Resolutions?

I’m not usually one that’s into making New Year’s resolutions. Mostly because I know I won’t keep them and then will just feel guilty about it. And I honestly don’t need anything else to feel guilty about. However, this year is a little different for me. I wouldn’t say that I’ve made resolutions, exactly. It’s more that I’m trying to start with a clean slate in 2008. (And I seem to have inadvertently made a catchy slogan for myself.)

Step one for starting anew: I left my job on December 28th. I don’t want to get into too many details here, but it was just not the right thing for me - personally or professionally. I was there for under three months, but it was a daily struggle. I finally decided that it was really best for me to walk away at the end of last year in an attempt to salvage the time that I have left in Kyiv.

Step two for starting anew: Take the dog for lots and lots of long walks. Laika has been somewhat of a holy terror for the past few months. Shawn and I have examined the situation thoroughly and have come to the conclusion that she is just a really high energy dog. Extremely high energy. When I was working (even just part-time), neither one of us had the time or energy to give her the kind of exercise that she needs to be happy and not annoying to us. So my new “job” is to take her on at least 2 one-hour walks per day. We are hoping that this will lead to less barking/biting/running/jumping in the evenings so that we can enjoy our free time (and again salvage the time we have left in Kyiv).

Step three for starting anew: Find something to do as a “job” that I actually enjoy doing. I’ve started taking random sewing and alteration projects from friends and plan on advertising myself as a seamstress to the rest of the Embassy community soon. Of course, there’s the random bureaucratic red tape and loops to jump through before I can do so, but I’m working on it. I’ve also got some other ideas in the works, but I’ll save those for another posting.

So there you have it. No actual resolutions, but my attempt to enjoy 2008 more than last year. It is -11 degrees (C) today, which is bringing my general outlook down a little, but the sun is finally out, after being absent since October. I think the two probably cancel each other out. Remaining evenly content sounds like a good place for me to be on January 2.