Like Nina Simone sang...

"Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life...And I'm feelin' good!"

Riddle me this: Why, all of a sudden, is everyone else singing this song (by everyone I mean Michael Buble and Jennifer Hudson). It turns me off a bit that Jennifer Hudson is singing it on a Weight Watchers commercial but I guess that's a different topic, so I digress.

What I always loved about the new year is that it feels like a new opportunity, but the truth is that new opportunities are always around the corner anytime of the year. What makes the Julian Calendar so special that I follow it so precisely in everything I do or plan? I think planning this way is limited and has limited my thinking for a good 20 years of my life.

Moreover henceforth therewithto (that's some of that fancy old English for you), I will no longer be a slave to standard calendar practices. I will make resolutions all year round and celebrate the only REAL holiday...my birthday, with gusto and a jovial attitude every year no matter how old my government ID tells me I am. I will play tennis in the Winter and drink hot cocoa in the Summer. I will wear hot pink in the Fall and eat pumpkin pie in the Spring. I will punctuate my slang properly and I will write in complete sentences (I don't know that this last one has anything to do with the calendar).

All I'm saying is every day is a playground. Enjoy what you do, how you live and who you are around as much as possible; and if you don't like it, don't wait until January 1 or the next Monday or the first of the month to change what you don't like. Maybe one day you can be as happy as this guy:

And we are back! Hello 2011

WOW, it's already the end of the first week of the year. I can't believe it. NYE 2011 will come before I even know it. So as tradition follows I thought I would post my New Year's resolutions to once again cement them in the everlasting Internets....

Here we go...

1. Lose Weight (specifically the 20 lbs I gained last year) and play tennis

2. Stay motivated and accountable

3. Take the GMAT by the end of March

4. Make more $$$ than 2010 and advance professional development

5. Take care of and overdue bidnass (tickets, bills, etc.)

6. Save more moola this year

7. Eliminate waste (extra items at home like clothes, furniture, magazines, etc.)

8. Plan and take our International trip (Pueblo Ingles)

9. Plan the honeymoon for early 2012

10. Keep my resolutions

okay, so I will admit, these aren't as detailed as my actual resolutions and I have left some of them out as well, but you get the gist of it. I love resolutions and hopefully this year #10 on my list will take priority.

How sweet it was...

I am amazed at how quickly 2010 came and went. I'm generally a big promoter of moving up and on and getting my resolutions ready for the next year, but 2010 was so full of things I thought I would reflect on all that went down.

Let Downs :/

• Didn't go to Macchu Picchu
• Had to get rid of Saabi
• Gained 20 lbs. (yea! I know, scary) - I already have the resolution for this one
• Lazied on tennis after August
• Didn't take the GMAT....again
• Didn't run more races

Achievements :)

• Saw my first live Celtics game at TD Garden in Boston
• Participated in my first season of mixed doubles
• Won a tennis tournament (Calabassas Country Club)
• Pueblo Ingles teens 2010
• Traveled through Spain, France, Turkey and Germany with my love
• Got a new car
• Attended my first PRSA International Conference
• Filed my taxes on time
• Ran in 2 10K's
• Adopted my adorable Chaka
• Celebrated the last birthday of my 20's
• Kicked Coffee (I like to celebrate the small victories too)
• Got engaged to be married
• Began planning my wedding
• Became a chocolatier

Overall it has been a pretty stellar year. I can't wait to see what happens in 2011, I already know of a couple pretty important milestones that will take place. It should be interesting. I will get on the 'list' of resolutions that I have...However, today (while in the gym), I realized that sometimes my over planning is self defeating and I should continue to follow the one motto that I have always loved "Just do it!"

Good luck on your resolutions and Happy Holidays!

How-To write AND keep your New Year's resolutions!

It's that time of year again and I love it because it means there's a whole year of new-ness ahead. Actually, I don't even know if that make sense ;). Anyway, I have a pretty good ritual of writing my new year's resolutions for the next year around this time. Nothing unique about that right? WRONG!!!

I'm one of the few people I know that KEEP my resolutions, yes...I actually check in with them throughout the year. I keep a copy of them in my planner or phone or wherever and I check in mid-year to see where I stand. Yes, that may be obnoxious to you...but when it comes the end of the year to write new ones; I'm excited about it because its more like a prediction of what i'm going to accomplish over the next year.

There are definitely some key tricks to writing good resolutions, so I thought I would share with you all; so that you can make 2010 your BEST year yet. Especially after the depressing 2009 we just went through.

1. Figure out what you want to accomplish! - Ok, this may be self-explanatory but it has to be said. Take some time for yourself one day, sit down and really think about where you would like to be by the end of 2010. Don't think about where you are today - that will just throw wrenches in your plan.

2. Be realistic - It may sound good to say you're gonna lose 50 pounds next year, but are you really going to do that? Make sure that your resolutions are something that you can stick with and really give effort to. If you think 20 is the realistic number then put down 20, you know your limits. If your goal is too ridiculous in any area, you'll be more likely to forget it or give up.

3. Give yourself measurable goals - Be sure that you are setting some expectation for yourself. Saying to yourself "I'm going to save money next year" doesn't really say much at all. Remember, these are for yourself for the most part. Put a number goal on things like; I'm going to save $1200 in 2010 or I'm going to lose 10 pounds by march. Putting dates and number give your nearer and farther goals and gives you some motivation to work towards things. You don't have to make it ridiculous, its not a competition. Resolutions are just things you feel will make you or your life better. (I promised myself I would play in 10 tennis tournaments next year!)

4. Tell people about it. - Does a tree make a sound when it falls in the woods if no one hears it? Tell someone about your goals/plans, this is probably someone close to you or maybe even a friend that you're writing resolutions with. That way, someone is a witness and possibly may ask you how your getting along at certain points. If you have someone to share it with, it's easier to keep your resolutions throughout the year.

5. Keep them close - Have your resolutions handy. I generally have mine on a half sheet of paper in my planner. Sometimes when i'm flipping through to check something else I run across and re-read them. This is a great reminder of what you have to accomplish and keeps them in your head. It's not surprising that you won't have them memorized. Another good place is your wallet.

6. Check-in mid year! - Right before summer hits, check in with yourself. If you check-in mid year and you kind of put some of the items by the way side, you still have about 6 months to accomplish some of your goals. Most of our goals won't take a whole year to get to, but we give ourselves that much because we've gotta live life. This is a great time to check things off your list (my favorite) so you can see what you have left and how much progress you have made!

7. Celebrate yourself - There's never a bad time to celebrate. I generally see new year's as a time of celebrating the past year and really seeing all that I have accomplished. But along the way, have small celebrations when you accomplish your goals.

8. Keep it short! - Last but not least. Having 100 resolutions for the year is a little out of range. Create as many as you think is important to really get to that year. I generally have about 10 main goals for the year, other stuff comes up; both those 10 I make sure to keep top of mind.

Well, I hope that you get a chance to plan for 2010 and I wish every one a very happy New Year! Good luck and god speed....2010 Here I come!

Try, try again!

So this probably the fourth attempt to write my first person blog. The first time it was about my life in SF, second it was about the bet I had with some colleagues to lose weight, the third time was a resolution to blog more in 09'. Fortunately, I have one success under my belt; I am now a regular contributor to the TennisMetro blog, blogging about one of my passions in life, Tennis. Ahh Tennis! I won't go on about that here though.

This is my attempt again to produce a journal-like blog of my crazy endeavors of life. After all, we learn from personal experiences and from others, right? I actually have the habit of learning from my own mistakes, however, that does not mean that I won't go on to eventually just take a shortcut and learn from someone else's.

Well a bit of background then: I'm a public relations professional, which I am very passionate about. I love being outdoors and traveling all over the world. I'm doing my best to eat healthy and ....big surprise...slim down and be more fit! I have been loving my turntable and playing my favorite records lately, I feel bad when I neglect the little guy. I have been very athletic this past month and am determined to get in tennis shape so that I can partake in a couple of tennis tourney's this year. In my short life so far, I've been luck enough to experience more fantastic things than unfortunate things and I accredit a lot of that to my ridiculously optimistic nature. I have crazy Indian parents, which also means I am first generation born in the United States and I have a very 'interesting' older brother, whom I affectionately call Brotha Numsei (a reference from the movie,'The Golden Child').

What will I blog about? Well probably not tennis, since I got that taken care of, but...everything else! I guess I'll be writing about life's little lessons and how to handle interpersonal relationships, questions I have about the planet and our world, as well as the things I find completely irritating and/or confusing. So let this journey begin and thanks for coming along.