2013 resolutions: check-in

  
[photos from that time I went to Positano with Ann last year]
I made some resolutions at the beginning of 2013, and just like last year, I figured it was about time to take a look at where I stand on my goals and how this year is going.

1. Run a marathon.
Happening! I signed up for the Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday, October 27th and I've been training for it since late June, using a barely modified version of the Hal Higdon Novice 1 training program. Training is time-consuming, unsurprisingly, but it is also inspiring to see how much progress I've made since I ran my first 10K last September. Yesterday's totally normal and un-intimidating seven-mile training run was longer than the longest I had ever run in my life just nine months ago. This is helpful to remember when I'm staring down that week in mid-October where I'll be running two file-milers, a ten-miler, and a twenty-mile monster within five days of each other. Takeaway: our idea of "normal" is not static; it changes and adapts with us. Which is really, really cool.

2. Learn calligraphy.
In February I bought myself the I Still Love Calligraphy online class by Melissa Esplin and the supplies for it and finally gave learning calligraphy a try after having wanted to learn for ages. Turns out there's a good reason they call it a calligraphy practice. I wouldn't say that I've already learned calligraphy at this point, but I am a heck of a lot better at it than I was before I started. We can go ahead and count that as a win.

3. Complete the first draft of a novel.
I like Nicole Antoinette's writing about the power of obsession and how there's just no way to be equally committed to a bunch of different projects at once. As the fact that I've had this goal on my resolutions list for the past two years and have made basically zero progress on it proves, clearly this isn't a priority for me at the moment. And that's okay! It doesn't mean I'll never be a novelist, but it's pretty relieving to be able to let go of the idea of being one right now, at the same time that I am already way committed to making my other big goals happen.

4. Move.
Happening! Stephen's starting a new job this fall and I'm on the hunt for a new one of my own, and hopefully by the end of the year we will both be in Nuremberg. Maybe even living in an apartment that isn't a single room? And in the not-so-far-off future getting a dog? High hopes around here!

As for the list of other things I wanted to do this year:

* go on another Weinwanderung -- done! * continue the hunt for the world's most magnificent beaches -- Sardinia trip in July = done! * be more conscious of my spending -- hahaha. this is a work in progress. * prioritize swimming for exercise -- if by "swimming" I meant "running", then sure! * add speedwork and strength training into my running routine -- I've gotten after this recently, with inconsistent results, but certainly more of each than I was doing in the past * go on a wine weekend in the Pfalz -- not yet, but the year ain't over * concentrate on people photography -- haven't exactly prioritized this*

For the rest of 2013 I'm concentrating on:

+ finding a new job & moving to Nuremberg (resolution #4)
+ running the Frankfurt Marathon (resolution #1)
+ taking slow, deliberate steps toward turning my excessive dorky love for all things calligraphy/stationery into a business (extension of resolution #2)

I'll let you know how all that works out for me!