Happy New Year - 2008!

samantha — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:28:00 -0600

Happy New Year.

I have to admit it. I'm thrilled that the holiday season is over. While I adore spending time with family and friends, eating wonderful food, and engaging in great conversation, the amount of pressure and just plain business that comes along with the season can be overwhelming.

My Holiday Soap Box

This year I was particularly bothered by the blatant consumerism of advertising everywhere I turned. Everytime I watched television, I was informed that every kiss begins with Kay or that I should have gone to Jared in order to make the person that I love happy. C'mon. Really.

When I was a child, I enjoyed the receiving of gifts. What typical kid doesn't? But, for some reason, even though my family gatherings weren't large and plentiful, it wasn't all about gifts for me. Many of my holiday gatherings were spent with close friends of the family. We exchanged a gift or two, but the most memorable parts of the event, consisted of laughter, food, and hugs. That was the big deal. While I used to circle toys that I wanted in Toys 'R Us circulars, I loved the holidays because of being around the people.

I wonder if kids today (oh, God - Did I REALLY just say that?) have the same experiences, or if it's just really all about the toys, Santa, and getting the latest cool thing. When the time comes for me and my partner to have children, I certainly hope that we can instill the values regarding the holidays that we grew up with - that holiday values aren't synonymous with consumerism and having meaningful interactions with loved ones is often the biggest gift that can be both given and received. I hope that we'll create special traditions that they will pass down with their own families when the time comes.

Looking Forward - Hopes and Goals for 2008

So, enough of my soapbox. In my last post, I said I'd spare the soapbox, but it's something that has been bothering me for well over a month now. In any case, I'd like to talk about my hopes and goals for this brand spankin' New Year.

Professionally, I'd like to sharpen my programming skills. Just yesterday I was reviewing some code with my Manager who told me that I've 'leveled up'. The majority of my recent coding has been in Ruby. I was pretty stoked yesterday when I sat down in my editor, opened up a method declaration and just started writing. I'd like to have many more of those coding-with-ease moments this year. To help further that goal, I've registered over at http://rubylearning.org for the free Ruby course. Even though I pretty much use Ruby on a daily basis, I'd like to close some gaps in my knowledge. The course teaches Core and some Advanced Ruby. I'm hoping that this will make my knowledge base less bumpy.

Personally, I'd like to concentrate on having a more healthy year than I had last year. This encompasses several areas and several goals:

Quitting Smoking - I was down to about 2 cigarettes a day, which grew to 4 cigarettes a day, which is now at around 1/2 a pack per day. With the amount of heart disease that runs in my family, along with the desire to have kiddos eventually, I really have no business whatsoever smoking. I'll be bold here - I'm setting my quit date for January 19. Now that I'm accountable to all 5 of you, hopefully I can stick with it. :) While I don't want to say, "I'm never having a cigarette again," I'd really only like to smoke every now and again, such as when going out with other smokers to a bar or something of that nature. Not on an everyday or even several times a week basis.
Losing Weight - While I'm by no means a bovine, I am not in the same shape that I was just a few years ago. Also, while I don't expect to be the same 125lbs that I was at 21 years old, where I'm at now just isn't acceptable. I would like to at least be where I was at the age of 27 - 28. This will require a loss of about 30 - 35 lbs. If I can lose 2 pounds per week, I can be where I want between the end of March to Mid April. Ideally, I'd like to be less than that, which should be completely doable at a rate of 2 pounds per week by the end of June. Again, with heart disease and diabetes prevelant in my family, I have to be mindful. Which brings me to my next goal which is...
Exercising More - I'll admit it. I'm a computer geek. I'm a nerd. While I'm not the most uncoordinated being I know, I'm also not the most athletic. My partner M can pick up any sport she's introduced to and if not excel, at least maintain an average skill. Me? Not so much. I don't love to exercise. I would rather spend an hour reading a book or tinkering with my computer than taking a walk outside. But, I am going to commit to at least 30 minutes of exercises at least 3 times a week, and this winter, snowshoe at least once or twice a month. I also have the ability to go cross-country skiing, which I tried last year and loved. So, once or twice a month on that one, too.

I do have some other goals, some of which will remain in my own private offline journal. I normally keep the 'personal/emotional' stuff off of this platform, but hell, there are some things I want to do and sometimes putting it out there for others to see is a good way to make sure you do it. After all, I'm a Leo and don't like to be embarassed. :)

My Wishes for 2008

I wish for world peace. While that's not likely to happen anytime soon, it would be a nice thing. And, maybe if enough of us wish for world peace, one day it will happen.
I wish for safety for our soldiers.
I wish for health and happiness for all of my loved ones. Actually, I wish it for everyone, really.
I wish for positive changes in the economy.
I wish for positive growth when it comes to the things we can do regarding global warming.

Finally, may the New Year find you happy and healthy.

Here's to a great 2008! (excuse the rhyme. really.)

mindful iterations: Happy New Year - 2008!

Happy New Year - 2008!

My Holiday Soap Box

Looking Forward - Hopes and Goals for 2008

My Wishes for 2008