Things Could Be Different...

I don't typically make resolutions at this time of year, because whenever I have made them in the past, I haven't really changed my course of action enough to accomplish any of them. So instead of making resolutions, I'd like to take this opportunity to list out the resolutions I would make, if I were a resolution-maker. Which I'm not.

1. Get Out. Take affirmative steps towards figuring out what I plan to do in the event that I have the gumption to try a post-law career.
2. Bend, Don't Break. Find a yoga studio in LA that I like. And go to it. Regularly. I had a studio that I really liked in Dallas, and when I tried out the one down the street in LA (I'm all about convenience), it was not my cup of tea. A bit too much of the spiritualism and history and too little of the relaxation and exercise components. I found another one on the internet this morning that I intend to try out (it is about 2 miles from my apartment, which is about 1.5 miles farther than the other place I've tried out here): http://www.yogaworks.com/losangeles/studios.asp?loc=CFY
3. Calm Down. I'm sick of being an angry driver. And now that I live somewhere that people end up spending a lot of time in their cars, I'd like to break this bad habit. I've noticed in the last 6 months or so that whenever I drive alone I'm overly aggressive and overly fast, but when I drive with someone else in the car, I'm much more calm and collected (and much less likely to mind when some $^&*&$# cuts me off). I should try to take the emotions out of the driving experience more often.
4. Speak Up. I know for a fact that I don't say enough nice things to the people who make my life happy often enough. I'm trying to get better about this. I'd like to avoid the trap set by my dad and his mother in this area. The perfect example of their form of affection comes from this Christmas memory of Grandma: I bought her some sort of gift (surely not worth very much, but something I thought she would like) and when she opened it up in front of me, she said "I would have liked it better if you would have made me something." My dad was better about letting me know that I was loved, but the ingrained negativity as an initial response to a situation is a hard trait to break... I'd like to be better.
5. Get Up. Spend less of my life sitting in front of my computer (both at work and at home) killing time. Go out and do more. [Note: Playing internet poker is not killing time; it is practicing up for my future career. The one in which I become BFF with Jennifer Tilly or Clonie Gowan (or both!) and get invited to all the cool LA poker games.]
6. Save Up. I had one pretty big expense this year (Mike's party). I'd like to save at least half of my salary in the next year, so that when/if my chance to escape the grind comes along, I'm ready for it! The only really conspicuous spending that I do is on meals, nights out and trips. I should exercise some restraint. Restraint is really hard for me.

That's all of them (for now at least). Six seems like a pretty workable number. If I were into making and keeping resolutions. Which I am not.

I'll let you know how I do.