For those keeping score at home, this is my first blog post of 2010. To celebrate, I'm sparing no expense. This post is going to be packed with italics, links, footnotes, and bullet points. There may even be a few words in a different color. I know, exciting, right?

You may have noticed I didn't mention anything about including photos in this post. If you did, I compliment you on your sharp eyes. If you didn't, oh my god, did you just see Taylor Lautner walk by?

Seriously, though, this post won't contain any photos because, well, these are difficult times and one must stay within one's budget¹.

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking about my goals for this year. Usually, I avoid writing them down out of fear of jinxing myself by giving them a place in the "real world". I now realize this superstitious thinking was simply a way of avoiding accountability. If my goals weren't written anywhere, there wouldn't be anything for Future Me to refer to when Present Me's annual review as a fully certified adult came up.

Since one of my perennially unwritten goals is to "be a more responsible and accountable human being", I've decided to give this neglected blog a good once over with a Swiffer and use it to list some of my goals for 2010.

• Write 750 words every day. This goal was inspired by Buster Benson's 750 Words project. His site was inspired by the concept of morning pages, which was introduced in Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" (a project I'm also attempting this year). I hope the daily exercise of writing privately will strengthen my creative muscles so then can break free from the prison my inner editor built last year.
• Write two blog posts a week. It seems counter-intuitive to set a schedule or quota for a creative process like writing, but now that I've seen how successful spontaneity and leaving things to chance and inspiration has been, I think a routine and deadlines might help concentrate my creative energies, which have been diluted by distractions. Maybe I'll set a publishing deadline as well. One post (or article) on Monday; one on Friday.
• Write one short story a month. I don't know if this goal is too ambitious and I suppose I won't know until I give it a try. My initial thought is to write stories that are set in the same world with the same cast of characters. I want to write something in the same spirit as Terry Pratchett, P.G. Wodehouse, and Steve Hockensmith. That is to say, I want my stories to be nimble, playful, and funny. Of course, the only way to get them there is to practice, which means reading, writing, rewriting, and rewriting some more.
• Publish one short story. I'm not sure if this means in an online publication or simply on my own site. I only know it means I want to have a full-fledged story out in the world where other eyes can read it before 2011 arrives.
• Learn to cook one new dish a week. This may also be too ambitious, but I believe it will force me to be more active in the kitchen. It's probably best to start simple. I'm thinking along the lines of thirty-minute meals or five-ingredient recipes.
• Watch only two hours of television a day.² In order to achieve my other goals, I need to be diligent about this one. When I think about the shows on my must-see list (Chuck, Castle, White Collar, Psych, Glee, Bones, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson) and add everything in my Netflix queue, this goal seems impossible. But if I think about weekends and the sheer number of days in the year when nothing worthwhile is on, the goal seems easily attainable.

Obviously, this isn't a complete list, but it's a start. Notably omitted are my outdoor goals. I intend to tackle them in a separate post. Also missing are what I consider "background goals" -- simple daily goals that will help me reach my bigger goals. They include things like "be more focused" and "drink more tea".

Alright, enough writing about goals. It's time to pursue them!

Hmm, upon closer inspection, it seems most of my goals are related to writing. So I suppose what I meant to say was, "Alright, enough writing. It's time to get writing!"

Also, Happy New Year!

¹ Okay, technically, this blog doesn't have a budget. And, technically, it costs just as much to insert a photo as it does to type the word "coconut". I was just feeling too lazy to take a photo. But now that I've admitted the truth, I'm feeling guilty, so here's a photo of the poster I hung on the wall next to my desk on Sunday. It's "Red Riding Hood" by John Allison.

² For the sake of sanity, I'm excluding The PBS Newshour from the two-hour limit. The daily quota is meant to limit my intake of entertainment, not news.