Wednesday, January 7, 2009

resolutions

it's a new year. i'm making resolutions:

1) eat more beef. i read a statistic that the average american eats 64 lbs of beef a year. this number is reduced from 87 lbs per year just a couple decades ago. i find this tragic. i admit that i eat far less beef that i used to, but for some reason i feel it my duty to fulfill my responsibility to God and country to eat my fill of dead cow. i have a couple of vegetarian friends, so it would seem that i'm going to have to step it up even more to make up for their failures. beef... it's what for dinner... and lunch... and breakfast...

2) read more. and i'm talking books here. i spend too much time on the internet. i need to close the computer, turn off the tv and crack open a book. i read. i read more than most, but i don't read as much as i used to and i can feel myself getting dumber and dumber by the day. i'm going to tackle a big, old book this year. something like gulliver's travels or some crap like that.

3) take more pictures. kevin's last blog post made me consider the fact that i don't have nearly enough photos of the events of my life. if you know me at all, you know that i have absolutely no memory. you'd think that someone in my predicament would take a lot of pictures to capture and retain the moments that will fade into oblivion. but i don't. so this year i'm taking loads of pics - kind of like "memento" with pictures instead of tattoos.

4) eat a subway $5 foot long.
the commercial jingle gets stuck in my head at least twice a week, and when you think about it, 5 bucks for a foot of food is a good deal. subway's pretty good. i like the control of pointing and telling the sandwich artist what to include and exclude from my creation. i like the act of combining my artistic side with my eat-lots-of-food side.

5) be more generous. this one is serious. i used to be much more generous with my time and money. i've been talking with heidi about how we can be more responsible with our money with an aim toward giving away more of what we have. i lament over what i perceive to be an attitude of selfishness that has increased in my life. i get stressed about money. in this economy it's hard to pay the bills and have a good time. i'm hesitant to put myself out here like this (readers who encounter me on a regular basis can call me out if i'm doing this or not), but oh well. money isn't a good idol. it's not a good thing to get wrapped up in. i have no use for keeping my money to myself and not dispensing it freely.

what does generosity look like? it could be anything, really. maybe it's buying a beer for a friend and not expecting one to be bought for me in return. i know for a fact it includes giving more and regularly to my church because i believe in what is going on there and i trust that God has given me cash to use for good in this world. generosity includes giving the buck in my pocket and the change in my car to anyone who asks. it also means helping someone move on a weekend, or offering to help my neighbor bring her groceries into the house.

6) start a facebook. i'm not sure about this one. i think i mentioned in a previous post that i'm not on myspace much anymore. heidi has a facebook. heidi's mom has a facebook. my sister is on there, and so is bill simmons and jack-o. why have i stayed away? i have no idea what facebook is like. it frightens me but i am considering taking the plunge.

7) drive across the country. this one only counts if heidi and i actually move to california as we have discussed. if this does in fact take place, then i will be happy to report that 2009 was the year that i drove across the country (minus a couple of states to the east of me).

8) forgive brett favre. if he can announce his retirement for real this year, and i can forgive and forget him for wasting hours of my life over the past several years, then i can anticipate 2010 as a "no brett favre" year... how glorious it would be.

4 comments:

Kevin Wesley said...

Don't you dare start a Facebook. If you do, I'll feel like I have to dust off the one I started back in like 2005 when Facebook was only allowed for the educated college students. It's been lying dormant for many years and don't you dare start one. I have to keep up with you at all costs and this may prove to be too much.

A bunch of people at my work were discussing the ins and outs of Facebook today, and I had to walk away to avoid the temptation of plunging even deeper into the suffocating world of the internet. Anyway, how would starting a Facebook facilitate you closing your computer and reading more books? I don't think it would at all.

I'll never forgive Brett Favre. I'm just a lot more spiteful than you are though.

Heidi Lynn Bragg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Heidi Lynn Bragg said...

1.) I think I can safely say, I have never prepared you a meal with beef in it. I'm sorry I have been an accomplice in freeing your arteries from all that bovine clog.

2.) We are well on our way to my book a week resolution. It's been a week and we have both read one (although tiny) book and are into our seconds.

3.) We used to take a ton of pictures, and then our camera broke. Buy me a new one!

4.) The employees are actually called sandwich artists!

5.) Enough said

6.) "I will never get a myspace"
-Justin through 2005

"Instant messenger is stupid, if I want to hang out with my friends, I’ll do it in real life"
- Justin through 2006

"Texting is ridiculous, if I need to talk to someone I'll just pick up the phone "
-Justin through 2007

"What is this facebook nonsense? I don't even use my myspace!"
-Justin for another week, or maybe an hour- however long until he forgets I said these things.

7.) This promises to be a good time. Everyone should do it at least once, but if you never get to, know that I have done it 3x and will tell you abut it whenever you want.

8.) Come on, this was almost a great post.

Melky said...

Brett Favre has one chance for my forgiveness, and this is what he has to do to earn it: Retire tomorrow with a single press conference and a refusal of further interviews, vowing to do nothing but drink beer on the banks of the Mississippi.

If he successfully remains quiet for the entire five years, speaking publicly only to make a HOF speech an disappearing, I will forgive him for ruining Sportscenter and John Madden commentary for the past 15 years.

Other than that, I like your list. I like it a lot.

BTW - Eating beef is easy. Just order large logs of Summer Sausage from Hickory Farms. It never goes bad, and remains undigested in your colon just the same as a juicy prime rib.