Meccanized

If the last two years have taught me anything, it’s that I will only remember to do things if I write them down. I made the mistake of telling this to someone on a date and three days later noticed “Rip P’s clothes off” sandwiched on my to-do list between “buy toilet paper” and “pick up the cleaning.”

So, to hold myself accountable, this year I am using this blog to highlight both my Charlottesville bucket list and my 2012 resolutions. I welcome help completing any and all of these things. For added incentive, at least 50% of these will likely be absurd enough to yield other blog posts, so if you’ve ever wanted to claim your place in Meccanized history, now is your chance!

Charlottesville Bucket List (this list is fluid, so additions are welcome):

- Eat a Gus Burger at The White Spot (extra points if it is consumed after midnight)

- Stargaze at the UVA Observatory

- Organize a fake birthday party at Bounce U

- Win a trivia night at McGrady’s (or Mellow Mushroom or Escafe. Really, I don’t care where we win, I just want to win.)

- Be taken to dinner at The Boar’s Head or Ivy Inn. For you SF folks, this is the Charlottesville equivalent of the Gary Danko item on my SF Bucket List.

- Even classier than the previous item, get dressed to the nines for dinner at IHOP

- Climb Old Rag again, this time on a clear day

- Win a game of pool at Rapture and shuffleboard at Boylan

- Bowl above a 117. Hopefully this will happen during my usual Tuesday night league, but if I have to go alone every weekend to the bowling alley until I roll at least a 118, so be it.

- Attend (and dance my face off at) every Love Canon show between now and June

- Have a one-night staycation at one of the local B&Bs

2012 Resolutions:

Personal Growth:

- Be kinder to myself

- Worry less about other people’s perceptions of me. Along with this, be more confident in my own thoughts and actions.

- Be more positive. I tend to assume the worst about most situations to avoid being caught off guard if things go south. At best it’s draining and at worst it ruins a lot of potential fun.

- Every day, write down one thing about my life that I am grateful for. Each week, read through the list.

- Do not let the actions of others define my happiness.

Interpersonal Relationships:

- Be more honest with others about my feelings. Be brave enough to be vulnerable.

- Don’t expend a single iota of mental or physical energy on people who make me feel less than great. Devote more mental and physical energy to those who are just incredible and who I know I am lucky to have around.

- Stop being a flake; barring a family emergency or being trapped under something heavy, if I commit to something, I will go.

- Return phone calls within 24 hours

- When in the company of other people, do not check my iPhone for new e-mail/texts/FB notifications/etc. more than once

Looking Towards NYC:

- Purge my apartment and donate at least 5 big bags of clothes/books/etc. to charity.

- Leave Charlottesville feeling as if I have done everything I wanted to do with the people I wanted to do it with.

- Find a great apartment in NYC that a) makes me feel comfortable and at home in a place that has always made me feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed b) doesn’t require me to prostitute myself to pay rent

- Be a NYC tourist without shame

- Go to shows – Broadway, stand-up, tiny theaters, etc. – at least once a month.

- Join a city sports league (a la kickball in SF)

- Don’t bankrupt Pepsi

General To Do’s:

- Learn to drive a manual transmission

- Learn to shoot a pistol

- Make a Turducken

- Publish a piece of original fiction

- Read the news every day