You tell yourself what you want to hear, 'cause you have to believe this will be my year

A lot of people are talking resolutions and recaps this weekend, and, of course, I feel compelled to do the same. I find it hard to be reflective and think of new-leaf-turning at this time of year, though. I sort of wish New Year's came in the spring, when it isn't all gray and bleak and we aren't coming down from all the build-up of Christmas, watching the bright lights fade away house by house each day. It would be easier to think of a better life and new beginnings when we can see the proof-of-starting-over in the trees and world around us. Such is not the case, however. The new year starts right now. Best to shake the melancholy and make the most of it, I think.

For me, 2006 ended and 2007 began with a New Year's Sushi Dance Party at my good friend Carrie's apartment. Hand-rolled sushi, lively music, and good friends... it was a fine way to close out what was, in many ways, a fine year. Here's a brief summary of highlights and rarities. In 2006, I...

• Signed up for an online dating service for the first time (and subsequently went on more dates in six months than I did in all of my teen years and 20s combined).
  
  
• Made serious strides toward joining 21st Century, modern life. In one year, I bought my first digital camera, my first (not)iPod, and a flip-style cell phone with a color display. I also ditched the metal rabbit ears and got cable for the first time since my roommate days and finally said goodbye to dial-up and got a proper high-speed connection as well. Whoo. It's amazing I ever leave the house, is it not?
  
  
• Spent an afternoon at a Jamaican nude beach, and ended that night in a naked hot tub.
  
  
• Unintentionally smuggled a gecko home from vacation in my suitcase.
  
  
• Got verbally assaulted by my lunatic neighbor (who, last I heard, had been put away in a state facility for an unspecified period of time).
  
  
• Held four impossibly sweet and adorable babies, but remained confident that I don't want one of my own at this point.
  
  
• Tried out cat ownership for a week, and held on to the conviction that I don't want one of those just yet, either.
  
  
• Ate my first deep-fried Milky Way bar. (If this seems insignificant and not highlight-worthy, then you probably haven't had one. I assure you, they are delicious.)
  
  
• Made some great new friends thanks to the wonder that is the Internet (and even finally met a few of them as well).
  
  
• Watched my best friend get married.
  
  
• Gave a speech in front of 100+ people for, I think, the first time ever.
  
  
• Had my picture in the paper for the first time since childhood (and no, not for doing anything illegal).
  
  
• Posted every day for a whole month.
  
  
• Found comfort in kindred spirits and happily embraced my own nerdery.
  
  
• Became increasingly aware that nothing is certain, that absolutes are impossible, and that everything is situational. And also that we all still have a lot to learn, but we can learn a whole lot of it from each other.

Beyond reflecting on the past, the other side of New Year's, of course, is about making resolutions. I'm not much for resolutions myself (I proved this last year, I think, when I made a list of anti-resolutions instead). Maybe I prefer to think that who I am is who I am and there's no sense trying to change it at this point, or maybe I just don't like setting myself up for failure by stating vague or unrealistic goals on which I'm unlikely to follow through. This year I have been thinking about a few things I should aim for, however. For me, a shorter list is better, so I've settled on just three.

• Take a vitamin every day. And a calcium supplement, too. This is a simple, simple thing that I have resolved to do many times over, but for some reason I just never stick to it. Maybe putting it in print will reinforce this in some way.
  
  
• Make at least five meals out of the Pillsbury Fast and Healthy Cookbook I bought many months ago, intending to start remedying my culinary inadequacy and to try eating like a normal and responsible adult. (Five is not a particularly ambitious number, I know, but I'm starting small, you see.)
  
  
• Be kinder to the people I love. I hate myself for all the unintentionally horrible things I've said to some of the people I purport to care about the most, and I have no idea why I've said them or from whence this undesirable passive-aggressive streak came. Maybe it's true that people who are unhappy with their own lives are more apt to nit-pick about others' lives and I'm unhappier than I realized. Or maybe, as some crude character in a bad, dumb-funny movie might say, I just need to get laid. (Perhaps that last part should be a resolution as well. But it's out of character for me to go there in a blog post, so let's just forget I said that and move on.)
  (I was feeling more than a bit out-of-sorts when I wrote that, so I probably didn't need to be quite so dramatic. Basically, that first sentence plus "Try to think before you speak" would likely suffice.)
  

That about wraps up my New Year's thoughts, I guess. I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's, and I wish all of you an excellent 2007 as well.