Be Great in Oh Eight

With the dawning of a new year upon us, we take a mo' to pause and consider...

I had one official resolution for 2007, and I failed - miserably. All I asked was that I learn the guitar. Alas, I picked up a guitar maybe three or four days in the entire year. So, in 2008, I will once again make the attempt, although, maybe if I don't make it an official resolution, I won't be pressured, and then I'll be able to actually do it. So, it's a "back burner resolution" if you will (and if you won't, then poop to you).

My official resolution? Officially? What about only eating fast food as many times I can count on my fingers or less. That sounds good. I had an egregious amount of it last night before our sold-out performance (the only such performance of the whole run down here in Sunny Land), and I felt poopy. Literally and figuratively. So, yes, that's it. Okay. Maybe make it twelve times at the most, which would give me a double quarter pounder with cheese once a month this year... that sounds reasonable for a guy who was eating it a WAY LOT more than that in years past.

I'm also going to
- drink more water
- do more crunches
- take a dance class
- get a voice teacher
- do a fringe/festival show this summer instead of doing crappy stock jobs
- invite an agent to said fringe/festival show
- sign with agent
- keep my "chords of steel" healthy and in shape
- not be depressed* (i.e. not drink alone in excess)
- travel/visit/spend time with my friends, even if it costs money, because there's no time to waste
- blog more often (i.e. at least once a week. at least.)

* 2007 was the Year of Small Audiences and Depressing Days. I refuse to let both of those things happen again. I basically have zero control over the size of the audiences I perform for, [and no, I don't care that I use dangling modifiers] so I won't harp on it. Which means I MUST control the depressing days, and that just means being happy and positive and getting up on the right side of the bed -- which could technically be the left side, depending on whether I'm at home or in a hotel or on vacation or ... well, you get the point. So far, 2008 has started out better than many many past years, which I am grateful for.

I Resolve!

Success. NYE07 was a blast -- despite the fact mi amiga L'il B was, for about an hour, assumed dead. Also, these are images from the Queen City's ball/car drop.

There's nothing quite like a new start, a new beginning, a brand new day. The movies tout them, the musicals sing about them, and in real-life, we humans have a chance every 365 days to give ourselves that fake opportunity for the promise of what will inevitably become failure. Sure, we can resolve all we want about gymming, salading, and optimistiking, but how often can we actually accomplish said tasks? I admire the people who do, or who believe they do, or who at least spend the first day of a new year thinking they're going to. Even more, I admire the people who actually announce to their friends the things they're going to do to improve their lives in the next twelve months. They're letting everyone see their cards, and if they go all in with 9s and 3s, everyone will know and be able to scoff.

Well, I won't do all of that. I already look good, feel great, eat healthy, workout often, think positively, have lots of friends, practice many talents, et al ad nauseam. So I'll just give you one thing you can harp on me about -- and I hope you will: playing the guitar. I've always wanted to learn. And think it would be fun. So, I resolve in 2007 to learn to play the guitar.

And, for all you out there who won't let me get away without the following, here's a list of things that maybe I'll try to do if I remember or think about them or get bored or whatever:

+ Learn to play the piano better
+ Write a children's book
+ Write a musical libretto
+ Finish my first DVD and at least make a major dent in the second
+ Get on Broadway, or at least make a living without a survival job
+ Get a church choir job
+ Read more and varied books
+ Instead of feeling depressed, get out and do something
+ Make the most of living in a major metropolitan area
+ Win the lottery
+ Ship it