Resolutions are for chumps

It’s that time of the year again. People everywhere are trying to come up with their resolutions for the new year. Most of them will last about a month and then the resolutions will be broken and guilt will set in. This is only one of the reasons New Year’s Eve is my least favorite holiday. I promise there are holidays I like: Groundhog Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving. I don't think NYE will ever make this list.

Two years ago I was turning 30 and decided that I would pass on making resolutions I would never keep. Instead I decided to do something new each month and 30 new things in June (in honor of my birthday). I did things like wear lipstick everyday (which I loved and still do), wear skirts everyday (which was awful because it was an unseasonably cold May), stopped eating junk food (easier than I thought) and tried online dating (total disaster). Each month I’d write about what I accomplished and try to move the activity forward into the next month to see how many I was still doing by the end of the year. In June I tried to do 30 brand new things during the month; not necessarily one per day but for a while that’s how it worked out.  I went to the 9:30 Club for the first time, visited Gettysburg (the battlefield not the city) with my dad and brother, went on a walking tour of DC, got a facial, attempted to complete the NYT Sunday crossword (dismal failure), bought a lottery ticket and read Dr. Zhivago. There were lots of things I didn’t do too. I figure I’ll try to do them before I turn 40.

I attempted this again last year but it didn’t really work out. I think it had to do with motivation and focus. I had a rough year adjusting to living here and while some of what I had planned to do revolved around learning more about my new home, I just didn’t do it. On some level it was worth the skipping: I went to Rwanda and my best friend’s wedding and those two experiences were worth more to me than finding a new restaurant I like or going to a trendy bar in the city.

So what about this year? I’ve decided to try my 2009 plan again but instead of one thing per month, I’m going to pick a few activities, goals, etc. and try to do them throughout the year. Here’s what I’ve decided on so far:

1.     Go see more live music. Can you believe I haven’t been to a concert or open mike night or anything since I moved here? What’s wrong with me? I went to open mike night in Arlington last week and had the best time. Allison and I even chatted with some of the musicians we liked. Check out The Lippy Grins, Two Alpacas (on Facebook) and Travis Tucker. I have an entire post in my head about this particular open mike night but it will have to wait until after the first of the year. The Bay Area abounds with music venues and I haven’t tried to go to any of them. Sad, sad, sad.

2.     Go bowling. This may sound completely stupid but I had forgotten how much fun bowling is. My brother and I went over the holidays and had a blast (and it was super crowded so clearly we’re not the only ones who think this). Bonus: bowling requires it own shoes and you can eat junk food and drink beer while you play. If you’re lucky, there might even be 70s classic rock playing. That sounds pretty perfect to me.

3.     Help Anita Smallin make National Postcard Month a reality. More on this to come but Anita and I firmly believe that we need to celebrate postcard writing and what better way than to have an entire month devoted to the art of the postcard?

4.     Write more frequently. I write more now than I ever have before but I feel like I could do more. I have a ton of writing from New Orleans that I need to revise and so many new ideas that I have to just do it. I'd also like to submit something to the Hello Giggles website for their "From Our Readers" section. I want to up my posting to this blog, make better use of my work blog and write more offline. That children’s book isn’t going to write itself now is it?

5.     Be more like Kate Winslet’s character in The Holiday. I love this movie and I identify with Kate’s character the most. One of my favorite parts of the movie is when her next-door neighbor (the fantastic Eli Wallach) tells her to be the leading lady of her own life. He recommends all these wonderful classic movies that have leading ladies who are extraordinarily independent and awesome. The women and eventually Kate, have gumption and moxie. That’s what I will strive to do this year.

As I said last year no resolutions, just fun! That’s really what I’m looking forward to with each of these five things: a little adventure, a little entertainment and lots of fun. 

A "tarty" ornament

 

I described this ornament as "tarty" when my dad put it on the tree the other day. He didn't seem amused by my description. He actually said, "Erin, it's a cardinal" like I didn't know what it was or that birds can't be tarty. 

I think it's the feathers--reminds me of a boa.

So this is Christmas...

Blues Brother cutout cookie-a family tradition

Christmas is not my favorite holiday. I like Christmas but I don’t love Christmas. I’m one of those people who complain about Christmas decorations being up after Halloween and Christmas music being played before Thanksgiving is over. Like Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve, something about Christmas makes me a little uneasy. It probably has a lot to do with the pressure Christmas brings: find the perfect gifts for people, get your cards out on time, bake like a maniac. Somewhere between age 7 and 32, Christmas lost its magic.

This year, however, I found myself really into certain aspects of Christmas. I’m back in the Old Dominion (Virginia for those of you not up on your state nicknames) as I write this and I’ve already partaken in several of my favorite family holiday traditions and I’ve been in the state for about 72 hours. But it hasn't been my family traditions but new things back on the Island (or close proximity to it) that have brought me closer to Christmas.

It’s no secret that I don’t know that many people in Alameda/the Greater East Bay area. In a year’s time I have made more acquaintances and almost friends and friends than I did in my entire time in Virginia but is has not been easy. One of my friends from work invited me to make candy with some of her friends and I now have a new appreciation for Willy Wonka, Werther’s and Godiva. Candy making is hard work especially when you’ve been drinking mimosas and fruit meat hot* toddies. I met my friend’s wonderful neighbors and another friend, we listened to the most random playlist in the world (made by "insane" person who I have to meet because it’s possible we’re mix CD soul mates) and came up with the best name for a band ever. We also managed to make 7 kinds of chocolate truffles, candied oranges and lemons, caramel and spiced nuts. Every last bit of it is delicious.

Candy awesomeness

Captain Fantastic

The Virgin Sacrifice

I also really enjoyed our office holiday party this year. The Oakland office has sort of a misfit toy vibe about it so we always do something different for our party. This year we went to Forbidden Island (Alameda’s own tiki bar) and the Pacific Pinball Museum. Isn’t that the best combo ever? I also experienced the greatest moment in my short existence as an Alamedan (I’m not sure that’s correct): I ran into people I know out and about in Alameda. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a year and it finally happened at the tiki bar! The rest of the evening could have been terrible but I wouldn’t have cared because of that singular moment. It was pretty epic particularly in my quest to become a local.

It's prettier in person

I've also embraced decorations this year. I put up a wreath (the only decoration in my apartment) and was incredibly excited to find my building all decked out in lights, ornaments and a tree when I came home one day. It's seemed sort of random; it wasn't there in the morning and then kaboom - it's Christmas! Whoever did the building decorations did an excellent job. It makes everything seem a bit more magical and fun without looking like Christmas threw up all over place (which is why I typically avoid decorations). I even enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree with my family this year. Usually we leave it to the last minute but we got an early start and it’s pretty much done with 4 days to spare!

It's paper!

The lights aren't on but it's still pretty (minus the ladder)

I admit I didn't send all the gifts I needed to send (some of you are getting Epiphany gifts--we're starting a new tradition) but I don't think it matters. I feel more in the holiday spirit this year and I haven't felt that way in awhile. I don't know if it was the new friends, the pinball or the guy trying to tie a large tree the roof of a Prius but this year everything about the holiday season makes me smile.

Not the guy I saw tying the tree to the car but a second Prius with a large tree on its roof

*Fruit meat: the fruit left over from peeling fruit for making candied fruit peels. We had oranges and lemon left and this is how we described it. The fruit meat was turned into a juice and added to tea and Jameson's for an epic hot toddy. And yes, it's also the greatest band name ever. This is what happens when you make candy and drink.

Pumpkin is not Lassie

It’s no secret that I love my new apartment. I find something new to love everyday. With any old building you sometimes have to love not so positive things because that’s what gives the place character. I like to call these things the “eccentricities” of a building since eccentricity is slightly more positive than calling something a problem. I’ve lived in plenty of old buildings over the years and part of the fun is trying to figure out the eccentricities of the place rather than trying to fix them.

My new apartment’s eccentricity is that only a few of the doors and cabinets actually close completely. Each door is coated in approximately 30 years worth of paint. Apparently, no one is familiar with the concept of sanding before painting. With that much paint, doors are bound to either not close completely (because of the layers) or stick because the most recent layer didn’t actually get to set properly before use or both. Last weekend I was talking to a friend about this. We had a good laugh about it especially since the bathroom door doesn’t close completely. Consider the hilarious and awkward situations that might cause if I ever throw a party (and cue the ominous music).

Now I’ve only told two people the rest of this story and of course, Pumpkin knows everything but she can't talk (thankfully). Last Sunday I went to take a shower and got stuck in my bathroom for an hour. I didn’t realize that I had actually closed the door all the way because I didn’t think that was possible.  Before I even got in the shower, I turned around to get something from my bedroom and realized I was stuck.

I temporarily panicked—I couldn’t call anyone since I don't bring my phone into the bathroom, I wasn’t sure that my other friend who was coming for lunch would call someone else if I didn’t answer, I couldn’t crawl out the window—what was I going to do? I did the first thing that anyone would do—I tried the handle. It came off in my hand. I tried pushing the door and then “running” into it (my bathroom is the size of a small closet so running is really not what I was doing but I needed more momentum). I also tried calling out the window but no one heard me or if they did, they ignored me. Thanks neighbors, I like you too.

Then I channeled my inner MacGyver and assessed my supplies and what I could do with them. Here’s what I tried using only items from my medicine cabinet and makeup kit:

·      Used the cardboard box from some medicine to try to jimmy the door (didn’t work)

·      Tried the same thing with the plastic sleeve from my travel makeup brushes (nope)

·      Used my tweezers to scrape paint off the door and wedge it open a bit more (I think this definitely helped since I removed so much paint)

My assorted tools

Had to buy new tweezers too

What ultimately got me out of the bathroom was my constant pushing and slamming into the door. Between that and the wedge/scrape combo with the tweezers the door eventually gave and I got out. I have since realized that I was focusing on the wrong part of the door (at least I think I was). It wasn’t the lock area that was stuck; it was the doorjamb and the hinges are on the outside so it’s not like I could take them off (I'm not sure that a lipstick brush would have worked for that anyway). The paint between the door and the frame was what stuck. The pushing and slamming unstuck the paint.

I have a feeling I'll get charged for this "damage" when I move

So here are five things I learned from this experience (other than that ridiculous things seem to happen to me all the time):

1.     Always take your phone into the bathroom with you. Now I hate people who actually make and take calls when they’re in the bathroom but for safety purposes this makes sense.

2.     Provide several people with contact information for your building just in case they can’t reach you.

3.     Keep a small tool kit in the bathroom. Imagine what I could have done with a flathead screwdriver or a hammer.

4.     Don’t ever close the bathroom door completely in my apartment. If you have plans to visit me please take note of this.

5.     Pumpkin needs to be trained to be more like Lassie. This will never happen but it’s a nice a thought. I’m fairly certain that she sat on the bed and ignored me the whole time. If Timmy had had a cat instead of Lassie, he’d still be in that well.

I have to admit that I’m pretty proud of myself for only momentarily panicking and using my MacGyver skills to try to open the door.  I hope that this qualifies me as someone who has gumption--I love that word. I've always wanted to be described as having gumption or moxie.

I also think I should have a theme song. Anyone want to write one for me (or maybe just suggest one)?