Realistic Resolutions for 2015

00:00:00: our view when midnight struck in Sydney

I’m one of those in the minority who love New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s resolutions, and making a big hullabaloo in general about the whole thing (see: previous editions of Realistic Resolutions).

So because public accountability to a large group of strangers is an unsurprisingly strong motivator, here are my goals for 2015:

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MONEY: This is the year I’m finally going to have savings. Since I started working (even in my teenage days at Subway and Starbucks) I’ve always put my paychecks towards living well and traveling often — but zero in the rainy day fund.

This year I’m pulling myself way into the black and hope to have 5k saved by the end. But as travel is always one of my top priorities, I’m not going to cut down there — so this will most likely mean a more lean day-to-day: more cooking at home, fewer nights out, not buying anything new unless it’s an absolute necessity.

TRAVEL: Two countries: Japan and Greece. I have always wanted to eat sushi in Japan and watch the sun set on the Greek islands; I finally have the time and the means, this is the year.

This is also when I’ll hit 25 countries and Joe and I reach 20 countries together, but the numbers matter little — we’d just like to see how much we can explore while on this side of the world. A friend from Paris is getting married in the Philippines, I’d like to attempt a weekend in Korea, and I hear New Zealand is lovely in (their) summer…

PHOTOS: Since the dawn of social media I’ve always been notoriously late on posting photos, to the point where I just don’t bother anymore because who cares about Paris party shots from two years ago?

So I’m giving myself a new start, wiping the backlog clean. From here on out, from Australia on, I’ll throw albums up on facebook and flickr and wherever else within a week of the trip/event/photo-taking.

WRITING: I’d like to write more — on this site or elsewhere in general — but I’ve always spent far too much time editing and re-editing and totally rewriting and next thing you know it’s 2 am and I’m still not happy with it but sod it I’ll hit publish because I’m at 1800 words again and exhausted.

Yeah, no more of that. Honestly it’s like a full-time job, and with an actual paying full-time job, I can’t put in those kinds of hours anymore. This year I want to write more efficiently and less perfectionist-y (relatedly, the same goes for my photo editing process).

Also, moar blog comment responding. I’ve been pretty bad about that and I apologize. But no more!

SPORTS: It’s a quiet year, sports wise; in terms of international events there’s mostly just the Rugby World Cup in England this fall.

So, in the absence of a large sports event to occupy me, I’m going to turn all my attention to the Shanghai Gaelic team: I’ve joined the 2015 committee as the new Communications chair, and would love to pull off some really successful events (both social and athletic) as well as recruit — and retain! — more newbies.

PERSONAL: I love sending snail mail, especially postcards, and have been slacking on updating my infamous Postcard Address Spreadsheet. I’m going to reorganize it — and then I’m gonna sit right down and write you all some letters. (anyone get the reference? anyone?)

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I very much believe in the ‘messy bed, messy head’ philosophy, and for the past year and a half, I’ve had a bit of a messy bed. Now, for the first time in a long time, I feel stable again in all areas of my personal life — and with a no-longer-messy head I’m excited to finally focus on external goals, tackle this year, and bring things back to awesome.

What are your plans and hopes for 2015?