The holiday season has been bittersweet for me. I have had the chance to visit friends and family in my native land for a few weeks, but I’m no longer acclimated to cold and snow, and my immune system couldn’t handle all of the local diseases, so I’ve had multiple flus and colds to get over. On the up side, my youngest daughter got to see snow for the first time, and I was able to take my kids sledding.
My oldest two and my niece built a snow man in my sister’s back yard.
I enjoyed a jam session with Opa on his banjo and me on the ukulele (Who says the ukulele isn’t a bluegrass instrument?), and I spent my New Year’s Eve singing karaoke and hanging out with my friends the Shenanigan Girls.
When considering the whole year, I couldn’t decide if 2012 belonged in the Things I Like or the Things I Don’t Like category, so I just decided to give it an impartial review compared to my goals from last year.
Achievements Unlocked
One of my very first posts on this blog was a list of goals for 2012. Some of these goals I had actually forgotten about, and others I abandoned on purpose. Let’s take a look at how I did:
- Goal #1: Be funny. I’ll let my friends and readers be the judge on this one. I’d like to think I didn’t fail too badly. Status: Accomplished
- Goal #2: Post to this blog once a week. I made a total of 86 posts in 2012, so while I may not have posted every single week, I did average more than once a week. Status: Accomplished
- Goal #3: Post a video to my vlog once a month. Inspired by the likes of Hannah Hart, Jenna Marbles and a bunch of girls who speak Cantonese, I thought it would be fun to start a vlog. I tried it, and it turned out that I did not enjoy it, so I let this goal go. Status: Failed
- Goal #4: Write a book. I wrote two first drafts and before that, I got a really good start on another draft that I wouldn’t mind revisiting. NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo were great motivators for this, but the best help has been the support of my fellow bloggers and writer friends. Status: Accomplished
- Goal #5: Write a play. I completely forgot about this goal and did not even make an attempt. Big fat fail. Status: Failed
- Goal #6: Learn Japanese. I forgot that this was one of my New Year’s goals for 2012, but I worked on it nonetheless. I can hold basic conversations, order off of a menu, and tell a cab driver how to get to my house. On the down side, I can’t read very much at all. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but I’ve certainly come a long way on this. Status: Accomplished
- Goal #7: Don’t Get Anyone Pregnant. My wife hasn’t had any more babies, and nobody has called asking for child support, so I may have actually succeeded at this. Status: Probably Accomplished
You win some you lose some, right?
New Goals
So what am I going to do in 2013? Here’s my new goals list:
- Keep up the good work from last year. I want to keep writing blog posts once a week, and I would like to continue on some of the other projects I started, like polishing my most recent NaNoWriMo project. And I would certainly appreciate it if I managed to not get anyone pregnant.
- Submit a novel for publication. I wrote two books in 2012, so 2013 will be a year of editing. I’d like to get one novel in the kind of shape to publish, and I could certainly stand to find myself a good agent once I have that done.
- Take up model photography. I got a camera a long time ago because I wanted to learn photography, but I never really got into it like I meant to. I have recently been enjoying classic pin up and cosplay photography, and I thought it would be fun to start taking my own photos. I don’t know anything about photography, so I have a long way to go on this.
- Not have a drinking problem. As you may already be aware, I enjoy strong drink and telling amusing this-one-time-when-I-was-drunk stories. Of course, the stories I don’t tell are the less amusing ones where I embarrass myself or others or have to call around and make apologies the next day. I’m still not sure what “Not have a drinking problem” means, but so far I have suspended my drinking as of January 1st until I figure it out.
So here’s to improvement and making changes. I hope everyone has a happy New Year!
Don’t get anyone pregnant, lol! Oh my word, that made me laugh like a maniac. So yep, you’re definitely funny. Keep up the great work!
I love you Tony! Keep up the good work…. suspending drinking is hard, but a necessary improvement! Hang in there and call me if you need help!!
Oh, and “Call my mom sometimes.” should be on that list.
Well done. Congratulations!
Wow, a lot to accomplish this year; let me know how that book turns out, I may have to ask your advice on the best publishers to use one of these days.
Haha! I love that you changed your name to “The Blue Girl”!