What I'll Do Differently in 2009

A new year, a new beginning. Oprah’s getting back on the weight loss wagon and trying to help us all do the same. In less than a month we’ll be rid of W. The winds of change are a’blowin’ . . .

I look at each new year as the chance to get things right. To do better than I did last year. That’s not to say that I succeed, but there’s something about a freshly minted year that makes me think I can.

So, what will I do differently in 2009? Well, I have some goals and some resolutions.

My number one resolution? I resolve to not try to change people. I won’t try to keep my co-workers from drinking day-old warmed over Starbucks coffee. I won’t try to make my husband do his fair share of the cooking because it’s never going to happen. I won’t try to make young parents in my family realize that the education of their children is far too important to leave primarily to the government. I won’t snipe back at family members who launch verbal attacks on me or my husband. I won’t try to get my brother to stop smoking. I won’t try to help solve people’s problems when they are resolutely entrenched in the pattern of behavior that results in those same problems. I can’t change other people, so the best I can do is change how I deal with them.

Which leads to my number two resolution: I won’t be around people who get on my nerves unless I’m being paid to do so. And it doesn’t take much to get on my nerves these days -- snarky family members, stupid people, self-made victims, you name it. And I won’t enable anyone either. Can’t seem to handle your money? Well, you can’t have any of mine. I’ve got my own debts.

Third, I will not organize anything that I wouldn’t want to attend myself. No family reunions, no cruises with people I wouldn’t want to be on land with for seven days, much less at sea with. I will back away from the calendaring function on Outlook and the task list on my phone. If BMNB or anyone else wants a get-together planned, they can pull out their Blackberries and handle their business.

Fourth, I resolve to have more fun. To hop on an Amtrak train just to watch the scenery go by. To watch “Ghosthunter” marathons I’ve recorded and lay fat and happy on my sofa. To get my hair and nails done, get massages, and get facials just because they make me feel good. To work on my novel in the library at the UCSF Med School just to see the panoramic views. To spend the Christmas holidays away from home, preferably in Maui.

As for goals, they are:

1) Lose 40 pounds.
2) Run the Bay-to-Breakers.
3) Finish my novel.
4) Organize my home.
5) Increase my savings to cover x months of expenses (the x is my business).
6) Pay off my credit cards.

Let’s see how it goes . . . . .