In with the new

January 2, 2007

This time of year I seem to write less and less, and in fact, going back and looking at my archives to remember what year I got a particular gift for Christmas is usually a waste of time since I don’t write until days or even weeks after the holidays, and I subsequently neglect to mention various things. It’s not that I have no desire to write, it’s just that I…have no desire to write. We’ll call it laziness and just tuck that away in this pocket here for safekeeping.

I had every reason to be lazy this year, too. I took the week between Christmas and New Year’s off and did very, very little. I got up late, I played games, I watched TV, I sampled wines and beers, and I just generally lazed around the apartment. It was a nice break from work, even if I wasn’t off in some exotic locale or even at the beach for a night or two. I just needed some time away from work to unwind and not have to think about the daily stresses of cantankerous lawyers and their equally-edgy assistants pushing towards a deadline. Every day there’s a new deadline.

I did get a few things accomplished, though. I bought a new game for the first time in ages and played it for a number of hours. Not nearly enough to put a dent into it (average playtime to make it through the story alone, I’m told, is upwards of 70 hours, and I’m hovering around 10 or 11 with ample time not participating in the story), but enough that it took up time. I took three items to a frame shop down the street to have them framed and had to bite my lip from screaming when told the price to frame all three ($300…good thing they’re on a three-week wait). I ran errands. I generally did very little, and that was the whole idea of taking those days off. I enjoy days where the most complicated thing I need to do is figure out what I’m going to have for dinner. For awhile, at least.

I did particularly enjoy being able to run outdoors again since I had the days free, even if it was in the mid- to high-30’s all week. I bundled up, braved the cold for the first 5-10 minutes, and by the time I was well into my second mile, I was pretty warm. It’s only been a couple of months since I last ran outdoors, but I’d forgotten how much more challenging it is than a treadmill, both from the perspective of how it affects joints as well as how much easier it is for me to run. Last year I started a regular regimen of running on December 31 (OK, so the end of the year before last)–outdoors–so I know I can do it if I put my mind to it. I’m keeping my Bally membership for the time being, however, primarily because I’m getting off work an hour and a half later than I was on December 31, 2005, and it’s still dark when I leave work in the evenings.

But I ran three times in the cold, so hopefully that will be enough to wet my beak until I can do it again on a more regular basis. You know, when I don’t need to wear a slicker and/or reflectors.
2006 has drawn to a close, and there are a number of things I could ruminate about, but I think I did a lot of that last year. 2006 wasn’t the best year I’ve ever had, though it wasn’t among the worst by far. Maybe just parts of it. I had my highs and my lows, that’s for certain. My relationship with Erika ended rather abruptly, though not unexpectedly. I got a new job. I spent my first calendar year in my own apartment. I bought a lot of stuff. I drank a lot of beer. It was generally a good year with a few downpoints.

And my New Year’s resolution? Cutting back on the alcohol a bit. I haven’t been overdoing it by any means, but if I want to take off a bit of the holiday pudginess that gathered around my midsection, I’ll need to cut back a bit. Should be easy enough–I tend to overdo the beer and wine at the end of the year anyway, so it won’t be cutting back, rather, just re-establishing the status quo of alcohol intake. I didn’t really gain any weight this year (compared to me weighing 15 pounds more than I do now exactly a year ago), but I can tell I expanded a bit. I guess my slowly-dwindling leg muscle mass is just relocating to elsewhere.

2007 should prove to be an interesting year, I think. My 10-year high school reunion is this year. Ten years! I’m a bit curious to know what some of the other people from high school have been up to in the last ten years even if I don’t remember the names of half of them, which is no small feat given that I graduated in a class of 40-odd people.

And speaking of reunions, at least of sorts, I signed up to go to a Beloit event here in Portland. I’d been watching the Alumni website to see if they were going to have any sort of alumni event in Portland anytime soon, and fortunately they’re holding one right across the street from me at a bar I go to on occasion. All to easy. I’ve never been to any of the Beloit regional alumni events, so I have no idea what to expect other than a few beers.

Christmas was a very muted affair in the Self household this year. Christmas Eve dinner was at my sister’s, Christmas was at my Dad’s as usual, and my Dad’s birthday was at Vincente’s Pizza here in SE. I just wasn’t in a very Christmas-y mood this year, and it didn’t seem like anyone else in my family was, either. Or maybe I’m just transferring my own feelings to them. Not decorating my own apartment helps to not put me in the Christmas spirit, as did not going to any Christmas parties aside from ones where immediate family attended. I got a number of good gifts, I gave a number of good gifts; the specifics really aren’t necessary, though I wasn’t disappointed with anything I got as has happened on occasion in the past.

After a week and a half break, here I am, back at work and a little dazed to be back into things again. On the other hand, when you wake up at 4 AM and read for a couple of hours before you even get out of bed, what do you expect?

I’m going home, making some soup or pasta for dinner, and popping in the 4th season of “Scrubs” on DVD. I’ll go running on Tuesday when my eyes aren’t drooping. Besides, my calves are still a little sore from the last of my pavement runs on Sunday.

Posted in Beer, Beloit, Erika, Family, Food, General, Movies, Running, Work