Andrew / December 29, 2003 10:19 AM

I was supposed to lose 10 pounds. Now I have to lose 20.

Naz / December 29, 2003 10:28 AM

It's the same every year (in recent years): I want to stop swearing. Do you know how goddamn frickin' hard that is to f@#kin' do?

amyc / December 29, 2003 10:30 AM

In 2003 I was going to do more writing for pleasure, as opposed to writing for my job. Then I lost my job and did hardly any writing at all, unless you count cover letters. In 2004, I think I'll stick to a more manageable goal, like losing 20 pounds.

lacey / December 29, 2003 10:30 AM

Naz--Suz has a good solution. Read about it on her site. Also, I can say that it is successful, as we have begun using it in our house recently.

I plan on actually using the heating device in our kitchen-room known as the "stove." Or perhaps the cavernous "oven." This is my new year's res.

Naz / December 29, 2003 10:33 AM

Lacey, I've read it. I like the idea, but it doesn't have the same impact for me. Plus people have no idea what you're on about.

Cinnamon / December 29, 2003 11:29 AM

Nothing short of world domination will make me happy next year!

But, I'd settle for just having another enjoyable year surrounded by good friends.

j3s / December 29, 2003 11:42 AM

Last year I swore I'd read Moby-Dick. It's December 29th and I still have several hundred pages to go...Next year I'm thinking Gravity's Rainbow or Ulysses.

suzanne / December 29, 2003 11:57 AM

last year i resolved not to make any resolutions, it worked out pretty well this year.
this year, i'm ditching the lacto-ovo and going vegan!

kegz / December 29, 2003 1:31 PM

I resolved to cook more and stop eating at fast food joints. And I kept my first resolution ever.

Next year I resolve to stop starting sentences with 'And' and 'But'.

Shasta MacNasty / December 29, 2003 1:53 PM

Get over the ex. Let's hope 2004 is my year.

Brenda / December 29, 2003 2:22 PM

While replacing my 15-year-old microwave this weekend with a brand spanking new one from my sis (thanks sis!), I realized I've got a lot of "stuff" around my apartment that carries with it a lot of unwanted and insidious ghosts from my past. The microwave I replaced originally belonged to my ex-husband, before we even met. We used it while living together, through marriage, I took it to my apartment after our un-marriage. Aye, in that machine, there be ghosts (sorry, I just saw Pirates this weekend... many apologies). I felt so much better just getting it out of the apartment. Like a weight had been lifted. How weird is that?

So I'm gonna take a hard look around my apartment this year and do me some ghost bustin'. Clothes that belonged to ex-bf's -- gone. That old slate-covered science lab table that belonged to my ex-hubby that I now use as a desk -- gone (anybody want it?). That old mac computer that put me in debt 12 years ago -- gone. All that crap from my desk at the hellhole job I got laid off from in March -- gone. By the end of 2004 you'll be able to slap my butt and call me "clean".

Pete / December 29, 2003 6:40 PM

Didn't make any last year. For this year: 1) make more time for my wife; 2) have more patience with my daughter; and 3) get published.

Carlos / December 30, 2003 12:42 AM

No resolutions last year but this year my resolution is to try and find myself a girlfriend that isn't my ex...

Naz knows who I'm talking about!!

april / December 30, 2003 12:45 AM

Resolutions I failed to keep:
1. Look for a new job
2. Exhibit my art
3. Relearn to sew
4. Be more careful with my money
5. Eat healthier
6. Start a blog
7. Organize/file stuff

Resolutions for 2004:
1. Look for a new job
2. Exhibit my art
3. Relearn to sew
4. Be more careful with my money
5. Eat healthier
6. Start a blog
7. Organize/file stuff

jennifer / December 30, 2003 8:58 AM

I will again attempt to quit smoking--I didn't quite do that this past year. Others include quitting swearing, learn to knit and get my bills into order.

shechemist / December 30, 2003 10:55 AM

last year I wanted to keep up my running (I kinda did), get better with money (kinda did), write a short story (not even close), get back to school (well, I'm starting jan 12th, close enough), get more involved with my parish (I'm now teaching CCD to 7th graders) and stop obsessing about my future (yups).

this year I want to sell my car and take up biking everywhere. I want to drop 10 lbs, cook at home more, get into a nursing program, get better with money, sell off crap I never use/wear of worth (anyone want a corset, some fluvog boots or a blue leather halter dress?) and pitch the rest. I want to pray more, bitch less, and write more letters to political morons that piss me off. I want to make dinner for people once a month. I want to get a part time job.

sandor / December 30, 2003 11:27 AM

Last year I resolved to read one really, really long book (a la j3s' resolution), and not only did I fulfill it, but I read two (and I'm in the middle of a third.) As for my other 12 resolutions, I'm probably batting .400 or so.

This year, I've got one really big one: buy a home. Compared to that, everything else is trivial.

stephen / December 30, 2003 11:42 AM

I believe some scruffy dudes from the Northwest sum it up best..

So this is the new year
and I have no resolutions
for self assigned penance
for problems with easy solutions..

Cheers, all. Take cabs this New Year's, ok?

charles / December 30, 2003 12:02 PM

I seem to have the same ones recurring every year... Maybe this year since I'm "publishing" them i'll get a little better about following through on them.

Garden Variety Self Betterment Resolutions:
1. take some exercise regularly. weekly at least. at a gym if necessary.
2. post a blog entry on a weekly basis.
3. find a way to be more outwardly social.

Honorable Mentions:
~Also want to make it to at least 4 museums this year.
~Get back into the habit of seeing live music at least once a month.
~Cooking more at home.

Christopher / December 30, 2003 3:56 PM

I failed to loose 10lbs, I gained 10lbs instead. I did however cut down on alcohol consumption.

paul / December 31, 2003 10:07 AM

I forgot if I made any resolutions or not last year, so I guess I should resolve to remember any I make this year.

Jeff / December 31, 2003 1:50 PM

I just wanted to be able to say I'd had a good year. I didn't quite get that, but there are some indicators next year will be better.

Call it the Cub fan's view of life.

Onid / December 31, 2003 2:42 PM

My last years resolution was to get out of debt and I didn't quite make that though I am within $800 of being debt free and that should be taken care of by next month. I don't know if it counts if there is some overlap into 2004.

My resolution for 2004 is to buy a condo but that's pretty easy to fulfill because I am already looking so I should have that done in the next few months. Also here comes the cliche I want to lose weight.

Luke / December 31, 2003 4:08 PM

For five years I've been writing resolutions and sealing them in an envelope, then unsealing and checking the progress a year later. This year I was 9.5 for 20.

Among the hits:
* Run 1,500 miles.
* Cook for others 12 times a year.
* Read 30 books.
* Spend less than $250 on CTA.

Among the misses:
* Walk to work 12 times.
* Buy a bookshelf.
* Bicycle to Madison.
* Go to cab school.

2004's won't be recorded until midnight, but some I'm considering:
* Go to three different neighborhood churches, including at least one Spanish service.
* Keep score at every baseball game attended.
* Walk the entire lakefront.