I don't think I've ever made a resolution to loose weight or quit smoking, but usually every year I make a pretty innocuous resolution to learn something new that I always wanted to do. That tradition started a few years ago. This year I took a month long class in woodworking with hand tools.




I was never a great natural at any subject in school and only did well by brute force and willpower. While my college friends were out getting drunk, I spent many a boring, lonely night studying my balls off. Not EVERY weekend. It doesn't have to be every weekend! But it does have to be MOST weekends. For many, many weekends over many, many years.

Sure, I did party, and get laid, and skip class, but that was the exception to the rule and mostly I was a good student. Of course, it helped that I didn't go back to school until after spending a few years in the military. But year after year of sacrifice in my 20's and early 30's has left me now a bit hungry to experience the things I missed out on. So, every year I try to do something I always wanted to do.

But it doesn't have to be the sacrifice of going to school that eats up your youth. It could have been raising a family or working on your career (any career) that gets you caught up in things and keeps you from enjoying your life and doing those things you always wanted to do.

So far the only one I haven't kept was a few years ago when I decided to learn to SCUBA dive--due to a riding accident that made me drop out of the SCUBA classes.

Other new years resolutions that I have made, kept, and am eternally thankful for are:

learning to oil paint
getting my pilot's license
learning to fly-fish
learning to "really" play guitar
learning Dressage
having sex with my favorite porn star

This year I wanted to learn how to do woodworking. I just finished a month long class in woodworking and loved every minute of it.


Is there anything you always wanted to do? What has kept you from pursuing it?

The American Nightmare is a real downer.

I always wanted to write.

I never did it, because my hand just can't seem to properly jot down the awesomeness in my head.

A friend of mine has started writing. Wrote a sci fi novel. I really wanted to read it, and tried, but I just can't get into sci fi. His poetry is some great stuff, tho. Very angry and hateful. Good stuff.

I can't think of any other industry that is quite as incestuous as publishing. If you know somebody who knows somebody you stand a good chance, even if your work is mediocre or below average.

Don't know anybody or how the system works? Might as well save yourself the time and effort of writing and just buy a lottery ticket.

I've got to think that some of the greatest books ever written haven't been by read by more than a few people let alone ever been published.

i felt the same way when we were without the shoutbox yesterday...

The Internet, Amazon.com, and especially its Kindle reader are a great disruptor to the established publishing order. All those twats will be out on the street in short order.

It's a shame. I like having a book collection and being able to share it with friends.

^^ I feel the same way. If I am going to go through the trouble of investing the time to read an entire book, I want it to own, hold, display, and refer to.

Name that book ! :-)

I'm actually not sure the title. It hasn't been published. Just passed around in big manila envelopes.

I think my Dad left a couple boxes of manuscripts when he passed. He was published off and on for decades in various magazines and publications, but he never got a book deal. I have no idea what his widow did with them, but she isn't a deep thinker and wouldn't/doesn't know to circulate them and get some feedback as to their quality. All of his work I ever read was very readable, descriptive and personable.