(Belated) New Year's Resolutions

Source: Quote-y blog
(unfortunately the results for a "new year's duck" Google image search turned up only cooked ducks...)

Last year I had a New Year's "theme" rather than a resolution (that link is sub-par ... I mistakenly thought I had devoted a whole post to my New Year's Theme). This year it seems more appropriate to say I'm sporting a mixture of resolutions and maxims. I suppose if this year were to have a theme, it would be summed up by one of my favorite quotes:

Always behave like a duck: keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like hell underwater.

I only now just realized that this quote that I have loved forever is just a bastardized version of the Michael Caine quote from the picture above. I can't say which version I prefer. I do have a thing for consistency and first impressions. BUT the Michael Caine quote uses the word "dickens" in it - which the nerd in me is giddy over.

In any case, I suppose that is my theme for the year. To share more of a calm (refined?) and thoughtful aura with the world while working my tail off where it counts. To be fully honest, now that I look at it, it does seem like the same theme as last year in different words. Well, I could say it looks like I failed last year's theme. ORRR another way to look at is through the lens of: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." - Thomas H. Palmer

In the spirit of full disclosure, (and for my own record - dear readers, please feel free to hold me to my resolutions/maxims) allow me the indulgence of listing my New Year's resolutions/themes.

1. 말이쁘게 하기 (literally "to talk prettily" - but more in the sense of taking the edge off my biting sarcasm, brutal honesty, and judgmental proclamations/criticisms)

2. To be more patient

3. To be less judgmental/more open-minded/accepting of people who are different from me

4. To be less emotional/superlative

Don't worry. I'm not lobotomizing myself. I plan on being as gregarious and enthusiastic as ever. Just about more pleasant topics and excited in more positive ways. Well, I've got a full day ahead of me tomorrow. Off to bed now =)

And just because pictures of ducks are just so freaking cute (notsomuch in real life).

Source: Another blog

Source: FreeFoto.com

Source: Another blog 2

Reflection and Resurrection

First hit for "starting again" on Google images
Source: Blog on flying?

Another pretty random hit on Google images
Source: Dusty Groove

And this one just seemed even more random so I had to include it
Source: Amazon
(I love irrelevant but somewhat topical images for blog posts - perhaps I'll even devote a whole post to this topic)

It's official. I'm going to start blogging again. I can't promise that I'll do it very often. But I do want to make it more regular. I miss it. I really, really do. I miss writing. I miss being able to archive my thoughts. (Also, my dear friends L and K inspired and then complimented me into doing it).

In my last post, I said I wouldn't be back until I found my voice. Well, I have a voice. My "voice," my point of view, it's just me. I want my blog to be about me and it probably should be about me. After all, I'm the only thing I really know enough about to write on. After reading Tiffany's post over at I am Style-ish on whether or not her blog genuinely reflected her, I realized that what she said rang true with me (p.s. I LOVE LOVE LURV her blog - we are taste twins! Just head over there for a peek and you will see what I mean). I share her concerns for privacy and safety (not to the same extent - I'm nowhere near as web-popular as she is) but I also believe that everything (or at least nearly everything, I haven't had the time to actually go through and vet every post) I've posted does represent who I am. At least at the time that a particular post was written.

Following in that vein, I feel ready to resurrect my blog. Disclaimer: It IS going to be about me, my interests, and other things that happen to catch my fancy. Don't say I didn't warn you. If it happens to be cookies or an omelette one day, so be it. If it's my professor's view on copyright, so be it. If it happens to be super-gorgeous shoes or a satin bow headband, that's what I'll blog about. Pretty much anything that I would tell a stranger at a friend's house is fair game for post topics. Not too personal but definitely genuine. I think that's a fair line to draw. After all, you probably don't want to read about my pet peeve for the day or why friend X is the meanest person I know. But if I would feel comfortable sharing it with a stranger at a cocktail party, you get to read about it - regardless of how trite, or how monumental, the subject.

That being said, I am also going to disconnect my blogspot from my Facebook feed after this current post. I'll leave the link to my blog on my Facebook profile, so if you choose to continue reading you'll have that option. But I'm not going to shove my blog down your (digital Internet) throats.

I'm going to have some work to do before I'll be completely up and running again (creating and implementing a consistent set of "labels," a new format/coloring, etc.) but I'll do what I can to keep you entertained in the meantime. Just be patient with me.

One last caveat: the topics I will most LIKELY be blogging/writing/posting about (what IS the correct verb for doing this?):
- Me
- Food (that I like, eat, create, or am DYING to eat or create)
- Law school/career stuff
- Clothing and fashion
- Things that are pink and/or shiny
- Organizing
- Anything else that happens to be relevant in my life

Like I said, don't say I didn't warn you!

P.S. One of my goals for the "new" blog is user-friendliness. If you are so inclined please comment on formatting, font, layout, anything really and/or make suggestions.

Some starting points for discussion:
1. Do you like the pink background or should I revert back to white?
2. Do you prefer the blogs I list on the right to be listed alphabetically or by most recent post?
3. Do you care for the titles of the most recent posts or should I limit it to a bare list of blog names?