ten for '10.

I failed to create a New Year's Resolution--largely because I tend to have the same one every year (stop chewing my nails), and then find myself chomping away when things get stressful. So I've decided that Groundhog Day is the perfect opportunity to articulate some larger goals. I give myself until Groundhog Day of '10 to complete them. Unless he doesn't see his shadow, in which case I'm letting myself off the hook.

Tada: GROUNDHOG DAY GOALS OF '09

1. To participate in a piece of theatre that I am truly proud of. Proud of my performance, my fellow cast members, and every aspect of the show.

2. In order to fulfill the first, I must audition more. I loathe auditioning, as most do, and because of this, I tend to under audition. I need to suck it up and realize that it never hurts to try, and even auditioning for shows that I think will be terrible, or shows that I think are beneath me, or out of my league are all helpful steps to becoming a better auditioner for the shows I truly do want to participate in.

3. To find and regularly attend a new church. I have dabbled in local church scene, and largely been uninspired, and, with one particular church--quite scared. I need to get over the bad-experience-induced church-going apathy and keep on trying. That being said, does anybody know of a non-denominational church with a small to medium sized congregation, a blend of traditional and contemporary worship, and a large percentage of young adults in attendance that is less than twenty minutes from West Roxbury and doesn't require driving into the heart of the city?

4. To call my family in Maine more often. Last week, my mother had a heart attack, and I had no idea until after she was out of the hospital and left a message on my voice mail at work casually mentioning it. And it had been probably a week since I had last spoken to anyone from home base. That can be easily remedied.

5. To organize my closets, both in W.Rox and in Maine. I have 1 closet in my entire apartment in West Roxbury. It is not particularly large. I do not possess a lot of clothing, but when one small closet contains an entire wardrobe plus sheets, extra purses, towels, cleaning supplies, and boots--it becomes more cluttered than I'd like to admit. This is easy to remedy with one visit to Target. In Maine, I don't have a closet or a bedroom anymore. But I do have a lot of accumulated stuff that my brothers have in their closets, under their beds, and in the hallway outside of their rooms. I need to buy one of those canvas rolling wardrobes from Ikea or Target, go through my years worth of crap, and somehow make it invisible behind the canvas curtains. This is not an easy undertaking, but it must be done.

6. To initiate conversation with strangers more often. I work in the largest building in Boston, and I take rush hour trains to and from work. I see new people daily, and I very rarely speak to them. I hereby resolve to speak to somebody I'm sharing the elevator with, or crammed next to, or bump into in the hallway.

7. I want to find the perfect pair of jeans to replace my current favorites who are well beyond their peak. They were purchased for $15 at (go ahead and judge) Walmart in Mexico, Maine 6 years ago, and they fit me like no other jeans ever had or have. I still wear them every chance I get, for I know the day will come when I will have to part with them--and when that day comes, I need a flawless replacement. And the hardest part about this goal? They must cost less than $30 (I am adjusting for inflation, and the fact that unlike when I bought my Walmart jeans, I am employed).

8. To cook with the crockpot at least once a month. I have a giant crockpot. I have used it twice in the past two years. Both times, the meals were delicious and simple, but the thought of preparing dinner before I've even had breakfast is never appealing--I do not tend to think ahead when it comes to food preparation. I need to get over my morning laziness so that I can have more time for evening laziness. And stop eating bagels all the darn time.

9. To take a real vacation. I'm not talking flying to a luxury resort in the Bahamas or anything, but I haven't really taken a vacation for the sake of vacation in years. I went to Prince Edward Island for a few days this past summer, but that was for a goal (to see my cousin's play), and the long drive and short visit sort of disqualified it from being a bonafide vacation. I want to go somewhere just to go somewhere.

10. And lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I want to actually get a bra fitting and buy at least two new bras. I am not embarrassed about my boobs (in fact, there is an entire video of a monologue I performed about them two years ago available for download on itunes--thanks, alma matter, for randomly choosing that as a featured video on itunes U), but I am embarrassed that I'm close to 24 and I've never had a real bra fitting experience, and the majority of my bras are ugly, cost $7, and have long since lost all support.

There. Ten goals for 2010. How appropriate.