for those about to rock

a victorious new year

because i had a winning dose of self-awareness at the outset of last year, i set myself up with a series of achievable resolutions.

taking stock of the new year, i'm gonna review what i've done and think a little on what needs to be done in the coming year:

culinary

-learn to enjoy seafood, or at the very least condition myself to tolerate more of it. tried scallops for the first time the other day. shocked to find that the consistency's not globby and pus-like, but rather tender. doesn't taste too fishy, either. i think i can manage to eat these things, especially if they happen to be wrapped in pig fat.

-find more vegetables that i actually like, and perhaps take to eating salads like any big boy should. hmmm. need another crack at this.

-refine my recipes for bbq pulled pork. learn some new ones. some success here. tinkering with the basic recipe i always use. i have lots of new sauce recipes at my disposal, too.

-become damned good at grilling steaks. not much success here, but i have expanded my general cooking repertoire to include a few new things -- pecan pie, dope macaroni and cheese bake. here again, i have some fresh material to draw upon over the coming year.

health/fitness/appearance

-no more smoking, or at least cut down to the point where i'm able to limit myself to one or two if i happen to be drinking. need another crack at this one, too. went fairly strong for a time ... would have a couple during the week, then smoke at my leisure at times i drank. then went through a period where i was up to a pack a day. then went back down to a point where it was maybe 3-5 a day. back to about a pack a day, but i don't think that this'll stick for too long. want to at least bring it back down to that 3-5 a day level, though in talking with elliott, i found out that just cutting it down doesn't really have that much of an effect -- you just end up destroying your lungs at a slower clip. cold turkey's the way to go if you're to actually give your lungs the room they need to breathe and regenerate healthy tizzissue.

-limit the number of times i'm up partying past the time they start playing the national anthem on tv to once a week. done very well in this department, particularly since i moved to somerville (and especially if i cease being such a dork and up my stipulations to twice a week for friday and saturday nights ... with that as a measuring stick, i've done REALLY well).

-take up yoga classes under the tutelage of my friend jen (certified instructor) or boxing classes at bsc. another crack needed. at the very least, i'd like to take a trial yoga class to see what it's all about ... need to make time for that.

-drink lots and lots of water. think i did. need to drink more regardless.

-rein in my saturday pig-out sessions a tad. avoid eating like a horse that's been liberated from a p.o.w. camp. fuck it, i'm just striking this one from the record entirely.

-shave at least every couple of days. keep the beardal stuff neatly-trimmed. little success here, though i did manage to grow a good desert island beard over the time i had the flu, and i've been maintaining THAT pretty well.

-settle on a hair-style and get it cut often enough to maintain it. i decided that i look best with my hair short, and have done an adequate job of maintaining it.

-new this year: get better about brushing my teeth.

-new this year: schedule a physical with my damn doc.

enrichment

-read more books in lieu of playing video games, preferrably lots of non-fiction. oops. buying an xbox 360 didn't help much in this department. still managed to gets lots of good reading done, and am looking forward to even more with what i've got on my plate for the coming year.

-spend more time watching the history channel. i don't have cable, really.

-listen to lots and lots of new music, especially in the styles of funk, jazz, hip-hop and guitar pop. yes: pandora and youtube, both free services, have been invaluable to me in this regard.

-become a more dedicated blogger. i think i've done a fair job here, but you're the best judge, dear reader.

guitar/music-making

-buy used vehicle for transporting all my guitar gear. didn't need one, considering the practice space i eventually found is green line-accessible. and now that i'm practicing in my basement, there's no immediate need at all.

-regularly study guitar theory. yes. studying with bilgehan tuncer, the turkish tornado, who merits his own post soon, i have done just that.

-continue refining guitar chops and technique. yep, see above.

-write really good bridges to tie up loose riffs and passages i've got kicking around. yep. been stumbling on some, writing others, patching up new songs with old riffs and have done lots of collaboration on finalizing tunes with my drummer, jamie, who's got an excellent sense of arrangement and has contributed parts to things i've written and brought his own great songs to the table.

-buy a half stack. not a priority, at least not until i'm playing out regularly again.

-buy a stratocaster. see above.

-update my effects collection. well on my way in this department. bought an envelope filter and a dedicated tremolo and delay pedal. thinking i'll need to add a dedicated chorus and flanger, plus maybe a whammy pedal to round it all out.

-play music with other people. a big step forward. played lots with jamie over the second half of the year, and jammed with a few different bass players.

-form a damn band. need to get a bass player locked in first. then it'll be time to track down someone to fill the vocal shoes. and then ...

-record a demo. and then ...

-play out live. doing so in september with jamie and justin has only whet my appetite for more. and there will be more, believe me.

posted by jomilkman @ 8:32 AM