New Years. To some people it's a night to get together with friends, watch the ball drop, drunkenly sing Auld Lang Syne(you know you don't know the words, just hum it!), kiss a loved one or in some cases a random stranger at the bar, cheers a glass(or a few) of champagne at midnight and then cure a hang over with black eyed peas and cabbage while watching football. This is probably what my new years will look like(just way more baller of course) in the beautiful and amazing Big Apple. To me though, New Years means a whole lot more than just a fun night out in the city with my girls. This New Years especially.
2011 was the most challenging year of my entire life. I've lived and learned and became a stronger person because of it, but really 2011, you kicked my ass. I can't wait for 2011 to end. 2012 is a fresh new start. A new motivation to my life. A new hope for good things to come. I really need some positivity and good karma to come in 2012. Also, 2012 is an end of an era. An end to my 20's and a start to my 30's(that is, if the world doesn't end!)
Every year, I try to make a New Year's resolution. Last year I blogged my resolution. Here it is:
For 2011, I have made a few resolutions for my year. I have decided like most people, I am going to be more healthy and go running more. I am going to get off my ass on my days off and actually do stuff. I'm going to try my damn hardest to get promoted at work (new motto: shit or get off the pot). And most importantly, I am going to write more.
I can say that I kept most of my resolutions. I definitely ran more(and obtained a black eye from the boardwalk to prove it). I got off the pot, but seemed to just moved to another pot that I need to get off. I still like laying on my ass on my days off(i.e. right now I'm laying on my couch still in my pajamas, watching Days of Our Lives, but being somewhat productive by updating my blog.) And I have definitely wrote more(although I hadn't this month. December is way too stressful and busy in the retail world!)
This New Year's resolution I have decided to incorporate an idea I have been working on since before my 29th birthday. I wanted to publish this blog post on my birthday, but procrastination and my busy life got the best of me. So I decided to turn my New Year's resolution into my birthday blog post. This is my 30 before 30, 30 things I want to do or make better in my life before leaving my 20's and taking the dive into my 30's. 30 things might seem a bit lengthy so hopefully I won't bore you. Some of the things are major while others are so minor they barely made the list. Here goes!
1. Stop eating like a kid. Some of my favorite foods include but aren't limited to: hot dogs, mac and cheese, grilled cheese with tomato soup, Pizza Bites, and Spaghettios with franks. Just listing all of these make me hungry and want to vomit at the same time.
2. Take better care of my face. How do I still get pimples at the age of 29?
3. Keep a clean(or at least cleaner) house. At one point I had a friend tell me my house looked like it was on the TV show Hoarders. I mean, it's not THAT bad, but I still need to keep the barn clean more often.
4. Keep growing out my hair. One of these days, I want to not have to put the hair extensions in to make it longer.
5. Get the hell out of retail. From my last blog post, you can probably tell that I'm so over retail by now.
6. Find a new job. I need a normal, 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, holidays off, fulfilling grown up kind of job in NYC. Do those really exist and if so, where can I find one?
7. Gym it up. I have finally gotten a gym membership, but lately have been too busy to use it. I need a solid gym routine to keep me from flying away when waving and having unwanted jiggleys on this almost 30 year old body of mine.
8. Take better care of my electronics. Last year on New Years, I lost my phone. On my birthday, I lost my camera. Within the year I've also had a broken TV, missing "0" key on my lap top, broken DVD player, broken camera and a scratched Nook screen. I have an iPhone now so I think if I lost that I would be completely lost(literally. My friends wouldn't be able to find me on my stalking app Find My Friends.)
9. Drink more water.
10. Stop eating out so much and cook for myself.
11. Go back to school. I just sent in my application to the Fashion Institute of Technology. Fingers crossed that I get accepted!
12. Stop being lazy. This was one of my New Year's resolutions last year that I pretty much failed. If I fail this year, I will buy myself one of those Forever Lazy adult pajama outfits, take a picture of myself wearing it, and make it my profile picture on facebook.
13. Be more fashionable. After I quit AnF, I got rid of a lot of my plaids and navy attire. Now I find myself shopping more at Urban Outfitters and other places I normally didn't shop. I want to be a fashion genius and the fashion go to girl in 2012.
14. Finish my NYC bucket list. I have a list of touristy things I still want to do in NYC. It's not written down but it's all stored away in this head of mine. I want to complete this bucket list.
15. Find me a man? I have an old proverb I try to live by. It states, "Thee wilt findith what thou is looking for when thee hath stopith looking." Have you ever lost your keys and looked everywhere for them? Finally, you get frustrated and give up. Then, there they are, clear as day, right beside you. In 2012, I will be as cool as a cucumber, calm as the eye of a storm, and smooth as a baby's bottom. I mean really, where's the fire? I'll be in a relationship, get married and have kids on my own time.
16. Run a 5K.
17. Work on my website and build a better blog.
18. Get some of my writings published. Magazines, newspapers, popular online blogs, on the wall in a bathroom stall, I don't care I just want my shit published!
19. Save more money. Between medical bills, getting my new car and drivers license switched over to NY, quitting my job and taking a few trips around the U.S., I spent way too much money in 2011 than I ever have. Time to save up some money for that future of mine.
20. Be part of a flash mob.
21. No more ER visits or hospital stays.
22. Move to Manhattan. This one will probably be the last goal I hopefully will accomplish before I turn 30. One more amazing summer in LB, then *fingers crossed* it's off to live in the Big Apple.
23. Stop falling for douche bags. Most of the time, I already know they are douche bags and I still continue dating them. I think this manbatical I've been on has really helped me grow out of this stage, I hope.
24. Read more. When I traveled, I was always reading. Now that I have more of a somewhat stable life, I have stopped reading. I have so many books downloaded on my Nook I have yet to read.
25. Drive cross country with Sammy while fist pumping. Okay, so this isn't really a serious goal. I started running out of things to do and asked my friend Sammy for her thoughts.This is what she came up with. I do want to take more spontaneous trips though.
26. Rescue a four legged friend. When I think of rescuing a dog in NYC, I think of pushing a dog out of the way of a taxi before it gets hit. Yes I have a wild imagination. Once I have the 9 to 5 job, apartment in the city, and life situated, maybe then I can find the time to get a dog.
27. Hang out with a celebrity. I'm thinking Chris Humphries.
28. Take more trips to Florida. My family is the world to me and I would like to see them more than I do. Also, my best friend is having twins in March and I don't want to be a stranger to them. After all, I will be an unofficial aunt!
29. Take another big trip out of the U.S. Whether it's off to Ireland or just a road trip to Canada, I want to leave the U.S. again and go somewhere I haven't gone before.
30. Get inked. If you're reading this mom and dad, I'm only kidding. I just wrote this because I ran out of things to write. If you're not reading this, I want a cool star because that's what my name means.
I hope on October 21st, 2012, I can say I have completed every single one of these 30 goals. If not, then I guess it wasn't meant to be or I could have tried harder. Life can throw you many curve balls, you just gotta be ready for them! So come on 2012, bring it on! I can't wait to see what you have in store for me. Please go easy on me though. I'm still a little fragile from the beating of 2011. 2012, I hope you will be my year!
