Time for a lil change

I am feeling hopeful about 2009. We're already getting rain and the air is clear and Obama will be our president.

I always like to do a little new year's planning (and mid year's planning and fall planning and spring planning and planning in general) but somehow this year feels even just a little fresher and brimming with possibility.

I've gotten into the habit of telling everybody what it is that I want to do and that I care about, and I like that. Other people may have figured this out a long time ago, but I am still surprised and exhilarated by people who are not myself getting excited with me about my plans and getting fussy about my Victorian non-romances. So, may 2009 bring more of the same!

In the spirit of sharing and being held accountable, here are a few more things I'm hoping to work on this year:

I want to be more thankful. Seems like a cheesy thing to say, but there really are so many great little things and big things that happen and people that I love, and I want to be better about calling that stuff out and really appreciating what there is to be appreciated.

I want to do something completely different. I want a new career path, and I want to help people and the Earth. Full time. I want to be someone who does plant/health/environmental things. I adore each of the plants in my little jungle, but I want to take it to the next level. I want to know what organic farming is about. I want to know the names of things and where they come from and what makes them happy. And I want that to be the sort of thing my parents tell people when explaining what I get up to these days. I want to volunteer at a Botanical Garden (or something similar) and I want to apply to the Peace Corps before the year is out.

I want to get out and see the world. Specifically, Iceland. I am promising me in public that economy or no economy, I will set foot in Iceland before the end of this year. I will. I Will.

I want to exercise my brain muscle. Every year I try to read 24 books. It always sounds perfectly reasonable in January and utterly impossible in December. I've never quite made it, but I do like trying. (The Tale of Genji totally counts as six books, btw).

I want to exercise my muscle muscles. Which means riding my bike to catch the West Oakland shuttle when it's not raining and doing yoga multiple times per week. Because it feels good and I sleep better.

I want to make art. I want to learn up some bluegrass banjo before I can't afford lessons anymore and I want to finally figure out how to turn on (and use) one of the sewing machines in my closet. It would also be cool to learn silk screening, draw (or collage mosaic or sew) more plants and birds, take photos and use some of my now giant stash of photographic paper in the darkroom, and/or do some of the art ideas saved in my notebook.

I want to be great and inspire greatness. Whatever that means, I want to be that when I grow up.

So there you have it.