Thursday, January 01, 2009

Resolution recap: Two out of three ain't bad

Before I talk about my resolutions for 2009, I wanted to look back at how well I did with those from last year. Though I didn't write them down (no evidence!), I'm pretty sure I had three goals:

1. Read at least one book per month.

This has been a consistent a goal of mine for the past decade or so. It may sound simple, but for years I failed to reach it. I'm pleased that I've now managed to read at least 12 book per year for the past three years. Here's what I read in 2008:
  • The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
  • The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
  • I Am America, And So Can You - Stephen Colbert
  • A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
  • Slam - Nick Hornby
  • Harry, Revisited - Mark Sarvas
  • Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain
  • Things I've Learned From Women Who've Dumped Me - Ben Karlin, et. al.
  • The English American - Alison Larkin
  • The Prince of Frogtown - Rick Bragg
  • Saturday - Ian McEwan
  • I Was Told There'd Be Cake - Sloane Crosley
  • The Shack - William P. Young
  • The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher - Rob Stennett

    2. Write at least one blog post per week.

    If you look back at my archives for 2008, it's obvious that I didn't meet this goal. I always mean to write about things, but I put them off too long and the words in my head lose their luster. Added up, I had 59 blog posts for the year, so as an average it sounds a little better. However, 17 of those posts came from December. I'd like for every month to look like that, but as it is, a couple months had only a single post to them. My efforts feel pathetic.

    3. Start recycling at home.

    It's rather inconvenient to recycle where I live. There's no curbside pickup, so I have to drive our recycling downtown. As such, I spent nearly five years throwing away recyclable products, and I've always felt bad about it. Finally last year, I bought bins for the garage to sort out plastic, cans, glass, and assorted paper. When the bins fill up, I drop the contents off at the Alabama Environmental Council's Recycling Center on my way to work. And now I feel better about my impact on the environment.
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