So how am I doing on those New Year's resolutions?

For some reason when I was driving home this evening I was thinking about New Year's resolutions. Actually, I think I was enjoying the prospect of the coming fall and thinking ahead towards winter and then recalled: I made resolutions. Public ones, at that. In case you don't remember they were:

I hereby resolve to:
-grow my thumbnails
-visit a new state (for me, that is. I don't think the United States will be adding any for a while)
-visit a new country (as long as they have McDonalds)
-actually write something that resembles "substance" (hoping against hope)
-host more visitors in my house (maybe mowing my grass would make people feel more welcome?)
-pay off my car (you know, the warranty won't last forever)
-renew my pilots license (you can never have too many expensive hobbies)
-get straight A's for the first time in my life (I'm refusing to acknowledge that only taking two courses at a time is an advantage)
-paint the bedroom in my house that still has teddy-bear wallpaper on it from the previous owners (even though I rather like the mint-green motif)
-mail Christmas cards (it's the right thing to do)
-see a play in Cincinnati (I saw plays in Indianapolis and Chicago, but not my adopted hometown)

So let's work through those.

-grow my thumbnails
Nope. Currently I have two good fingernails on my left hand, four on my right. My thumbs are still the designated scapegoats. It isn't pretty.

-visit a new state (for me, that is. I don't think the United States will be adding any for a while)
I've come nowhere close. And I'm not sure if I'll get this done. I've sucked up all my vacation time already so I'm not going very far afoot.

-visit a new country (as long as they have McDonalds)
My international trip got pushed from this year to next. So I won't get this one done either, but hopefully I go to South America in February 2004. I won't miss meeting that one by much.

-actually write something that resembles "substance" (hoping against hope)
Right...

-host more visitors in my house (maybe mowing my grass would make people feel more welcome?)
Again, you've got to be kidding. I didn't even have the Christmas in July party that I was hoping for. But this is partially due to all of my out of state friends who keep saying they want to come over but never do. I can't help that, either.

-pay off my car (you know, the warranty won't last forever)
This is frustrating. I should have made significant progress on this. But it's been one thing after another. I spent money on an impromptu trip to Colorado. That was fine. But then my brakes needed totally redone. Then I ruined three of my four tires. The list goes on and on. There has been no getting ahead this year. It's frustrating.

-renew my pilots license (you can never have too many expensive hobbies)
In progress. I'll at least get my medical before the end of the year. Depending upon that timing I should get re-current this fall or next spring. Maybe during the winter, if the weather is mild.

-get straight A's for the first time in my life (I'm refusing to acknowledge that only taking two courses at a time is an advantage)
In my four classes so far I've gone: A, A-, A, A (ok, the last one's not posted yet, my final was just last Thursday. But I'm hopeful.)

-paint the bedroom in my house that still has teddy-bear wallpaper on it from the previous owners (even though I rather like the mint-green motif)
Not yet....

-mail Christmas cards (it's the right thing to do)
I bought some last January, so I don't have an excuse not to.

-see a play in Cincinnati (I saw plays in Indianapolis and Chicago, but not my adopted hometown)
This one I did! I saw two plays in Cincinnati, none elsewhere so far this year.

Wow. Of the eleven items I can only legitimately claim to have fulfilled (or yet expect to fulfill) four of them. That doesn't seem like a very good completion percentage.