pantsless paradise.

projects.

With the start of the Gregorian New Year long past and the Lunar New Year here, I suppose now is the time to finally put down New Year’s resolutions in some non-only-in-my-little-brain format. That makes them (me?) more accountable, right? To nameless, faceless Internet denizens, at least.

I’ve always had a problem with calling them New Year’s resolutions though. New Year’s Day is pretty arbitrary, the specific goals are often arbitrary, and resolutions in general are arbitrary -a few years ago, the House passed a resolution honoring Michael Jackson (love me some MJ, but WTF).

I’m from the school of improving oneself on a daily basis, so I’m calling them projects. “Big fucking deal,” you say. “You’re just being snooty with semantics.” Okay maybe so, but if the different label is more effective in getting my ass in gear, then I win. I think. But really, a project is more substantial - more enduring and more meaningful - than just a resolution.

• [366 Project] Pretty self explanatory. I take a picture every day, post it to Tumblr, and the rest, as they say, is history. I get better at photography, Internet users may get a glimpse into my life. (Question: Why are there so many otherwise intelligent people doing “365 Projects” that do not realize 2012 is a leap year? Years divisible by 4 except those divisible by 100 unless they are also divisible by 100. Come on.)
• [Espanol Project] Three reasons. In looking to go abroad during my year off, I realized just how constraining it is to not speak a romance language. I also teach ESL to Salvadoreans and interact with quite a few Mexicans in California. And I love the reggaeton. The end. (I always thought it’d be cool to be a polyglot - and then I tried to learn Chinese, which isn’t the easiest for a slightly tone-insensitive, whitewashed Chinese boy. Back to square one.)
• [Lean, Mean, Fighting Machine Project] I used to be a stellar athlete. I’m by no means out of shape now, but I could do better. I could also stand to put some more meat on my bones. So it’s time to hit the gym and “get big,” as the bros say. +15 lbs by the end of the year? And I’m running with Tufts in the Boston Marathon in less than 3 months. So there’s that too, although maybe I shouldn’t put on too much weight until after.
• [Ukulele Project] I’ve been playing ukulele for a few years now, but I’ve always been too busy/never really dedicated myself to getting better. It’s gotten to the point where I’m a bit ashamed to say I play ukulele because I only kind of do. There’s got to be more than just playing chords. So that ends now. I learned “Stuck On You” and “Drop Baby Drop” over break, and we’ll see where we go from here.
• [Reading Project] Unoriginal, yes, but I have many books to read and more time to read. Also considering going back and reading a few of the classics (The Divine Comedy, Dracula, Three Musketeers, etc.) that I never had the (mis)fortune of reading in school.
• [HTML5 Project] I somehow have latent HTML/CSS knowledge from the good ol’ Xanga days. But Web 2.0 —> Web 3.0 is happening, and there has to be some point down the line where knowing web design/programming will come in handy.

I think I’ll just watch this UBER motivational video everyday, too. Onward to become a successful, more well-rounded person!