2013 Resolutions – Week 3

A quick recap on the 2013 Resolutions to date…

Smoking – Not a cigarette has touched these lips. That said, I tried having a beer for the first time, since the new year, this past week and immediately wanted to smoke. So beer is a trigger and it’s still off the list. On the plus side, I had a vodka tonic and didn’t have the urge to smoke. Hard liquor it is, baby!

Also, one of my triggers is anger and frustration. It’s my usual downfall. This week, I basically had someone hit the giant red “Do Not Push Unless You Want to End the World in a Fiery Cloud of Anger” button that sits on my forehead (it’s a lot sexier than you’d think); but, I made it through the rest of the day without smoking. And I’m talking, they hit that shit at 9 am.

Reading Poetry – I read 12 more poems this week. I read a few by the Inaugural poet Richard Blanco, whose work I find solid, deep, and nostalgic, like wandering back through a powerful memory. I recommend his work for new readers of poetry. You can find his works on his site, as well as audio of his reading his work. Here are the poems I read (if you’re at all interested):

Looking for the Gulf Motel – Richard Blanco
El Florida Room – Richard Blanco
Her Kind – Anne Sexton
A Supermarket in California – Allen Ginsberg
The Romantic Dogs – Roberto Bolano
Self Portrait at Twenty Years – Roberto Bolano
Resurrection – Roberto Bolano
In the Reading Room of Hell – Roberto Bolano
Soni – Roberto Bolano
Ernesto Cardenal and I – Roberto Bolano
Day Bleeding Rain – Roberto Bolano
The Worm – Roberto Bolano

Roberto Bolano is one of my favorite poets of all time. Blanco is Cuban American, Bolano grew up during the Chilean revolution. I apparently like poets that have lives predicated on cultural transitions.

Running – Bitch, please, I have this shit locked up! I’m actually half of a mile ahead of schedule, clocking in at 38.55 miles, as of yesterday. I’ll get my next two (maybe three) done today, once the gym opens.

Blogging, writing, creating – Another bad week in this department and I’m actually sliding backwards, because I didn’t get a single blog entry posted. I’m going with “life’s been screwy this week,” but that can no longer be a reason, otherwise it’ll suddenly be October and I’ll have no chance at making up for lost time.

Recap – As is usual with resolutions, I find some moving to the front of the pack and others lagging behind. This difficulty is, it’s usually the ones that lag behind that are the ones I want to make the most progress on.

Except for quitting smoking. That is the top priority this year. It’s done, it’s over with. I want one of my 2014 goals to be, “Continue not smoking.” That seems as easy as taking a shit as far as resolutions go.

I eat a lot of fiber (being a vegetarian), so “easy as taking a shit” is pretty fucking easy.

2013 Resolutions: Update Deux

Good day my good friends!

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going? I hope as well as mine have been – because remember, it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress!

So here’s my honesty update on each resolution…

Quit Smoking

No cigarettes yet, baby!

I’m actually very proud of this, especially given that we had a bachelor party to go to last Saturday, where copious amounts of liquor were consumed. For those of you who don’t know, liquor and smoking go together like fish and gills – so I had anticipated faltering.

One of the tricks to quitting smoking is to remove every trigger possible. So, aside from the bachelor party, I have not had any alcohol (okay, maybe a glass of wine at the opera last night, but that doesn’t count). I’ve also quit drinking coffee, as that’s another trigger for me.

And I’m also that person who, when walking down the street and seeing a smoker, consciously thinks, “Uggg, that’s so disgusting and it smells so bad! Gross!” I’m not usually one for judgement of that scale, but as little as any of us like to admit it, negative reinforcement works.

Running

Okay, so I’m a little behind on this one. For my average, I should have completed 24 miles by the end of today. Unfortunately, I’m only at 19.5 miles, but seriously, that’s still pretty awesome and will be easily be made up over the next week (assuming I don’t injure myself).

I had a few days this week where either I was hungover (see bachelor party mention in previous resolution), overslept, or had early client meetings. Since I workout in the mornings, my workouts got blown.

But these things happen, which is why my resolutions are never daily activities. One bad day and your perfect score for the year is ruined.

Reading Poetry

Another one that I’m on top of. In the last week, I’ve read 22 poems, bringing my grand total to 30 poems read so far this year, which puts me ahead of the one a day goal. Below is the list of poems I’ve read this week, and as I warned you last week, there would be a slew of Marcus Wicker poems. (If you’re into reading poetry, I highly recommend his new book of poems.)

Self-Dialogue Watching Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip – Marcus Wicker
Love Letter to RuPaul- Marcus Wicker
Love Letter to Justin Timberlake – Marcus Wicker
Love Letter to Pam Grier – Marcus Wiker
Love Letter to Jim Kelly – Marcus Wicker
1999 – Marcus Wicker
Oblivious Spring – Marcus Wicker
About the Time Two Ducks Advised me on Matters of the Flesh – Marcus Wicker
Interrupting Aubade Ending in Epiphany – Marcus Wicker
Everything I Know About Jazz I Learned from Kenny G – Marcus Wicker
Self-Dialogue Camping at Yellowwood State Forest – Marcus Wicker
To a White Friend Who WOnders Why I Don’t Spend More Time Pontificating the N Word – Marcus Wicker
Love Letter to Bruce LeRoy – Marcus Wicker
Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night – Dylan Thomas
The Great Lament Of My Obscurity Three – Tristan Tzara
To Make A Dadist Poem – Tristan Tzara
Proclamation Without Pretension – Tristan Tzara
Imperial – T.R. Hummer
Pandrol Jackson – T.R. Hummer
Bloodflower Sermon – T.R. Hummer
Maybe (for Craig) – Richard Blanco
Daffy Duck In Hollywood – John Ashbury

Post 365 Blog Entries

This is blog post number 15 for 2013. So I’m ahead of schedule.

Let’s all hope I’m not suffering from Premature Posting Syndrome. Don’t want to blow that too early, amirite?

The Rest

All right, so I’m still behind on writing poems, working on the novel, and creating some sort of visual piece of artwork. But, my hope is that today I can make a little headway so that next week I can at least say I’m further along than I was on January 1st.

Have a great rest of the day and let me know how your resolutions are going!

2013 Resolutions: Week 1

Today is the first update on my 2013 Resolutions, and so far, things are going pretty good. Here are the highlights:

Quit Smoking

It’s now been 6 days since my last cigarette. I’ve had a few cravings here and there, but so far it’s been going pretty smoothly. I’ve been able to avoid three of my main triggers: coffee, alcohol, and sudden onset stress. That said, I may be single-handedly keeping the chewing gum industry in business.

My big challenge is coming tonight. We’re going to a bachelor party at a local club, with friends that smoke. I may have to be lame and simply drink water and coke all night. *Grumble*

I’d like to say I feel amazing – but I have a sinus infection or something – so basically, I feel like shit.

Run 730 Miles this year

So far, I’ve run 7. To stay on track I need to run another 3 this afternoon.

7 miles doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s more than I’ve run in the last several months. I’m wondering if my “sinus infection” is really my body’s way of saying, “stop running and start smoking, I don’t like change!”

My body can be a bit of a whiny bastard sometimes.

Read 365 Poems

This has actually become one of my most enjoyed resolutions so far. Most poems are relatively short, so they can be enjoyed slowly, like a nice cup of coffee. This week, I’ve read the following:

The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy
A Season in Hell by Arthur Rimbaud
Falling and Flying by Jack Gilbert
Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath
A Horse Grazes in My Shadow by Matt Rasmussen
Daddy by Sylvia Plath
To You by Marcus Wicker
Love Letter to Flavor Flav by Marcus Wicker

Expect more Marcus Wicker poems on my next list. I just bought his first book of poetry, Maybe the Saddest Thing, and so far it is wonderful.

Post 365 Blog Entries

This is actually post number 6 – so I’m totally on track.

The Rest

I’m afraid I haven’t done much in the “creating” department this week. There haven’t been any new poems (aside from the Disclaimer Poem that came this morning, but since that was a result of editing, I’m not sure that I’ll count it). No visual art pieces and no work done on the novel.

But that’s okay. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can’t tackle all resolutions at once. Strong progress on 4 out of 7 is a pretty good first week I think.

I hope your year is going well so far!