The Year Ahead

2006 didn’t measure up to expectations. AT ALL. But for each of the bad things that came to pass, there was an equally—if not better—event to compensate. Such as:

• The evil Engineer breaking my heart as I was almost literally on my way to a funeral for crying out loud. That lovely combination of events led to 3 weeks of the worst flu I’ve ever had, BUT also motivated me to make some drastically healthier choices, like running marathons and raising money for cancer research. Then I cut off all my hair and sent it to the bald kids.
• Losing a job that I absolutely loved led to 2 months of reckless unemployment, and drinking with this boy, who is really fabulous. Though he doesn’t blog nearly often enough, he’s fucking brilliant, so go read. I also found a job that, though lacking in certain pecuniary aspects, has me liking it in spite of myself. Mostly because it's finally challenging me in the right way. And (as an added bonus) puts me in a position to rub elbows with the mayor. And the District Attorney. And the Attorney General. Next month. Oh yeah.

So 2007 can’t be much worse. Then again, I said the same thing about my New Year’s Eve plans…and ended up doing nearly exactly the same thing for the second year in a row (albeit minus the evil Engineer. But then again, also lacking mimosas in bed until 2 pm the next day. You win some, you lose some.).

Other truly great things have happened in the past 12 months: C-dub got engaged, the Little Princess met her Prince, my brother’s cd dropped, UCLA beat USC for the first time in seven years, and I got to spend some major quality time with my favorite boy.

Okay, so I was wrong. It was a pretty damn good year! All that AND I’ve acquired a fabulous motley crew of drinking buddies. And really, what more does one really need in life?

In 2007, as I enter the last year of my 20s, I will have a new niece or nephew, celebrate my first blogiversary, handle some of the most prestigious events of my career thus far, and hopefully continue to learn and grow from the many mistakes I still have yet to make. So here are some more guidelines for the upcoming year:

• Less procrastination and more organization (I’m tired of my bedroom looking like a papermill exploded because I let my mail pile up).
• Debt be gone! I’ve devised a plan that will keep me painfully poor for most of the year, but will finally allow me to start living nearly debt-free in 2008. Right before I turn 30!
• Stop being the sole catalyst behind friendships that are about to expire. I’m seriously tired of feeling like the one always making the effort to stay in touch with people who might otherwise fall off the face of the earth. I am no longer putting up with flakes. If you love me, prove it. Otherwise, you can rest comfortably in GPG Jail, where we throw away the keys and forget about the inmates.
• Improve my penmanship...it's a sign of a disorganized mind.
• Get that damn passport.
• And no more blogs whining about my life. I promise to be better. For you guys.

And that’s it about it. Just enough to keep me out of trouble.

What's everyone else resolving to do this year?