I’m 3 months late. Better than last year, not as good as I want to be. Have I always been this busy? Gym Tuesday, FF14 Raid Night Tuesday and Wednesday, Fencing Thursday, 3 out of 4 Saturdays are running 2 of my D&D campaigns, every other Sunday is playing in another D&D campaign. I used to play M:TG, but not anymore. And I still need to find time to cook foods, play the piano, and read books. Oh and I want to hang out with my friends every now and then.
Was I always this busy? Or am I just aware of being busy now that I’m using a planner to keep track of my time.
In any case, late last December, I bit off more than I can chew and my time management spiralled out of control, but now I’m taking it back. I figure now’s a good time to think back on what I accomplished last year and what I want to accomplish this year.
2021 Old Years Resolutions
As is tradition, let’s go over last year’s resolutions.
Resolution #1: Discover New Music – Last year, I said I would listen to 5 new bands (new to me) in 5 months. I listened to Slayer (Reign in Blood), Judas Priest (Sad Wings of Destiny), Kreator (Pleasure to Kill), Nightwish (Oceanborn), and half of a Babymetal album. For good measure, I ended up listening to two more Diamond Head albums, but specifically the two from the newest revival, Diamond Head (2016) and Coffin Train (2019). Plus a smattering of other miscellaneous albums my metalhead friends sent me. I guess I could kinda sorta call this success. I listened to 5 new albums. Just not the albums I said I would listen to.
Resolution #2: Reading List – I told myself I would read two books, and I did: Mistborn Book 3 and Diamond Age.
Resolution #3: Cook More – I said I would cook 3 things in 5 months. I ended up cooking 3 things in 3 months, and then I cooked a Thanksgiving Feast in November. Not just success, but resounding success!
Resolution #4: Upload a New Piano Video – Just one. And I didn’t. But at least I thought really hard about what song I wanted to cover. That’s gotta count for… well, nothing really.
3 out of 4. And only 5 months out of a year, and for resolutions that I had started in 2020 before the apocalypse happened. But it’s still progress.
2022 New Years Resolutions
Let’s repeat last year’s resolutions, but let’s go for a whole 9 months instead of just 5. (An entire year would be better, but it’s the end of March already. Maybe next year.)
Resolution #1: Discover New Music – 9 new bands in 9 months. My friend recommended Rhapsody of Fire, so that’s on the list. Maybe I’ll finish that Babymetal album too.
Resolution #2: Reading List – I was supposed to read 4 books this year: Dune, The Three-Body Problem, Mistborn Era 2 Book 1, and The Expanse Book 2. If I’m good, maybe I’ll still manage to read all 4, but with 3/4ths of the year remaining, I’ll be happy with just 3.
Resolution #3: Cook More – I cooked 3 new dishes and 1 feast in 5 months. I bet I can cook 9 new dishes in 9 months this year.
Resolution #4: Upload New Piano Vids – I failed to upload even 1 vid in 5 months. So I’m gonna double down and say I’m gonna upload 3 piano vids in 9 months. Probably a mix of Diamond Head covers and Nier covers.
And since I don’t like the idea of doing the exact same resolutions since 2020 (even though 2020 and 2021 have both been a bust), I’m gonna spice things up with some stretch goals. The general theme is, things that I was already going to do anyway, but I’m gonna do them in a more awesome way.
Stretch Goal #1: More Cookie Experiments – I can’t use the pandemic as an excuse to not bake anymore. I’ll just have to find a way to get the sample size I need to make progress on the Second Edition of Everything I Know About Cookies.
Stretch Goal #2: More Cooking Challenges – Not just cooking from a recipe, but cooking challenges. I’ve done things before like Ingredient Challenges or cooking whatever the hell my D&D players came up with. I’m sure I’ll come up with other cool things as well.
Stretch Goal #3: Piano Duets – Whether it’s piano/piano duet, piano plus another instrument, or piano and vocals, this would be a really cool thing to do. Plus, if I make plans with someone to do a duet, it might make it more likely that I actually get a piano vid uploaded. (Although it would mean less Diamond Head. But it would mean more variety. I think that’s a win.)
My most ambitious New Years Resolutions in a long time. Can I pull it off? Ask me again in 9 months.