New Years and all that Jazz

New Year's

I'm not normally one for New Year's celebrations. It's normally a non-event, to be honest. A clock ticks past 12, everyone gets drunk and wakes up to "start afresh" the next morning feeling like they've just gone 12 rounds with a Siberian Tiger. People are cranky. I used to take it as a sign that the new League of Ireland season was only 3 months away, or that my car was worth a few quid less.

And yet, I feel strangely compelled to buy into it in 2010. You see, 2009 seemed, for the first time, to provide some direction in my life. It's the first time I've spent a whole year away from Ireland, and steps are in place to make it a permanent move. More importantly, I feel like I've put down permanent roots here in Toronto, and the beginnings of a social circle of my own. However tentative a footing these might have, I believe that this city is where my life is going to take shape and look forward to the future I may have.

As such, I'm breaking a tradition and taking on some Resolutions for the first time in about 15 years.
  1. Get in Shape - Yeah, I know it's not very original. But I lost a substantial amount of weight in early 2009. By the summer, I'd gotten involved in soccer again and found that I enjoyed the new level of activity and energy that comes with that. I won't say I was ever fit, per se, but I was in better health generally and want to improve on that as 2010 progresses.
  2. Write more - I've been threatening to do this since I was a teenager with depressed visions of a world apocalypse from which there is no escape. While my mood and world vision has, undeniably, brightened in the intervening years, the fact remains that I have consistently ignored the pen and the therapeutic nature of putting thoughts on the page in front of you. Part of this will mean more posting here, but hopefully I'll also find the time to flesh out a couple of stories I've had kicking about my skull for the last little while and see if there's anything to them that can be explored. Incidentally, I will need to learn how to write dialogue.
  3. Get involved in coaching* - I've asterisked this one because it may be out of my control at the moment. I've to look into whether VISA restrictions on my gaining educational certificates here at the moment will also apply to sports coaching badges. Regardless, this is something I want to get involved in. I've known since I coached a school u14 basketball side at the age of 16 that coaching could offer great rewards, especially on a personal satisfaction level. I also got a taste of the importance of a coach in a sport like American Football when I took charge of an 8s team for a tournament and got an enormous thrill out of the planning and organisation that went into that. Not to mention a 2-1 record. It's something I'd like to get involved in on a more regular basis, and now seems as good a time as any. Now, to decide on a sport . . .

All that Jazz

Finally, Happy New Year to all (or the few) that actually read this. Whatever happens this 12 months, face it with head held high and enjoy it for what you can. Life will always have it's challenges, but I've found it easier to live when you can take something positive out of it, rather than focusing on the negative where possible.

HNY 2010 folks.

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