New Year: New You?

Happy New Year! I wish I could report that I had a crazy blowout celebration to ring in 2014, but I sat on the couch with my parents, aunt and uncle drinking wine and watching only the boring parts of Country Strong, due to a scratched disc, and The Italian Job. Compared to last year, reading Harry Potter alone on the couch while babysitting, I have to say this year seemed like a crazy blowout celebration.

Brace yourself for the onset of the avalanche of  high and mighty resolutions about how people are going to better their lives. People vowing to exercise more, eat better, and other such aspirations for a healthier more fulfilling life. I don't know if I reject all attempts at New Year's resolutions because I don't want to be cliche and "mainstream" or if really I am just jealous of every person who is able to make a significant resolution and actually stick with it.

In reality I should definitely eat healthier and I think I would feel better if I could motivate myself to get off my butt and exercise a bit. But I don't make resolutions that I know I wont stick with even to January 2nd.

So instead of a New Year's "resolution" I am going to officially put out into the universe my 2014 New Year's Projects. I only have two but they should keep me busy enough!

1. My Actually-Blog-on-a-Consistent-Basis Project: I started a blog in 2013 but I am going to utilize it better and more frequently in 2014. While a blog should really be used incredibly frequently (daily, or at least every business day). I am giving myself the (possibly outlandish) goal of writing a blog at least once a week, EVERY WEEK! My reasons for this are 3 fold.
          1. If I want to continue in the comedy field I need to learn how to write, write often, and be        
              totally fine with people reading or watching anything that I have written.
          2. There is only one way to break myself of the monotonous writing style that I find so    
              easy to fall into.
          3. There are some things that I can't ever seem to wrap my head around or truly understand until I               put it down on paper. Call it therapeutic, call it crazy, I don't care after it's down on
              paper it's off my mind and nothing feels better than an empty mind.

2. My Improvised Paint Project: I love painting, but I hate how much time it takes me and how caught up I get in the little details of the painting being perfect. Which leads to me being frustrated by the imperfections and either spending far too many hours being dissatisfied with my painting or setting aside the project altogether to be forgotten in my closet. So I recently bought a bunch of canvases on sale at Michael's to start what I am calling my Improvised Paint Project. The premise of this being that much like in improv I will take a suggestion of something, anything really, and using that as inspiration for a painting. What I have decided is that I will give myself time limits. From getting the suggestion I will have 5 minutes to free associate the suggestion, decide what I want to do, and sketch my idea. Then I am only giving myself 30 minutes to paint. After 30 minutes whatever I have is it, it's done and it can't be revisited (just like improv!!!!).

I am actually super excited about both of these things. I have had both "projects" in the back of my mind for a few months now, which means that I fell to the New Year: New You draw by putting off these projects. Just call me one giant cliche! "I have this really great idea... I guess I will start it in the new year!"

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous year!