etc.

Last year, I made three resolutions for 2004: no library fines, be a good worker, and write. This day, being the last day of December, I am tallying up the personal balance sheet, and I’d say I’ve done alright on two out of three. I didn’t quite get through the year with no library fines, but I consider that the $3.60 I’ve handed over to the public library to be an improvement over last year’s $26.70 bill. And it’s leaps and bounds ahead of the sorts of fines I used to pay as a full-time student (a certain $120 bill, paid on the eve of my M.A. convocation, springs to mind). So, perhaps 2005 will be the year of the coveted $0.00 library bill.

As for being a good worker, well, I try to approach that one as less of an annual resolution and more of a lifetime work ethic thing, and, that being the case, I think I continue to fare reasonably well. But then that is not such a terribly difficult thing to do when you believe in what you do for a living, so I’m a bit lucky there.

Write. Right. Not quite. The sum of most of my writing for 2004 is right here, on this very site, and that’s not quite what I had in mind unfortunately. I did a wee bit of professional writing, not much to speak of, mostly some polishing up of pieces I started in 2003. And the novel? It lays dormant. The ideas continue to mill and percolate, but there has been no progress whatever, good intentions notwithstanding. Updates on that as progress warrants.

Right.

This year, I’m irresolute. There are only vague good intentions: to eat healthier, live healthier, clean out the litter box more regularly, get a handle on the fiscal situation, read well, write well, help, smile at strangers, maintain equilibrium, and strive for balance. 2004 has been a good year, I’m mostly aiming for more of the same.

I hope that 2005 is good to you.