The Sharty, Unachievable 2015 New Year's Resolution Thread That Sucks

[TioJorge]

So, I usually abhor New Year's Resolutions. It's almost always an excuse to start anew a tradition of trying to change simply because 'it's a new year', when in reality it's just another day. I've always thought calenders were kind of a universal obsession with people the world over and it's easy to look at a new year and say "IT'S ALL GONNA CHANGE!". Mmm...no. For me, it's usually been just changing because I have to or because I want to (never) and it never really mattered to me what time of the year it was.

However, given that I've been sober for a while, and it started a few months ago, I thought I'd give in to this wildly stupid idea that the new year will bring new changes. So, I ask you, denizens of down to fuck town, do you have any resolutions that you think you will even remotely follow? Will you be participating for shits and giggles? Do you hate this shit like I once did, yo? Perhaps you're participating with a loved one or a ball-and-chain to get some poonani? That's a great way to use this weird tradition. It toats works...and...now that I think about it, can actually be a way to keep at the resolution, in all seriousness. 

What say you, mofos!?

My own:
Stay sober. This means, no ganja, no alcohol (other than 1-2oz tastes of wine, which is pretty much mandatory for a sommelier, and most of the time they can be spit out), and no pills (I'll still take actual medicine if I'm sick, like I have been, but limit it to aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.). The purest form of sobriety, basically. Don't call it straight edge or I'll kill you with a straight edge razor. Cigs are a misnomer cause I've always hated them and other than once when I was trying to look cool for a girl at the age of 14, never smoked more than a couple. I think that's it. Also acid. No acid.

Lose fat; gain muscle. Another I've been working at since before the new year so it'll be easy to continue. I've lost about 15 pounds as it is (I'm 6'0" and right at 195 now) and I'm SLOOOOOWLY gaining muscle, but I'd like to up the mass a bit. Not a huge deal for me as much as the first resolution, but still important. This one isn't so much hard for me now with my sobriety well in check, but I'm putting a notch on it anyway. Weight has never really been an issue with me as much as it is the ratio of fat to muscle... I don't mind being 210 if that's all muscle.

The absolute hardest and the one I'm probably gonna throw down the drain: Go back to school, and/or get a new job that will pay for me to go to school. I've got some other jobs in mind that aren't so glorious, but that will pay for me to go back to school so I can eventually either move up the ladder in said job (oil industry, refineries) and then move to another position that isn't so straining but still great money. Either that, and this one is the longest shot of all, simply pay my way through school with the job I have now and find my way in what I want to actually do...which I still haven't the slightest fucking inkling of what that is. I make good money, but colleges are fucking planet-sized leeches at this point and I DO NOT want to be paying loans after I'm done. Once I'm done, I'm done. So this one is gonna be tough...

Last but not least: Masturbate more. Done and done. ONE DOWN.

[Ħ]

Broke it down into categories:

1. Financial: save $2000
2. Academic: do all the assigned reading
3. Fitness: stick to an exercise schedule
4. Romantic: have 5 great dates
5. Creative: keep to my guitar practice schedule

I started in August (my birthday) and have been doing OK.

[Dark Castle]

I’ve got a few things I’m putting on my list and here they be:
1. First and foremost, I’m going to come out as trans to my family before I move to Colorado in April/May whether they can deal with it or not.
2. Lose this gut and extra weight, which means a few things.
- Cut down beer drinking A LOT.
- Exercise seriously this time. That means rollerblading around the lake, going to the gym and doing light lifting and other cardio workouts
- Try and eat healthier. I’m a pasta maniac, which doesn’t help with guts, so I gotta expand my horizons, might try doing veggie burgers instead of red meat, or at least turkey burger meat instead.
3. Buy lots and lots of cute outfits that make me feel rad.
4. Reign in my body hair. Got them arms and legs locked down(smooooov as a baby’s butt aw yisss), need to get my shoulders, chest, face, and OTHER areas locked down. AND DEFEAT MY ARCH RIVAL, EYEBROWS I’M COMING FOR YOU YOU CATERPILLAR FUCKS.
5. Jump into the arena of make up, I’m pretty excited yet super scared about this arena.
6. Get to my besties in Colorado, and live life radularly.

[gmillerdrake]

- Going to challenge myself in my career. I have a very 'comfortable' job and I don't want to settle for 'comfortable'. Not going to go out of my way to look for a new job but I am going to do two things. Buts my  in my current job and keep my options open for any and every opportunity for career advancement.

- I'm not 'overweight' by any means and still maintain a very regular running schedule. (15-20 miles a week) But, I packed on 15 pounds last winter while living with my in laws awaiting our home to be built and I haven't taken it off yet. I'm going to drop that 15 lbs the next few months (6 years ago I dropped 70lbs...gonna re-visit that strategy)

- I turn 39 on the 26th of this month. I've ran (1) full marathon but my plan is to run another one this October to 'close' out my 30's......then run another one next spring after turning 40 to 'begin' my 40's

- and my standing challenge is always to become a better husband and father. I know I have more to offer. I have very selfish tendencies and if I could learn to overcome that selfish energy and turn it into energy directed towards my wife and kids I'd be thrilled.

[Phoenix87x]

My new years resolution is to continue living my life exactly as I am.

[rumborak]

I'm gonna start thinking about a new job. The two weeks of vacation now gave me some time to ponder, and I think it's the time to find something else.

Other than that, if you're gonna wait for New Years to change your life, you're likely not gonna stick with it since it clearly wasn't important enough to you beforehand.

[lordxizor]

I want to be more generous. I want to give away 10% of my take home pay to various charities and volunteer my time somewhere.

[carl320]

I don't have a new years resolution really, but I'm seriously thinking about a trip to Tokyo in 2016.  I lived there in 2001 and it was (personally) a very important time in my life.  So I guess my new years goals are to renew my passport and set a solid plan for a trip.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm gonna start thinking about a new job. The two weeks of vacation now gave me some time to ponder, and I think it's the time to find something else.

Other than that, if you're gonna wait for New Years to change your life, you're likely not gonna stick with it since it clearly wasn't important enough to you beforehand.

True. There's likely a reason you hear about the exact same general resolutions every year. If everyone was succeeding at it, you probably wouldn't.
I'm not into new year's resolutions as such, in terms of making sudden drastic changes, but I do like to have goals for the year, and the arbitrary change of year can act as a reminder to keep up certain things.

All I really want to do this year is make some money. But who doesn't want to do that?

[King Postwhore]

I will loose weight this year.  I start back at the gym in 4 days.

[lucky7]

One of my New Year's resolutions was to swear less....but on the 1/1/15 I made the mistake of spending extended time with my family, and before too long I broke my resolution....so reset 2/01/15...just need to avoid my Mother!  I love her but she kills me. 

[Elite]

Not a list of 'resolutions' as such, because,

if you're gonna wait for New Years to change your life, you're likely not gonna stick with it since it clearly wasn't important enough to you beforehand.

, but more of a list of stuff I want to do and will be doing in 2015:

- Finish this Master's program (Musicology) and start a second one in Education.
- Find a new place to live
- Have cool shows with my band
- Visit both Night of the Prog and ProgPower Europe

And to a lesser extent (for these are things that can be postponed in one way or another):

- Try to exercise more often
- More guitar playing and more songwriting
- Cook better food for myself. Hell, I'm a pretty good cook and like cooking for others, but when I'm eating alone, I make the most easy stuff, just because I don't feel like it.
- Save money; less spending on shit I don't really need

[Outcrier]

1080p 

[lonestar]

OK, here goes, just two for me but they're big ones...


1- Quit smoking, it's my last vice and it needs to go. Jan 6th is my quit day, I may start a "lonestar's quitting smoking epic rant thread" for venting purposes.

2- Get myself in good fiscal shape. Get the debts under control and manageable. Thirty years of carefree drinking and drugging took a heady toll, and it's time to get that shit organized.


Other than that, my mantra for the year will be to "always do the next right thing"

[Chino]

We could make a health thread where we hold each other accountable for all of 2015.

My resolution is to find a new job so I can quit this hell hole I'm in now.

[kirksnosehair]

I am also pretty proactive when it comes to doing things to improve myself personally or meeting some milestone goal like losing a certain amount of weight or learning a certain new skill at work, or it could be more personal like be more proactive about dealing with my slowly declining health.  I've got HepC, I've had it for a long time, and now I'm having some pretty major symptoms (most days I vomit anywhere from 3 to 5 times and I'm nauseous 24/7) so I'm hoping to get some kind of treatment plan going this year.  They have a new therapy that's still not quite a "cure" per se, but it puts the disease in remission when successful.  The drug regimen costs $82,000 in the US.        (it's under $30k in Canada. Go USA!  USA! USA!).  So anyway, with costs like that Blue Cross wants anyone who they certify to go on the treatment to be:


1. Patient must be in an advanced stage with the disease (viral load >3,000,000ppm).  My viral load is something like 7,000,000ppm, more than twice the threshold.
2. Patient should not be overweight.  Treatment success rates decline rapidly with heavier patients.  I've lost over 80lbs in the last two years.  I went from 238lb down to 162lbs
3. Patient should be under 60yrs old.  I'm 50
4. Patient must be completely sober for at least 12 consecutive months (I've not had a drop of alcohol in over 18 months)


So, my only goal for this year, really, is to see if I can deal with this HepC issue and get on with my life.


Other than that, I ain't trying to fix anything that ain't broken, you dig? 

[TAC]

WOW! Good luck Bro!

[JayOctavarium]

Become financially stable.

[lonestar]

A little over two hours till the quit hour, and I'm staring at my last five smokes in my pack. Getting nervous man.....



On a sidenote, can anyone redo my emote to take away the cigarette?

[Chino]

A little over two hours till the quit hour, and I'm staring at my last five smokes in my pack. Getting nervous man.....



On a sidenote, can anyone redo my emote to take away the cigarette?

You should smoke all 5 at the same time.

[lonestar]

Two hours in, nobody dead yet.


























yet..................

[Chino]

How often did you used to smoke?

[lonestar]

Two packs a day for about twenty years, a pack for the ten before that.

[Chino]

Damn. You're going to save a good chunk of change.

[lonestar]

Yup.

[Tick]

[lonestar]

 



That reminds me, I need to take down my xmas lights

[Tick]

That reminds me, I need to take down my xmas lights

Leave um up, might brighten your mood!

I quit smoking in 1988. I smoked a pack a day (more if on drugs) for 12 years! It was tough to quit but its the most amazing feeling when you distance yourself from the habit!
I really hope you succeed! I believe you will!

[gmillerdrake]

Still hanging tough RJ?

[lonestar]

Cruising through day 3 man 





(still need the smoke removed from my emote though, little help anyone? )

[gmillerdrake]

Fantastic job!


I'm no help with the emote.....sorry

[lonestar]

Today was actually a pretty tough one. Never knew how many little rituals at work are tied into smoking, I was having cravings left and right. Made it through though, and man have my taste buds awakened. The high end cheddar cheese we use on our cheese plate was out of this fucking world man, just exploded.


And coincedentally enough, foie gras was made legal again in Cali, and the chef has some arriving tomorrow. Nomnomnomnom....

[TioJorge]

Good to hear, Arj. Keep on keeping on, stay strong and resolute!! You don't need it.

I was tested today as well, earlier tonight actually. I went out with some very old friends...to a bar. I figured it'd be easy enough to just drink water and hang with 'em, and it was at first, but the longer we stayed and the more they drank, the more I wanted to drink with 'em. Not a good idea... But I didn't falter, even though at one point one of my friends, as he was nearing his stopping point in drinking, ordered me a beer and I ended up just giving it to another.

Anyway, it was a good boost in my willpower. It's nice to know I can at least resist the urge, but I don't think I'll be going back out anytime soon; at least not to a sports bar where it's rampant. I'm all good if it's at a place where it's not just one big-ass bar, I can at least get food or order some juice or some shit, but they don't have that at sports bars. 

[Chino]

Good job guys!

[gmillerdrake]

It was tested today as well, earlier tonight actually. I went out with some very old friends...to a bar. I figured it'd be easy enough to just drink water and hang with 'em, and it was at first, but the longer we stayed and the more they drank, the more I wanted to drink with 'em. Not a good idea... But I didn't falter, even though at one point one of my friends, as he was nearing his stopping point in drinking, ordered me a beer and I ended up just giving it to another.

Does he know that you stopped drinking? That seems kind of harsh to do to a guy that is attempting to stop.....order up a glass of temptation like that?  It's been 5 1/2 years for me since I drank and I have a certain group of buddies that when I get around them they still try to 'get' me to drink and party with them like I used to. That could be the reason I rarely hang out with them. 

 I mean, my core group of friends know my struggle and never make it uncomfortable for me.....and in fact when I first stopped there were several of them that when we got together that offered not to drink in front of me. I always told them to go ahead....but they cared enough not to put me in a spot where I might cave in the early stages of overcoming.

Tio....be careful in those spots of hanging with 'drinkers' early on. I can honestly tell you at this point for me I am comfortable in any situation where alcohol is involved....but early on the temptation was aluring. Best of luck to you and great job!!!!