"Resolution"

res=o=lu=tion - a: the state or quality of being resolute; firm determination. b: a course of action determined or decided on.

New Year's Eve is a time to look back at the past year and forward to a new year. It's also that time of year when individuals reflect on what changes they want or need to make in their life. So I've decided to put together a list of my "new year's resolutions." Sure some of these will be your garden variety of resolutions and there's always a good chance that by mid-February I will have abandoned all of them or even forgot what they were, but here we go.....

1. Eat healthier/Lose weight: This is one resolution that probably gets made more than any other resolutions. It's a very common one and maybe the hardest to follow through on. Every year people start out strong by working out the first couple of weeks, watching what they eat, all to come crumbling down at the sight of that desirable fast food chain that they drive by everyday. But, I'm going to give it a try. Hopefully I can lose 20-30 pounds by the end of the year.

2. Less Partying: The nice thing about this resolution is that it will also help in achieving resolution #1. It's time to take a step back and calm down from my "always on the go" lifestyle. Maybe spend some time renting some movies, reading a book, or just plain relaxing.

3. Dine out less: Again, this will assist me in achieving resolution #1. I feel like I spend too much time and money eating out all of the time. Why is that? Because it's easy??? I mean, I like to cook. I know how to cook. So why don't I do it more? So I'm going to work on eating out only once or twice a week. (this will be a big cut back from my current 5-6 times a week.)

4. Catch up with old friends: Don't get me wrong, I love my friends that I hang out with. But lately I've been hanging out with the same people every weekend. I have so many good friends that I used to hang out with that I hardly talk to anymore. So hopefully this year I can spend more time hanging out with the likes of: Viet, Flavor, Kfed, Crosky, Darcy, Fleiss, Voskie, etc.... (As you can see, I used nicknames to protect their identity) Plus, there's a good chance that 2008 may be my last year in Iowa for a while, as I look at possibly moving and starting a new adventure.

5. Improve my golf game: This is probably a resolution that I have every year. Golf is a game that I love. And anyone that plays it regularly has an appreciation for the difficulty of the sport. No matter how good you become, it can still be the most frustrating game in the world. For Christmas this year I got a sky caddie. What is a sky caddie you say? Well it's a gps system for golf. No matter where you are on the hole it will tell you the distance to the front, middle and back of the green, as well as the distance to hazards. So I am hoping this will be the device that helps me shave those couple of strokes off of my game.

6. Evaluate Employment: This is something you should probably do every year. But only once in the last 5 years have I seriously looked at changing jobs. Now I'm not necessarily saying I want a new job, but maybe it is time to see what else is out there. I do like my job, but there are times when I get burnt out. It's the same grind every year. Sometimes I just lose my enthusiasm and get stressed. Maybe I should look at getting back into professional sports field, or pharmaceutical sales (I've interviewed for some in past), or maybe look at something I haven't even thought about???

So there are some of my new year's resolutions. I'm sure I will think of more and if I do i will post them. In a couple of months there is a good chance that some, if not all, of these resolutions will be forgotten. So maybe I should add a 7th to the list....

7. Follow through on at least 1 of these resolutions!!!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Keep on, keepin' on
-J