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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsHow are the New Year's Resolutions Going?
Now that January is coming to an end, I'm doing a review, and I see mixed results. My resolutions are pretty easy: I don't have to lose weight or exercise more or save more money. I just need to make progress on my retirement hobbies and limit my retirement time-wasting.
Spanish: I've bookmarked a bunch of Spanish-language news sites and I try to read at least one article in Spanish before I do anything else on the Internet, including looking up all the words I don't know (usually at least a couple per paragraph), and compiling a vocabulary list to study so that I actually learn these words. Unfortunately, so far I really don't see much improvement - it really seems like an impossible task to build up a working vocabulary. I took conversational Spanish I with my wife (and a bunch of other retirees) last quarter at a local community college, and we're definitely going to have to repeat a few times.
Cooking: I have continued to share cooking with my wife, but so far have failed to make any new recipes this year! Dang! I need to at least find and consider one new recipe every couple of weeks.
Bird-watching: I've been in Vancouver WA for over 1.5 years, and my birding has really suffered. I used to live 2 blocks from a world-class birding hot-spot in CA and spent at least a couple of hours every weekend looking at birds. However, I have been working on my new Vancouver bird list (all the species I'm reasonably likely to see along with visual clues for the ones I'm not familiar with), and I have been going out at least once a week, so this is a success. Just working on the list has improved my local bird knowledge quite a bit.
Reading: This is definitely a success. While I was working I bought lots of books that I never got around to actually reading. Over the last couple of months I've started to make a dent in the bookshelves, and I've already made a couple of trips to Powell's in Portland to sell books that I finished or that I didn't really like.
How are you doing?
ProudMNDemocrat
(16,786 posts)May not seem like much, but I do not have that much to lose. I am 5 pounds over my Weight Watchers lifetime goal at the moment. I still wear the same size slacks, 10, for the past 4 years . So I cannot complain.
HeartachesNhangovers
(814 posts)which meant I was a scrawny kid and young person, but the benefit was that I've never had to struggle with my weight.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)I didn't get the memo.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)Mine involved getting my finances back on track.
January has been an exceptional month. I got a job offer that is higher paying (start 2/1) and sold over $4000 worth of pussyhats between Etsy and at the NYC Women's March.
My friends have been very understanding when I declined a few dinner invitations saying that i was trying to cut down on meals out for financial reasons.
AS soon as this transfer hits, I'm putting $5000 (all from pussyhats) in a one year CD.
I sold my first pussyhats to DUers. If you had asked me a year ago that I'd have a lucrative side hustle based on pink yarn, I would have laughed in your face. I never knew something I learned in Girl Scouts would pay off almost 30 years later.
ETA my pussyhats picked up starting on Christmas day. So a few of them are not this year.
ETA 2 I see you're in Vancouver, WA. I did an IE for a state senate race there in 2016 and fell in love with the area (to the point where I didn't want to get on the plane home). Moving back to the area is in my long term plans (the $5000 is a potential security deposit).
HeartachesNhangovers
(814 posts)Portland across the river, but end up in Vancouver for financial reasons. Because Portland has been growing in population so much, Vancouver has also grown. It's still in the "good growth" phase: more/better restaurants, more local events, traffic still not bad. Hopefully, they manage to manage the growth to everyone's benefit.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)My first introduction to the city was the Friday after the election's large anti Trump protest.
I still hear the name Portland and think Maine. I've taken to putting either East/West Coast in front of them.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,806 posts)I have realized in my old age that I have all the ambition of a tree sloth, so I don't even try any more.
HeartachesNhangovers
(814 posts)to formalize some goals - even if they are mostly continuing my few good habits - to keep from sliding into oblivion. Otherwise, it would be too easy to sleep late every day and spend the rest of the day posting on the Internet in my underwear. Actually, my wife wouldn't stand for that, but it's better to stay one step ahead of her wrath.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,806 posts)posting on the Internet in my underwear. I don't have a spouse to make me stop, and my cats are just as happy to have me around all day to feed them as they demand. I do have to get dressed and go out now and then in order to buy cat food, but if it weren't for that I'd be growing moss on my north side.
MissMillie
(38,570 posts)so I guess I blew it from day one.
Floyd R. Turbo
(26,549 posts)not make any resolutions!
Upthevibe
(8,067 posts)This obviously WAS NOT the time to do that with whats going on politically. When I'm watching T.V. and we've got a Cabinet Member lying to Congress saying that she doesn't know most people in Norway tend to be light-skinned and that she didn't hear dt say "shithole" when she was right there so as she's speaking I'm screaming at the T.V. "You're a fucking liar!"....Nope....not a good time to quit cussing. However, my other resolution is to meditate everyday and I've done very well. And, I'm thinking if I meditate that may help with the cussing....