New and Improved!

New year blah blah blah, reflecting on life blah blah, resolutions blah.  Here are mine for 2013

Be more spontaneous/goofy/crazy/awesome/fearless.

I think I have a pretty fun and/or exciting life, but I feel like I kind of let myself coast a lot of the time.  I want to do more fun/crazy things.  Spontaneously go to the beach just to build sand castles.  Buy a model rocket and launch it.  Do kitchen science, wear a stick-on mustache to dinner, have a glamorous night out, turn the sound off on a movie and assign everyone a character, build a fort, dress as a superhero and run around the mall, wear my red galoshes, organize a flash mob, sing carols in random places, fly a kite, throw a theme party, have a water fight, get on outta my comfort zone etc. etc. etc.  I have these friends in my life who just live to the fullest extent they can.  I read about their lives and think, "Man, I wish I'd been there."  I kind of want to be someone that people say that about.  And of course you're all invited to come with me on any/all adventures.  So let's make some fun things happen eh?

Study the life of Christ more fully.

I phone in my gospel study a lot.  A lot.  It's no bueno.  There is a full, hard-back set of the Messiah Series by Bruce R. in my house.  I'm going to read it this year.  The whole thing.  On a rough estimate, that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 pages a day.  Most days I have more than enough time for that.  So I'm gonna do it.  I figure if I can bust through the entire Harry Potter series in a week, I can probably tacke the Messiah over the course of a year.

Do more things outdoors.

This goes along with being more crazy.  I live in a wonderful part of the country.  It's almost always sunny and warm and there's tons of stuff to do.  There's really no reason I should spend as much time as I do sitting around looking for something to do.  I want to go hiking, spend a significant amount of time at the beach - there's also no reason I should have a farmer tan as a opposed to a regular tan - go paddle boarding, go sailing, read at the park instead of my front room.  I want "fresh air"* to be a daily occurrence.  And I've never been to Catalina Island, so...

Volunteer more.

I have enough free time that I should really get involved in more volunteer opportunities.  I'm part of an organization called "The Art of Elysium" that volunteers at local children's hospitals and the like.  They do art projects, improv games, music etc. etc. etc.  It's pretty cool, but a lot of it is far far away from where I live.  I still do it, but I'd also like to look for some opportunities closer to home.  Specifically I want to see about being a baby cuddler at a local hospital.

Start my own traditions

I still have a couple of traditions that I participate in with my family back home, but for the most part I'm my own family.  "A family of one" as they're preaching in my ward these days.  I want to invent/discover/find/start some traditions that I can incorporate into my life from this point forward.  I already have a pretty rockin idea for probably Thanksgiving weekend.  And the Chastity Celebration may have to make a come-back this year.  So many options.

Work on my own film projects.

I'm working on some ideas for an educational web series (to hopefully turn into a successful TV show involving ridiculous amounts of syndication and merchandising etc. etc. etc.), maybe some collaborative and hilarious ukulele music videos with a friend of mine.  Along with some other ideas I have.  I want to be more proactive about my career, and I think this'll be a good way to do that.

Other things I might add to my list:  getting a pen-pal, cuddling more, dating**, learning/writing some songs on my ukulele, trying surfing, giving up soda.  If the funds allow I would also like to take some classes in improv, art, voice, and tap dance; travel to Florida and/or New York; buy a new car; adopt/buy a pet; and get an ipad mini.

It's a lot, I know, so if anyone would like to help me out with any of these goals, or participate in them in any way please feel free.  Let's make this a crazy awesome amazing year!

*The air outside my house in LA is probably actually less fresh than the air inside my house, but whatever.
**maybe...