Date: 6-27-2014

Due Date: 6-28-2015

Resolution: If you know me in any way you probably have zero questions as to why I'm intrigued by this novelty fish-based mood tracking. However, you may be asking why 144 days? And why a daily fresh fortune fish?

Well, I went to the Amazon to place my order and found that I could buy one big fortune fish for five dollars or I could buy 144 regular-sized fortune fishes for eight bucks. Plus using a fresh fish a day will rule out any possible false reads from a potentially defective singular giant fortune fish.

This is scientific after all.

Date: 6-28-2014

Due Date: 6-28-2015

Resolution: I've been a member of Trigger Street Labs pretty much since it started, around 12 years ago. I started using the site because it was a free way to get strangers to read my work and have to give feedback before they could post their work.

Similar sites have you provide feedback for other's projects before you can post one of your own, but then once you've posted your project it becomes a matter of waiting. With Trigger Street you need to continue to participate to earn credits, with each credit you earn they assign your project at random to other members until someone gives you feedback.

That feedback costs you a credit, so as long as you have credits, you have the site working with you to get your work out there. The quality of feedback on Trigger Street varies a lot but if you put in the effort you'll get readers and they'll write reviews.

Trigger Street used to only accept feature-length screenplays and short films. I've used it for both and am a fan. A couple of years ago they started accepting short stories. At the time I wasn't sure if a short screenplay counted as a short story so I never thought much of it. Now that I'm writing actually short stories I'm going to give it a shot.

I will post one story at a time and then maximize the credits for that story before posting the next one then repeat and share any feedback I get.

(Note: This will not affect my resolutions to post stories on any other sites. There's no exclusivity here! )

Date: 6-29-2014

Due Date: 6-29-2015

Resolution: I haven't seen this movie in years so I have no idea what this impersonation will entail but could you imagine having this ability as a superpower?

Just imagine, you're in a situation where you have five minutes to kill amongst strangers. You nonchalantly mention, "Hey, I can do a spot-on impersonation of Dabney Coleman from Cloak and Dagger."

You're going to lose some of your audience due to the fact that they don't know who Dabney Coleman is. You're going to lose a lot of your audience because they have no idea what Cloak and Dagger is, but you’ve won the hearts of the few that understand. Well, all but one. One person will have their doubts and think you’re an a-hole for even making such a claim.

Luckily you're still stuck for another four minutes and the excited few really want to hear your performance.

Then it happens.

You do your thing then wrap up your perfect impersonation of Jack Flack at the exact moment you’re able to make an escape.

Most will have no idea what they just witnessed, a few will be entertained by the circumstance alone, a very few will be impressed even though they have no idea how to gauge how accurate you were, and that one person will bitterly have their doubts.

This bitterness will grow as the impressed members of the crowd discuss what just happened. The bitter one will be hung up on thoughts of, "That was no Dabney Coleman from Cloak and Dagger. That could be anyone from any movie, those gullible fools."

This anger will fester until finally this person tracks down a copy of Cloak and Dagger and watches it to try and prove they’re right. Their jaw will drop in amazement as they get to the scene you were impersonating.

A tear of joy will run down their face.

At least that's how I see it playing out.

Date: 6-30-2014

Due Date: 6-30-2015

Resolution: I used to go fishing all the time as a kid. It seemed like every family trip consisted of some combination of camping, fishing, and panning for gold. I've caught my fair share of fish. I know that I've reached into many of these fish to pull out the guts but I'm pretty sure my dad was in charge of all the cutting. I know for a fact that I've never been in charge of cooking anything that I've caught because I was way too young.

Today a friend posted the words "Fiiiissshingggg With Johhhhhhhhnnnnnnnn" on their Facebook page. Fishing with John is one of my favorite shows of all time and one of the first DVDs I ever owned.

This got me thinking about how much I miss fishing.

Then I realized that I've never caught a fish as an adult.

That said I've only tried twice.

Once about twenty years ago when a group went camping for a friend’s bachelor party. I showed up at the campsite at about 4:00 in the am after driving three hours after work and was greeted by two of my roommates still up, still drinking.

They decided it was time for me to get caught up as we ventured down to the lake to attempt to fish. I caught up quickly and our little journey to the lake cost us one fishing pole and almost got us evicted from the campsite.

The second time was about two years ago when a couple of my friends and I decided that we were going to be all about fishing that year. We took this fishing proclamation very seriously for one day. The fishing season barely started and we were aware that there wasn't much chance of us catching anything, this trip was more about the practice and avoiding the non-fishing friend's LAN tournament.

We didn't catch a thing and didn't follow up on any of our plans to try again, but we did go to the grocery store to fill up our fish stringer with fish themed items we bought at the grocery store, including a side trip to McDonald's to add a McFish to the line.

Hopefully, this will be the year I catch a real fish.

Date: 7-1-2014

Due Date: 7-1-2015

Resolution: I'm pretty proud of myself for the health changes I've made since starting this blog. I'm still working on everything, but results seem to be starting to show.

I've been drinking my eight eight-ounce glasses of water for about seven months now. Other than giving into temptation days after resolving to quit smoking for a year, I've climbed back on that wagon and haven't had a cigarette for about five months. Since resolving to become a social drunk, about two months ago, I've pretty much become sober. I've been eating better due to various resolutions and even though it's taken way too long to complete the 26 one-hour-long walks to complete my walking alphabet resolution, I've been doing good at sticking to all fitness resolutions that don't require me leaving my apartment.

One thing that I've noticed is that since cutting down on all these other unhealthy choices my craving for candy and cookies has increased. I'm not fully sure if it's a craving thing or if I've been eating more sweets because they're the one vice that I've allowed myself free rein over.

Well not anymore.

Being that I don't believe in completely depriving yourself of obtainable desires, this will be a resolution of limitations and not denial. Starting today I will only allow myself to buy one sweet treat a week causing it to be an actual treat and not an indulgent.

Date: 7-2-2014

Due Date: 7-2-2015

Resolution: As a fiction writer I get to create worlds in my head all the time. I've been lucky enough to have a few of these stories turned into films, which is an awesome way to experience the interpretation of an existence that was conjured up in one's imagination.

I was doing research for another resolution that I plan to do further down the road that involves miniaturized versions of things. During the search, I found an image of a tiny model town. I instantly thought of how cool it would be to create a miniature version of an idealized town from one of my stories.

And here we are.

Now that my bedroom is completely empty, except for my clothing, I plan to eventually turn it into an arts and crafts room. There's a built-in shelf that runs across one of the walls that’s both high enough and deep enough to create the perfect Murphy Bed style platform as the base for this mini-town that could then be folded up and hidden under said shelf.

I can't say that this resolution is necessarily based on a childhood dream of mine but who's to say that we have to stop creating frivolous fantasies just because we hit a certain age... well, besides the Taliban that is.

Date: 7-3-2014

Due Date: 7-3-2015

Resolution: A few years ago I found this flashlight/television at a thrift store and bought it because I thought it looked cool. The fact that it was only five bucks also helped the decision process.

At first, I kept it in my truck as more of a conversation piece/something to keep Doug the Truck Penguin entertained.

It has a built-in antenna and no auxiliary ports so being that I bought it post-digital television conversion I had no intentions of ever actually using this thing.

That is until the other day when I was cleaning out my bedroom/storage room when I had to decide what to do with this funky contraption.

That's when I noticed a hidden 3.5mm port in the back labeled Ant. Apparently, there is a way to hook this thing up to external devices!

My enthusiasm for my purchase was revived as I tried to think of what I would watch on this tiny screen.

That's when I looked to the left a little, toward my bookcase filled with old VHS tapes and in another case of, "You put your chocolate in my peanut butter," I decided to combine these ancient pieces of entertainment technology, and here we are today.

I just ordered a 3.5mm to coax adapter. As soon as it arrives my tiny viewing experience will begin.

I will keep you posted.

Date: 7-4-2014

Due Date: 7-4-2015

Resolution: If you've been following my progress you know that I started this week with a trip to the doctor for a new patient physical. I haven't been to for about five years but I wasn't all that concerned about anything physical that's going on with me. I'm more interested in getting into the system to use my mental health benefits.

They drew my blood on Monday and even that wasn't a big concern to me. Every time I've gone to the doctors, no matter what condition I've been in, I've had surprisingly good blood. I say surprisingly good because twice in my life I've had doctors actually admit that they were surprised by how healthy I am.

Well, this test came back with a couple of issues that the doctor said he was concerned about. First, he says my blood sugar is mildly elevated. I scored a 102 which apparently you're supposed to be under 100. The doctor has an adjusted target of 90 and said to consider myself pre-diabetic.

His only other concern is that my good cholesterol is low. I have a 33 where the target is greater than 40. He suggests more aerobic exercise to get this up.

He gave me a couple of other suggestions but luckily I've already implemented a lot of these tips through one resolution or another. I'm kind of excited because now I have a way to gauge the progress and benefits of these resolutions in more ways than just physical appearance.

We'll see what happens in three months.

Hopefully, I won't have to extend this resolution in order to ease any new concerns that come up.

Date: 7-5-2014

Due Date: 7-5-2015

Resolution: I really like pizza. I wish I could eat it more but I know if I buy an entire pizza I'll eat an entire pizza. I do buy a boring frozen pizza about twice a month to graze on throughout the evening but even then I try to track down a thin crust pizza with the lowest calorie count because I know I will not be leaving leftovers.

I NEVER order pizza unless I have guests and when I do I like to track down the craziest combo available because I'm a bit of an adventurous eater. I love the conversation that usually starts the moment the order has made.

"Could you imagine a pizza with...?"

This will be the year that I start to explore the "..." by making at least one fantasy pizza a month at home from scratch.

Now when I say from scratch I will allow pre-made dough or crust but, for the most part, I plan to make the dough from scratch as well. I'm just as interested in experimenting with dough recipes as I'm interested in experimenting with topping combinations.

Brace yourself for some bizarre foods with melting cheese on top.

I might have to buy a new lab coat and a set of beakers for this one.

Date: 7-6-7014

Due Date: 7-6-2015

Resolution: I'm a fan of many things where I'm not all that fond of my fellow fans. I think wrestling may have started this trend of secret self-hating fandom. My step-father was into wrestling and would tune in whenever it was on.

I hated it at first because I hated him, but this was a time before our infinite options of antisocial technology that allows us to stream our very specific entertainment choices where ever we want, and wrestling was what was airing on our only color television, so I watched.

I'd complain and joke about the grown men fighting in their underwear but eventually became a genuine fan. I'd be willing to bet that this route to liking wrestling is very common.

I was young enough that it was acceptable to believe that everything was real. It was also acceptable to be an open fan around my friends who were also fans. Then high school hit and though I continued to watch wrestling, I kept that type of information to myself.

It's hard to stay a fan of somethings minus the shared experience. Once wrestling became a guilty pleasure I stopped watching it altogether.

Then several years later when I moved to Seattle, I ended up living in a party house where one of my roommates was really into WWE. The denial to acceptance process was the same.

Other than the one roommate I'm not sure if anyone was an actual fan of wresting, to begin with, but we had a lot of fun drinking and laughing while watching the matches, and once again I was won over.

The party house broke up and we all went our separate ways. I stopped watching wrestling again for about ten years until I made a couple of new friends who were into old school WWF wrestling.

This rekindled my interest in the fictitious sport, but when I tuned in to try to get caught up on the WWE storylines, I just wasn't interested. That when I turned to the internet and discovered $5 Wrestling.

If you like Mystery Science Theater and high school auditorium level wrestling then this is the organization for you. I watched one match where they didn't even have a referee and the wrestlers had to do their own counting.

I've only seen a few clips on YouTube, but they currently have twenty specials at five dollars apiece and I plan to get through all twenty by this time next year.

Date: 7-7-2014

Due Date: 7-7-2015

Resolution: Being that Risk is one of my favorite games of all time, I often think that I can take my ability to strategize, apply it to Chess, and quickly become a decent player. Then I sit down to play. Even though I know how all the pieces move, I've yet to move past the point of being a reactionary player.

I just don't know the game well enough to come up with a long term game plan.

In my 38 years of walking this planet, I've probably played about ten games against humans and maybe thirty games against a computer. I don't even know if playing those few games even qualifies me as a beginner?

Further down the road, I'll probably resolve to really study chess, but for now, I resolve to just get comfortable with the game by playing it was some consistency. I'm going to start by playing the free Chess game that came with my computer, then when I feel comfortable move on to challenge humans via the computer and eventually take on some challengers in real life.

Maybe by then, I'll know the game well enough to be able to create a winning strategy and not just properly move pieces thinking one move at a time.

Date: 7-8-2014

Due Date: 7-8-2015

Resolution: For some reason when I look back at my childhood I often think that I was pretty good with a Yo-Yo. The more I think about it the more I realize, I barely knew how to do anything, and what I did know was pretty basic.

I could "Walk the Dog," do "Around the World," create a "Cradle" and improvise a couple of other tricks that lead me to believe I was a tiny Tommy Smothers.

Though I wasn't the expert I thought I was, I did have a lot of fun flinging this novelty toy around the room only to have it come back.

On the rare occasions that I've gotten my hands on a Yo-Yo as an adult, I've found that I can still pull off those few tricks.

Well after nearly three decades since learning any new Yo-Yo tricks I figure it's finally time to add a few more tricks to add to my repertoire and maybe become the Yo-Yo man of my young delusional mind.

Date: 7-9-2014

Due Date: 7-9-2015

Resolution: About 20 years ago, before I wrote screenplays, I wanted to write punk songs. Most of these songs ended up being nothing more than bad poetry but some of them may be worth revisiting. Since then I've pretty much given up on listening to music let alone any attempts to write it.

Well, other than "Eat Dem Beets."

I'm currently trying to learn to play the guitar as part of Resolution #61. Today I figured I might be a little more motivated if I was trying to learn the guitar in order to create a riff for an original song that I've written.

Of all the "songs" that I've ever written "Bottles On My Floor," is the only one that I can think of that might be worth putting music behind.

This may or may not go through a rewrite, but here are the lyrics that I'll be starting with.

Bottles On My Floor

There are no parties up the street
and TV is a bore.
Alone in my bedroom
with bottles on my floor.
Only one person drinking,
but the piles are galore.
Alone in my bedroom
with bottles on my floor.
My liver is so swollen,
yet still I will drink more.
Alone in my bedroom,
with bottles on my floor.
Up all night without it,
but with it I do snore.
Alone in my bedroom,
with bottles on my floor.
I never have a visitor,
yet every night I score.
Alone in my bedroom,
with bottles on my floor.
I ran out of words to rhyme,
and cannot write no more.
Alone in my bedroom,
with bottles on my floor.

Date: 7-10-2014

Due Date: 7-10-2015

Resolution: As I pointed out in Resolution #125 I want to get rid of all my earthly possessions so that I can furnish my apartment with intent. I don't think I'm actually going to use Feng Shui theories to create a humble abode but I do plan on making my decorating decisions with more of a strategy than, "It's the cheapest/best that I can afford," and, "It may not be ideal, but it's good enough."

Though the rest of my apartment has always been made up of a hodgepodge of used furniture, I've always taken a bit more pride in the decor choices when it comes to my office. I do spend most of my time there after all.

That said I feel the office is almost ready to be called done.

All I need to do is buy a new area rug to cover the crappy floor and replace the floor mat that's falling apart from the wheels of my office chair, one of those plastic mats to protect the new rug from the same damage, frame, and hang my diploma and other certifications, buy some desk organizing devices and last but not least, replace the dolphin blanket that's covering the window with some actual curtains.

Though the dolphins do crack me up I think it's time to give up the whole blankets for curtains gag for good.

Even though I have no money and a bunch of other resolutions that require funds to continue I think I may get to work on this one right away. The sooner my apartment becomes a comfy home, the sooner I'll be more content, proud, and productive.

At least that's what I hope.

Date: 7-11-2014

Due Date: 7-11-2015

Resolution: Maniac Mansion was one of my favorite games as a kid. It's from a time where gameplay outweighed graphics and this was the closest we had to playing a movie… which back then… seemed like an option that was only available on computer games…

I don't remember the story at all and only remember something about putting a letter in a microwave in order to steam it open to get to a note with a very important clue, which I think is impossible to do unless you've selected one of the few configurations of characters that allow you to be able to beat the game.

For all I know, Maniac Mansion might not hold up at all but I've been interested in revisiting it for quite a while.

Well, now's the time.

Not only will I revisit Maniac Mansion, but I'll also beat it with every character configuration plausible without referring to the internet for hints.

Date: 7-12-2014

Due Date: 7-12-2015

Resolutions: Of all of the resolutions I'm working on, I'm most excited about the ones that challenge me creatively.

Whether I'm learning new knitting techniques, honing my painting skills, training to use proper cooking techniques, learning to draw, sew, garden, animate, use photoshop, sculpt, etc... it turns out that I love creating things.

Hell, I started this website as a way to have another creative outlet other than screenwriting to placate my overactive imagination.

Being that I'm learning to sketch, and plan to learn to sew I figured I'd combine the two resolutions to see what happens.

Who knows?

Maybe I'll end up being good enough at something to end up on a reality show.

Date: 7-13-2014

Due Date: 7-13-2015

Resolution: Way back when I was a kid there was a thing called a magazine. Two satirical titans battled for the attention of the soon to be wrecked heads of the MTV generation.

Mad Magazine and Cracked Magazine were the MadMagazine.com and Cracked.com of their time.

Whenever given the choice I would always opt for Cracked Magazine. Even as a kid I was a bigger fan of more edgy material.

That was the case right?

Cracked magazine was edgier?

It was either that or I a bigger fan of the way their artist drew boobs.

Probably both.

Either way, I've been a fan of Cracked.com for a while but have to admit, I think it took me over a year to realize that the dot com was connected to the magazine.

I may have overlooked this obvious relationship but I did notice right away that they were looking for writers. I know technically all websites are looking for writers but what I like about Cracked.com is they put a link to how to write for them right there at the top of the page with the rest of the important information.

I signed up and have read the instructions several times but have always been too chicken to submit anything. This was pre-blogging days when I would only share my scripts. I kept any other form of prose to myself.

Well, this is going to be the year that I finally move past just reading about the submission process and actually give it a shot.

Hopefully, I'll be sharing a link within the year!!!

Date: 7-14-2014

Due Date: 7-14-2015

Resolution: As I often acknowledge on The Wicker Breaker homepage, I'm still in the process of trying to find my voice as a blogger. I've only been at it for a little over a year and a half so that means that I have a little less than eight and a half years to live out to the proclamation that, "It takes ten years to create an overnight success."

Hopefully the sixteen years I've spent writing screenplays will count toward a couple of these years but either way, I fully intend to ride it out and attempt to rack up the 10,000 hours required to become an outlier.

Yeah, yeah, if these equations were accurate, I'd already be a successful screenwriter by now… having… as I just said… put in at least sixteen years and well over 10,000 hours writing my tales. I just like having these adages as an excuse as to why I haven't made it yet and an inspiration to keep going despite the feelings of defeat.

It's all just a matter of time.

And I've got 535 days left to work on this 365 Days of Resolution, yeah the math doesn't add up but I was thinking more about the 365 Resolutions and not the time it would take me to complete these tasks when naming the project.

Anyways, if you know me then you know that I am 100% committed to completing this challenge no matter what the cost and being that one of the goals of a successful blogger is to not only monetize their site but also to come up with a network of support. I figure now (or sometime within the year,) might be the time to seek sponsorship.

I have a couple of ideas but right now it's just idealized fantasies that some company will agree that I'm on to something enough to provide some form of support.

We'll see what happens.

And as always, I'll keep you posted.

Date: 7-15-2014

Due Date: 7-15-2015

Resolution: As you know, I love to write. As you've seen, I can be a bit of a sloppy writer. I've always had many excuses for this sloppiness but no real solutions.

First off, I was not a good student. I'm dyslexic and found reading a chore. I almost didn't make it through high school, picking up everything I needed to know through lectures alone.

Since reading was the enemy and I saw English as Literature I threw out the baby with the bathwater by tuning out the class altogether. To me, proper grammar and spelling were tools for essays and other scholastic assignments. Since I had no plan to continue on to college, my grasp of the language was good enough for what I needed.

To be honest, I had no plan at all.

I was a stand-up comedy nerd and figured I'd stumble into that as a career through my poor life choices. I'm aware that writing is a part of stand up. That said… since you orate the end product the dots, dashes, and squiggles of grammar didn't seem to matter all that much to me.

My shyness outweighed my desire to perform and my stories for the stage started to grow into more elaborate fiction. Though I never made a declaration of reason, this insecurity is why I got into screenwriting. I knew I had the material but didn't have the technical skills for my written words to be the end product. I figured the moving pictures of the screen would hide all my typos.

Over the past decade and a half, I've gotten a lot better with my technical writing skills. My writing still can be a bit wonky. I've pieced together rules by correcting my typos based on notes from friendly proofreaders. Though I went to film school for writing, they figured we already had the writing down. Their main focus was story structure and script formatting.

A while ago I stumbled on a website called HemingwayApp.com. At the time it was an online app that not only checks your spelling but also makes suggestions based on grammar and structure. It's an awesome tool, but for some reason, I didn't end up using it all that much. I think part of it had to do with the fact that it was a web-based app.

Today I received an email from Hemingway. This message informed me that there is now a desktop version of the app available for five bucks (the price of a wrestling match.) I didn't think twice, clicked the link, and purchased a downloadable copy.

I hope this app not only helps by suggesting improvements but that I'll pick up on the rules it uses to make said suggestions. Maybe someday I will no longer need the program at all.

Luckily I have a little over a year and a half's worth of work on this blog to test out this theory.

Date: 7-16-2014

Due Date: 7-16-2015

Resolution: I was what's known as a husky kid. I was tall enough to carry the weight and not have it be a defining characteristic but fat enough that it's always bothered me. I was also bothered by some of the stereotypical fat kid limitations that I've always suffered.

In the fifth grade, I was strong enough to pick up and body slam any one of my fellow classmates. Yet, when the Presidential Fitness Challenge came to our school I couldn't even do one pull-up.

Then during my senior year of high school, when I was all done with physical fitness when there were no credits to be earned for getting into shape; I started working out like a mental patient.

At the age of 18, I did my first pull-up.

After breaking the pull-up seal it seemed like I could do them all day long, well, all day with a lot of napping and breaks. Still, I got to the point where I could easily do dozens of pull-ups without breaking a sweat.

Then I discovered alcohol.

It's been at least 18 years since I've even attempted to do a pull-up.

Who knows?

I may be able to complete this resolution right now. If only there was a bar somewhere near to test this out? I seriously doubt it, but thanks to a few other resolutions I'm getting back into shape.

Because of the connections made in my youth, I've always thought of pull-ups as a benchmark for being fit. Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll be able to do ten of these feats of strength.