New Year’s resolutions are a tradition that offers a fresh start and a chance for personal growth. As the calendar flips to a new year, many people set goals to improve their lives, whether it’s adopting healthier habits, pursuing new hobbies, or achieving professional milestones. This annual ritual is driven by a desire for positive change, a sense of hope, and the belief that a new year brings new opportunities.
I am past due on this one…
Beginning of this year, I talked about New Year’s Resolutions, and unlike previous years, this time around I tried to follow the resolutions. Probably because I have blogged about it and I want to have something to show for the next New Year Resolution post (it’s a good motivation, isn’t it?)
So seven months into the year I think it is high time for a half-yearly review of the progress and if there are any shortcomings (ok, who I am kidding here, of course there are plenty of shortcomings), at least I have the next 5 months to attempt a “marathon run”.
1. To Lose Weight
I wanted to keep my overall weight under 90 kg – the number “9” has somehow been a big distraction to me. People around me talk about their weight in the 60s, 70s, or 80s but never in the 90s. It’s like 89.99 kg is “slimmer” than 90 kg because it started with an “8” rather than a “9” (gosh, our mind can be so weird at times).
The good news was I lost 10 kg when I came back from Kabul (that was partially because I was sick in Kabul and could not take their local food). Before I went on a “Malaysian food eating spree”, my weight was 85 kg. Can you believe that – 85! I met the target, it seems, right? As I said, that was before the eating spree. Now it is back to normal, hovering at 92 kg – reducing it to less than 90 kg was still achievable though.
2. Fully settle Credit Card dues
No comment on this at the moment – I paid a large sum before going to Kabul but the expenses still creep in. One thing though, I have managed to reduce my daily expenses and can squeeze at least RM100 in savings. I am paying for most of the things in cash.
It is not a small achievement though. Buying a laptop midway through the year was certainly not a good way to reduce the expenses but some things are just worth spending, don’t you think?
3. To save up at least RM3,000
I think I am going to scrap this one off. Yes, some savings are trickling in every month but whatever savings I get is now re-routed to either credit card payment or household expenses. I guess the year-end bonus (if there is any) might be the lifeline for this resolution.
4. To do up at least 140 posts for the blog
This is something I could do “with my eyes closed” and it has to be. This is one of those resolutions that I knew would be easy to achieve. All I needed to do was to ensure I did at least 3 posts per week and I was home safe. Let’s see, until December 2006, I have done 345 posts and as at the last post, I have done 481 posts. That means to date I have done 136 posts for this year alone. One resolution has been achieved.
5. Purchase of the household items
Ok, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I have bought a sofa and TV stand as I targeted to buy. I also have gotten extra things from overseas to be displayed in my showcase. The bad news is, as you guessed, I have not bought the 2 showcases. This has to be put on hold first – I need to shop around to get one that matches the color of my TV stand and my sofa.
6. Complete reading the unabridged LOTR
Since the start of the year, I have completed 2 sci-fi novels, 2 medical books, 1 book on Egyptology (don’t ask), and 2 classic novels but the LOTR is still an elusive book to grab. I don’t know why but probably I need to really sit down in one quiet corner of the house to understand and appreciate what Tolkien is saying. Need to motivate myself to pick up this classic.