Photo Ops

I recently realized how few pictures of me there are for certain parts of my life.  On the one hand, this makes me kind of sad.  I'm never going to be able to go back and take more pictures of myself during those times, so they're just stuck in my sometimes-distorted memory.  On the other hand, if I claim to have been extremely beautiful or stylish or whatever, there's no proof to the contrary.

So what brought on this revelation?  I was just looking through some old pictures and realized there are big gaps in the dates.  And when I say big, I mean BIG.  At one point, there a good year missing.  Did I not do anything picture-worthy for that year?  Was my camera broken?  Was I too lazy to buy film or clear up space on my memory card?  I honestly have no idea.  I'd like to think there is proof that I existed during that year, other than the fact that I existed before and after, but I don't have it.  Maybe somebody out there does.

So what's the point?  I've decided that I will create more photo ops for myself.  I currently tend to take pictures of others -- my puppy, my new niece, my family, my friends.  But somehow, I forget to include myself in those pictures.  No more!  I will included myself in at least one picture every week.  Maybe it will be hanging out with friends or family, or visiting some place new and exciting, or just chilling on my couch on a Friday night.  Whatever the occasion, there will be tangible proof that I existed during that time.

Strangely enough, I want to be able to be embarrassed by my clothes/hair/goofy smile/whatever, in 20 years.  So let's raise a glass to occasionally making ourselves the center of attention.

New Years Resolutions

In honor of the new year, here are my new year's resolutions for 2011:

1. Make new years resolutions.

Many years ago, I decided to stop making new year's resolutions, mainly because I never kept them and that made me feel bad.  And why would you want to do something year after year that made you feel bad? 

My problem wasn't actually that I broke my resolutions, just that I didn't keep them.  What's the difference?  Well, I think that you can't actually break them if you don't remember what they were.  I'd always start out good for the first day or two.  If it was a really good year, may that would last for four days.  But then the paper where I wrote them down would get thrown away while cleaning, or I really needed that extra room on the board where I posted them for something more important.  For whatever reason, I always lost my resolutions and then I felt bad.

To fix this problem, I quit making resolutions.  It was an easy fix.  When someone asked me what my resolution for the new year was, I'd say something like, "To not make any resolutions."  I think the last time I actually made new year's resolutions was about 10 years ago, maybe longer.  That was one resolution I never had to keep track of and it worked great for me.  

But this year, I've decided to break with tradition and actually make resolutions.  I know I'm a few days late with this, but I've been having trouble coming up with anything.  I don't want to make the typical "I'm going to lose 20 lbs" or "I'm going to save $1000" resolutions.  While I should probably do both of these, I think this is what sets people (or at least me) up for failure (and feeling bad).  So if anybody is reading this, what are your resolutions for the new year?  I need to "borrow" some ideas.  :)