Saturday, January 02, 2010

Jen's 2010 resolutions

The move made, there's no going back. The only choice in 2010 is to make the most of life here:

Non work (before work - the new me)

1. Have more fun. Do at least 3 new/enjoyable/interesting activities for me this year (additional to 2 and 3 below). Dance, learning something new, dance...

2. One live music gig every fortnight. Free west african music at Momo's on a Tuesday...Jazz at the Vortex or 606...Kings Place for classical...discover new small venues... Make plans with Suzanna, Rose, Meg and Helen.

3. One museum/gallery a month. With budget cuts, these won't be free for ever. The Natural History Museum,Tate, V&A and Tate Modern are all on my doorstep. Head for these after work and meet friends there.

4. Stay connected: visit and host friends from around the world. Travel by train where possible. Visit at least Paris, Rome and The Hague. Cheap ticket weekend aways to Edinburgh, Derbyshire, Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge. And of course Dakar.

5. Saturday mornings at the Farmers' Market and cafe with Stokie/Highbury neighbours.

6. Aim not to spend anything each day. Number 4 alone will be costly.

7. Learn to cook good yaki udon (may need lessons from Hogg and Vera), yaki soba and ramen.

Work-related

8. Only bus to the tube if its raining of REALLY cold. Highbury Fields in the morning are lovely. Ipod on, tea in hand, walk!

9. Perfect the art of the timely, appropriate, intelligent and effective meeting intervention.

10. Make the most of 2010, CJ Cregg. Interesting strategy development, change in government, high level events. I've no idea what will come next so for this year, get in early, with a coffee, cheery smile and productive head on and enjoy it.

Happy new year everyone!

Jen

9 Comments:

Blogger Phil said...

Good ones Jen! I particularly like the way resolutions 2, 3 and 4 automatically help resolution 1! Intervening can be fun too :-) Walking with tea is also an excellent idea - I often wish I had a thermos flask for outdoor tea occasions. Is "CJ Cregg" a character from the West Wing? Does she become President?

3:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jen, it is supposed to be resolutions for 2010, not 2,010 resolutions!! Wow - you are ambitious - and much more exciting than mine. According to all the psychology books out there - the more speicific you are the more chance you have of reaching your goal - apparently. I'll let you know! xxx

5:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That last comment was from me, Jen. Lou xxx Sorry could not figure how to add a comment with my name attached.

5:13 PM  
Blogger Phil said...

Hi Lou - you can log in with your google username and password. If you don't have one already, you should get one! google reader is particularly useful. I think you can just sign up. Happy New Year!

5:22 PM  
Blogger Jen said...

Oh Phil. Please, please add a 14th resolution: "I will watch at least series 1 and 7 of Westwing whilst still living in the US in order to learn all sorts of interesting things about how US politics works, marvel at the fast moving scripts and satisfy my sister."

Lou - note the specification of 3 activities in a vain attempt to make 'have more fun' more specific and measurable... Add Saturday Farmers Markets to yours and we can meet for coffee at the Highbury one! Happy New Year! x

9:08 PM  
Blogger Hogg said...

It is easy: Boil udon as per package until al dente, then fry in very hot pan with oil, shredded cabbage, maybe onion, maybe carrot, any other veg you like, some kind of meat-like thing, and (key ingredient) a 50/50 mixture of Tonkatsu sauce and what a Japanese grocer calls "Worchestershire sauce" or "Brown sauce". Don't stir it too much, because you want parts of it to get crispy!

12:39 PM  
Blogger Philip said...

Hi Jen,

I like those resolutions a lot - I like number 3 a lot - there is so much going on in London. I am constantly receiving emails about all sorts of interesting talks, lectures, meetings and exhibitions but never go as I am Oxford based.

Make the most of the big smoke while you're there!

Phil K

11:24 AM  
Anonymous Jen said...

As a measure of the success of my last resolutions (poor apart from no 11, inevitably the work one), I hadn't even read these comments before. Thanks all - particularly to Hogg for the udon recipe.

10:38 AM  
Blogger Emily said...

ohai jen's 2010 resolution #7...

9:38 PM  

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