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!

paris: signs

As has been documented a few times before, I'm a gigantic dork when it comes to signs and storefronts. Paris proved itself to be particularly excellent in this department when Stephen and I visited at the end of June.

london & winchester

  
In the middle of June I visited Lucy in London, right around the same time as last year, and did a surprisingly restrained bit of shopping, ate excellent breakfast outside (!) in Clapham while it was briefly warm and sunny, had a mid-afternoon trip to the pub to beat the rain, saw Mose Kasher and Aziz Ansari perform standup (amazinggg), hopped on a train and had lovely brunch and went on a walk through brilliant green Winchester, and came back to London for fantastic Thai food at KaoSarn in Clapham. Definitely go to KaoSarn -- that bowl of all-brown soup was one of the tastier things I've eaten in recent memory.

stone harbor water

  
My dad and I go on a lot of bike rides when we're both in Stone Harbor. When I was there in June, the water on the basins (mostly enclosed areas connected to the Intracoastal Waterway) was incredibly calm and the reflections were stunning.

stone harbor sunrise

Ann came back to Stone Harbor with me toward the end of my 2 1/2 weeks in the U.S. and even though we stayed up late talking, I woke up a little after five a.m. the first morning we were there to a glorious orange sunrise. I debated for a little bit before taking myself down to the beach with my camera -- worth it, of course.

water taxi

Another "Sorry, Stephen": in the scant three hours we had between throwing Stephen on a plane and heading out of the city ourselves, not only did we make it to Times Square, we also rode the water taxi around a good bit of Manhattan. We didn't have time for the whole tour out to the Statue of Liberty, but we did get to ride from 42nd Street on the West Side over to South Street Seaport, my old hangout a few blocks away from my apartment. I hadn't realized quite how badly Hurricane Sandy was still affecting parts of NYC until I got to South Street Seaport and saw that it was all still shuddered upwards of six months later -- though it looks like they've since reopened. Re: water taxi: highly recommended! The Circle Line Cruise is supposed to be excellent as well. Next time I'll take Stephen along and maybe even make it all the way out to the Statue of Liberty, which I've only ever seen from afar.

times square

     
I avoided Times Square when I lived in New York and never made it there with Stephen while he was in town, but as soon as Ann and I threw him on a plane back to the other side of the ocean, we made our way straight there. And you know what? It was, for once, remarkably delightful. (Sorry, Stephen. Next time!)

manhattan's streets

  
I wax a lot more poetic about New York City now that it's been a while since I lived there and am far removed from the stress of working there -- though even just visiting I find myself getting sucked back into the go-go-go routine, running around so much that we never even managed to do more than wave at Central Park from the subway exit at Columbus Circle (sorry, Stephen!). I debate whether I really want to live there again, like I felt so sure I would years back, but I still love it, and think it's gorgeous, and know there's not anywhere just like it.