[quote=“Mother Theresa”]So, day one. How y’all doing on your resolutions? 
Anyone lose 10 kg, become a virgin, or learn chinee?[/quote]
Doing great. Told a waitress she sucked after she just came to my table and snatched my drink from it without checking to see if I wanted another one or if I was even finished…
Many years ago, I resolved never to make any more resolutions. It’s the only one I’ve ever kept, but I almost broke down and resolved to do something the other day. Whew! That was close!
My resolution is pretty simple: Get a real job before the end of this year. As much fun as teaching in a buxiban is 
I want to do something that actually puts my economics/international affairs degree to work. Which means I’ll probably end up leaving Taiwan 
I will finish what I started… starting with all those projects, plans, and dreams from last year.
I’ll start all over once I have a clean slate. I’ll turn a new leaf when I finish this book.
That’s the stark choice, for a lot of us. I’d love to transplant my cool England job back to Taiwan (or even just to the north of England …). I’m promising myself that I can move back to Asia (but probably not Taiwan) within the next five years, by hook or by crook. Good luck!
I suspended an almost full pack of New Paradise cigarettes from the end of my penis for almost 5 minutes this morning. It was suprisingly easy to do, although the lady in the 7-11 looked askance.
Baby steps.
That wouldn’t weigh much. Don’t tell HGC. You know he hates foreskin mutilation.
Mild chafing. Hardly what anyone could call mutilation.
Don’t pack it in. Hang in there.
I’m enjoying finding out little things about the new me. For example, I enjoy the taste of a good cheeseburger.
I must confess to watching some Japanese bukkake earlier. It weakened my resolve.[/quote]
Oh my goodness! :roflmao:
You best stay away from xvideos.com then!!
You DO NOT want to know!! Trust me. That’s one google search I wish I never clicked!
Ok, I had nothing for 2009. 2008 I said:
[quote=“Bismarck”]I want to finish that damned Book 1 (Audio-Visual Chinese) I’ve somehow been stuck on for
three
years. Went and bought book two to get me motivated and resolved to speak nothing but Chinese to the wife whenever possible…
I suck at self study. 
[/quote]
Well, I finished Book 1 (Book 1 and 2 for the new revised edition) and I’m currently on Book 3 (the old 2上). Still speak English to the wife and she still almost only responds in Chinese. 
2007 I resolved to quit smoking. By April I posted this.
[quote=“bismarck”]I’m still smoking… 
Promised myself I would stop at least before the baby bismarck arrives. That’s any day now, so excuses like, “Ok, tomorrow.” aren’t going to cut it for much longer.[/quote]
I’m smoking as I type. 
I posted these for 2006.
[quote=“bismarck”]1. Save money.
2. Go to the gym and run regularly.
3. Play rugby at the club every Sunday.
4. Find some direction…
5. Finding my SO would be nice… 
6. Make more progress on my Chinese.
7. Do more writing thasn this year.[/quote]
Hmmm… 
[quote=“bismarck”]Hmmmm… One more thing I conveniently forgot to mention…
I gave it a good go in 2005 but let up after a few weeks. This time I’m serious. :beatnik:[/quote]
8. Failed
Not sure this whole resolution thing is for me. Past performances have been dismal.
Anyhoo, let’s have a go then.
[color=#FF0000]Resolutions for 2010[/color]
Those seem doable.
Hmm, post publicly, check back in a year. Here goes:
1. Lose weight
First target - get under 100kg (yes, I am a fat bastard). Not too tricky, as I started at 102.7 on 1st January. Sustaining the kilo-per-week target will be more difficult the longer it goes on though. The upper end of the healthy weight range for my height and build is 78kg. I suppose I should post in the weight loss support thread too. This is the most important resolution for me, and if I achieve this and none of the others, I will be officially at least 52% satisfied with my year.
2. Climb Yushan
Said I was going to do this last year - didn’t even get close. Weight loss and exercise should help me on the way, and it’s something I’d really like to do.
3. Get published
I am working on a couple of academic articles for journals - I want to get at least one of them in a proper peer-reviewed publication. I have no academic qualifications in the field I’m interested in, so this could help build a case for an eventual MA application for study in the subject. A couple of books are in the pipeline too, but they are a trickier prospect (and I’ve realised I can’t write fiction for shit, so that one has gone in the bin).
4. Improve my language skills
Put serious study time into Taiwanese. Improve my Mandarin, and maybe take the HSK to see what level I’m at. Read Lián Héng’s Táiwān Tōngshǐ from cover to cover (and understand it). Continue working on Dutch reading skills, and try to maintain my German and French. Start learning Spanish.
5. Get out of Taiwan (at least for a while)
It’s been two years since my last trip to the land of my birth, and a lot has happened in that time. Plus, my grandparents aren’t getting any younger. Other places I’d like to go this year include Xiamen, Hokkaido, and New Zealand. Finances might well rule out all but Xiamen and the UK though, sadly.
[quote=“Taffy”]3. Get published
I am working on a couple of academic articles for journals - I want to get at least one of them in a proper peer-reviewed publication. I have no academic qualifications in the field I’m interested in, so this could help build a case for an eventual MA application for study in the subject. A couple of books are in the pipeline too, but they are a trickier prospect (and I’ve realised I can’t write fiction for shit, so that one has gone in the bin).[/quote]
Some good stuff there, Taffy. May I ask in what field you’re trying to get a paper published with the eye on what kind of MA?
If I had to guess I would say Linguistics/language or Chinese/Taiwanese…???
That along with the weightloss resolution seems like great goals for the new year! 加油!加油!!
Nobody can write fiction when they first try. I read somewhere that you have to throw away your first million words. No-one can play the violin or paint in oils on their first try, either. If you really want to do it, don’t write yourself off, no pun intended, without giving yourself a chance to get better. If you want to improve, you just have to put in some time. Everyone cringes when they read their first drafts back to themselves.
Jiayous on the others.
4, I should be doing, but it depends on how my motivation goes. It’s a bit of a waste of time for me to learn Chinese.
5, if you’re in the area?
[quote=“bismarck”]Some good stuff there, Taffy. May I ask in what field you’re trying to get a paper published with the eye on what kind of MA?
If I had to guess I would say Linguistics/language or Chinese/Taiwanese…???
That along with the weightloss resolution seems like great goals for the new year! 加油!加油!![/quote]Cheers, Biz.
Yep, you guessed right with the study focus - linguistics, specifically Taiwanese linguistics. The goal of doing an MA (probably Taiwan Studies provided I can focus on history and linguistics) is a fuzzy and distant one, and I’m not completely sold on the idea.
Good luck to you and everyone else with your resolutions. Stay resolute!
The SOAS program? Ahh, I’d love to study there.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Nobody can write fiction when they first try. […] Everyone cringes when they read their first drafts back to themselves.[/quote]Yeah, I think you’re probably right, but I’m fiction’d out at the moment. Maybe I’ll feel different about it in a few months.
[quote=“Buttercup”]Jiayous on the others.[/quote]Thanks!
[quote=“Buttercup”]It’s a bit of a waste of time for me to learn Chinese.[/quote]I don’t know about that. Well, I imagine there’s not a concrete return, but bizarre things I have studied have often come back to aid me in other endeavours. Take your point that it’s not the most useful thing in your current situation though.
[quote=“Buttercup”]if you’re in the area?[/quote]I shall certainly be dropping in to say hello. I’m sure you know Oxford better than me by now, so you can show me all the cool places.
[quote=“Buttercup”]The SOAS program? Ahh, I’d love to study there.[/quote]As would I. Their course is a bit restrictive though - too much focus on politics and modern Taiwan for my liking. No history option, and the language would be just one portion with the rest taken up with blue/green nonsense, economics, cinema, and society. So we’ll see - NTU offers a good-looking course partly in English, partly in Mandarin. NCKU in Tainan also has a some good options, but sadly I don’t think a degree from there would be worth too much outside Taiwan. Anyway, whether it’s one or none of the above, it still won’t happen for me this year.
Wow, writers have it easy. In photography, they say 10 000 photos. If a picture is worth 1000 words, that’s 10 million. 
[quote=“cfimages”]
Wow, writers have it easy. In photography, they say 10 000 photos. If a picture is worth 1000 words, that’s 10 million. 
[/quote]
Yeah, and ol’ normal paper’s far cheaper than photo print paper, chemicals and equipment.
The new me also has chronic bronchitis, just like the old one. I’m a little disappointed. Also, the new me could probably stand to lose a few pounds.