I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. For me, it’s a waste of time filled with good intentions, broken nonetheless and leading only to frustration with myself. No one else to blame for shortcomings but the shortcomer, and that’s me.
However, I do make Christmas resolutions. And every year I sit myself down and say, “Look, you should keep track of activities, friends, family and family/friends’ activities.” I get wrapped up in the Christmas spirit and just assume there is a lot of time to do all I want to do. There never is, so if the definition of stupidity is doing failed programs repeatedly and expecting different results, then I am really stupid. Okay, so your comments are not needed at this point, but thanks anyway.
Part of the problem around the holiday season is that there is so much to do. For the most part, it’s a matter of knowing something wonderful is occurring. We all certainly have access to information. Too much so, I am afraid. Every waking moment of every day information is literally in your face. So ignorance of what’s going on is not a valid excuse.
And I think this is the turn-off factor for me. I simply don’t/can’t pay attention to the entire cascade of dates, times, reasons, calls-to-action, or notices of can’t-miss activities. Many folks thrive on this situation. Me, I’m looking longingly at the couch.
As I said, the Holidays are particularly intense, but life in New Orleans is a year-round decision-making journey. Tell me a time of year when we have a long stretch of nothing going on. Even the brutal months of August are filled with “opportunities” because the social calendar is a bit bare but restaurants, bars and merchants are intent on creating traffic so they go out of their way to entice you to just “stop by.”
Well, you say, there’s a load of calendar programs and apps available and all you have to do is literally fill-in-the-blank noting an event. There’s the rub. I look at something, make a mental note “that is going to be fun,” and then move on to the next item in a cluttered work area.
You see, I rebel against organization. I was a lousy corporate slave and I’m a lousy free-lance slave. I don’t have the necessary commitment to “just do it.” You can ask my wife or my editor here at Renaissance and they will vouch for my lack of respect of situations that cover a broad spectrum. I am not disrespectful; I’m innocently with no malice unfocused.
It’s getting worse. In our youth, there were situations that demanded attendance, attention, or commitment. In my oldth, those are, in my warped opinion, fewer, or it seems so. My reputation was shot a long time ago and there is little I can do now to rescue it.
I know that’s not a good thing, which brings us back to the Christmas resolution. I really am going to try to do better to keep track and give full consideration to fun events and command performances. I am going to show up more and then follow-up with a sincere, promptly-written thank you.
I am resolving that turn of the leaf. And simultaneously, I am not expecting significant change. One can always hope. But that is not where the smart money is betting.
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Read Happy Hour here on www.myneworleans.com every Wednesday, and listen to The Dine, Wine and Spirits Show, hosted by Tim, every weekday, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. on WGSO 990AM and streamed, as well as stored, at www.wgso.com. Also check out Last Call, Tim’s photo-feature every month in New Orleans Magazine. Be sure to watch "Appetite for Life" every Thursday evening at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 5 p.m., on WLAE-TV, Channel 32 in New Orleans. Previously broadcasted episodes are available for viewing at http://www.wlae.com/appetite-for-life/
