Super Amy

First, a couple of new songs. Joanna Newsom is releasing a new triple-LP next month, and her label has a new song streaming (click the link on the right). I’m a bit of a fan, and thought maybe you were too.

Ferraby Lionheart has a new album coming out soon, too, and Harry and Bess is a fun song from that.

It’s almost February. What’s even up with that. That being said, I’ve somehow managed to get Christmas (mostly) put away in various closets, daily and weekly schedules (mostly) back to their norm, and plants (mostly) brought in from the winter cold. Here is the lesson I have learned from that: mid-January is, in fact, too late to bring in most plants for the winter season, since the first frost has likely already happened. As is my gardening style, I waited until after the plants were already looking pretty rough, dragged them en masse to the dining room/nook (arranging furniture as necessary to accommodate such a jungle), and tried to place them strategically near windows based on each plant’s individual light needs. A for effort, right? No. Heating vents, combined with a new kitten, sparse/sporadic watering, and what turned out to be poor lighting for even the most dismal of plants, I now have a dining room full of overturned flowerpots, clumps of soil, and primarily dead brown greenery. It doesn’t even come close to the verdant, elegant, herb-scented wonderland I’d imagined. Once I’m finished mourning properly, I suppose I’ll sweep the whole mess out the front door. Maybe I’m just doomed only to buy annual plants.

I finally pulled out my Wacom drawing tablet last night, which I honestly hadn’t touched since my senior art project at Lander. My macbook / CS4 package are newer than that, and so I’d never tried the Wacom on my mac. It’s a lot more fun than I remember it being. I managed to piece together a little cartoon for a retiring co-worker within a couple of hours, and while I’ll always prefer messy “real” art to click-and-drag anything, I’m reminded of what it is that fascinated me about vector design in the first place.

In the spirit of one of the last post’s resolutions, I’m batch-uploading a bunch of photos to Flickr (ok, so most of them are 2009 photos, but still!). You can see them on the photostream to your right over here: –>

listening to: Andrew Bird – Souverian

Before I get to the actual resolutions, I think I should mention my resolutions about my resolutions this year (I know, I know — it’s just that I really like this holiday).

1. I am only making a few important resolutions, as well as a few self-improvement (but slightly-less-relevant) resolutions. Goal-setting is an art, I’ve discovered, and while I want to challenge myself, I’m not going to kill 2010 before it even gets started.
2. I am not going to feel guilty about neglecting things that didn’t make the list. (Spotless house didn’t make the cut, for instance. I’m going to allow myself to enjoy an occasionally-messy kitchen.)

2010 Resolutions:
1. Be more gracious to others
2. Re-learn / practice Spanish to a conversational level
3. Volunteer
4. Daily focus on prayer and scripture reading
5. Simplify
6. Stop biting fingernails
7. Budget efficiently
8. Take more photos

I’m excited about 2010 for a lot of reasons. A year really isn’t that long, so it always surprises me to realize how many surprises can happen in just twelve months. I don’t really have anything planned for 2010. Maybe I should be nervous. In general over the past several years, most of my plans have more or less fallen into place — there has always been an obvious next step to take. It’s something that I’ve taken for granted, but at the same time, seeing two of my roommates graduate this past month has made me curious and a bit envious of their post-graduation experience. I signed a job contract before my senior year of college even started, so my experience was different, and having a blank slate ahead, with limitless undiscovered possibility, looks so inviting. Of course, I’m sure it’s not really as exciting as all that, especially during an economy that doesn’t exactly scream “limitless undiscovered possibility,” but what I’m trying to say is, I’m realizing that just because I’m already going down a certain path, and just because I’ve never practiced “going out on a limb” before, doesn’t mean I can’t.

Troy blogged about his resolutions, too. My favorite of his list:
“Live in the moment. But don’t be afraid to wonder what it is like to do great things anymore.”

Maybe 2010 is the year where I wonder about doing something great.

And speaking of something great, Abby brought this back for me from Ohio. I love it.

If you haven’t blogged about your resolutions (or even if you have), what are they? What do you have planned (or hope to plan) in 2010 that you’re excited about?