Date: 5-18-2014

Due Date: 5-18-2015

Resolution: I was working at Amazon.com around the time DVDs first started to become available. I was doing pretty well financially because of my stock options so I went out and bought a nice laptop with a DVD drive. My old Blackberry was probably more powerful than that laptop, but it was top of the line at the time.

Since I had this DVD drive, was a fan of movies, and had spending money I started to collect DVDs. I used to display my DVD collection with pride but now they are just adding to the clutter that I can't stand looking at.

Most of the DVDs I own are quirky films that aren't readily available on Netflix, so I don't want to just get rid of them. I want to have the movies readily available to me, but I have no need for the physical disk and case. I've been planning to do this for a while and figure now is the time to pull the trigger.

First I will buy an external hard drive and then I will start ripping away.

Date: 5-19-2014

Due Date: 5-19-2015

Resolution: I've been living in Seattle for close to 18 years now. I spent my first 13 or 14 years knowing nothing but the neighborhoods where I lived or worked in. Then I started to work in film and got to explore the state of Washington.

I've worked in tiny coastal communities, the deserts in Eastern Washington, truck stop towns in the middle of nowhere, even the underground tunnel system beneath the Seattle Center. Because of film, I was allowed into places that no one else gets to see.

There's still one place I have yet to visit even though I've been interested in it ever since moving up here. That place is the Hoh Rain Forest located on the Olympic Peninsula. When I first heard about this place I was young and thought the Amazon was the only real rain forest on the planet, so I had to see this new rain forest that's only a day trip away.

Apparently, I didn't have to see it that bad because here we are today, 18 years and I have yet to make a single attempt to get out there. Well, as with most of these resolutions this is another thing that I finally plan to change. Within a year from today, I will finally venture out to see the Hoh Rain Forest.

Date: 5-20-2014

Due Date: 5-20-2015

Resolution: Toward the beginning of the year I learned about the Write A House organization. They claim to have a twist on the "Writer's Residency." Their plan; buy houses at an auction, renovate them and give them to writers to try to build a writing community in Detroit. They're now up to the point where they are accepting applications.

I've been kind of obsessed with this concept ever since hearing about it. I never really thought about living in Detroit, winning a house would be cool, but mainly I'm interested in the idea of being immersed in a writing community with the support of this organization.

I don't really think that I'll win, but I figure why not give it a shot. If I do manage to pull this off, this may be the type of shake-up I need to start an actual career as a writer. We'll see what happens.

Date: 5-21-2014

Due Date: 5-21-2015

Resolution: I don't really care about my heritage. I feel our clinging to a past that we had nothing to do with, picking sides based on unknown relatives is as much to blame for history repeating itself, if not more than the old saying about those not knowing their history.

That said I am into science and think it would be interesting to let a swab of my inner cheek answer the age-old question, "What am I?"

All I know is that there's Irish and Welsh on my mom's side of the family. My dad's side of the family has always been more of a mystery. It's just something that they never bring up. This may be where I get my lack of interest in unknown relatives of yesterday.

No matter what the results, I don't expect there to be a change in my personal perspective or world outlook. Don't count on my buying any new flags. I'm just intrigued.

Date: 5-22-2014

Due Date: 5-22-2015

Resolution: I have a master plan where I want to incorporate several desktop resolutions to create one big desktop masterpiece. Being that I still have 223 resolutions to come up with, I plan to roll out these mini resolutions one at a time instead of coming out and revealing said master plan as one big resolution.

So far this master plan includes the ant farm (which I have) the Bonsai Tree (which I will be ordering tomorrow), and this Zen Garden (which I will be building when I have a better idea of what else is involved.)

I'll make sure to note the future resolutions that I linked to this "master plan."

Date: 5-23-2014

Due Date: 5-23-2015

Resolution: Since the beginning of this year I've bitterly given up on the idea of making it as a writer through persistence alone. Over the past 16 years, I've written an average of 1.5 feature-length screenplays a year.

Other than sending these screenplays off to friends for feedback, or off to contests to see if I can win the lottery, these documents just pile up on my desk. I've been toying with the idea of giving up on screenwriting all together and venturing into the world of standard prose in hopes of exploring self-publishing.

Either way, no matter what happens I'm going to continue to write in some capacity. I've just given up on the “making it” aspect; not the “doing it” aspect.

I've been having a lot of fun with this blog and adapting and writing short format fiction but I always find that unless I have at least one long-format project of my own to work on I tend to drive myself crazy. I think having my own fantasy world to focus all of my lunacy into, helps ease my issues with reality. Granted I'm fully aware that this is escapist behavior but I don't really care.

Over the past couple of months, there's been a story that's been haunting me. It's not quite to the point where it's ready to just fall out, but it's brewing. That's how writing seems to work with me. An idea triggers an obsession. It starts subtly at first then my mind keeps going back to it like a tongue to a toothache. Then after it gets to be too much to handle I have to get it out of me.

Right now I'm still in the festering phase.

I can sense the extraction phase is just around the corner.

I'll keep you posted.

Date: 5-24-2014

Due Date: 5-24-2015

Resolution: Last night, I finally got around to picking my health benefits through work. I spent a couple of extra bucks to make sure that the package that I selected included mental health coverage.

I've gone into therapy three or four times in my life and have gone on and off of medication a few more times than that. I've yet to meet the right therapist and have also yet to find the right cocktail that works for me. Being that I'm bipolar it's hard to gauge what's working while living in a head that is so inconsistent, especially while being fully aware of this inconsistency and kind of good at hiding it.

My transition from the world of freelance into the world of retail has been pretty rough on me. Other than this blog and all the projects that stem from each resolution, I've grown quite ambivalent toward life.

It feels like the person that I'm writing about has never been happier and is using this resolution thing to make great strides in figuring out what life is all about. Meanwhile, the me who actually is this person is lost and documenting an experiment that's actually testing the whole, "Fake it 'til make it," philosophy of life.

Both experiments are pretty hard to keep going, especially at the same time.

Date: 5-25-2014

Due Date: 5-25-2015

Resolution: A couple of years ago while stumbling down a YouTube rabbit hole I came across the documentary We the Tiny House People. I've been kind of obsessed with the idea of living in one of these tiny abodes ever since.

I currently live in a small one-bedroom apartment and I only use the bedroom for storing things that I want to get rid of. I really feel all I need is a place big enough to fit my desk, a bed of some sort, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

Even when I fantasize about making a ridiculous amount of money I picture myself buying one of these tiny houses to ride out the rest of my life writing and moving when I begin to feel the itch.

It's time to test this fantasy out to see if I can actually pull it off.

To test this theory I found that the tiny house in the above photo is located in Olympia, WA, and available to rent through airbnb.com. Sometime, within the next year, I will venture down and give tiny house living a shot.

Of course, I'll keep you posted.

Date: 5-26-2014

Due Date: 5-26-2015

Resolution: A few years ago I was drinking and watching the documentary Man On Wire. I'm not fully sure what inspired me but the next morning I woke up from a blackout with a confirmation from Amazon.com informing me that I had ordered a unicycle. Rather than do the right thing and cancel the order I figured there had to have been a master plan so I now own a unicycle.

This has to have been close to three years ago and I have yet to even pump up the tire. I did use it as a model to create the above painting. This will be the year my drunken purchase becomes more than just a conversation piece.

Date: 5-27-2014

Due Date: 5-27-2014

Resolution: I wish that I blame computer use for my crappy handwriting but I didn't start typing on a regular basis until I was 21. When looking over my notes I can't help but wonder, "What's more crazy, my content or my penmanship?"

This will be the year that I figure out what my chicken scratch says about me.

Date: 5-28-2014

Due Date: 5-28-2015

Resolution: I don't even have to wait to buy this one!

As I mentioned in my resolution about electrocuting my abs into shape, I was once really into working out. I discovered the simple ab wheel a couple of years before the spring-loaded infomercial style started popping up everywhere.

It's funny how all it takes is one infomercial to make you instantly assume a product is too good to be true. I've never used one of the spring-loaded ab wheels to know whether or not there's an added benefit, all I know is the bare bones wheel on a stick version used to kick my ass.

It's been years since I've used my ab wheel but I figure now that I'm getting in a daily workout I may as well add this oldie but goodie exercise into the mix.

Date: 5-29-2014

Due Date: 5-29-2015

Resolution: A couple of years ago I discovered there were way variations of apples than just red and green. This in no way led me to be a connoisseur but I did become pickier when I would make a purchase.

I still buy apples from time to time but not nearly as often as I should. For the next year, I will eat at least one apple a day while trying to sample as many different varieties as I can find.

Date: 5-30-2014

Due Date: 5-30-2015

Resolution: I know how to thread a needle and I can sloppily sew up a hole well enough to get by. I currently have three hoodies that have pockets that are starting to fall apart, pants that need to be hemmed and my favorite shorts are beginning to come apart at the crotch. I could try to fix all of these issues using my half-assed technique but I don't know if I'd want to go out in public wearing the finished product.

I know a few people that I could turn to to help me out but I've got this whole resolution thing to utilize. As a way to become even more self-sufficient, this will be the year that I learn how to sew properly by both hand and machine.

Date: 5-31-2014

Due Date: 5-31-2015

Resolution: Boom boom boom boom.

If you know me then you know that I like dem beets. This wasn't always the case. Up until about three years ago, I had never even tried one. I was going through a phase where I was really into steamed vegetables when I discovered this pee dying root. Not only did I become a fan of the taste; I also became a fan of the additional novel side effects.

Though I am a fan I've only tried beets either steamed or canned. Part of me wants to become a beet specialist and in order to do so, I figure I should know more than two dishes if you consider opening a can and dumping the contents onto a salad “a dish.”

My new plan to become a beet specialist is to buy the Beet Greats cookbook and prepare every dish inside. I'm really looking forward to the beet burger.

As always, I'll keep you posted.

Due Date: 6-1-2015

Resolution: I heart hoodies.

I think part of the reason I like hoodies so much is they are the ultimate fashion statement that says, "F the world I'm going to be comfy." I think I also like the pouch. Having that pouch brings back that easy access non-pants storage that I lost when the fanny pack went out of style. For all of you who say the fanny pack never was in style, you definitely didn't go to my Jr. High.

At first, I was looking for a website that had an established hoodie of the month club. My search didn't last long though because I started to have my doubts that I could trust anyone else to select 12 hoodies that I'd be willing to pay 30 to 50 bucks for.

That's why I decided that I'm going to make my own club and by “club” I mean I'm going to buy one hoodie a month and share the link. You can choose whether or not you want to "join the club" but either way I don't expect to profit off of this one. I just want to build my hoodie collection.

Stay tuned for my first selection.

(Hint it's going to be the one in the picture. I'm just waiting until payday to make it official.)

Date: 6-2-2014

Due Date: 6-2-2015

Resolution: Is it just me or do all guys have a fascination with straight razor shaving? I think for me, it started when I was a kid, watching cartoons. I found every animated step in the process to be a magical mix of mystery and danger.

The steaming hot moist towel that's been known to wipe a customer's features clear off their face on more than one occasion.

The barber running the blade back and forth over the leather strap, his focus on the conversation without a second thought about this weapon that's getting sharper and sharper with every absent-minded flick of the wrist.

The foaming lather that magical meringues when whipped with that tiny brush.

Then there's the shave. As a youngin', I didn't fully understand how the safe-guarded disposable razors were not a hazard to one’s life let alone a straight razor. Every depiction of shaving in film and television, no matter what the technique, ends with blood.

Granted this blood is usually from tiny nicks but at the time I felt cutting yourself was an inevitable part of shaving and couldn't see how using a straight razor wouldn't end up taking off an entire layer of skin in the process.

Now that I'm older I understand the concept behind shaving with a straight razor just a tad bit better. I'm still fascinated by every step in the process and want to give it a shot. Sure I can go to a barber that offers a straight razor shave but then I would miss out on performing all the other steps in the process.

So, for the next year, whether I'm cleaning up my beard or taking it off I will do so with a straight razor and all the rituals involved.

Date: 6-3-2014

Due Date: 6-3-2015

Resolution: Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to own a robot, but what kid didn't? Now that I'm an adult and have a place of my own I can make this happen. Granted I'm no engineer and wouldn't know the first steps in making anything sentient, but I am crafty enough to sculpt something together that at least appears to be a loveable robot.

And that's my plan.

Using nothing but pieces I find from thrift stores, a soldering iron, and some wood screws, I will create a mechanical roommate that has at least one trick up its sleeve to justify its rent-free existence.

Hopefully, I can train it to play Mancala!

Date: 6-4-2014

Due Date: 6-4-2015

Resolution: I'm a fan of pickles. It turns out I'm also a fan of gardening. In the tradition of putting your chocolate in my peanut butter, I'm going to combine these two likes in an attempt to create something amazing.

As soon as I transfer my beets and whatnot from the germinator to their planter boxes, I'm going to plant a batch of cucumbers to pickle as soon as they're ripe.

Who knows, this nine square foot garden I'm planning may end up being my escape from the day job. All I need to do is find the perfect location to set up a beer, beets, and pickle booth.

Date: 6-5-2014

Due Date: 6-5-2015

Resolution: I've found that unlike the walking alphabet resolution, as long as I can do the exercise in the comfort of my own home I don't really have an issue with committing to my fitness decisions. That said, for the next year I'll add ten push-ups to my daily routine.

And now a video of the above monkey working out.

Date: 6-6-2014

Due Date: 6-6-2015

Resolution: I really wish that I had the finances to start these resolutions the day I make them. I also wish I was at least in the process of making the Zen Garden before announcing the next step. Fortunately I not only have a year from setting each resolution to complete them but I also have confidence in myself that I'll put in my best effort not to fail.

That said, one year from today I should have a desktop Zen Garden (waiting for supplies), with the start to a Bonsai Tree (seeds planted), an ant farm (ant are farmin'), and a miniature Koi Pond.

I really miss having fish in my life.