Happy New Year's! [Resolutions & Other Nonsense]

Happy 2008, Everyone!
I trust that everyone had a lovely New Year's Eve and First Day O' The Year. Both of mine were nice-- first a night of Rock Band and friends, followed by the arrival of winter, ten tons of snow, and a Black Tie themed Dance Night. I felt pretty and fabulous, and I got to wear a turqouise tiny top hat!

The past few days, I've been thinking about resolutions a lot; I'm actually a fan of the process, as I think a day to start over & resolve to change is a very symbolic and lovely act to myself.

Every year I find a motto to define what I want for the year to come; this year it is Shape Up, Ship Out.

This means cultivating, defining, and shaping myself and my surroundings to be all that they can be, and discarding the habits, tokens, and bits that are harmful or wasted in my life. As I turn 25 this year, it's time to start owning up to myself, my responsibilities and actions, and making my life & destiny my own.

So here are some mixed Resolutions, partially pertaining to my own personal life & pertaining to this blog:

Now that classes are over, I'd like to begin the process of putting back together a mentally and physically healthy Ashe. This past year has been so so stressful (and a lot of times not fun!), particularly physically, and I'd like to wake up not in pain, without my neck or back popping ten times each time I move. I'd like to feel mentally put back together. I'd like to do this by taking the time to do things I love, whether it's read a book, watch a movie, take a hike, sew or knit, take a bubble bath, cook lovely foods, or something new and exciting (or old and exciting, like photography).

Cultivate & develop my "grown up" self. This is silly, but there are things I'd like to have & be as a "grown up"; since I'll be turning 25 this year, it seems like a good time to strive to be the classy, grown-up lady I'd like to be. (This will be an individual post unto itself.)

Strive to live as sustainably as possible (meaning I can't exactly compost in my apartment. I can, but I refuse to have a container of worms & dirt in my kitchen. The litterbox is bad enough). Consuming higher quality, better made products instead of cheaper goods, shopping locally as often as possible. Ideally, this will lead me to consuming less (though of higher quailty when I do).

Fiscal Responsibility. I'd like to strive to better my financial state, while ensuring that I can maintain a modest means of living.

Engage and enrich my life with more arts & culture consumption. It's often argued that experiences are more memorable to people that purchases, so instead of spending $20 on a cheap shirt, I'd rather spend that $20 on a concert, play, piece of art, as the pleasure I'll get will be far more memorable.

Feel out the path of this journal, so that I can have it be a work of art in of itself, one that I can be proud of. This means redesigning the site, and making it more easily updated and edited. Meanwhile, I'd also like to contribute more actively to Miss Malaprop & get my other blog (about film culture) up and running as well. That's a lot of writing, but I know I'll love it!



Here's to many new, bright, & promising days in 2008!