RESOLUTIONS

Haven't done anything like this is a while, mostly because nowadays New Year's Resolutions seem hackneyed and trite.

But, since everyone feels this way, I have to go against the grain and try to make them cool again. I alone will be the sole bearer of the Resolution standard.

Everyone says that they never keep to their resolutions, but it's a far simpler scenario: I think the problem is that nobody can remember what their resolutions were in the first place; therefore how can anyone "keep" to them?

So, here are things I resolve to do in 2005:

1. Take up painting. I have the canvases, the easel, and now all I need are brushes and paints. Small steps, but steps nonetheless.

2. Finish transcribing my novel-- I stopped after Chapter Eleven, even though I have at least ten or twelve more chapters to go. And while I'm at it, I need to get back on the ball with the Alfred Jarry screenplay. I was so close to finishing it, and then I dropped out of it.

3. Sell the animation to a production company that won't dilute the initial vision... and speaking of which, I hope to have a web page, complete with a Quicktime trailer, available by the middle of next week... anyone have any tips for posting the Quicktime movie file? No? Aw, screw you then...

4. Polish up the three or four personal musical projects that I have had on the table for the past year. This includes an album with my pal Bro Man in a genre we can only describe as "cybercore"; a collection of my own songs, with finished vocals; a complete demo of at least one of the bands I'm currently in; and a professional CD pressing of the Sherman Locs album It Takes A Nation Of Critics To Call Us Wack.

5. Lose twenty pounds. My sex regimen as of late has been helping me shed some excess weight. Last night Eve noted that I seemed a tad slimmer. I told her that, if she was interested in having a running partner, I would try and cut down on my smoking and run laps with her whenever she was in the mood. Believe it or not, I'm a fast motherfucker, but my specialty in high school was Cross-Country Running.

6. Pay off my car and fix it up. I have been putting this one off for some time. I'm in the home strecth with the car payments, as they end in late May or early June of 2005. I also have the crappy '85 Citation sitting in my dad's front driveway, and I suppose I can fix that one up and sell it to some kid for cheap. Or, I can just own two cars.

7. Read more. This year found me lacking the time or the gumption to get really involved in a good book. I was more concerned with music and animation for the majority of 2004. I think the reason why I stopped transcribing my novel is because I got sick of reading it, but maybe if I kept a steady diet of fiction in my system, I wouldn't get so burnt on converting the text to HTML. Of course, I still read magazines, newspapers, and short stories like mad, but those types of things don't demand a lot of your time.

8. Travel more. Eve has voiced her desire to want to travel, and if she is serious then she has herself a partner in crime. My ultimate goal: Europe, preferably Spain, where it's cheap to live and the parties go on all night. But we'll probably start with a visit to the Bay Area first. Northern Cali acquaintances... Beware!

9. Write less. What I mean is, I'm going to try and keep my thoughts simple and lean. I am known for an overabundance of material, and maybe I should experiment with keeping my prose terse and skeletal. It will be difficult, because I love to write, but I think it will help my writing to grow in ways I couldn't have imagined.

10. Eat healthier. Eve has been on a campaign to change my eating habits, and I haven't been resisting. I feel a lot better for eschewing the fast food and greasy burgers. I'm not about to turn my back on red meat, but eating more greens is something long overdue for me. Last night we ate spaghetti and a simple salad, and I was full! It helps that Eve is half Italian and knows how to cook like a motherfucker.

Other things I want to resolve to do:

--Keep laughing and having fun
--Try to be more sympathetic and compassionate
--Not lose sight of the Big Picture and my ultimate goals
--Never forget where I came from and who I really am
--Make news friends, but keep the old

Okay, so... even though I didn't think I had anything else to say this week, I seem to have come down with a case of verbal diarrhea. It figures, doesn't it?

That means I will have something to say tomorrow morning, on the eve of the end of 2004. For those of you who will not be online until the New Year is upon us, please be safe and don't drink & drive. And don't forget to use a rubber.

PEACE