New Year's Resolutions Are Stupid

I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions. My brother Jake would always make a point of asking me what my resolution was, and I'd usually b.s. something. He'd then ask me how I planned to execute my resolution, and I'd make something else up. Then I'd ask him what his was, and pretend to care when he answered.

I just think they're stupid.

I know I'm different from other people. I'm a little....eccentric. But I try to be a good person ALL the time. I don't use a new year as an excuse to write off past behaviors by saying that they're not going to happen again.

If I were forced to make a resolution, say my life depended on it, I would resolve not to be a jerk when I drink. It's not going to happen. I'd either have to stop drinking (not happening at this particular point in time) or have a brain transplant (not likely). I don't think I drink that much (contrary to what this poor blog may indicate) and I don't think I'm THAT big an ass when I AM an ass.

I've learned that I should not be allowed to use my computer when I drink. I'll either post a message on the fantasy football message boards that I'll regret, or I'll send an e-mail to an old girlfriend who doesn't want to talk to me anymore, wishing that we could be friends. Embarrassing for me and my recipients, but certainly not worth declaring that I need to change.

Or my running home issue. Sometimes I flee when I drink, earning me the endearing nickname of "Tom-Tom Go" from Kris and my cities friends. It embarrasses me horribly. Sometimes when I drink, I get mad about stupid things, I know that I'm being stupid and I can tell I'm about to blow up...so I just take off. If it happened in Mora, it probably wouldn't be an issue. I'd go home, go to bed, and feel better in the morning. It became an issue in the cities because it isn't safe to be walking across the cities drunk after midnight. That and I spent a night telling my friend AJ (not DooHow) that I hated him, over and over for hours, after he caught me in the street twice, and forced me to hang out for a while before driving everyone home. I'm not saying that the action is acceptable, I'm saying it doesn't warrant a public declaration that I need to change.

I get New Year's resolutions like "I'm going to quit smoking," if a person is really going to quit, or they need to make a wholesale change...but why do we wait for a new year to work on being better people?

And on the subject of healthy resolutions, why do we resolve to change the things we're the most insecure about? If someone wrote off my "not being an ass when I drink" resolution and forced me to choose another, I'd say to lose a few pounds. Again, I don't think it's necessary. I'd say it because it sounds like what a New Year's resolution should sound like. I'll keep working out and going to the gym, but it's not to lose weight...it's to be in better shape if I get the chance to play football again. Even if it's only a game. But I can't say "This year, I resolve to kick Chuck's ass if we play a game of football." It doesn't sound like a resolution should.

I know that I'm necessarily not a perfect human being (well, aside from my physical gifts and my mental capabilities), but it's our quirks and flaws that make us unique and interesting right? Maybe we should stop publicly declaring our insecurities and just try to be good people.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to knock back a few shots and send a facebook message to my friend Caroline from Mankato, for old time's sake.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Burritos in a Winter Wonderland

The absolute best benefit that working for the Baysox is a paid week off. We close the office on Christmas Eve and are paid to be off until after New Years. I used the last of my paid time off for last year and the first day of this year's to get home for 15 days.

It was the first time that I had been back for more than a few days since I moved to Maryland in January. I had to make them count...and I did.

I flew in on a Saturday in a blizzard. I was pretty sure that I was going to be stranded in a layover in Atlanta for a few hours, but then we got on the plane on time and I thought, this is AWESOME. Then they took us all off the plane. Fortunately, we only got delayed an hour.

My buddy Shane picked me up from the airport, and we were determined to get back to Mora for a board game night with our high school play friends. As we slogged north through the blizzard, we were informed that game night was canceled. Kind of disappointing, but it led to Shane and I hanging out alone for the first time since high school, so that was kind of cool.

The next morning, Shane drove me half way to my brother's house, and Jake picked me up and brought me to my niece's Christmas Program at church. It had been postponed for a week due to weather, so I was able to make it. It was awesome. Makenzie is absolutely adorable!

I spent most of the first week with family, and most of the second week with friends. I accomplished almost everything I wanted to: I went to burrito loco, had a burrito with Mindy B, had a burrito with Kris (I do NOT have a problem, thank you) played season 3 of Earl (over two nights), played video games with Eric Rivard, played In Between with my 4-H friends, went sledding with my brothers, beat Gears of Wars 2 with DooHow, played dork games with my dork friends for a day and a half and attended the most rocking six person New Years Eve Party in the history of the world.

All in all, it was an outstanding trip. I wish my oldest brother had been around more. He only went home for about 48 hours for Christmas, and between that time, we only hung out one other day. He was late for Christmas Eve dinner and the other day we hung out (when we celebrated family January birthdays), and I was really really annoyed.

It was a pretty good Christmas haul too...I got a season of 24, an impostor I-Pod Touch (which is sweet as hell) a new video game and some great new clothes. I gave my brother Jake a HUGE ridiculous club cover for his driver....a big, feathery chicken. I gave the rest of my family sweet gifts too, but the chicken took the cake.

Summer I took Makenzie for a day, and that was also awesome. We went out for breakfast and went to the Science Museum. Kris had set aside tickets, but there was some confusion, and the girl let us in for free. But not before telling me, "If you're lying to get free tickets, may it haunt you for the rest of your days."

I liked her.

The New Year's Party was a blast...I had planned to spend New Years in the cities with 4-H friends, but Brian Chimiel suggested I go back to Mora and party with our high school friends. He offered to pick me up, and I was sold. It wound up only being six of us, Chimiel, his roommate, our friend Jason, his friend Don, a girl I went to prom with and myself.
It was the first time I had seen the girl in two years, and she was absolutely stunning. It was absolutely awesome to see her again, and I hope I can lure her out to Maryland to visit me.

Maybe I should have gotten her phone number at the party.

So there was six of us there, but the girl and Chimiel's roommate don't play beerpong. I have never EVER experienced what it was like to want to get OFF the beerpong table. We took a brief break to ride pieces of foam down a steep, snowy set of steps before returning to the beerpong deathmatch. Eventually, three of the six people at the party fed the cat. I was the only one of us from Mora that didn't throw up. Eventually I even slept in the same bed as the girl.

Could it be that the year of the Tom has begun???