. Happy New Year, y’all!
