Even though no holiday is a bad one–at least out of the major ones that get people out of work for a day–my favorite one remains a combination of the last six hours of December 31st and the entirety of January 1st. There’s just something about the promise of New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day that feels like so much more than just getting out of work for a day and paying some vague tribute to a group or person. The New Year’s period inspires people to try to change their lives. And I’m not sure many of us can really say that about Thanksgiving or President’s Day or even St. Patrick’s Day. [Then there’s the holy trinity of patriotic holidays–Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July–that make us feel glad to be Americans, and that’s terrific, but not quite the same as dropping twenty pounds or finally finishing your life’s goal because you’re glad to be alive in a new year.]
So, like the rest of the world, I decided to make a list of New Year’s Resolutions. Unlike the rest of the world, I want to post them now so that frequent users and (God forbid) offline friends can hold me to task in completing them. I know I’ll break a few of them, and that’s why I’ve made ten…ten is the lucky number that guarantees I’ll keep at least one. I rank them now in order of importance…
1. No sodas–When you grow up in the Southeast, you might develop a pretty strong addiction to all things soda, it being the Coca Cola capital of the world. What you might also develop are ulcers, which is what I have, and have decided I’m way too young to have, so, I’m dropping Coke. I list it as most important, because it’s perhaps the only one that directly affects my health. Although of course they do less directly.
2. No Desserts–Also, Alabama is a prominent part of “The Diabetes Belt” and most residents think nothing of indulging in more than our fair share of desserts. I’ve added this one and it includes EVERYthing most people would want to eat: Cookies, ice cream (my particular favorite), pies, cakes, candy bars, general candy, cinnamon rolls, etc. If you think it’s a dessert, it’s probably on here. Something tells me this will be the toughest one…and I know first hand because I almost did it last year before folding in October. This could be the year to go all the way, but so far it feels like I’ll be lucky to get to October before quitting.
3. No (knowing) High Fructose Corn Syrup–I’m trying to forgo anything with high fructose corn syrup, but it’s in so many things I might not know if it’s in something I’ve had already. So I can’t eat anything I purposely KNOW it’s in, and I (hope) I don’t cheat by refusing to look at any labels for the rest of the year.
4. No Fried Foods–This one won’t last, but it’s fun to put on here.
5. No Alcohol–This one will last, so I have it as a safety in case nothing else works.
6. No Pork–This one also won’t last, but I’m going strong so far.
7. No red meat–This is the one I can almost bet will be broken first as I’m already wanting a steak, so if I get to Valentine’s Day with this one, I’ll consider it a success.
8. No Fast Food–“But how will The Fast Food Critic go on?” Well that’s a great question and I haven’t thought out that far ahead. Maybe I can just keep reviewing things that aren’t technically fast food like Chipotle or Boston Market or maybe I can string out this year with fast foods I’ve already eaten but never reviewed before or maybe I’ll break, but I want to keep this one. I’ll try to figure out a way to not break this one but also keep the segment going, and welcome suggestions from the two people still reading this.
9. No Facebook–This one might sound weird after 8 that were solely about food but after your body gets clear, your mind feels clear as well. I don’t want to waste that clarity with two hours of daily Facebook where the most I’m learning is that someone I haven’t spoken to since high school (if I ever spoke to them then) had a baby. Plus, my time on Facebook never seemed to make any amount of difference in traffic to the site, so there’s no benefit in it. Unlike Twitter where people do seem to come from, and I attribute it to Twitter being more information based, while Facebook is more picture based. FB just has its own ecosystem where people don’t seem to leave it once they log on, and so that’s counter-productive to someone like me that’s trying to move them somewhere else.
10. Make Books the Central Focus Again–If that sounds vague, that’s because it is, but it basically goes that books have to take center stage. Both my writing of them and reading of them. So far I’ve shattered at least half of that quota, as I read one (ONE!) novel last year and to that I’m ashamed of, but read two so far this year. I plan to start making books a bigger focus on the site as well, and maybe get a “Book of the Month” thing going.
Anyway, enough about me. What are some of your resolutions as well? Maybe we can help each other keep strong in them and make this year as good as possible (especially since it might be the last one, if you believe certain Mayan prophecies).