Lots of people make New Years Resolutions. I've actually never made a resolution until this year. I guess I never felt that I needed to change my lifestyle - or if I did then I just made the change whenever it was time. For some reason, this year was different. I'm not sure why, but I decided that I was going to make some resolutions. Maybe because I'm getting close to 30 years old and to me that seems like a big milestone in life, and I would like to have accomplished some things before then.

These are my resolutions:
1) Learn to play the guitar. My brother gave me his old guitar a while ago, and I did pick it up and learn some chords, but I didn't stick with it. Now I look back and think, if I would have kept learning and practicing I would be somewhat competent by now. Even though it's hard to start, I do want to have an instrument that I can easily play. I really loved making music when I was younger, and I played both the piano and the French horn (which I loved). It's hard to keep up on those type of instruments in an apartment, especially when I don't own either one. Guitar seems like a good choice - I can play it quietly so I don't annoy the neighbors, there are many different styles out there, and it's small and free!


My very free little guitar set-up!

2) Graduate from UMass Medical. Holy shit this has been a long time in coming. I've been in grad school for 6 years (6 fucking years my life where has it gone *tears*). Anyway if you've been reading my TL Knowhow you know that it's not all fun and games. I am so close to graduating I can taste it, but there is still so much to do. My professor won't let me defend until I have my final paper ACCEPTED to a journal (not just written and submitted, but reviewed and accepted, a process that can take an entire extra year)! I really don't want to be in grad school for 7 years so I am working hard to get out ASAP.


I am terrified that my life will be over before I graduate.

3) Get into shape. This is a different resolution than "lose weight." I don't really want to lose any weight, I am probably 115 lbs at 5'4 which is totally fine (for a female). Just because I am trim does not mean I am in shape, though. I take 5 flights of stairs each day at work and I am out of breath at the top. I don't like it. In high school I ran cross country and in college I danced (swing dancing, holla!) and walked miles to and from class every day. So I was quite fit. Grad school contains a distinct lack of both dancing and walking. Gradually I've lost all my fitness. So sad.

Anyway I thought I would make a little blog every month, mostly because it's good motivation for me to keep up with everything. So, here's the update for January.

1) Learn to play the guitar. I have been doing well on this, I think. I can't play too long at a time because it makes my hand and fingers hurt but I will get callouses eventually. I've learned a few chords: E major, C major, A major, D major, F major, G major, E minor, and A minor. I've been figuring out where the notes are, and working on scales. Currently I need to get better dexterity with fretting and switching from chord to chord. The strumming is going pretty well, I'm doing some basic strumming exercises to work on that but it's a lot easier than switching chords. So I'm getting the basics down. Yay! In February I want to actually learn some songs and get much better at playing chords. Also I will work on reading tabs and memorizing more chords.

2) Graduate. Well this has been going pretty terrible so far. I have already started working on my thesis, even though I don't have permission to write yet. I'm trying to get a head start. That's going all right. Experiment-wise, things have been really slow. There are a few big papers being pushed out of the lab right now, so my personal data analysis has taken a back seat. Then my cell culture continues to get contaminated, which is really aggravating. This entire month I haven't been able to collect any data at all. I really hope that next month will be better - I need this data to put in the paper. Another thing that worries me is commencement. Our school (since it's only medical, nursing and graduate students) has one commencement in June. If I want to walk in commencement this year I need to have my Thesis committee set up and all my forms signed by April 12 (in like TWO MONTHS) and defend my thesis by August 16th. I don't think I will be able to make this timeline, especially with the PI-imposed rule of an accepted paper, so it looks like if I want to walk I will have to wait until 2014, even if I am able to defend my thesis in, for example, September. Another frustrating thing. Oh well, all I can do is keep on keeping on. Stupid cell culture.

3) Getting in shape. I'm taking this one slowly, and I started going to a yoga class on Saturday mornings. I've already noticed a big improvement in my ability to complete the poses, so I'm really happy about that! I've never been very flexible but I can see a difference, even though I only attend the classes once a week. I've also started to work harder at my horseback riding lessons, which means really focusing on holding the correct posture, posting longer than I want to, etc. I've just started riding a pretty green horse that requires a lot of leg, so that should be really helpful in strengthening my core and my thighs to keep him on track. In February I want to get back to regular rock climbing at the local gym. Maybe I'll designate one of my free weeknights (either Tuesday or Thursday) for climbing. It's hard to give up that free time though!

Well if you read all this thanks, any thoughts/encouragement I'm happy to hear it. It felt good to write this, and I hope it will keep me on track to complete my resolutions.

Zaranth out!