Here we are, on the cusp of a New Year and I for one am more than ready to kick 2023 to the curb!
Not that I have great expectations for 2024, mind you. Quite the contrary.
I’m not one for predictions so you won’t get those here. (Although esteemed writer James Kunstler made a great – if terrifying – list of predictions for next year that sadly I can’t find much to disagree with… https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/do-you-dare-even-look-forecast-2024/) Also, I’m not exactly a “resolutions” guy, but I do look at every New Year as a milestone, a lookout, a place to stop and assess, make corrections and sort of a “clean slate”.
All that being said, I do not expect 2024 to be a fun year. I have a lot of work to do in the “personal growth” arena. Bottom line, I let a lot of things slide this year. And not in a good way. My physical fitness went downhill. My financial well being essentially evaporated. My home is currently a disorganized mess. My worklife (read: job) is hanging be a thread, as I have lost (almost) all motivation. In short, I’m exhausted and exasperated. And beating myself up on the daily.
So my “goal” if you will, for 2024, is to stop being lazy. I’m not quite at “picking up the pieces”, things aren’t THAT bad, but I can see that being the case if I don’t change course with a quickness.
I’ll be vacating my studio at the end of the month which brings a tinge of sadness, but it hasn’t been the haven for creativity I thought it would be and the expense is bleeding me dry. That ironically should help me out – one less thing to worry about, one less (large) monthly bill to pay, and an excuse to work on something new musically that has been needling at me for the last few months.
I’ll be back to the gym on Sunday and then (health permitting) back on the 3x/week schedule – minimum – as we start ’24.
Some other things I plan to be better about this year… more time in the water (for physical AND mental health), more range time (I don’t know about you, but I expect things to get weird in ’24, and I’m SERIOUSLY out of practice on the self defense end of the spectrum) and getting out in nature way more often. Less screen time, more time with my nose buried in books. Less dreaming and more doing!
I do plan to keep up on the ol’ blog here as well. I’ve got tickets for a number of shows already, and I’m sure at some point I’ll be delving into the sewer that is our nation’s politics (Ewww!), I’ve got a stack of books to read and so on. So lots of things to write about!
I want to thank all of you for spending any of your precious time here reading my stuff. I know there are a lot of better, and certainly more prolific writers out there to spend your time with, but it means a great deal to me that anyone comes here of their own volition and “lends me their ears”. My readership numbers are small, tiny even, but they are growing slowly but surely and I greatly appreciate that! So again, thank you!
I wish you all a happy and healthy 2024. Stay safe out there!
Thanks for stopping by!
The Boring Old Man 
Thank you, my friend, for keeping it real! I have very much enjoyed your life observations and it has inspired me to be writing down my own as a means of therapy and hopefully catharsis. I share many of your same battles my friend, and I too always look to the new year as a new beginning. Of what, we shall see… I too will be treating laziness and complacency as the enemy this year. Quite frankly I am tired of being tired. There is only so much TV and social media one can monitor before one wonders why you waste the time eavesdropping on other lives at the expense of your own. So much time wasted… it is a habit and I must break it. I must fill these moments creatively and with creativity. Always for the betterment. Mind and body need to be upgraded and retrained. Read more, listen more, get out more, play more, live more. To quote Billy Jo Armstrong… “When masturbation’s lost its fun, you’re fuckin’ lazy”.
To you, my friend I wish a year of hope, happiness, health and peace. That you get everything you want and nothing you don’t need. I extend these wishes exponentially to your family, friends and loved ones. We live in crazy times where prayers don’t seem to help, but wishes might…
I look forward to our paths crossing, whether in person, by phone or text. I always get a smile on my face when I received correspondence from you. I will try to be better at that as well! Absent friends are still friends and should be treated as such!
My best to the missus (I long for the day when I may once again revel in chicken lasagna!) and to your baby rhino (you did a good job with that one!). Let’s keep each other on track! Peace!
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