Writer's Block

I've been trying write my story about air handling systems all morning. So far, I've gotten six sentences down. Woo only 1,200 more words to go. To help me get through, I've been listening to Peter, Bjorn & Johns' album "Writer's Block." It's not really helping, but I still like it.

I couldn't find a video for the song Writer's Block, but I love this song and it brings back happy memories. Enjoy.

Goals

Just a list; that's all.

1. Run two more 8k races before the end of the year in under 60 min. (Al's Run and Turkey Trot)
2. Run a 10k
3. Finish the short story I started in August
4. Get the hell back to Chicago
5. Only drink coffee in the morning; no more than two "cups."
6. Make it to at least 5 Sox games, not counting Opening Day.

And now some words of wisdom from the White Sox.

Grinder Ball Rule 17: Never be satisfied with what you have achieved. It pales in comparison to what you can achieve.

Sort of like killing them with kindness

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
— Herm Albright, 1876-1944, writer for the Saturday Evening Post

Today at work this magazine came across my desk called FPO (For Publications Only). I'm not sure why I got it, but it seems like a pretty cool magazine. Anyways, the quote above was at the top of one of the stories and it just made me stop and laugh. This is so ridiculously true. I've often taken the kill them with your kindness, a lesson I'm pretty sure I learned from my mom. It works like a charm too. When people don't like you or are generally just sort of jerks, I've found that they really don't know how to react when you are nice to them or in some situations go out of your way to be nice to them.

Resolutions

This year I actually came up with a few resolutions and I think they are things that are totally doable if I just stay focused. Plus, they will help me in varies areas of life, so that's a plus.

1. Stick to a budget better/save money to replace the savings I spent on Ireland

2. E-mail or call Beth once a week like I used to. After seeing Beth and Bill for New Years, I realized that I have really slipped up in keeping in contact with them over the last year or so. Life with your best friends so far away is rough. Perhaps add to this list of people to keep in touch with. But, let's just take baby steps. I don't want to freak people out who never used to get e-mails from me.

3. Keep running/working out. The holidays and getting sick and hurt sort of threw this new aspect of my life awry, but I'm serious about getting back in the habit. The Sampson Romp & Stomp in January and the Shamrock Shuffle in March hopefully should be motivation enough...then there are those 10 more pounds that would be nice to lose.

4. Read and write more. Reading and writing are two of my favorite things to do, yet I rarely actually do it. So if I stick with this resolution, at the very least you should be seeing more frequent updates. They might be about random stuff, but it's better than nothing. I also have a bookshelf full of books just waiting to be read. My mom gave me this really neat book that has a trivia entry for every day of the year, so at the very least I'll be reading that each day.

All the best in 2009!