Shirley¹, I'm not the only one out there who finds it silly the pedestal we place the "New Year" on and then subsequently use it to launch our renewed, repentant, and revamped lives. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but don't most of us just end up falling flat on our faces anyway? It's not that I think the ideas of reflection and resolution are all that bad, I just think maybe we should be in a continual state of renewal. It makes sense to try to put our mistakes of the past year behind us, after we learn from them, of course. But doesn't it also make sense to do this everyday?

Probably it does. And since I haven't been doing this on a daily basis this year, I'll go through a quick rundown of the things I've learned this year and the things I look forward to learning in 2008. If I'm about to lose any of you right now, Happy New Year!

Health
In 2007, I learned that I can't stay up as late, I can't run as fast, and I can't eat as much as I did 5 years ago. It only took me 5 years to learn that. In 2008 I look forward to learning how to get my eating habits to catch up to my metabolism. Or vice versa if the opportunity presents itself.

Work
In 2007, I learned that getting a promotion is only fun as long as the paychecks keep going up (note-to-self: 1 promotion = 1 raise. That paycheck stops going up after the first one). In 2008, I look forward to learning that keeping the challenges fun at work is not necessarily the responsibility of my employer and how to find ways to do so.

Friends
In 2007, I learned that it only gets harder and harder to keep close friends close as "oh bla dee oh bla da life goes on". In 2008, I hope I learn to manage my time better and that when it comes to friends, time management is a waste of time.

Love
In 2007, I learned that there are an infinite ways of presenting a finite number of diamonds in the world, and that infiniteness does not necessarily conform to the laws of supply and demand. I got engaged this year and was never able to find a way to present that in blogese. In 2008, I look forward to learning how to be a loving, respectful, and devoted Christian husband.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of the things I've learned this year nor the things I look forward to learning in the coming year. Some things are harder to type than these, and thus require an entirely different state of mind. I'll make sure you're the first to know when that state of mind arrives. Until then, and once again, Happy New Year!

¹ Intentional.