New Year's Resolutions

Bluffton Today column, December 29, 2006

Ugh, I just read my column from January 1, 2006. In it I joked … “Here we are again, January 1. The day where we all reflect on the past, promise to do better next year and make a list of resolutions, most of which we never achieve. Well, that’s the story on my end at least.”

Ironically, I’ve proved myself right once again. I managed to achieve none – yes, you read correctly, none - of the 10 goals that I set for myself in 2006. My mission was to explore Bluffton and really get to know my new hometown. Interestingly, I feel like I made great strides in that arena, I just approached my task from a direction different than I had originally anticipated.

Despite my good intentions last year, I didn’t …
1. Participate in the Old Town Bluffton Planning
2. Have the opportunity to work with Habitat for Humanity. (Instead, I did devote my time and talent to other non-profit causes.)
3. Fish, crab, shrimp – catch something, anything, and cook it.
4. Break 100 on the golf course.
5. Follow through on my “pizza crawl” in an attempt to find a pizza join with Jersey routes.
6. Convince BT to join me in hosting an event so that Yankees and local Blufftonians can meet.
7. Meet more of my neighbors. (I did however meet a host of Blufftonians, new and old - just none who share a similar street address).
8. Put air in the tires of my bike and use it.
9. Invest energy in the Bluffton Dog Park idea.
10. And, I didn’t have the chance to go mud boggin’ along the May River.

So, rather than set myself up for another year of failure I decided that this year’s list would reflect all of the things that I will not accomplish in 2007. Here goes, I will not:

1. Eat pancakes and complain about the prices. Ah, who am I kidding – if I don’t like something, you’ll know it.
2. Joke (publicly) about Nascar, pecans, grits, or any other traditionally Southern fare or pastime.
3. Stand for another dismal voter turnout. I’m still determining how to make an impact in this area.
4. Pine for New Jersey and snow. (Joe bought me a snow globe for Christmas so, problem solved).
5. Let my bicycle and golf clubs continue to accumulate dust. (I will dust the garage and its contents at least once a month.)
6. Let the “bloggers” and “voxers” get under my skin.
7. Limit my Southern exploration to Bluffton and Hilton Head alone – Charleston and Savannah deserve some attention.
8. Underestimate the passion and good intentions of our local elected officials. (If you don’t believe me, attend a meeting!)
9. Well, I will try not to refer to New Jersey as home. Bluffton is home now.
10. Let another year go by so quickly.

Live it up Bluffton. Happy New Year!