2011 To Do List

I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions. Too much pressure to have lofty and/or abstract goals. Like saying you’ll run a marathon–there are so many interim steps to being able to run a marathon. Saying I’ll run a marathon makes me instantly overwhelmed.

That said, I love making to-do lists of actionable items. So I’ll make a list of things to do for the first 6 months of 2011:

Miscellaneous Pleasures:

• Get a kickass haircut. Done.
• Celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary! Yay!
• Kiss my husband every day (when possible, unless he’s traveling).
• Cook a dinner for friends. done! it was a beautiful balmy NYC evening in July with a few good friends on the terrace.
• Make an effort to meet new people. Make at least one new friend. You know who you are. This has been a year of amazing new friendships.
• Maintain good friendships. Send at least one encouraging message to at least one friend each day.
• Eat the early girl sun dried tomatoes that are in my freezer.
• Laugh at least once each day.
• Hug someone each day.
• Parttake in some fantastic Dominican food. Margot’s in Washington Heights. It’s the only restaurant in NYC who recognizes me as a regular. Great dive.
• Eat an arepa. Done! Thank you to Saeed for showing me your favorite arepa resto. 🙂 (don’t worry, I won’t tell).
• Eat a knish. Amendment: Eat a *delicious* knish done right. Seriously, I have learned that knishes aren’t as good as I wanted them to be.
• Learn to bake a new pastry/cookie.
• Say yes more often (at least once a week if not more).
• Find (and buy) a sundress I love. I found so many! And for the first time in many years, I actually NEED and wear them–everyday.
• Wear skirts more often (i.e., more than once every 6 months). Pants are impossible in this summer heat. The skirts are happenin’.
• When I’m sad, admit I’m sad.

SF/NYC/Travel:

• Take a ferry around the San Francisco Bay (how is it that I’ve lived in SF for 20 years and never done this)?
• Wave hello to the wild turkeys in Berkeley when they come out. Hello!
• Listen to Pacific Tree Frogs in Berkeley. *ribbit*
• Jog/run around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park
• Walk Central Park on a fantastic Narnia-snowy Winter day.  Tremendous. Treacherous beauty.
• Walk Central Park on a beautiful sunny Spring day. Was beautiful. All the trees in bloom!
• Spend a day writing while riding the 7 to/from Queens.
• Visit the MoMA
• Eat at a Momofuku restaurant. Ssam Bar you are brilliant.
• Eat at a Batali/Bastianich resto. Lupa, you are amazing.
• Discover an abandoned, secret subway station. Wow, this was anti-climactic. The old City Hall stop at the end of the 6 line exists–but it’s barely visible from the train. But kind of cool. But still a let-down.
• Learn a new neighborhood in NYC. Tribeca. Then SoHo. Then the East Village.
• Go to Montauk. I don’t know, I just want to. Especially since I watched “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Done. It was beautiful. The lighthouse! All the sea creatures on the beach!
• Visit the Hamptons. Done. Kind of meh. But very pretty.
• Drive up to Vermont for a visit.
• Eat a Philly cheesesteak. In Philly. Done. Overrated!
• Visit friends in Boston.
• Visit friends in D.C.
• Go to Korea again. Visit Cheonggyecheon and NamDaeMun market.
• Visit Europe. London. Paris. (done, July 2011). Maybe Greece. Or Italy again. Or Spain

Writing & Fitness:

• Get a seat at a Writing Space.
• Keep up a writing routine.
• Revise novel. Be super proud of at least 75 pages.
• Channel all my creative reserves into the novel.
• Apply to more writing opportunities with great hope.
• For 2 weeks: run/jog/walk every single day.
• For 6 months: run/jog at least once a week every week.
• Eat more vegetables. Eat at least one protein each day (i.e., break the 100% carb diet).
• Hydrate. Drink more water. Drink fewer sodas/sugary drinks.
• Moisturize.

That’s it for now. And yes, I just realized, this is a lot inside of 6 months. So let’s just take it a day at a time. 😉