This 2013, i shall/shan't...

…update my blog more often.

Nah, let’s face it. New Year’s resolutions are all but taken for granted. Was there ever a time in our lives that we actually did what we’d pledged to do? Well, lucky for us if we do manage to stick to one or two, or if we could at least remember that, oh, I’ve accomplished a New Year’s resolution!

Perhaps it’s also because we tend to always make the most absurd of declarations on the vaguest of things. Take this for instance. New Year’s resolution: I promise not to be late for work. I mean, come on. How can you ever pledge not to be late for work?? It’s not like you can actually control the flow of the early morning EDSA traffic. Or how fast your building elevator can go. And even if you do get to manage the traffic or the elevator, you would always switch off your alarm clock when it goes off at an earlier time anyway. That’s because your will is mightier than your words. So what’s the point of going the trouble of making resolutions for the New Year?

Of course you will, well, if you do make your list a little less ambiguous and a bit more doable. And if you stick to them religiously. Mine wouldn’t be a New Year’s resolution, more like a list of stuff that I’d try to avoid doing this year. So it goes like this:

1.       Putting off replying to text messages at a (much) later time. OK, I’m guilty of this. I use a Blackberry and my closest friends are all in my BBM contacts list. So if it’s a text message, it would definitely be someone outside the circle, which will be attended to later on. And which is cruel and unforgiving. I know. So now, I promise to reply to text messages as soon as I get them.

2.       Buying overpriced hard bounds. I'm a booklover, ‘nuff said. So buying outrageously pricey books is perfectly understandable. Or so I thought. Because to be honest, the hideous salary I get from my job wouldn’t be enough to sustain this kind of lifestyle. Plus, there are cheap paperbacks and ebooks available everywhere. So now, I promise not to spend too much on expensive hard bounds if I can help it.

3.       Being too lenient with my diet. Modesty aside, I am one of those fortunate girls who don’t gain too much weight regardless of how many rice meals I stuff myself with for days on end. But well, obviously, that wouldn’t be for long; sooner or later I would have to bear with a thick frame. And I am actually looking at a thickening flab of skin on my tummy. So now, I promise to exercise regularly and be serious with it.

4.       Being comfortable with old tunes. I belong to that group of weirdoes who never seemed to grow up when it comes to their tastes in music. Well, you can’t blame me for remaining faithful to the musical geniuses of yore. They’re just irreplaceable! But the world goes on spinning and you can’t always stay glued to your corner when music and the whole world start moving. So now, I promise to listen to new songs from now on.

5.       Being too reluctant to leave home. I grew up a certified homebody and there are still a lot of times when I prefer to stay at home even when the whole world outside is turning into one big party place. I knew I was missing a lot staying inside my hole and all that. So now, I promise to go out and experience the world as much as I can.

6.       Not exerting too much effort on my looks. I’m not actually a party person as evidenced by Resolution No. 5, which means I don’t usually go as far as dressing up and prepping my face. My make-up is stashed away unnoticed and my clothes aren’t actually that fashionable. And this has reduced me to a mere speck of dust in a sea of beautiful women. So now, I promise to dress up, put on make-up and simply look good.

7.       Traveling once a year. Last year, I’ve been to five different places in the country and two international destinations and the feeling was exhilarating! It’s like the most perfect thing in the universe, experiencing life away from the city you grew up in and discovering, learning things. Once is not enough and will never be. So now, I promise to travel, travel and travel until my feet can endure!

8.       Mind is elsewhere during work time. Guilty as charged. I wouldn’t be writing this down if I hadn’t noticed how less productive I’ve been the past year because of too many things going on in my head. It’s difficult being a marketing person; it’s a job where your brain is at work 24/7. There were moments I caught myself staring at an imaginary landscape or Alt+Tab-ing to Facebook while doing some overdue paperwork. So now, I promise to F-O-C-U-S on work and to be more productive.

9.       Always having a hard time saying NO. This has been a very big problem for me, getting caught up in a lot of things when I’d rather not be part of any of it. I know I always try hard to please everybody, well not really try hard but trying too hard. That’s because I don’t want to start an argument and be the object of extreme dislike. But the result?—hating myself more and more for not doing what I really wanted in the first place. So now, Imma say NO whenever I want to.