Nina In New York: It's Resolution Time
A young professional's take on the trials and tribulations of everyday life in New York City.
By Nina Pajak
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Welcome back, all. Up and at 'em! It's time to stand up, brush the cookie crumbs off your lap, stretch out those nearly-atrophied muscles, lift yourself out of the pit of self-indulgence and laziness, and return to the world of the living. I know. I don't want to either.
Over the December holidays, we abandon all discipline and care for personal health and appearance. After eleven months of attempting to stave off our bad habits with decreasing resolve, we give up entirely, open the doors wide to our vices and let them cement into place. We gain weight and lose muscle. We spend irresponsibly. We drink too much. We treat ourselves too often. In short, we have a ball.
But no longer! It's a brand, shiny new year, and we must start on the right foot. 2012 is going to be good, I can feel it. Unless the world ends, in which case it will be bad and I'll take it back. But barring that, I have high hopes. It's an election year, which is exciting (then tedious, then exciting, then REALLY exciting or REALLY devastating depending on your political beliefs). It's the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac, which definitely seems like a positive thing because dragons are scary and awesome. 2011 was the year of the rabbit, which is objectively far less cool-sounding. I'm feeling good, and I hope you are too.
So good, in fact, that I will relent and do something I never usually do, which is make new year's resolutions. Honestly, I hate them. I think they cause people to set arbitrary and overly ambitious goals which leads to disappointment, and they mostly result in the gym being obnoxiously crowded through February. I prefer to make resolutions throughout the year as the mood strikes me, so that my personal failures are spread out across a twelve-month period and don't depress me quite as much.
However, my first resolution is to get on board with new year's resolutions, so here I go.
1. Lose the same stupid five to ten pounds I've been wanting to lose since approximately forever. With the exception of a brief and awe-inspiring period leading up to my wedding, I've desired and resolved to lose this amount of weight every year since I was fifteen. Let's make it happen in 2012. Exercise more, eat healthier, blahblahblahblah I GET IT.
2. Be less angry. Or more patient, same thing. I would like to start off the year pretending to be one of those serene people who don't let their feathers get ruffled when they miss a train or someone spills coffee on their new coat or the salad line is soooooooo long or everyone at work and at home and in the world makes them want to scream. No, these people are untouchable. They don't sweat the small stuff, and they read books like Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and their priorities are in order, and I don't know any of these mythical people, per se, but I'm pretty sure they exist and I aspire to be one of them.
3. Be more financially responsible. I don't take my receipts. I buy dumb things. I get bored halfway through reading my credit card statement. I have never balanced my checkbook. Ever. Don't yell at me! Knowing you have a problem is half the battle, right? (Check out our 12 tips to save money in 2012).
4. Cook more often. I used to cook almost every night, and I used to bake all the time and then foist my homemade goods on unsuspecting coworkers so that I would not consume any of my homemade calories. At some point in the last five years, life got much busier and more exhausting, and this fell by the wayside. I miss it, and I realize it will help me a great deal with resolutions 1 and 3. My coworkers, not so much, but that's their business.
5. Be more punctual. This is what they refer to in business-speak as a "blue sky idea." A concept that's so wild, so totally unrealistic and idealistic and insanely ambitious that it doesn't hurt just to throw it out there. The odds of my achieving this are about the same as my odds of growing another couple of inches and finally reaching the height I'd always wanted. I mean, it's one thing to aim for self-improvement. It's another thing to change a person's core. A leopard doesn't change her spots, but I guess she can start setting her watch fifteen minutes ahead and go from there.
Are you making resolutions for this year? Lay them on me.
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Dear Readers: While I am rarely at a loss for words, I'm always grateful for column ideas. Please feel free to e-mail me your suggestions.
Nina Pajak is a writer and publishing professional living with her husband on the Upper West Side.
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