Another Scarf Completed

Welcome to 2012!

I hope everyone spent their transition from 2011 to 2012 the way they wanted to – full of fun, friends, food, family. As well as pleasant reminiscing of great memories and plans to make even better ones. When the calendar reset, I wasn’t wearing party hats or blowing any of those paper/plastic annoying horns (I’m not sure what the technical term for those are), I was in fact helping complete a 1000 piece puzzle of a very ugly looking picture surrounded by some of the most influential and closest friends I know. Funny thing how time works, with clocks and time zones and all that (I actually watched the movie In Time on New Years Eve, go figure), days change for different areas in one hour intervals, so I guess the world experienced multiple New Years Eves. Then again, a year is somewhat of a human invention and I’m sure the only thing the Earth is thinking is, “oh look, I’ve completed yet another cycle around my axis.”

I’m not one that follows the news closely, but even I could tell that 2011 was certainly a world-changing year, as well as a life-changing year for me. There were the series of walkouts in my hometown, the uprising of under-represented populations, the rise of the global population to over 7 billion, the death of Steve Jobs (and other world-changers I’m sure), natural disasters and a variety of other events that I’m sure I’m forgetting. With the momentum from last year, I’m sure that the coming year will be full of surprises and even greater changes and challenges. This year already has a lot to live up to with the coming presidential election, consequences of the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements and of course, the Mayan Apocalypse (this year would be a great time for me to seriously consider assembling my post-apocalypse survival kit, I’ll let you know what items I put in it). It’s also a personal monument for me, as it will be (hopefully) the completion of my first year of University, lucky me (seriously)

So normally with the dawn of the new year people compile a list of new years resolutions that he/she plans on doing faithfully throughout the next 365 days. I don’t normally write up a list of New Years Resolutions (or Eventual Disappointments) mostly because I find them very intimidating and I don’t want to end up doing something on the list simply because it was on the list event if I have absolutely no desire to do it anymore. I also don’t want to feel like January 1st is the only time I can set myself for change, I should be open for change all 365 days of the year. It’s like certain holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, where people set aside a certain day to think about others or what they are thankful about. Shouldn’t we think about those things everyday, not just one day out of the year?

But I guess writing up a list is a way of keeping ourselves accountable. I still feel somewhat…artificial for doing it. So I guess without further ado (and because I don’t have anything technological, architectural or engineering-related to talk about), here is my New Years Resolutions list, the things that I hope to do in the next year to help motivate myself to become a better person. I’ve tried to make goals that appear doable with only the slightest hint of challenge and this is by no means a binding contract, but I figure it’d be a nice list in the event that I find myself bored.

1. Watch at least one TED talk a day. Since I discovered TED talks last year around the beginning of my first semester, my mind has been opened to a vast treasure trove of world-changing ideas and the people behind them. I always learn something new when I watch a TED talk and it never ceases to amaze me how there are so many people with great ideas and lead lives that I envy. They are doing the things that make them happy, and everyone is benefiting. TED talks are inspirational as well as informative, and I want to make it part of my life in order to continually inspire me to keep doing what makes me happy and make sure it makes others happy as well.
2. Write more. I know, it’s a very vague goal, but it’s one that I want to try to hold myself accountable to and never forget. I don’t want to set a more concrete goal with a schedule simply because I don’t want to feel chained to something and not produce work that I’m proud of. Yes, I know that seems completely counter-productive to the intention of this goal. I have planned on writing Urban Times articles bi-weekly and even that is somewhat difficult for me. There are plenty of tidbits of stories I want to write but I don’t have the creative juices, dedication or inspiration to go through with them. The hardest part is starting (at least, for the most part) and I want to try starting more of the ideas I have, as long as these ideas have stuck around with me for awhile (that’s how I know they are worthwhile to me). I shouldn’t expect every idea to have to be brilliant (indeed, none of mine are) but I think I remember reading a quote that said something along the lines of “in order to have a good idea, have lots of them” and this year, I plan on doing, and embracing, that. Between my commitments to my short stories, Urban Times, and of course – this blog, there is plenty I could be writing, the trouble is coming up with decent ideas to write about so as not to waste my – or other’s – time.
3. Bike more. While it is the winter months (and we finally have some snow! At least, for a day or two), that doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped thinking about alternative forms of transportation. I just won’t be able to actually do this one until later, hopefully I”ll remember. I know living in a somewhat suburban environment in Madison makes it difficult to bike to many locations, but I figure as the weather gets warmer I should start considering the bike as an alternative mode of transport for locations that are too far to walk and only a five minute drive in a car. This also means I’ll probably have to tune up my hand-me-down bike (I’m not even sure where it’s from) and get it in a decent condition.

Ok, that’s all I can think of and all I really want to think of at the moment. I’m sure I’ll find things I”ll want to do as the days go on and I don’t want to struggle with finding things for me to change, cause frankly, that’s not how it’s supposed to happen. This post wasn’t really supposed to be about resolutions, just a post welcoming in the new year and paying respects to the one that’s passed. I’m still enjoying my very long winter break and hopefully I’ll find some more things to write about related to my interests as the days go on because that was the main reason I started this blog. Perhaps I’ll post more short posts that include little snippets of stuff I find interesting/intriguing/entertaining. Alright, I’m done. Enjoy your winter break and let’s all do some great things this year!

Note: Oh, if you’re wondering how the title is related…check out this.