Retrospective on 2013

Two months into 2014 already.
At the beginning of the year, I thought of doing a recap of 2013. Of course, I didn't get to it until now.
So here it goes...

2013 was the year of Toastmasters for me, starting with my icebreaker speech in January and delivering a speech almost every month. I did not get to do my CC10 until this month but the bulk of the heavy lifting was done in 2013, and I even became VP Education for Supreme TD Toastmasters in July.

There were quite a few 'firsts' in 2013.
First time I tried pole dancing, first time I went sugar-off in Quebec, first time camping in Tobermory, first time scubadiving (in Tobermory), first time skydiving in Niagara Falls and first time attending a Zoroastrian wedding.

Then of course the travels: Boston in May, San Francisco in June, Atwater/Yosemite in June, Washington DC in September, Rochester in November and Singapore in November/December. I loved Singapore because I got to spend time with Keira. At 17 months, she did not talk much, but she loved to play and she allowed me to hold and play with her when she was in a good mood. She unfortunately had to go to the hospital on the last Thursday I was there, so I spent the last few days in the hospital as well. It was heart-wrenching. On my way back home, I had a stop-over in Narita airport in Japan. That was probably the best stop-over experience EVER! 8 hrs of freebies!

As for running, I did a MEC run in the snow in January, then the Harry Spring Run-off, the Sporting Life 10K and finally the Scotiabank Waterfront half marathon with the exact same time as last year. I could have improved my time if I wasn't nursing a stomachache from the day before.

I did not have any life events, but my cousin Eric got married and my parents came to surprise him at his wedding in June. Then while I was in Singapore enjoying 2 weeks with Keira, Gabriel was born at almost 10lbs.

Apart from the ballet, I attended La Boheme at the opera, went to Kelly Clarkson's concert which also featured Maroon 5 and went to two musicals: Wizard of Oz and Cats.

I ended the year with a pot luck among friends at my place as per last year and we had a game of 'Cards against Humanity'.

All in all, 2013 was a great year, with lots of new experiences and travels.
2014 promises to be more hectic, with big changes looming for me and my parents.
The first 2 months of the year have already set the pace....

Resolutions...or not.

Mid-way through January. The statistics say that some people have already failed at keeping their 2013 resolutions.

What is it about a new year that calls for resolutions?
Why are New Year resolutions such a big deal, year after year? Is it because of the high failure rate?
Why don't resolutions taken randomly, any time during the year,  have the same impact as publicly stating at the start of a new year what you intend to do for that particular year? Why do people assume that most people would have a resolution for 2013?

I thought about it while watching TV the first few days of 2013.
The word 'resolution' means 'a firm decision to do or not to do something'.

Well then, I can make a firm decision right now, I do not need to wait till the next year to make one, do I ? 
In fact, most of my life-changing decisions came out of the blue, triggered by some petty thought or action, or motivated by seeing someone succeeding at something I would try my hand at.

My resolution to start running came to me sometime in May of 2010, triggered by a random email from York Alumni office. I signed up for a 5k, then I stuck to running throughout the year,  wavering at times, but coming back to it without having to wait for the start of another year.

I picked up crocheting around September last year just because a friend was available to teach me. The offer was always there, I just had to act on it and the resolution came to fruition as easily as going to Walmart and buying some yarn and a needle.

The resolution to join Toastmasters came up last October, sometime after running the half marathon and while looking for some other ways to improve myself.

Some time last November, I decided that I need to know more about world and local news, so I made the on-spot resolution to watch the 11pm news (almost) every day. To help myself with that one, I found the neat timer function on my TV which switches the TV on at 11pm every night for 1 hour, on the news channel of my choice.

I am not saying that crocheting or watching the news daily are life-changing, but resolutions, as easy as they come and go, and as hard as they may seem, just needs one little step to get you going and it does not have to be the start of a new year. I understand the whole 'the year is coming to an end, a brand new slate is given to you for the next year' and the motivation behind starting something new with the start of a new year, but I couldn't find a good one this year, so I did not stress about it. I am sure to pick up a few resolutions along the way.

Bring it on 2013!