Happy New Year!

I guess at this time of the year everybody is ready to make their New Year's resolutions. We are all probably driven by the fact it is sort of traditional to do so, or because the New Year makes you think of the past, the present and the future.
The past is the trigger to all the analysis and the retrospective we do these days. Our mistakes during the ending year, the sad moments, and the stupid acts (from others and our own) are the main subject of all the thinking we do. Of course, we also remember the good things: accomplishments, good news, presents and the small little things that made us smile. However, the "bad" stuff, (not necessarily bad in the long term, cause most of them become lessons learned) is what we really use as reference to determine what we want to focus on the next year and in consequence build a better future. The question is: how long do you stick to what you planned to do or change? In my opinion, for the stronger in mind and will, it probably lasts no farther than March or April. For the rest (include me on this list), most likely until the next chocolate cake passes you by in a restaurant if you promised yourself to lose 10 pounds.
So, I am thinking, this year instead of BS-ing my own self with a "year long" resolution, I am gonna work little by little on the things I want to do better. I will start by making a list of the things I am the most conscious about me needing to change. Here is the list of those, the most obvious must-be-taken-care-of-soon flaws of moi
1. Save: I am a shopaholic. Shoes are my number one sin. I cannot resist a pair of shoes I love, no matter how expensive they are or how broke I am, I would buy them. (Ask my credit card, it'll tell you about it) I gotta stay away from stores and malls to avoid temptation, it’s the only way. And I also want to find alternative ways of saving.
2. Get organized: my apartment is so messy most of the time... it looks more like I live with Tazz (Looney Tunes character) rather than with two lazy, purring, cute, sweet cats. Clothes, shoes and purses thrown all over and dirty dishes in the sink for several days. (Several is the word I use, instead of confessing the actual number of days)
3. Relax: I love my job, but I am so demanding of myself that I lose my peace whenever things are not working as I expect them to(way too often, I have to confess). I gotta learn to control my emotions, don't let my job getting into me so much.
4. Get fit: the truth is last year I gained so much weight, I haven't wear some of my favorite clothes in a while cause I just can't fit in them anymore. I blame 2 things for it: first, work: I work so much and rest so little and have so little time that I compensate with food, specially sweets. Second: men, I should say one guy, he disappeared on me in May of last year and I have been eating and crying trying to forget since... the results: I AM FAT...and he's still gone!
5. Forget person mentioned in point 4: 2010 was a tough year. Trying to forget him has been a full time job, the worst kind... long hours and no pay. I still miss him, I still crave his company, the texting, the chitchatting, his stories and mine. I finally accepted what I had always known; he never cared for me and was never going to. The best thing he ever did for me was taking off. It is also what hurt me the most, but I know, in my head, it's for the best ( I'm just working on my stupid little heart to get the message!!!)
6. Be nicer: I can proudly say that as a friend, I am the BEST friend you can have. The problem is, if you are not my friend, just an acquaintance or a coworker, I would probably be a bit of a b#tch if you do something I don't like. I didn't realize until recently that I was hurting people's feelings when I was indifferent or a bit harsh. I don’t think I get to a point of being mean, but maybe I sound rude with my tone sometimes.
The thing is...for me, if someone is NOT my friend and is not nice to me, I don't care, cause they are not in my list of "people I care about". But I did not know that it does not work that same way for most people and they actually get offended if I am not nice to them, even if they just barely know me. So I don't want to be the b#tch anymore. It is probably too late to change some of those people's opinion of me... but at least, I will be aware of my own change and they won't have complaints about me, and I will be able to not have this is my list of "to do's in life" anymore.
That's the list! I probably have a million more flaws I haven’t even realize I have, but I think it's a good start.
So I am gonna be working in short term goals regarding these points.
For the first week of 2010 these are 5 short term goals:
1. From Monday to Friday: Take the bus to my office ride every morning instead of a cab. That’s 130 CRC. vs. 1300CRC.Money saved in 5 days: 5850 CRC. Saturday and Sunday, ride the bus all the way to my weekends part time job. Bus Rides total per day: 1080col. Taxi ride: around 7000CRC. Money saved in 2 days: 11840 CRC
2. Spend this Sunday, tiding up my apartment. That includes doing some laundry and the dishes (Jan 2nd)(I will upload a picture for evidence)
3. I will start knitting a scarf this week, to get my mind off work.
4. Special K Cereal and fruit for breakfast everyday of the week.
5. Do 3 favors or nice things for 3 people (1 each) I don't necessarily like very much.
Are they too easy? Maybe so, but I want to start little by little, so I don't get lost after the excitement of the holidays.
I hope 2011 is a year full of blessings from God for all of you. I hope you can reach all of your goals and many good things happen to you.
Please comment. I am new at blogging and I would love your opinion and advice.
XOXO
PAO