"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

The above quote comes from the one and only Oprah Winfrey. I know, I can't believe that I'm actually quoting her. It's not that I dislike this incredibly strong and powerful woman (we can never have too many in this world!) it's just that...well, I guess I don't know how to articulate it. But I mean, who can blame her? If I had as much money as her I'd probably do the same things, including starting my own magazine and putting myself on the cover every month. How ballsy of a move is that, and she still sells them because she's Oprah. Maybe we should all aspire to have her fame and fortune.



Who can believe that I'm getting ready to close my building and head home for winter break? This semester has not just flown by, this YEAR has sped past me so incredibly fast. It's usually at this point that I like to think about what's gone on this year and do some kind of 'year in review' synopsis. So, in no particular order.....

- I moved for a job that I thought would be fantastic (and it is) and for reasons that were all my own (ignoring what others really wanted me to do).
- I turned 24 and started feeling old. I did have a pretty sweet party thanks to my best friend and favorite people back at home.
- I job searched and job searched until I started not caring where I worked and what I did. And then this place called me for an oncampus interview and everything changed.
- I learned to be happy and satisfied on my own, then decided that maybe I wanted to date again.
- I started planning for my retirement, right as the economy decided to crap out. I have some type of portfolio-thing with some big company that didn't file for bankruptcy or get bought out. Does that mean my money is safe? I'm still thinking I need a financial planner....
- I got grown-up health insurance!
- I bought a TiVo and it changed my life.
- The girl that swore up and down she'd never go to grad school (that'd be me) graduated with her master's degree.
- My best friend got married. (Did I mention she's younger than I am?) And she bought a house. And a new car. And went on a supercool honeymoon. Did I mention I feel old?


All of this makes me think about next year, and what type of resolutions I might like to make. These are things I usually decide in December and promptly forget about in January. I try to keep them practical enough (because we all know I'm NOT going to workout and I'm NOT going to suddenly start saving my money instead of shopping all the time). So this year I think I'll resolve to start flossing regularly and buying fresh flowers so my apartment smells more outdoorsy than what Bath and Body Works Wallflowers can deliver me.

Since a new semester is starting, I want to look at resolutions I can make for that. Having my evaluation meeting recently also put this in the forefront of my mind. Don't let me give you the wrong idea - I had a really great eval. My ideas pretty much lined up with that of my supervisor's and it's nice to know that even though I get frustrated and sometimes feel like my building sucks, I know that I'm still doing all that I can and getting my work done. So, I want to look at what I can do next semester to make my ability at performing my job even better. Like putting my foot down when I want to instead of wavering and being a doormat. Or delegating tasks to people instead of thinking all the time that it won't get done right unless I do it myself (although I'll secretly know that this is true and instead just try and chill out enough to actually let someone else give it a shot). Maintaining my cheerleader disposition in times when I really just want to scream and cry and yell about what's going on with my staff/department.

I think I should also resolve to be a better blogger, and to spend some of that time I waste on facebook actually writing posts and organizing my thoughts :)