I Resolutely Resolve, Solemnly Swear, and Hereby Declare...

Happy New Year !!!

Welcome to 2009, my wandering peeps! I have to say, just by the nice round look of the way 2009 is written out, that I hope and think this will be a good year. Though it's late at night, I wanted to take a moment to get in a quick post before bed on this, the first day of a brand new year. I've got a ton of ideas for blogs over the next few days - so much so that I might have to do a couple in a day to fit them all in!

The New Year, for many people, means - of course - resolutions. People begin feeling down about a part of their lives, take the new year as a clean slate, and resolve to change. I believe it's a nice sentiment, so I'm here to share my main resolutions (or goals, if you will) for 2009. I'll list them off first, then take a moment to elaborate

1. Choose a college; Finish IB and high school.
2. Get to know more people from Leaky; Attend LeakyCon.
3. Watch films, make films.
4. Get and stay fit physically and mentally.

1) Okay, this is kind of a big one. Sometime before May I will have to choose from the three schools I have now applied to. This all hinges on financial aid and scholarship money, so a corollary to this resolution is to complete all necessary scholarship applications and, erm, hopefully get some of them. That's out of my hands though. Then, starting as soon as I get back to school and culminating in May, I will be facing the final stages of the IB program in English, History, and Spanish... I hope to do well in my certificates. Finally, I just hope to make it to that last week of May in one piece. This has been a long four years and it'd be a shame not to make it in the last few months. (Just kidding - I know I'll get there).

2) While I spend a lot of time on Leaky, Skype, YouTube, and now on Twitter (the latter mostly with people from Leaky), I hope to get to know some of these people better. I hope this will culminate in LeakyCon in the final weekend of May, which promises to be all kinds of awesome. (I'll know by the time I get back to school whether or not I can actually make it work - it requires skipping the last few days of school and graduation so, well, we'll see.) After that, I just have to book plane tickets, find a place to room, and scrounge up some money.

3) I watch a lot of films. So many, in fact, that I almost made it to 100 in 2008 (more on that another time). I'd like to continue to expand my horizons by watching well-made films in addition to the Blockbusters that I so enjoy. I want to crack the spine of 501 Must-See films, and maybe work on the AFI Top 100 list. Additionally, since I keep saying I want to make films, I want to - well, do just that. I'd like to write some part of a screenplay or film a short film. Anything to get me moving in that direction.

4a) This one has two parts. In accordance with the wonderful fantabulous project Fitting It In (very briefly, it's Melissa Anelli's goal to manage to "fit in" fitness sometime in the next year, and many people have joined the social community headed for the same goal), I want to fit fitness in. I want to make going to the gym easier and more possible - every Thursday during 4th would be a good place to start - and find a primary activity to do at home when I am not able to make it to the rec center. I would also like to stretch at least 5 days a week in my efforts to become more flexible.

4b) I'd also like to continue to stay healthy mentally. That includes continuing to write in this blog regularly - I'm now going to make my official goal 5 days a week, because I'm really starting to enjoy it. I'd also like to make more of an effort to quite simply be happy. I know that sounds obvious but there you have it. I'd like to make an effort to find a balance in sleep - it's tough when I have to get up at 6AM, but I basically manage to ruin my weekends by always having to sleep in. More caffeine, maybe? Just kidding. I'll keep thinking about this one.

So there you have it. Those are my 4 goals... Wish me luck!