Happy New Year!

Is it? I don't feel all that happy. Could be last night's tequila - the current lack thereof - making me cranky. I don't feel hungover, just irritated.

Could be lack of sleep. We crashed early last night, 'cause normally *nothing* goes on in Alameda at midnight on New Year's Eve. WRONG.

For the first time ever, we were woken up at midnight by a loud racket of firecrackers, the clanging of pots & pans, noisemakers and whoops & hollers. I felt bad about being in bed, wondering when all the noise would stop. Maybe next year we'll join the party. Who knew?

But I also got a lot on my mind. I recently learned of the Bilderberg Group and I'm totally creeped out.

Nothing is known about the content of their annual, private meetings attended by our elected and/or appointed officials, financial & military leaders and the super-elite & super-wealthy.

A quote from one of the members:

"We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."
-- David Rockefeller

So now I'm thinking, California needs to secede and become its own country with its own president elected by California citizens without any campaign financing of any kind other than a small stipend from a nominal tax fund.

All corporate donations/lobbyists are illegal and absolutely no policies are made without complete transparency and voter involvement.

We make marijuana totally legal and regulate it, tax it, and sell it to the rest of the world, along with the technologies we develop, Hollywood movies - whatever. There's a lot left to work out yet - it's still pretty early in the day.

I'm still happy about giving up sugar, booze & caffeine - it's a relief, really. It's easier when there's a good excuse - a New Year's resolution - otherwise people flip out. Why!? Why would you do that? What a stupid idea!

Yeah, you're right - striving for better health *is* a stupid idea - I'll feel so annoyingly good and the weight loss will be so lame. What was I thinking? Happy New Year.

Almost Done

It's almost 2010, or as lots of lazy people are saying, "twenty ten!" Is "two thousand ten" so hard? Wait, I need a minute. That tired me out a little. I do like Stephen Colbert's "oh ten!" so I maybe I'll go with that.

So it's almost O-Ten! Resolutions? Actually, this year I have a few. I had one last year but it seemed pretty redundant.

Last year I copied a friend's resolution to Say Yes To Adventure, but I'd already been doing that. It resulted in a fun new job I had no experience for and a move to Canada because it seemed like a good idea at the time.

The rest of O-Nine was a constant Yes To Adventure - new restaurants, new foods, new routines, new activities, new sports, new road trips, new, new, new, new, new. That got old after a while. I don't think I need any help in saying Yes to New.

This year I'm getting back to basics while also trying a few New Things, all nutrition-related. First and foremost, for the month of January at least I will Say No To Sugar, Booze and Caffeine. I've never done this before, ever.

I've gone stone cold decaf twice before - some of the worst few days of my life until the withdrawals passed. But it was worth it - the sustained energy level throughout the day was a welcome change. I've been a caffeine junkie since I was a tweener, which is why I'm only 5'4". Kids, it's true - stay off the coffee until you're at least 18 years old.

The last time I went totally decaf I stayed "clean" for many years until a trip to Portugal. Oh dear god that coffee - that coffee is some of the best I've ever had. I opened a vein and let it jump right in and take me away to that blissful, chipper, caffeinated cloud far above the dull, sleepy sidewalks.

But now, so many years later, having been caffeinated for so long, my receptors are crusty & corroded. Just getting older is wreaking havoc with my energy levels, in that I almost never have as much as I'd like. Enter, the sugar problem...

Gotta Say No to Sugar. No more cookies, doughnuts, Peet's citrus bread & maple scones or coconut milk ice cream & chocolate sauce [sobbing]. Tastes so good, but hurts so bad. Stayed away from sugar for years, but got lazy and BLAM - sugar addict.

Finally, no booze... just for a month. Just for a thorough 30-day detox. Since we go out only one night a week, that's only four nights I'll cry quietly into a glass of water.

The only other New Thing I'm going to try in O-Ten is juicing. Been wanting to be a Juicer for a long time - non booze juicer - and I'm kind of excited to give it a try. Though it's going to be hard to not turn it into a coconut-tequila milkshake maker. We'll see how it goes.

I'll blog about my progress and I'll warn you now, it may be a rough few days at first, especially since in the past 24 hours I've consumed at least 10 very large cookies and there are a LOT more still sitting in my kitchen. If you're nearby, please come get them. Please.

A New Year

Resolutions? No. Don't believe in 'em. But Sweet Mir says I should steal her resolution and do something new every month and "say yes to adventure."

I asked if we could prorate all the new things I did throughout 2008, things I could have said No to but didn't. She said No. Isn't that contrary to the spirit of the resolution?

Things I said Yes to in 2008:

• The biggest & most obvious - moving to Vancouver, and all the new things I've said Yes to since arriving.
• Learning to snowboard. I didn't really want to, but thought Why Not. It's kinda fun. Probably more fun with a group of friends : (
• Driving in the snow. Really fun.
• Driving from PoCo to Alameda in one day. Driving back in one day. Crazy, but kinda fun.
• Stopping in Portland on the way to Alameda to finally taste the famed bacon maple bar at Voodoo Doughnut. More than worth the detour. Can't wait to go back.
  
• Making the portrait of our new Poet Laureate. (I could have chickened out on that but said YES! and I'm so glad I did - thanks again Temple of All Knowledge Agent.)
  
• Hiking around the back country in Healdsburg where I saw a wild pig skull and sunburned my eyeballs. Good times. I could have turned down that job when the agent said, "It's a 'short' hike to the property." They're always lying when they say things like that.
  
• Getting together with former coworkers I hadn't seen in 13 years. Weird at first, then very fun.
  
• Being a model for a stock photography photoshoot. You might see me in a brochure in your doctor's office someday, hopefully for something other than STDs or the adverse affects of menopause.
  
• Encouraging David to work in the UK for four months. Difficult, but a great adventure for him and I lost 20 pounds while he was gone.
• Running the Wharf to Wharf. Not a big deal if you're in shape. I neglected to prepare and have Sweet Mir to thank for coaching me through it - one of the best days, ever.
  
• Taking a job as a real estate photographer. Had zero experience but thought What the Heck. Turns out I didn't suck at it.
  
• Agreeing to schedule four shoots in one day in 100+ degree weather. Amazing.
  
• Purging a house-full of crap through Craigslist, Goodwill dropoffs and a garage sale. May not seem like something you have to say Yes to, but it is. You have to decide all that crap has got to go, especially when your family has been collecting it for a hundred years. The best part, I met neighbors during the garage sale I'd never met before (wonderful people who were all hiding while Bob still lived in town) and Craig Merrell, a fantastic Alameda photographer. I was even more sad to be leaving town after meeting all those great people.
  
• Writing a little book. Just a wee one. It's almost done. Can't wait to start another one.
  

Things I said No to in 2008:

• Shooting a vacant lot at dawn (or dusk). It's a vacant lot. Full of weeds. No view on any side of it. No amount of creative lighting will change any of those facts. Suck it - you get full-on midday sun. Really.
• That's all I could think of.

It's not that I don't think I can keep such a resolution, I'm just kinda worn out from all the Yeses of 2008. I'm ready for some boredom. Just a little.

But for Mir, I'll make a concerted effort to not slack off. But no matter what, there will be no skydiving or eating weird stuff.

Shmesolutions

Not really into the resolution thing. It's silly to pick just one day to change your life or decide to floss more.

If you want to do it, do it now - who cares what day it is? And who said January 1st is the start of a new year? Technically, wouldn't it be the day after your birthday?

Last fall I resolved to stop stressing about little things, taking solace in the belief that everything always works out, so just let it go.

Lo and behold, it's held true. Whatever it is, it works out. For example - I bought a computer armoire off Craigslist from a lovely woman and while it's a great piece, I thought it might be a tad irresponsible to part with a chunk of cash when my cash flow is so sporadic.

But I rationalized that #1, I needed it if I wanted to transform what was a shit pile of a room into a comfortable, functional office; #2, she would put the money to good use with twins on the way and her husband looking for work; and #3, it's recycling/reusing instead of buying new, which is always a good thing.

About a month later while cleaning out my office, I found a small stack of papers/magazines and in it, an expense check from my last job I'd obviously lost track of - and it was for the same amount as I'd just paid for the armoire. Even Steven.

And I have resolved that 2008 will be the year I see a dentist. It's only been 6 or 7 years since I last sat in one of those torture racks, but since we still don't have the Do It Yourself Filling Replacement Kit, it's time to put on my big girl panties and find a Dr. Scrivello. With enough Valium, I know I can get through it, though I probably won't remember getting home from it.

New NYD Tradition

Our new New Year's Day tradition:

For breakfast: home fried potatoes, bacon, eggs, toast and coffee.

Bread and bacon for money, eggs for health, potatoes for happiness, and coffee for good mental health. And you have to eat/drink it all. Which we did. So bring on the prosperity!

Happy New Year!

To a good year, eh?

Thanks Ritz Carlton in Dana Point for donating this fine glass to my collection.
Cheers.