[xclite]

I'm actually not one for resolutions either - I pretty much constantly set goals. The new year coincided with the completion and starting of a bunch of goals, so I decided to actually do New Year's resolutions this year.

Summarized and spoilered for length:

Spoiler

• Meet People
  I've lived here for 8 months, and I can't say I have much of a social life to show for it. I enjoy my independence and a large amount of what is probably unhealthy solitude, but it would be nice to meet new friends. I suppose this means I should find meetups, clubs, or something similar to find people that I can talk to about something interesting.
  
  
• Run Better
  
  • Run 2 half marathons
    Just a hard number here - if I am continually running races, I should have some incentive to be in shape all year round. Running a half marathon unprepared is misery.
    
    
  • Run a 5k in under 20 minutes (again)
    I'm actually relatively certain I can do this right now, but I haven't measured. In essence, this "achievement" requires me to actually run a race that is 5 kilometers in length.
  
  
  
• Commit to regular boxing
  I tried boxing out last year, and really enjoyed it. Several issues such as location, injuries, and finances forced me to eliminate lessons for a while. Hopefully this year I can find a closer gym and get into a routine.
  
  
• Program Better
  
  • Don't suck with my tools
    In essence, become moderately competent with vim and git. Not much else to say here.
    
    
  • Don't suck with my languages
    Now that I've analyzed languages to death and decided on a few that would best suit my goals (see here), I need to become proficient in them. To recap, those languages are:
    
    • Clojure
      
    • Ruby (with Rails)
      
    • Javascript
    
    
    
  • Build things
    I've become obnoxiously good at reading introduction books and whirlwind tutorials. This is useless. I need to create things with these languages - either through my own projects(I have quite a list) or by contributing to existing projects.
    
    In short, I want a real portfolio.
  
  
• Finances
  Because without financial goals, I'd have student loans forever. Sparing the one reader I have the gruesome details, the goal here is to have paid off all of my Sallie Mae loans by the end of this year. These are the highest-interest loans and represent about $15,000 of debt.
  
  
• Read More
  I love to read. Sometimes I just fall out of the habit and forget that it's fun. I have a list of fiction books a mile long to work through - it's just a matter of picking up my Kindle and relaxing a little.
  
  To put a number on it, I'd like to read 2 books/month. This isn't an impressive number, but I feel like it's doable and would keep me satisfied without killing my eyes.
  
  
• Learn Guitar?
  I got a guitar years ago. I'm that punk with the guitar in his living room who doesn't know how to play it. I can read music, I like music, so I should dedicate some effort to playing it.

This post has been edited by xclite: 02 January 2013 - 01:58 PM

[Lemur]

I'm planning to go with a primarily asian/thai inspired course. Time to build up my resistance to ridiculously hot foods. I already know how to make a basic curry, but this would be a good opportunity to refine those skills.

[AthenaDX]

My resolution is I'd stop procrastinating on the chirapratic work that I need done. I keep using the money for things I find more important, which really arn't.

I just want to stop having to take oxy and feeling like a moron due to my lack of memory and general fuzziness to my personality. DRUGS ARE BAD! D:

This post has been edited by AthenaDX: 03 January 2013 - 07:46 AM

[NeoTifa]

Curry is my very favorite food.

I think maybe why people wait until the new year is because theyre waitjng for the holidays to be over.

[raghav.naganathan]

I took a new year resolution in the year 2008 that I will not make resolutions anymore...and hey, I seem to be keeping up that resolution till date...

regards,
Raghav

[strawhat89]

I probably should try to learn the guitar this year. At least to make up for the 5 grand I spent on it. Also lose more weight. Hope to get down to 170 lbs from my current 187.

[jon.kiparsky]

strawhat89, on 04 January 2013 - 04:05 AM, said:

I probably should try to learn the guitar this year. At least to make up for the 5 grand I spent on it.

That's a lot of guitar for a beginner. What are you playing?
(I'm still playing the Epiphone I bought for $185 in 1988 - I got a Martin in the mean time, but I lent it to my brother a few years back, and he's still got it)

[magius96]

I saw this thread and had to chime in with my resolutions.

First, I resolve to have my next game, "Rogue Dungeons" complete enough to be ready for testing on the XBox.

Second, I resolve to find a equivalent or better job in Maryland and move there to be near my oldest daughter and my grandfather.

Third, I resolve to remain tobacco free in continuation of last years successful resolution to quit.

Fourth, I resolve to pay off all my personal loans and not to obtain any more.

Fifth, and final, I resolve to lower my families total debt by at least $2500 by the end of the year, not including the personal loans from the previous resolution.

I just had to post it here because I've been wanting to post it somewhere for prosperity but didn't want to post it anywhere my employer would see it.

This post has been edited by magius96: 04 January 2013 - 02:39 PM

[supersloth]

those goals seem sound, measurable, and reasonable!

who is this guy making total sense?

[magius96]

Hehe, I learned from my programming that you have to have a plan. I've tried tackling large projects without a plan and failed, it's only by having a plan that I succeed in my large projects.

Each one of those resolutions is part of a much bigger plan and those are steps towards achieving those plans. I call them resolutions only because they are my yearly goals. Project managers might call them milestones.

[strawhat89]

jon.kiparsky, on 04 January 2013 - 01:48 PM, said:

strawhat89, on 04 January 2013 - 04:05 AM, said:

I probably should try to learn the guitar this year. At least to make up for the 5 grand I spent on it.

That's a lot of guitar for a beginner. What are you playing?
(I'm still playing the Epiphone I bought for $185 in 1988 - I got a Martin in the mean time, but I lent it to my brother a few years back, and he's still got it)

Its a GB&A and is most probably an Indian brand. The 5 g's is in Indian Rupees btw which comes up to about $100 which still is too much for me. But back then I thought I was gonna be the next rock god. Lol.

[jon.kiparsky]

Much more reasonable, when you put it that way.
And yes, you should learn to play it. Playing guitar is great fun.

[strawhat89]

I did have quite a bit of fun over the 4 months when I attended classes. Then I got too busy and started missing classes. Planning to learn from youtube videos this time.

[Lemur]

I guess I'm part Thai. Just to be cheeky I ordered a Thai Hot dish to see how bad it would be, and most of the waiters were laughing about that one. Nasty kick on it, but I kept a straight face out of spite on that one. Given 2-3 months I could be tanking that type of thing without batting an eye.

Now to start teaching myself how to cook again...

[AnalyticLunatic]

My resolutions are currently two-fold.

Personal: Lose 20lbs by end of February (Shooting for 50lbs end of May if successful with first 20).
Professional: Study the ways of Python, Ruby on Rails, and review PHP for better understanding.

Last night at the gym after a heavy workout I was pleasantly surprised to hop on the scale and find I have lost 3lbs since starting last week In order to reinforce my commitment, for the first time in my life I have begun calorie counting as well. My daily intake previously I am still unsure/unwilling to calculate, but on a daily basis I was burning around 3800 a day and never losing/gaining weight.

For the last 5 days I have successfully kept my intake between 2000-2500 calories