New Year's Resolutions 2016

1. Clean the house on Sundays.
2. Keep a diary/journal/daily record/captain’s log.
3. When on a packed bus and seeing someone’s backpack taking up a seat, do not assume that the backpack’s owner is an asshole lacking in conscientiousness or even cognizance of his or her fellow human beings and as such is clearly a sign of the further growth of callousness, selfishness, entitlementedness in our society. Merely assume that this is a very important backpack.
4. Keep this little piece from Nabokov in mind when reading a book:

If one begins with a readymade generalization, one begins at the wrong end and travels away from the book before one has started to understand it. Nothing is more boring or more unfair to the author than starting to read, say, Madame Bovary, with the preconceived notion that it is a denunciation of the bourgeoisie. We should always remember that the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world, so that the first thing we should do is to study that new world as closely as possible, approaching it as something brand new, having no obvious connection with the worlds we already know.  

5. More kisses.
6. Have earbuds in my ears as rarely as possible.
7. Write more letters to the people who mean so much to me but I never communicate with and have slowly allowed to become people with whom I don’t talk to the point it would be strange if we did.
8. Call those people on the phone sometimes.
9. Stop procrastinating.
10. Instead of throwing all sorts of energy everywhere without focus or organization, focus on one thing at a time and do that thing with the greatest ability I can.
11. Less french fries.
12. Walk not just to get to work or the store but simply to walk.
13. Figure out a way to sleep through the night without waking up at three a.m. with all sorts of gnawing nervous thoughts.
14. Forget how to control my emotions and allow for outbursts of uncontrolled joy, anger, sorrow, love, horror, lust, disgust, jealousy, amusement, confusion, panic, delight, and relief.
15. Less M+M’s, Hershey’s kisses, Chuckles, Goo Goo Clusters, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Twizzlers, Jolly Ranchers, Lemonheads, gummy bears, Kit-Kats, Good & Plenties, Jelly Bellies, Oreo cookies, Werther’s Originals, Skittles, Jujubes, Cadbury Caramel Eggs, Riesens, licorice allsorts, Swedish Fish, Starbursts, Sour Patch Kids, Almond Joys, Mounds, Milk Duds, Toblerones, Caramellos, and Charleston Chews.
16. More cannolis.