Sunday, January 01, 2012

Happy New Year!

I am excited for the new year -- it gives me a chance to start over with a new set of arbitrary goals that don't present a meaningful challenge. Last year, I mustered 1335 miles (only a marginal increase from the year before, even though I missed nearly three months of 2010 with a stress fracture), read 63 books (thanks to three Adventures of Tintin books in the last few days, I think I set a new high in that total, read 100 short stories (due entirely to the work of Ryan and Ashley), attended 32 baseball games in 7 cities (in 2 countries), and made it to 7 concerts (in three states/districts). And I started a new job and bought a house.

That makes for a busy year.

2012 will bring more of all of those things (I'm getting the short stories over with early this year), a trip to California for a West Coast opening day swing that will help carve stadiums off my list, and I'm excited to get started on them.

My hopes for the year (we won't call them goals, because it's not like I will regard myself as a failure for not achieving them).

-Notch a 2010 Boston Qualifying time -- the standards for Boston keep dropping, and this drop is just cruel, since a 3:05 time is really a stretch of any imagination -- 3:10:59 was already straining credulity.
-Crack the 5 minute mile (current best is 5:27)-- this is actually something that makes the first goal look modest, but I have more faith in the possibility of this hope. For whatever reason, I can always find speed in reserve, so long as I know that the end is a minute or two away. This provides no solace over a distance of 26.2 miles, but plenty over a distance of one. I don't know why I can notch times as quick as 5:27 on the treadmill, so I may well be capable of even more.
-Make it to at least 4 new MLB stadiums -- I've dwindled the list down a fair bit in the last year, but the western divisions are still virtually untouched. I'm aiming to go out at Opening Day for a trip that would take me to ARI-LAA-SDP-LAD, but I have to actually make it happen, and since my wife isn't likely to make it, I have to remain motivated on my own.
-Broker a peace treaty between the cats -- the newest torments and attacks the oldest on a nearly-relentless basis. It's disconcerting, and I'm losing hope that age will resolve the problem. But it continuing can't be an option, and I don't want to lose another cat.

No comments: