2011 New Year's Resolutions

First of all, Happy New Year! Thanks to my new job and Splat Space (and of course family and friends), 2010 was an incredible year for me. I had more opportunities to learn things and meet new friends than I would have ever imagined. I am optimistic that those opportunities and friendships will only grow in 2011 and for that I am very thankful.

From talking to some of you in person, I've gotten the impression that you thought that I would actually keep my resolutions from 2010 and go to all the restaurants that I planned to visit during the course if the year. Why did you think that? These were resolutions like any other. They could and would be broken.

I did go to two of the restaurants on the list, Panciuto and Queen of Sheba, both of which I liked a great deal. The problem is that I *really* liked Queen of Sheba. I kept wanting to go again and again. That kind of put a damper on my wanting to go to some of the other restaurants on the list, most of which are on the expensive side. I became an addict long before Queen of Sheba started linking to my blog post.

Cafe Parvaneh lost their lease at the end of last month, so that is no longer an option. (h/t mark_c)

What's on tap for 2011? To me, making New Year's Resolutions is really about having fun. I don't like to take anything too seriously, particularly not myself. Since I'm not even going to think about these resolutions for the majority of the year, it's not even so important that they be measurable, timely and all that. Below is stab at what I'm considering for the new year, in no particular order.

• Go to Lantern.
  
• Go back to Sugarland more than once this year.
• Eat at Blu Seafood and Bar as much as humanly possible. (an easy one, I know)
• Don't try to predict the future. It's a complete waste of time and can ruin your day.
  
• Be prepared. (not a complete contradiction and this comes naturally to me)
• Eat more fruit. (such a sacrifice)
• Don't be overwhelmed and stressed by rapidly aging fruit in the fridge, but do actually eat it.
  
• Attempt to concentrate on just one one thing at a time.
• Go to a taqueria for the first time.
  
• Don't feel that it's absolutely necessary to accomplish something in your spare time unless you don't have any clean clothes to wear tomorrow. Relaxation is an accomplishment. Having fun is, too.
  
• Think about exercise. It's a great concept.
  
• You love baking. Do it.
• If someone gives you a genuine compliment, don't insult their good taste by arguing with them.
• If someone claims to have met you before and you don't remember, don't argue with them either. ...at least not the second time.
  
• Take the time to play more games in 2011.
  

That's enough to completely ignore for one year.

Happy New Year 2010!

It's a new year and that can only mean one thing. At least, it usually means one thing on this blog. It's time for New Year's resolutions! This year I'm not going to bore you with aspirations of exercising and whatever else I normally write about this time of year and then conveniently never mention again. No, this year I came up with the ultimate foodie resolution. This year, I'm going to try to go to more restaurants that I've never been to before. Is that great or what? I'm going to enjoy this year more if I keep my resolution. I don't know why I didn't think about this before, although I suppose the year of trying to buy more earrings was along those lines, but that was really an attempt at reverse psychology.

This is not. In fact, this is a very measurable goal, because I am going to attempt to go to the following restaurants this year, in no particular order:

• Magnolia Grill
• Cafe Parvaneh
• Panciuto
• Lantern
• Revolution
• Queen of Sheba
  

You may be shocked at some of these. Magnolia Grill? It's the most famous restaurant in town and, as a Durham native who writes a food oriented blog, one would think I would have been there by now. No. Pancuito is a mere five minutes away from my door and yet I've never been there either. In fact, I've been meaning to go to all of these restaurants for years, because they've all been recommended by multiple friends, but for various reasons, I've never been. For example, one guy assured me, rather enthusiastically, that he would go with me to Queen of Shebah and then within one week of our conversation he spontaneously packed up all his possessions and moved to New York. Yes, I am serious.

You, my dear readers, are more than welcome to join me at any of these fine eating establishments! Help me fulfill my resolution and celebrate 2010 one fine meal at a time. If I turn down your offer to join me, rest assured that it can only mean that I don't like you.

2008 Resolutions

Happy New Year, everyone! From the looks of things here on the Squirrel Farm, we're off to a promising start. The squirrels look just as happy as they did yesterday and that's very happy, indeed.

As I seem to have made a tradition here on the Glob, I better list a few resolutions. Looking back at last year's resolutions, I only managed to keep one of them and it was the only one that I was certain to fulfill. Based on these results, I feel that it's necessary to emulate corporations that have missed their targets. I must set the bar lower.

• I will eat out more in 2008.
• I will buy even more earrings in 2008.
• I will write at least *5* blog posts in 2008.
  

Now here is my "stretch goal":

• I will make more phone calls in 2008. This is actually a serious one. Ever since I can remember (probably starting in my very early teens), I've been almost phobic about making phone calls. Business calls don't seem to count, because I (sub)consciously feel as if I am calling on behalf of my employer. Restaurant reservations don't count, because they are basically scripted and I make them at the same restaurants so often that all I have to do is grunt. If you look at my call history on my cell phone, other than my parents and restaurants, the call I make most frequently is to the Duke Campus Police, to request the disposal of cars parked in my reserved parking space. In the last seven years, I haven't heard the voice of one of my closest friends, other than in YouTube videos, because I never called him back. So, this year, I vow to do something about that. Instant messaging and e-mail just aren't sufficient, because they only provide a small portion of what is needed to effectively communicate.
  

2007 Resolutions

Due to the overwhelming success of my 2004 resolutions, I appear to not have made any in 2005 and 2006. It's time to give it a try once again:

1. Lift weights at least 3 times a week. This is the second appearance on this blog of this resolution, but it's slightly more ambitious than the once a month goal set in 2004.
2. Take vitamins at least 5 times a week, especially the vitamin D and calcium. Again, I don't think once a month is very helpful.
3. Practice guitar at least 3 times at week. It's kind of sad, in a way, that I have to make this a resolution, because this is an activity I truly enjoy.
4. Try out a new recipe at least once at month. If I made this more ambitious, I might have to alter resolution #1. I got several new cookbooks for Christmas, so, in theory, this should be easy.
5. Buy more earrings in 2007. I've got to have at least one resolution I'll be guaranteed not to break.