Sarah and I spent a nice, long New Year’s weekend with our friends Emily and Joel, who paid us a visit from San Francisco, where they’re working on master’s degrees at Academy of Art University.

We casually discussed New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never been terribly interested in making resolutions, and I can’t recall any specific resolutions I’ve ever made, which means I’ve probably never kept one. I think this year is going to be different. I’ve settled on a few resolutions, some traditional, some not so. Here they are (in no particular order of importance) for your enjoyment:

1. Exploration of Chicago

   Chicago is an amazing city. I’ve lived here off-and-on since fall 2007. I love it. That said, my Chicago experiences have been confined to a small subset of the city’s neighborhoods. I live in Lakeview and work in the Loop. I’ve covered pretty much everything in between. My best friend, Nick, taught me to love Wicker Park and Bucktown before he and his wife, Yen, moved back home to Ann Arbor. Aside from a handful of trips elsewhere, that’s been it. I required a little kick to come to the realization that I need to begin expanding my horizons. It came to me while Sarah and I were enjoying a delicious birthday dinner at Davanti Enoteca in Little Italy. I was really impressed with the neighborhood and upset with myself for never having known what I was missing until that night. So there you have it–Resolution #1: Sarah and I will be exploring Chicago, neighborhood-by-neighborhood.




2. My Health

   This one is a New Year staple for most people. For the first time in my life, I can seriously say that I could stand to lose a few pounds. At the very least, I need to start exercising regularly again. I’m planning to buy a bicycle in the spring and I’d love to begin playing basketball again. I’ve also got to get serious about the food I eat. Chipotle is fantastic, but I’m pretty sure it’s not meant to be eaten 3-4 times per week. Anyway, that’s number two.




3. International Travel

   My passport is empty. I grew up in Metro-Detroit, so I’ve been to Canada a million times or so. Toronto is cool, but thinking intercontinental now. Sarah and I are going to Paris. Dates TBA. This will likely be the subject of a future blog post.




4. Programming

   I’ve been making huge strides in my education as a programmer. I love web development. Instead of regretting finding this love in my late twenties, I’ve resolved to learn as much as possible and to continue challenging myself. I’m really proficient in HTML/CSS, PHP, and JavaScript now (by my own standards, at least). Next up: Ruby on Rails.




5. Blogging

   I was so proud of this site when I finally finished it. I conquered PHP and WordPress with brute strength and determination (and a little help from Matt Meehan). And now I barely use it. As a matter of fact, this isn’t even the first time I’m blogging about my failure to blog frequently. So let it be know that I will (try to) blog more regularly. Hopefully it will be interesting and you will read it and then comment to your friends about how thoughtful it is. Thanks for the compliment.

So that’s it! Thanks for taking a look. Please feel free to share your resolution(s) in the comments below. Happy New Year!