Well, if 2006 is anything to go by, 2007 is going to be an interesting year indeed. I did a lot of things this year that I haven’t done before and I’ve made a few mistakes.
I’ve let my agoraphobia get worse, but I also learned that part of my problem is that I’m afraid of change. There’s also the paranoia, but that goes away when I have someone willing to go out in public with me. That’s a start in the right direction, I think. It’s also part of the reason why I have such a problem getting to the shrink’s office. He’s got a large waiting room and I don’t know who will be in there when I come for an appointment. Now that I know what the problem is, I can figure out a way to work around it. I hope. That’s New Year’s Resolution #1.
I also did some work on my computer in 2006. I replaced the power supply and installed a router. It’s not a big thing, but it’s given me the self-confidence to consider changing my current CD/DVD player to a CD burner. I don’t watch DVDs on my computer anyway, so it’s a wasted piece of equipment. It may take some time, but I’ll get there.
We’ve been at this house for just over a year now, with this being our second Christmas here. It’s a lot different than our Christmas last year. We didn’t really have a tree either year, but we had some interesting presents. I’m still working on the sweaters for the girls, but they got DVDs that they like and other odds and sods that make Life pretty. I still have to get the cats something other than their “Fancy Feast” dinners that Shandy sent over, but that will come, hopefully with the next grocery shopping. Stores will be wanting to get rid of their Christmas inventory, even this late. If all else fails, a lot of the prices will drop back to their normal range.
I can’t say as I’ll quit smoking this year, but it’s closer to a reality than it was last year. I have a full tub of tobacco for the month but I don’t feel the need to have a smoke quite as often as I did before. I’m not sure if it’s the self-hypnosis tapes that I’ve been listening to at night or just a general disinclination to smoke, but I’m cutting back. That’s a good sign. I’ve also cut back on my coffee drinking. I’m back down to two pots a day, for the most part. There are days when I’ll have a cup or two out of a third pot, but that’s not as often as it was over the summer.
I spent a few days reading the manuals for PageMaker, reading up on new techniques for desktop publishing. I’ve already discovered what the pasteboard is for, which has made some aspects of DTP a lot easier. I just need to learn to put them into practice. I’m also learning how to make indexes and tables of content. That’ll be a different way of doing things, that’s for sure. I haven’t implemented any of these new talents yet, but I will in 2007. I’m hoping to have my “cookbook” done for Memere when she goes to university.
Speaking of university, I finally managed to contact the scholarship plan originators about Mem’s scholarship information. She doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot of money coming to her, but she has some. That’ll help with the student loan. With luck, the student loan people will recognize that the courses Mem wants to take are too time-consuming for her to hold a part time job during the school year. And, with luck, Mem will have a part time job for the second semester and the summer. Now all we have to do is find her a place to stay.
I’m also geting more ambitious with my projects for HTMLforums. With a bit of courage, I’ll be able to implement most of the changes soon. There’s the Awards and the contests that are due this week and contests are due on the 1st and the 15th of every month. I hope. We’ll see how that goes.
Other than that, there’s not much that I need to do. I need to face my fear of change, face my deadlines and learn to function in another environment. I think I can do that. 2006 was a good start in the right direction, I think. All I need to do is keep up the momentum. We’ll see how it goes. I’m not going to do more than one step at a time.
