It is not 2008 yet, but I already have some resolutions lined up for it. If I don't write them down, I would have forgotten them before the year is out!
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.
This is my philosophy for 2008. I have been floundering for several years, cocooned nicely in my comfort zone. Every time I want to break out of it, it looks so insurmountable that I give up even before I try. In 2008, I will cut the Gordian knot. I don't want to live a life of regret; I already have enough of them.
Speak Mandarin fluently. As of now, I can't speak Mandarin coherently without mixing some English in. This is mainly due to my extremely limited knowledge of nouns.
To-do: carry a piece of paper around and write down terms I can't translate. I will buy an English-Chinese dictionary and translate them.
Target by year end: to be able to speak full sentences in Mandarin, except for technical terms.
Extreme budgetting. My expenses in 2007 are still way too high. I will introduce extreme budgetting to rein in my expenses. Every frivolous expense must be thoroughly considered and justified before purchase.
To-do: to stick to a fixed budget every month.
Target by year end: to save $10k to $20k. The exact amount has not been decided. It should not be too low, or it'll be too easy. $10k is probably no sweat. It should not be too high either or I'll need to make too many sacrifices. I don't think if I can save $20k based on my estimates. To tell the truth, I'm disappointed at the low figure.
Sell off excess stuff. I have some duplicated books and toys because they come with other stuff I wanted in auctions. I will sell them off to reduce clutter.
To-do: I will put them up for auction.
Target by year end: to have sold all of them.
Make my arms more fair. After riding for 3 years, my arms have a perpetual tan. I want to make them more fair. At the same time, I want to make my legs more tanned.
To-do: I will apply sun-block on my arms whenever possible. If I am wearing pants or jeans, I will make sure my arms are covered as well.
Target by year end: fairer arms and darker legs.