Things I Might Do in 2012. They Aren't Resolutions Though.

It's a new year, which means new goals, resolutions, or whatever you want to call them. It's a fad sort of thing in my opinion. Everyone feels obligated to make all sorts of grand promises to themselves, sometimes doable, sometimes not, and everyone at some point during the year feels a bit ashamed of themselves for not realizing the full potential of said declarations.

So, this year, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to make a list of things I would like to see myself do in 2012, but I'm not setting myself up by saying that these are "goals" or "resolutions" of any kind. They are simply things I would like to work towards, and if I don't get them all done, I'll be honest, I probably won't worry about it.

Buy a Suit and Wear It Regularly
I haven't owned an actual suit in a long time. I had one during my two-year mission to Ohio, and I had one for a little while after I got home and returned to BYU, but after getting married and putting on a few pounds I couldn't fit into it anymore, so I just didn't bother wearing it. Instead I went with nice dress slacks and a white shirt and tie, sometimes accompanied by a rather dapper sweater vest, but never a suit coat anymore. I think I've finally gotten to the point about five years later that I would like to own a suit again, not some $700 monstrosity, but perhaps a nice $200 one that is tailored to fit nicely on my sexy mountain man frame.

It would be nice to wear it to church instead of my current approach. I guess I think it would make me feel a little more grown-up to be in a suit coat again instead of a sweater vest.

Stop Using a Backpack to Go to Work
This is one of those things I'd like to do because it makes me feel like I'm still stuck in college, or that I'm some sort of intern to be coming to the office each day with a backpack over my shoulder carrying my laptop, Kindle, and other assorted goodies. What will I replace my backpack with? I'm not entirely sure because shopping for bags is a lot more difficult than you might think. There aren't many stores where you can just go in and browse different laptop bags or briefcases. Most of the shopping has to be done online, and I'll admit to being rather wary of wanting to purchase something like a bag when all I can do is look at the picture before paying.

Ultimately, I'm pretty sure I don't want a hard case type of briefcase like you see lawyers and so forth carrying into court. That is almost assuredly far too formal for my work environment, so what I'm thinking is probably some sort of a professional looking laptop bag that isn't too bulky or overly complex. I just need to carry my laptop, wireless mouse, power cord, and my Kindle. That's it. Maybe some papers from time to time. Oddly, it's much more difficult to find something to fit my needs than I ever thought it would be.

Build a Website That Isn't Work Related
Last year I had grand plans to build the greatest website ever known to man for amateur writers and provide a way for them to share their work and get great feedback from their peers. I had all sorts of ideas in my head, I had talked to my brother-in-law on how to approach the project and then I discovered this. Someone had beaten me to the punch. My dreams were ruined!

Well, not really ruined, but I was pretty bummed about it for a few days. Guess that's what I get for not being very proactive in actually making the idea happen in the first place. This year, my plan is to get on board the whole "Christmas Newsletter" bandwagon that is prevalent in human culture for whatever reason, only I'm going to do it better than everyone else. I'm going to make a website, and then in our Christmas cards I'll send a note with the link and everyone will see fancy photo galleries, videos, updates, etc. Trust me, it's going to be great and everyone is going to be incredibly jealous for the rest of their lives.

Establish Myself as a Blogger
My wife has already got this on lockdown with her modest following surrounding her blog, and I'm pretty sure she'll probably top 100 or more regular subscribers by the end of this year, if not more. I on the other had have always had big dreams of blogging regularly, but I've never followed through.

This year I'd like to work towards hitting 100 posts on 2412 for the entirety of the year. That's what, twice a week or so? I can do that I think. Writing is something I've always enjoyed, but ever since leaving high school I've never found the time to make it happen. Perhaps this year can be the year I find a little more balance in my free time and spend a bit less time gaming in Azeroth and a little bit of time writing down some thoughts. How cool would it be if I had 50 subscribers like my wife at some point?

Well, if I did I might wonder about the sanity of the human race.

Spend Less Time Sitting on the Couch
I'll be honest. I spend a lot of time sitting and a lot of that time sitting on the couch at home. Now, this isn't because there isn't anywhere else to sit, or because of any negative influences, but rather because we live in a modest apartment and the kids like to play in the living room, so the couch it is.

Problem is, lately I've been feeling a lot like I spend all of my waking hours in two places: my desk chair at the office and the couch in the living room. I sleep in the bed, take a shower in the bathroom, and that's about it. So, I'd like to vary my locations a bit more. Spend a little more time sitting in my comfortable desk chair at home at my desk instead of with my laptop on my lap on the couch, perhaps do a little bit of work on the treadmills over in the recreation room in the mornings before work. Sit at the kitchen table for various activities, that sort of thing.

I'm not talking about taking wild trips, or moving, or anything. Just varying my static location a bit more so I don't feel like I live in the same spot all the time.

Save Up for Something Completely Gratuitous and 100% Awesome in Nature
What this thing might be, I'm not sure. Maybe a shiny new super-powered laptop. Maybe a desktop computer built from scratch for playing my games, maybe a new updated Kindle, maybe a trip to Oklahoma, or perhaps some random item I haven't discovered yet. Regardless, I want to save up for something that is all mine, all fun, and all gratuitous.

Why? No real reason other than I haven't had something super, super awesome to look forward to actually saving up and earning over a long time in a very long while and I feel like that kind of excitement in life would do me good in life. I'll probably use a salsa jar to save in.

Read 50 or More Books
I have a Kindle. It's awesome. All of you should be so jealous it makes your body hurt. However, despite having this Kindle, I've never actually managed to meet my dream of reading at a rate of one book per week. Where this dream came from I'm not sure, but I still think it's a cool dream.

To go along with this I think I want to branch out in my reading a little more and break away from reading almost exclusively science-fiction and fantasy novels. I love them, I really do, but I also sometimes feel like I've stunted myself by reading nothing but them for so long. I'm thinking I could mix in a few classics, perhaps some current popular fiction, and then branch out into some new authors in the science-fiction and fantasy scene as well.