Month: January 2013

Following my review of last year and the year before… here’s my New Years Resolutions for 2013

Worth pointing out its amazing I’m seeing in 2013 and with a lovely lady, who knows what might happen?

1. Ask less for permission, beg more for forgiveness
   I tend not to do certain things because I’m unsure how it will be perceived but to be honest almost every-time I take some initiative and just do it, things work themselves out (in most cases). So I’m going to trust my gut more often and go with it.
2. Think more from the heart and less from the head
   I can be very level headed in certain situations and I can be seen to hold back quite a lot (which is in conflict with my open style) But I’ve noticed there are moments and stages in life when you do need to just roll with them and not apply a level of analysis to them. I won’t say what things…
3. Play more social games
   I’ve pretty much every year I say I’m going to play more and its not happened again… So this year I’m  going to play more social games like Werewolf. I’m setting up for once every month in the northern quarter with Larkin About starting Feb 6th.
4. Drink only when they serve decent cocktails or wine I actually like
   Had it with crappy cocktails, so now I’ll switch to drinking Smirnoff ice or some simple mixer. Frankly I’m shelling out too much money on cocktails which are not worth the amount they are charging. Cocktails which pass my lips in 2013 will be decent ones worthy of my money. No more crap…
5. Go to a new part of the world
   Got to I still want to go to Japan, Korea, China, etc but who knows if I’ll get there this year but in the meanwhile I’m going to go somewhere else in the world. Hopefully this might also fit with my long term aims to see the northern lights
6. Do a budget
   Got my spending down but now’s a good time to do a budget and get stuff sorted. But at the same time I want to be able to spend less time organising and filing stuff. I’m actually angling to be clear of one of my credit cards by the end of the year.
7. Bake a cake
   This is a follow on from last year. In 2013, I’ll bake a Banana loaf and maybe even a Victoria sponge. BBC R&D is in for a treat this year (or won’t know what hit them)
8. Be fitter and heather
   Been consistently loosing weight at a slow pace but I do need to do more exercise. I’m hoping to find more of the things I like doing including volleyball in the next year. I’ve been consider a lot of what happens in the QS (quantified self) world and eying up the FitBit Ultra as it seems just open enough to do interesting things and work with my setup. My family got me enough Amazon credits to buy one which is great.
9. Call out stereotyping, bullying and social engineering
   Last year I said “Don’t settle for mis-information and totally bogus arguments” which caused me to seem very argumentative which isn’t what I really wanted. I feel this is better focused on three aspects of communication. Stereotyping, bullying and social engineering. I found in the past, just indicating that you know what there trying to do is enough, so I’ll simply call it when I spot it.
10. Wound up and trolled
    Its stupid and I do wish some people would grow up, but at the same time… I enjoy shuffling the trolls with some troll-baiting. However I’m going to do less to feed the the trolls (for what it helps). This doesn’t mean I won’t stop doing what I do and calling out stuff but expect less engagement with the trolls.
11. Do a cocktail mixology course
    Its got to be done! Such great places near by and they all do mixology courses pretty cheaply if I get Laura and a few friends together.
12. Roller Coasting
    I LOVE rollercoasters and although I do want to join a rollercoaster club again, I just don’t have the time. However I will go to Blackpool, Alton Towers and Thorpe Park this year… Maybe expect a Birthday weekend special?

I’m using Schemer to track most of my aspirations and new years resolutions, which I’m still liking and think is a great social network…