New Year's Resolutions

Maybe. We'll see how it unfolds. I found that doing my "todo list" on this blog helped me get shit done, so I'm going to try a resolution + regular followups, a la House.

(Note: I realize I haven't crossed items off on my "list" in ages. Stuff is still getting done, just nothing really major to report. And I don't think you all need to know that I scrubbed my toilets one night.)

(Actually, somewhat of a lie: Finish console table. Looks pretty sharp.)

These are my intentions:

Cook more/Pack real lunches

This has been one of my shames. I have a repertoire of about three or four recipes. And I don't even prepare those very often. Mostly it's frozen food or some kind of soup and sandwich thing at suppertime, or very frequently a trip to A&W (I walk by it every day). And lunches all too often wind up at the food court. It's hard on the wallet, and can't be good for the health.

So, whether I'm using the crockpot, pasta maker, or regular ol' stove, I'm going to try to cook and bake more. And to attach some numbers: Limit lunch takeout to once or twice a week; cook "real supper meals" three times a week; and takeout outside of work hours to three or fewer times a week.

BTW, so far so good: Lunch was packed three times this week, and only a couple of restaurant visits.

Devote a half-hour each night for general housework

I found that once I get started, I don't mind housework. Problem is, if it piles up it's hard to get started. If it's regular, then it shouldn't pile up. Sounds good in theory, eh? So whether it's scrubbing, dishes, laundry, tidying, painting, sweeping, etc. I'll try to do a half-hour each night.

Get the electronics lab under way

I meant to get this going last fall/winter, but I'm not ashamed of the way it turned out. It all started by getting some stuff (parts cabinet, soldering iron, multimeter, "third hand", etc.) Then I went and built a workbench and found that I really like woodworking. So my electronics lab turned into a general workshop -- not a bad thing, but I'd like to resurrect the electronics part again...

One woodworking project every two months

... but not at the expense of carpentry. I've got a bunch of ideas in mind now, and the goal is to churn out one of them every two months. I got four done last year, so this shouldn't be terribly lofty.

Keep it up with the piano

I learned a bunch of short pieces (2 minutes each) last year, and some of which I've committed to memory. I want to get more into improvisation -- and this is going to be a big pain in the ass to start with. I need to brush up on the theory more, and put it into practice. So I'm going to try improvising over a simple chord progression for fifteen minutes a day, and see how that goes. Hell, if I come up with some decent passages I'll write them down. I've tried improvising before, and it's an aggravatingly slow process.

Not an overwhelming list, but enough to stay mindful of. Time will tell how well it goes.