"You're gonna hear me roar": Resolutions, Revisited.
Happy Allston Christmas! For those of you who don't live in Boston, today is, by far, the worst and best day to be here. Worst, because everyone is moving and the roads are clogged up by college students and yuppies moving in to start their September 1 leases. Best, because those who have already moved or are not moving and need things to fill their living spaces (including but not limited to TVs, rugs, couches, toasters) can scour the streets--the ones in eastern Back Bay and Beacon Hill, if they're smart--and do the whole "one man's trash is another's treasure" deal. I, for one, will be putting my old rug on the streets in the hopes that someone else can domesticate it--it possessed the mysterious power to continue shedding even as I combed and vacuumed all the wooly clumps away once a week.
Now that we're officially 2/3 of the way through the year, I wanted to take another look and see what I'd done with respect to resolutions I set a full 8 months before. I wanted to see what I could let go of from that list and what goals still jive with the person I've become these past 8 months. Admittedly, with 4 months to go, I can really work on that whole "read the news" one, still, but I'm really proud of the promise I've made on so many of the others. Here were a few from the list of the original 13:
Number 3: "Find a second job outside of HBS that is intellectually stimulating and helps generate new skills." More than being intellectually stimulating and generating new skills, the business I'm starting is about following my passion. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Zen Cookery on facebook, twitter, or www.zencookery.com. I started it about a week ago, and while I have to spend the next week in China for work, I'm coming back to Boston on a mission.
Number 4: "Get out of the United States." I'm going back to China this week, and, even though it won't be until 2014, I will have booked a trip by the end of the year to visit friends in London and Istanbul, hopefully making it to see other friends in Singapore and Vietnam. Since June, however, I've been just as interested in getting into the United States as much of out of it, and with three cross-country itineraries in the works for October, November, and December. So it's not so much "Get out of the United States" anymore as "travel and explore new places with old and new friends, since that's makes you feel free and alive."
Number 6: "Submit three pieces of writing for publication." I've published 2 HBS case studies, with 3 more on the way for January. I could count those, but I'm keen on making these non-work-related pieces of writing. More specifically, I'm hoping I'll be able to get some stuff published to something involving health and wellness--possibly a blog like Mind Body Green or a celiac-specific website. Submitting something to Modern Love is still something I'd like to try, too. Perhaps I'll feel a little inspired by an expatriate interaction worth--China is a strange place, and with the terrible forecast next week, I'm sure I'll feel quite inclined to stay indoors and write--whether it's this or the aforementioned case studies.
Number 7: "Do some new group activity at least once a month." Between playing occasionally on a softball team in a beer league and going on a women's yoga retreat, August was particularly good for trying new things in groups. With some meetups planned for September, I'd say I'm really picking up speed with this resolution in the tail end of this year.
Number 11: "Do something nice for someone else at least 5 hours a month." My business is about helping others eat safely, healthfully, and mindfully. And I'm spending far more than 5 hours a month turning that dream into a reality :)
Have a beautiful weekend--check out http://laowaizaishanghai.wordpress.com/ for updates from China. You can almost certainly look forward to a post on celebrating Jewish New Year as a Shanghai expatriate.
Now that we're officially 2/3 of the way through the year, I wanted to take another look and see what I'd done with respect to resolutions I set a full 8 months before. I wanted to see what I could let go of from that list and what goals still jive with the person I've become these past 8 months. Admittedly, with 4 months to go, I can really work on that whole "read the news" one, still, but I'm really proud of the promise I've made on so many of the others. Here were a few from the list of the original 13:
Number 3: "Find a second job outside of HBS that is intellectually stimulating and helps generate new skills." More than being intellectually stimulating and generating new skills, the business I'm starting is about following my passion. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Zen Cookery on facebook, twitter, or www.zencookery.com. I started it about a week ago, and while I have to spend the next week in China for work, I'm coming back to Boston on a mission.
Number 4: "Get out of the United States." I'm going back to China this week, and, even though it won't be until 2014, I will have booked a trip by the end of the year to visit friends in London and Istanbul, hopefully making it to see other friends in Singapore and Vietnam. Since June, however, I've been just as interested in getting into the United States as much of out of it, and with three cross-country itineraries in the works for October, November, and December. So it's not so much "Get out of the United States" anymore as "travel and explore new places with old and new friends, since that's makes you feel free and alive."
Number 6: "Submit three pieces of writing for publication." I've published 2 HBS case studies, with 3 more on the way for January. I could count those, but I'm keen on making these non-work-related pieces of writing. More specifically, I'm hoping I'll be able to get some stuff published to something involving health and wellness--possibly a blog like Mind Body Green or a celiac-specific website. Submitting something to Modern Love is still something I'd like to try, too. Perhaps I'll feel a little inspired by an expatriate interaction worth--China is a strange place, and with the terrible forecast next week, I'm sure I'll feel quite inclined to stay indoors and write--whether it's this or the aforementioned case studies.
Number 7: "Do some new group activity at least once a month." Between playing occasionally on a softball team in a beer league and going on a women's yoga retreat, August was particularly good for trying new things in groups. With some meetups planned for September, I'd say I'm really picking up speed with this resolution in the tail end of this year.
Number 11: "Do something nice for someone else at least 5 hours a month." My business is about helping others eat safely, healthfully, and mindfully. And I'm spending far more than 5 hours a month turning that dream into a reality :)
Have a beautiful weekend--check out http://laowaizaishanghai.wordpress.com/ for updates from China. You can almost certainly look forward to a post on celebrating Jewish New Year as a Shanghai expatriate.