I would like to wish all my friends and family a very Happy and safe New Years 2016! I post this early because we are a global community and some of my friends are about to turn the calendar over and bid goodbye to 2015 in a few hours. I hope your 2016 is a good one. I have several hopes for the upcoming year.
I hope that somehow the powers that be in our government realize that we need to take care of those at home before we spend trillions being the worlds policemen. I wish that we somehow learn to live together in peace. I hope that I do not have to turn on the news to hear about another mass shooting or terrorism attack someplace. I have hope that this year religion is not used as a tool for discrimination, and I have hope that somehow our society finds a way to avoid racism, in any form. I wish that our educational leaders would stop bowing to the pressures from big corporations and just teach our young people. I have hope that we stop loosing our best teachers because they can no longer deal with the stress of not being allowed to actually teach and mentor. I also wish that we would wake up and realize, on a global basis, that the environment matters. Everyone needs to play a role in making sure this planet is inhabitable for the future generations. Somehow if we can do the above the world will be a better place.
On a more local level, I sincerely hope that we can make it through 2016 without the forced closing of anymore racing. Too many of my friends are involved with these wonderful dogs to let this sport slip away. I hope that the legislator decides to hold the tracks accountable for injuries while racing and we can somehow keep the dogs running.
I do not believe in New Years resolutions as they are meant to be broken. I also believe strongly that you can set goals, try to achieve those goals but sometimes life throws curveballs into those goals and you have to be able to change things. Some goals are within your control, some are partially within your control, and some are totally out of your control. The trick is being smart enough to figure out what you can actually accomplish.
So, for 2016 I have the following goals:
- Remain hospital stay free for the year. With the exception of some routine testing I do not want to end up in-patient or emergency room visit anytime during 2016. I have been feeling really good in the last part of 2015 and want that to continue.
- Run the Gasparilla half-marathon in February and then find a marathon to train for in the Fall. Perhaps the Disney Marathon will be a good goal. Try to do a few local 5K races in the middle.
- Try to begin to develop a network of local friends/acquaintances. It’s been two years since we moved down here and I still don’t feel like I know people locally. Life is short, need to get out more.
- Try to workout outside as much as possible. The treadmills and indoor workouts are not doing anything for me. It’s time to step it up and adjust to the temperatures.
- Time for a change with work. Possibly position, employer, or both. Need to finish work each week and feel rewarded and that I made some sort of difference.
- Social media comes second to the in-person aspects of my life. Facebook is great to keep up with people but it also brings a lot of drama into my life. It’s time to eliminate the drama. Develop a schedule to check in in the morning and than again in the evening.
- Publish some articles in 2016. I have many papers that could be revised, updated, and published. Perhaps an iBook?
In closing, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!