Every time someone asks me about my New Year’s resolutions, I think about this Brenda Ueland quote:
“When you will, make a resolution, set your jaw, you are expressing an imaginative fear that you won’t do the thing.
“If you knew you would do the thing, you would smile happily and set about it.
“And this fear (since the imagination is always creative) comes about presently and you slide down into the complete slump of several weeks or years – the very thing you dreaded and set your jaw against.”
Damn straight.
I prefer keeping a private bible: a little list of goals, and a few quotes. It keeps me mindful and focused, and works.
One of my goals1 is to write here more often. There were few substantive posts last semester because I was either studying, or working, or in a state of irritation2 or pettiness.
So, the goal, or resolution, or whatever-you-want-to-call-it is to live a life that I can blog about. This means I need to develop a better immunity to life’s daily annoyances2 and be as positive as possible without parroting Wavey.
We’ll see how I do.
1 Lest I say resolutions… 2 The things that I was preoccupied with were not blog fodder – subjects impolite to write about and things that I suspect I don’t want to remember, ie, being annoyed at the boyfriend for not calling, insanely loud girl at work and her liquid leggings, off topic guy in class, etc.
So I’m at the bar and a Music Professor approaches me. The Professor is tipsy, but friendly. We talk. After a half hour of conversation the Professor asks for a hug.
Professor: “Can I have a hug?” Me: “Uh, why?” Professor: “I just want a hug.” Me: “I’m not a touchy-feely person. Swine flu and all that…” Professor: “How about a back rub?” Me: “Excuse me?” Professor: “How about I give you a back rub?” Me: “Um, No. I’m a law student. I feel better with the tension in my shoulders. Keeps me in fighting mode. Hiyah!” Professor: “What about a hug?”
Ugh.
So this continues, but we eventually slip back into normal conversation with intermittent hug-pleas, but then:
Professor: “You’re very attractive.” Me: “Thanks. But that doesn’t make me worth talking to.” Professor: “But you’re also a law student.” Me: “Again, another reason why I’m not a good person to talk to. We are a breed of ogre…” Professor: “But one of my favorite movies is The Paper Chase!” Me: “I know, you’ve mentioned this.” Professor: “Go to my facebook page! You will see that I like the Paper Chase!” Me: “Oh, I believe you.” Professor: “Can I get a hug?”
The entire time this is happening, Jack and his clique are standing 5 feet from us, POINTING AND LAUGHING! The Professor is facing me so he can’t see the audience of ridicule.
The Professor eventually dived in for a hug and I gave Jack a frantic “GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW” wave.
Jack let me panic for a moment and then responded to my dark threats and rescued me.
Jack slid into the spot next to me. I gasped as if Santa had just arrived and then turned away from the Professor to latch onto Jack like a life raft on the titanic.
It took the Professor about 5 minutes of solid cold shoulder to get the clue, but he eventually left.
Me: “Oh my god. Thank you so much!” Jack: “Your problem is that you are too nice.”
Hmmf. Maybe.
After a subsequent run-in with the Professor I decided to leave the Eagle and went to the Saloon. There was a little bit of drama at the Saloon – actually, there was a lot of drama. At one point there was a guy decked out on the floor because someone smashed a beer bottle of his head.
At one point there was a guy decked out on the floor because someone smashed a beer bottle of his head, proving once again that Minnesotans are not always nice.
I also spent some time ignorning Mittens.2
Mittens (and his female sidekick, Mittenette) always shoot unsolicited bitchy looks at Phillip and I. But a pair of contacts and a haircut later, Mittens suddenly wanted to talk to me.
Pfft.
1 Talking 21+ bars here. 2 We call him Mittens because he always wears ridiculous half-gloves like an extra in a Lady Gaga video.
This semester I took 17 credits (5 classes + moot court), worked 20 hours a week, and had a social life. Oh, and the dog, of course. I might be superman… or a time-shifter.
