marching on . . .

March 2, 2007

amazingly enough, it’s already march (!!!), and that means my new years resolutions are 2 months old. i think it’s time for my first check-in, so that i don’t forget them and have to re-resolve them all in december (although i probably will anyway).

1. continue to work on relaxing more. when i am well-rested, i am finding it easier to just focus on each moment and not stress about things not worth stressing about, which is really what this goal is about. i think i am doing a decent job of consciously reminding myself to slow down and just let things unfold. but i need to work on maintaining this mindset even when tired. i’ll just have to keep trying.

2. keep up with this blog. i think i have done pretty well with this! i could post a bit more, but there haven’t been too many long periods of M.I.A. AND i am excited to have some new people reading, judging from the comments. y’all don’t know how much that makes my day! (who am i, with the y’all? oh well). keep saying stuff, and i will be better about responding!!

3. set up a consistent schedule for housekeeping-type things. this has been difficult because MY schedule has not been terribly consistent, especially this month! but, my current strategy of writing down when i will do those kinds of things and just doing them on those days and not worrying about it the rest of the time has been working fairly well.

4. continue working on planning meals strategically and experimenting with new recipes. i have been doing a decent job with this, i think! i even have homemade soup and painstakingly handcrafted samosas in the freezer for future emergency dinners — that is serious strategy. my lunches have been getting really boring, though. i’ll have to work on this.

5. work on being a more consistent student/learner. ehh. i could do better here. i did a really good job prepping for step 2, but now that there’s no specific test in my future, i’ve started slacking. the ‘test’ of surviving internship should be enough motivation, but it just doesn’t seem immediate enough. in particular, i need to be working on my spanish and i also would like to improve EKG-reading skills, just enough so that i don’t completely embarrass myself. although part of me feels that pediatric EKG is SO different (because the cardiac kids often have WAY different anatomy and aren’t just having your typical ischemic events) that what i’m learning now won’t even help me. advice, anyone?

6. FLOSS!!! i have done this every single night so far! i can’t wait to show my dentist how awesome my gums are.

7. health goal: more vegetables this year. i need to find something other than baby carrots to bring for lunch, because i am totally sick of them.

8. plan more fun things in advance. i NEED to get on this. february suffered from a serious lack of fun. most of this was because my schedule sucked and completely mismatched with josh’s, but it was also because i didn’t try that hard. i am a total extrovert and i really wake up when i’m around others; at the same time, sometimes i am too lazy to initiate contact. i miss having a social life! i will resurrect mine in march.

9. running goals:

a) i would REALLY love to qualify for boston this year. it’s looking like this one will probaby have to be tabled for quite some time. i am still working back up slowly from my achilles injury, and i don’t see a marathon in my immediate future. strangely, i am not heartbroken over this. i am enjoying cross-training and the freedom that comes with NOT having to get up on sundays to run for hours at a time. i think i needed a break, anyway.

b) continue to run once residency starts. i can’t really judge my progress on this one yet . . .

10. incorporate weight training and yoga into my life i ended up buying a 3-pack of personal training sessions and i am really glad i did! now i am less petrified of the weights area in my gym. i even have a routine that is almost sort of fun, and i have been doing it twice/week. with my injury, i was also motivated to revisit yoga and try cross-training like spinning and the elliptical machine, so while i am less hard-core, i am more balanced, physically.

11. be the best pediatric intern i can be assuming i match somewhere on march 12, right? now as we’re getting closer, i’m starting to get irrationally nervous.

12. explore new music, and get out of the ‘shuffle’ habit. i have, sadly, continued to shuffle. i have a bunch of new cds that i really want, but we are not financially in a position to buy, well, anything. so this will have to wait.

13. dress more nicely and with more personal style. and, this too. my god, i’m totally over being a student. i can’t wait to earn an actual salary, even if half of it goes towards repaying loans and debts. argh.

14. give back more. while (duh) i don’t have much excess to spare financially right now, i am spending nearly 4 hours a week on girls on the run. it is a significant chunk of time, but it is actually really fun and the girls are totally worth it! i’m really glad i signed up.

it’s amazing to think that by the time i return to this list, i will have finished medical school and essentially sealed my fate for the next 3 years. wow.

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