Thursday, December 28, 2006

Don't open 'til January 1

Unlike last year, when I decided not to make any resolutions for 2006, I'm going to resolve to do something for the new year.

I resolve to not get my hopes up.

There you have it. I'm not going to get my hopes up about anything. I'm not going to anticipate anything good actually happening to me. I can't remember the last time I foolishly got my hopes up about something and had it work out in my favor. Pretty much everything I've hoped would happen hasn't, and it's left me feeling downtrodden and disappointed.

Now, you may think that this is a lame resolution since it doesn't appear to involve any work. On the contrary. I've always tried to look on the bright side of things..See the silver lining...Glass half full...Remained optimistic, and such. Not hoping for the best will be very difficult for me. So you see, this resolution of mine really does involve a lot of effort on my part. I'm not very good at being negative (at least about anything other than myself). This is a challenge.

You may think that I'm setting myself up for failure; that I'm bound to look forward to something or, at the very least hope that some small thing might work out. It's true, that would constitute a failure to uphold my resolution. I think I can do this though. It's a matter of self-preservation, after all. I'm not sure how much more disappointment and let down I can take.

So, best of luck to everyone in the New Year. I hope all of your resolutions come true.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Wine

Wine is great. It's possible that for the first time ever, I've actually sought the bottle to escape things. It's a good thing I don't have an addictive personality.

I'm in my last week of a long UK visit. It's been as extraordinary as I knew it would be. I didn't need a reminder of why I wanted to be here so badly, but I got one anyway.