Pumping Irony

I was probably supposed to make these either in December or at least at the very beginning of this month, eh? Ever the contrarian, I’m doing it now. I was seriously considering doing this on one of my other blogs which are 100% non-gaming related, but ya know what? This is my blog, and my byline is "Me, My Virtual Self, and I." Only one of the three imply games, therefore the majority me wins!

• This year I would like to make a leap of faith and get laser eye surgery. I’m beyond sick to death of wearing eyeglasses. I have to jump through all sorts of hoops for the FAA, but that’s ok. It’s an investment in myself.
• One way or another, I will learn about finances and investment this year. I’ve been saying this for a number of years now. The time for talk is over. I have no investments other than my 401(k) which I have no clue what I’m doing with. Entirely too much money in the bank that is not "working for me" earning more. I may have to come up with a "game-like" methodology to make it fun and keep me coming back, but this must be done, no ifs, ands or buts.
• I want to educate myself about wine. Liquor, too, so that I have a more well-rounded repertoire of mixed drinks when I go out to a bar, but wine is more socially accepted and sophisticated. I’ve pretty much given up ever being able to tolerate a beer, and honestly that’s fine.
• I want to get back to being more fashionable. I’ve gone several years now of jeans and tee-shirts, and it’s all fine and good to dress down sometimes when I’m home after having to wear shirt and tie at work, but I take it to extreme sometimes. Here’s where the finances and investments come in, making that money earn more money so I can afford a closet of upscale clothes to balance my downscale ones. :p
• I absolutely need to be more balanced and well-rounded in life. Work has also become my extremely limited social life, and that is unacceptable. So, in the interest of changing myself for the better, the agenda will be:
• Keep better track of news and events, starting locally and working out to state, national and global. I’m terrible about staying up on any news, especially local, and then retaining that knowledge and learning from it.
• Explore my local area more. Since I’m not home much and dedicate too much time to my hobby (again, unbalanced) when I am, I’ve barely explored anything beyond the couple areas I typically shop, etc. There are plenty of cool things that come up on maps or Google or local social sites and newspapers and it’s a shame I take the area for granted and don’t enjoy it.
• Sports. I pretty much hate watching your typical American sport. But, my goal is to pick one sport, maybe one team for that sport, and make an attempt to give a crap. I do like watching snowboarding and certain skiing but those are X-Games, but we’ll see. The only guarantee I can make is that I will not be following America’s highest-paying work-release program the NBA. :p
• Saving the biggest for last: I’m ready to move my relationship to whatever the next level might entail. We’ve been extremely averse to the M-word, but we’ll see. Even if we never do the M, I’m not opposed to getting engaged. Or something. Living together isn’t going to happen unless I get a house or a bigger condo, though. 2011 saw both our schedules extremely busy and for awhile it seemed we were spinning our wheels only being able to see each other briefly maybe two or three times a month, meeting for dinner or whatever. We’ve gotten even closer recently, though, and not only do I not want to lose that by backsliding into last year’s behavior (whether that was by choice or not – hint: it wasn’t) but I want to keep the relationship moving forward, whatever that ends up meaning for us. Love ya, babe!