Yes it’s that time of the year again. The end. Funny to think that exactly four years ago we were all running around frantically buying tinned foods and building bunkers; keeping away from aircraft flightpaths and nuclear stations; blaming every computer nerd ever for their lack of foresight. Everything turned out alright in the end, didn’t it?

The end of the year is also a convenient time to try and see your wrongdoings, figure out what you need to change and how you plan to become better by making New Year’s Resolutions in the desperate belief that you will stick to them this year, that you will be better and you will right your wrongs. And this year I’m no exception….

1. Start off with a nice and easy one. Something I keep promising myself but come January 15th it’s all gone wrong. I’d love to keep a diary, to look back on when I’m older and think ‘I can’t believe I did that’ or ‘bloody hell I’m a boring writer’. Since it’s the year 2004 and pen & paper are sooooo 1997, I will be updating this blog daily from now on. I also promise not to spout crap, and will try and be more interesting in future.
2. Suprising as it might sound, I’ve never actually been abroad. Not even to France. As a family we never really did anything together and I never get a holiday anyway. I’m starting to miss all of this now, and particularly now I am armed with a camera, I really want to go abroad at least once this year. I don’t really want to go to north-west France either, since most of the coastal cities just appear to have become tourist traps now. Either I’ll go further into France, or travel into Europe. Or perhaps even to America or Australia. There are two big concerns at the moment. Number one is the money (or lack of) to do all this, and number two is that I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin organising something like this. Perhaps I should go abroad with a friend who can take responsibility for organising? Anyway, come Dec 31 2004 I hope to report that I’ve been somewhere more interesting than Birmingham!
3. I’m constantly worried that I’m overweight, although I know I’m not fat I really don’t like how much I’ve grown. Sounds a bit…. pathetic, but it really doesn’t help my confidence. I’ve tried going to the gym twice a week with very little effect, I’ve tried eating less (of course) - and I do eat less now, and more healthily too. I’ve also tried swimming and I’m hopeful that that will help. Nonetheless it’s all taking ages. It seems a bit pointless to make a resolution to lose weight, since that’s a constant target, and it doesn’t really help me figure out what I can do. Perhaps making friends with Mr. Armitage Shanks will ultimately be an easy way out. I certainly don’t have the willpower to stick my fingers down my throat once daily to lose weight the easy way - I need a support group for that, so my resolution for this one is to become a cheerleader. They’ve got the whole slimming thing sorted and goodness knows if you don’t lose weight fast they certainly let you feel guilty about it.
4. Back onto more serious things now and, as the finals approach (May 2004), I really need to get down and get some work done for uni. Although I’m riding a quite reasonable average at the moment it’s important that I don’t let it slip. I have my eyes on a two-one. The third year is important, but I’m quite confident about this year and am feeling much happier at university now. Still, I need to make sure I keep going and get the grade I deserve/need. Therefore in the coming few months it’s important that I don’t f*ck up at uni.
5. Finally, the usual goodwill resolutions of be good to all, perform at least one good deed a day, and don’t get too drunk.

There we go. Etched into my archives forever those are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2004. I’ll be interested to hear what yours are too. Please leave a comment

Posted December 31st, 2003 in Uncategorized.