So far, not bad

As I mentioned previously, I found my new year resolutions the other day. Here's what I had, and where I am so far.

- Run a 5K by the end of summer.

I thought this was better than the typical "exercise" or "lose weight" resolutions. I've done three races so far this year -- two 5Ks and one 5-miler, walking about half and jogging about half -- and I have three more planned for April, including one this Sunday. I can easily do one minute jogging, two minutes walking intervals and I'm going to bump that up to 1:30 the next time I train. In my last training workout, though, I pushed farther than I have before and felt pretty good afterward, so once the weather is dryer on a more regular basis I hope to bump up my intervals fairly quickly.

- Learn how to use my digital SLR.

I'd been wanting a digital SLR for years and last year I finally got one. I love it, but I've barely scratched the surface of what I can do with it. For example, I can't figure out how to set the f-stops manually, so the last two sets of pictures I took were mostly overexposed. I've got a book about digital SLRs, as well as the camera's manual, but have yet to start in on this one.

- Try something new.

This one I've done, and done really well. I joined a winter kickball league and learned to play second base for it. While I'm not an all-star player, by the end of the season I was solid in the position and looking forward to do it again later in the year. I also started tai chi this week, and will start bellydancing classes next week. Lastly, I started running 5Ks. The more new things I do, the more I want to do. Which plays havoc with my next resolution.

- Spend more responsibly.

I've done so-so with this one. I've been good about not buying lots of books or clothes. I have spent more on sports, and along with that spent more going out. I also haven't been much better in spending on food, although I have been pretty good about not eating out as much during the week. I have to start keeping a food diary again so I can focus more on healthy eating, which in turn tends to rein in my spending on food. It should also help rein in the amount of alcohol as well. I can say I have also managed not to buy a new HDTV, but it's been very, very hard.

- Write.

I originally envisioned I'd meet this one by blogging. I have been keeping up more with friends, via Facebook (which goes to the next goal as well), but I want to do more substantive writing. Not only am I more creative that way, but it's good therapy.

- Be more social.

This one I've also blown out of the water. I've gotten to know lots of people through kickball and bowling, and two friends I've made there have become running buddies so I've enjoyed getting to know them even better. I hope to make more friends through tai chi and bellydancing as well.

- Stop interrupting people.

I have a bad habit of finishing other people's thoughts. A large part of that is that I know where their thoughts are going and they're taking too damn long to get there. So maybe it's really a goal to be more patient. Also in there is a desire to be heard. Often if I don't jump in to a conversation, I never get to say anything. Growing up, I had to assert myself and that is definitely a core character trait of mine. So, people, please think and express yourselves more quickly and help me make this goal.

Those are my goals for 2009. I'll have to check back in with more updates later. Cheers!

--the CilleyGirl