the new year

I lost my wallet last night. I do this kind of thing all the time. I left it on the bus and, long story short, I tracked it and caught the same bus when it was back in my area (after it went all over town). Luckily, it was still on the seat where I left it. The point is, when I realized my wallet was gone my first thought was that without my student ID I wasn't going to be able to get into the SERF. I panicked! It took a few minutes before I even thought about my bus pass, cash, credit card, etc. I guess I was really excited to get back, huh? Progress!

The SERF re-opened its doors today after a break for the holidays; from now until the ever-so-distant 5K I will supposedly be running in August, it won't be closing for any more extended periods of time. I have no more excuses for skipping the gym for more than a few days at a time. I think I can handle that. I hope I can handle that. It's going to be a tough semester. I hope I can continue to see exercise as a way to relieve my stress instead of another obligation that will add to it.

Tonight, the SERF was packed. I mean, it's always pretty busy, but this time there were actually lines to get on the machines. I'm guessing it's because everyone is beginning their new workout routines for their resolutions to lose weight, get more exercise, train for a 5K because their mother told them to, etc., etc., etc. I think for the past few years my resolution has been to lose weight and get in shape, not because my weight is a particularly pressing issue in my life, but because every year around this time everyone starts talking about their resolutions and weight loss is mentioned at least 234349 times. I just think "sure, that sounds fine. I'll go with that" and then, like everyone else, I'm back to my usual greasy-fingered habits by mid-January. That's good news for me; it'll only be a few weeks before the SERF clears out and I'm able to get back on my favorite treadmill.

I'm trying something new this year. I read in a magazine that a good idea for a resolution is to start a "good decision jar". The idea is that you put a dollar in for every good decision you make and at the end of the year you buy yourself something you usually wouldn't splurge on. I'm doing it a little differently, though. First of all, I'm going to do it on a day-by-day basis. If I feel good about the decisions I made all day, then it's +1, but if skipped the gym and headed to Cold Stone, it's -1. I'm not going to give myself a dollar for each "good decision" because then I'll convince myself that everything I do is a good decision just for the excuse to use the money on an expensive trip abroad. Because, if you know me, that's really all I want. I'm not going to use real money everyday, though, because I'm sure I'd find a way to leave it on the bus and some lucky person would find a jar full of MY good decisions.

Who knows? Maybe I'll forget about this whole thing in two weeks.