ohmygod. i want to go to lebanon. nick just updated his page du jour for the past few days, and the pictures are gorgeous. it’s a non-decision; i have now decided that i will go to lebanon someday. i’ll make nick come along as my guide and interpreter. i’m sure he won’t mind. we can stay with his multitude of relatives!
becca just informed me of something she heard on the radio this morning that made irwin almost fall off the couch laughing. apparently, the houston police are asking people to please refrain from shooting guns into the air to celebrate the new year, because houston has the highest accidental death rate from bullets fired into the air at new years. what kind of crack do these texans smoke??? here’s the article, just to prove that i’m not making it up.
work is even more quiet than yesterday, which i didn’t believe was possible. another new years eve, another chance to wipe the slate clean, another adjustment period where i will inevitably write “02” on any checks i write, and then have to scratch it out when i remember that is it “03” now. “it’s been a long december and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last…” no matter how good or bad my year has been, that song always floats through my mind this time of year.
all things considered, however, 2002 was a very good year. i got a degree, a job, an apartment, a new experience. i surfed, i hiked, i raced, i helped build a one-door, two-window home of mortar and concrete blocks. i traveled.
in direct contradition to years past (when i have made multiple ethereal resolutions about being happy, overcoming my jealous streak, not overcommitting myself, blah de blah de blah), this year, i have one solid resolution: keep running. it’s been almost a year since i started running regularly, and despite the fact that i took a three month break out of pure laziness and lack of motivation back in the summer, i was able to get going again this fall. in just shy of a year i’ve gone from a 5k time of 34:11 to 30:09, and that’s without even pushing myself too hard. i’m proud of myself and i want to keep it up. this time next year i’d love to be able to say i’ve improved another 4 minutes and can do a 5k in 26:00. 🙂 i don’t know about that, because i’m definitely not built to be a runner. then again, you never know.
becca just went home, and now the silence is truly deafening. must put in a new cd. i want a lucky bamboo a la mom, katie, and grandmother to put on my desk here at work. i wonder where i can get one…
(1:04 p.m.)
i was just reading this entry again, and felt that my one resolution is shallow. somehow i always think resolutions should be big and broad and all-encompassing. but i like my resolution. keep running. one foot in front of the other and that’s all i need.
i am pleased with our new years eve plans, and how effortlessly they came together. football game at 2:30, movie at 7, fondue around 10, and then midnight countdown. it is a different lineup of activity from my past few new years eves, but i think perhaps it is appropriate, since this year i will be with a different collection of friends. i will be thinking of those in atlanta when it is 11:00 here, but 12:00 for them. james and chrissy will be smooching, christina will likely be laughing as always. carter will probably burst into auld lang syne. kent and chris might just sit and smile. and an hour later, i will laugh, sing, smile myself.
it is nice to be reminded that out of sight isn’t always out of mind.
