1. Learn one Korean dish each month.
FAILED… Considering I don’t really eat regular sized meals but instead eat six smaller sized meals, I found it kind of pointless to learn how to cook a big meal I may never sit down to eat. Moreover, I don’t really have any house guests to cook for.
2. Complete level 5 of my Korean Sogang Language Program studies.
FAILED… Despite not officially finishing the level, I did however stay true to being focused on studying Korean. When I left Dankook, I went from interacting with numerous foreigners on a daily bases to very limited interaction and thus an all time low on using English on a daily bases. In addition, I do make a daily effort to sit down every day to study new vocab and whatnot.
3. Once a month send a letter or gift to my nieces.
FAILED… Yup, not happy with this one though I will admit that I did in fact send several packages their way so it wasn’t a complete fail.
4. Live on a fixed weekly allowance.
SUCEEDED… almost. With the exceptions of holidays (both holiday days and when on holidays), between Snickers and I we stayed pretty close to our $100-a-week goal. Every Sunday I'd take $100 out of our bank account, give him $50 and give myself $50. Expected living expenses like rent, hydro and insurance were paid as they came and thus omitted from the $100 goal but the point of the allowance was to limit our leasuirely spending, become more mindful of our spending, and allow us to save more.
5. Finish filling up the pages of my 2009 Korean diary book.
FAILED... which didn't mean I stopped studying Korean by any means, just didn't care to write down all that I studied.
6. Do volunteer work, possibly once or twice a month.
SUCEEDED… but not in the way I anticipated. I had anticipated volunteering at a shelter or soup kitchen but my volunteer work ended up being more local-based. The other day Snickers and I took over the responsibility of shoveling the entrance way of our building and then I made coffee for my landlord and his wife who had initiated the shoveling.
7. Introduce a boxing sponsor to Snickers.
SUCEEDED… though it didn’t last. Boo on that.
8. Stop biting my nails.
SUCEEDED… with the help of Snickers that is. So often, every time I went to go bite my nails Snickers would either slap my hand or bop me on the mouth. Once my nails grew in I quite liked them, so occasional trips to the nail shop and painting them became quite fun.
9. Create and start traditions with Snickers, especially holiday focused ones.
SUCEEDED… well, kind of. For the most part, our holiday traditions and/or celebrated events include getting dolled up and heading out for dinner just the two of us – a couple-only kind of thing.
10. Keep training hard – running 3 times and boxing 4 times a week.
SUCEEDED… Even when Snickers and I went to Bali for our honeymoon we exercised. I went for runs on the beach and then did shadow boxing with Snickers in the tennis court. Same was true for our trip to Canada and the Philippines.
11. Once a month plan a special date with Snickers.
SUCEEDED… Our special dates often became a weekly thing. Whether it was a late night drive out to the countryside, setting up our mosquito tent so that we could lay outside and look for shooting stars, or things more extravagant like a day trip out to the beach and a freshly-picked seafood meal, we love our little and not-so-little dates. Cell phones are turned off, no one else is invited and it’s just the two of us sharing random things together. Heck, we’ve even made a trip out to Costco a date! We got dressed up in super hero t-shirts, shopped, and then went to a local park to set up a small picnic comprised of some of the food we had just bought at Costco.
Amy’s 2011 New Year’s Resolutions
1. Spend at least 30 minutes a day studying Korean.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be studying via a textbook, it can include such activities like downloading and signing along to Korean pop songs, studying new vocab and grammar, reading a Korean story, or etc.
2. Start and maintain a Korean-only daily agenda.
This agenda is exactly that, an agenda. It’s not a diary but instead is a daily record of my list of things to do and schedule. I figure what better way to learn daily expressions and key words than by translating all that I have planned for the day, month, etc. into Korean.
3. Send a letter or small gift once a month to my two nieces in Canada.
I refuse to be the very family member I despised growing up – a holiday-only aunt. My oldest brother has two beautiful daughters and despite being miles apart from them, I really want to secure a solid relationship with them and play a role in their life.
4. Run two half marathons.
I love to run so why not add in some healthy competition?!
5. Beat the 2 hour mark at least once.
Missing the mark by eight measly minutes is enough of an annoyance for me to want to get back out there and beat it… beat it to a pulp, forget about it, and set a better record.
6. Save at least 65-70% of my paychecks.
With high hopes of taking our lives to Canada, money is a must for the future so what better way to secure a safe and comfortable future than building upon it now?!
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What are your New Year's resolutions for 2011?
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.
-- Robert H. Goddard
No comments:
Post a Comment