I Consider it a Good Day When...

... I work out: √
... I practice my guitar: √
... I complete a major household chore: √ (food shopping)
... I do a lot of reading and/or writing and/or drawing: √ (read over 100 pages of "Wild Cards II")

Today was a GREAT day!

In-Blog Play:

Acorn Factory - The Dodos

Live Music and Good Beer

Last Tuesday I made it to Cambridge to hang out with Jay and Brian at Toad for some live music, and then later at Cambridge Common after Jay went home. Fun was had by all! Tom Thumb was enjoyable, and I had three different India Pale Ales. Click on the word "fun" to read all about it, if you so choose...

Currently listening to:

Cuyahoga [Live At The Olympia]...

New Music

I received a gift card from Newbury Comics for Christmas (thanks Dad & Ma!), and yesterday on the way to see my sister's new puppy I stopped into their Leominster location to put it towards some new music.

I have random scribbled notes of bands I want to check out, both live and recorded, and after seeing very good live performances on "Letterman" and "The Late Late Show", I picked up "Phrazes for the Young" by Julian Casablancas and "The Show" by Yonder Mountain String Band. And after watching "High Fidelity" for the first time in awhile, I snagged a used copy of The Beta Band's "The Three E.P.'s". Finally, because I appreciate music from all over the world, I grabbed "Karam" by Kimi Djabate to add some new international flavor to my current rotation.

Grand total for 4 new cds after gift cards: $8.65. Sweet!

Currently listening to:

She's The One - The Beta Band

Resolutions 2009 Recap

I usually make a pretty long list (of resolutions both productive and social), and while I can't find the physical piece of paper from 2009, I do remember most (if not all) of them:

• Lose 25 pounds - Mixed results (mostly positive): Using my little brother's proven South Beach Diet method, I lost 25 pounds in eleven weeks, beginning in late March. Over the summer and fall I slowly gained ten of it back, but a net loss of 15 lbs is pretty good! Not to mention an overall changing of my eating habits, which should help me as I go forward.
• Exercise more frequently - Success: I began a 3-times-per-week workout regimen of either taking a long walk, riding my bicycle long distances, or doing an hour-long curling bar/push-ups/abs/cardio regimen. There were very few weeks where I didn't accomplish this feat, and many where it was more than 3 times.
  
• Use my passport - FAIL!: Being unemployed, I didn't exactly have the disposable income to make something like this happen, though there was an inexpensive trip to Bermuda I'd strongly considered in the spring. That being said, it wouldn't have been much fun alone, so I went to Martha's Vineyard with Brian and Gavin instead.
• Visit my youngest brother & family in California - Success: Thanks to his company providing him with several free plane tickets each year, I was finally able to go out to Walnut Creek, CA for five super-fun days to visit with Jason & Stacie, Ryan, Cooper and Sawyer! ☺
• See ten live music shows - Near-success: I got to see (in order): Lights & Andre Obin, Vanessa Kafka, Laszlo Gardony, The Mark Zaleski Quartet, old chums Jay & Luc, The Johnnies, Mute Math, and The Cranberries. Eight shows, all of them a very good time, with friends both old and new!
• Learn to play guitar - Success (a work in progress): As I have nothing but free time, I decided to put it to good use, and I took fifteen weekly guitar lessons every Thursday afternoon from the beginning of September. I enjoyed every minute of them, and have spent at least an hour a day practicing, 5 or 6 days a week.
• Write a book - Success: I finished the first draft of a childrens book that had been banging around inside of my brain for the last few years. Now I just need to do some editing, turn some bad sketches into final illustrations, and then figure out how to get it published.
• Draw a lot more frequently - Success: I have several large sketch pads I keep everywhere for something productive to do as I watch sporting events on tv, or wait for a website to load. Instead of getting an idea and thinking to myself "I'll draw that later", I grab a pad and draw it in the moment.
  

An amazing side-effect of trying to keep all of these resolutions this past year was the way they fueled each other. If I wrote for awhile (the book, my daily journal, or one of several blogs), I'd grab a pencil afterward, and draw. If I spent a couple of hours learning a song on my guitar, I'd reach for the weights after, and spend an hour working out. I even tried cooking a few times! The seafood chowder got mixed reviews, but the whole family loved my homemade applesauce (haha). At any rate, in a year when I couldn't find a job, for me the best days were the ones where I drew, worked out, ate smart, and practiced my guitar. And there were many like that.

To sum up: I kept many of the resolutions I made for 2009. Some of them I made public (my diet), and others I kept to myself (guitar lessons and writing the book). There is no right way or wrong way to get things done, just YOUR way, however it works for you. I needed the fear of public failure to get through the diet, and the lack of pressure (and comfort zone) of going unnoticed to learn the guitar and write the book, with the working out and drawing falling somewhere in between.

I will post the list I have planned for 2010 sometime next week. In the meantime, I would love to hear what successes you have had in the past year, as well as what you have planned for the coming year!

January

Since I didn't receive a calendar for Christmas, and don't have one sitting around, I hand-drew one for this month (with several desirable music dates already filled in). At the end of the month, I will take another picture of it all filled in and crossed out. And if you are interested, check out how I fared with last year's New Year's Resolutions! I'll post this year's sometime next week.