New Year's Resolution 2006
Every year, since 1988, my friend Lou and I have a new year's resolution. This resolution lasts only one year. For list of the previous resolutions, as well as an explanation of why I do this, see the Jim Davies FAQ at
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~jimmyd/personal/faq.html
(If this link does not work, browse to www.jimdavies.org, click personal, then the FAQ link).
Last year the resolution was to eat no fruit. I wanted to have a banana on hand for midnight, but I forgot to buy one. You sort of get out of the banana-buying habit after a year of no fruit. I was at a party before midnight, but then went to a bar (The Toucan) for midnight. I had planned to bring a mandarin orange slice from one of the salads to eat, but I forgot that too. You sort of get out of the wrapping-a-mandarin-orange-in-a-napkin habit after a year of no fruit. I ended up eating the lime wedge out of my complimentary designated-driver ginger ale. Lame.
Yesterday afternoon I called Lou in Atlanta and we discussed, for about an hour and a half, what this year's resolution would be. The resolution is this: Every time we get money, we have to say, aloud, "I'm on my way; I'm making it." My friend Alison may join me on this one.
The sentence is from the lyrics of Peter Gabriel's 1980's song "Big Time." In high school we had this idea but I don't think we took it very seriously. Now we're taking it very seriously. Every time we get money means every time we find out that money has been given to us from another party, including getting change from a purchase, receiving a check, picking up a coin from the ground, or finding out about a direct deposit.
We seriously considered some other options. Lou wanted to have the resolution to listen to no music. That is, if it's playing we can listen to it, but we cannot initiate the listening, by playing an MP3, putting in a CD, or turning on the radio. This scared me, because listening to music is a very important part of my everyday life. Lou also suggested saying "VROOM VROOOOM!" every time we started a car engine, but he lost interest in the idea when he was reminded that I no longer have a car. We will keep it in mind for future years. I brought up one I've been toying with for years: drinking nothing but water. Lou wants to drink his grape juice, though, so that got nixed.
Of course we joked about absolutely ridiculous ones:
1. Drinking nothing but grape juice
2. Not flushing the toilet (Easier for Lou than me-- he's married and I live alone. Thanks for the idea, Laura, but not this year.)
3. Not answering the phone (you'd have to listen to the message and call them back)
4. Not clicking on any web links (you'd have to type in the URL to go anywhere on the web)
5. Not using anyone's name (a year of "hey you")
6. No taking shorts
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~jimmyd/personal/faq.html
(If this link does not work, browse to www.jimdavies.org, click personal, then the FAQ link).
Last year the resolution was to eat no fruit. I wanted to have a banana on hand for midnight, but I forgot to buy one. You sort of get out of the banana-buying habit after a year of no fruit. I was at a party before midnight, but then went to a bar (The Toucan) for midnight. I had planned to bring a mandarin orange slice from one of the salads to eat, but I forgot that too. You sort of get out of the wrapping-a-mandarin-orange-in-a-napkin habit after a year of no fruit. I ended up eating the lime wedge out of my complimentary designated-driver ginger ale. Lame.
Yesterday afternoon I called Lou in Atlanta and we discussed, for about an hour and a half, what this year's resolution would be. The resolution is this: Every time we get money, we have to say, aloud, "I'm on my way; I'm making it." My friend Alison may join me on this one.
The sentence is from the lyrics of Peter Gabriel's 1980's song "Big Time." In high school we had this idea but I don't think we took it very seriously. Now we're taking it very seriously. Every time we get money means every time we find out that money has been given to us from another party, including getting change from a purchase, receiving a check, picking up a coin from the ground, or finding out about a direct deposit.
We seriously considered some other options. Lou wanted to have the resolution to listen to no music. That is, if it's playing we can listen to it, but we cannot initiate the listening, by playing an MP3, putting in a CD, or turning on the radio. This scared me, because listening to music is a very important part of my everyday life. Lou also suggested saying "VROOM VROOOOM!" every time we started a car engine, but he lost interest in the idea when he was reminded that I no longer have a car. We will keep it in mind for future years. I brought up one I've been toying with for years: drinking nothing but water. Lou wants to drink his grape juice, though, so that got nixed.
Of course we joked about absolutely ridiculous ones:
1. Drinking nothing but grape juice
2. Not flushing the toilet (Easier for Lou than me-- he's married and I live alone. Thanks for the idea, Laura, but not this year.)
3. Not answering the phone (you'd have to listen to the message and call them back)
4. Not clicking on any web links (you'd have to type in the URL to go anywhere on the web)
5. Not using anyone's name (a year of "hey you")
6. No taking shorts
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