What am I going to do in 2011...

I've never been big on the idea of resolutions. I understand people who make them and do their best to keep them and even those who make them and never, ever come close to keeping them. It's really tough if you think about. Here you have a goal that you need to keep in mind every day for 365 (366 in 2012) days. Sure, not all require undivided attention for that full year but what about when the year is over? And why must we try to better ourselves only at the beginning of the year?

 

The most common resolution has to be losing weight. This one I understand but when you think about it, how sad is it that so many people have the feeling they need to lose weight? I think that may say a lot about our country but that's another blog for another time. Quitting something seems to be big especially when it comes to smoking. There's another one people shouldn't wait till a new year to try. How bout you just quit when you think of it. Again, I am not against resolutions. Some people need them and that's fine but I feel like you add a lot of pressure to succeed and if unforeseen things come up and change that, you shouldn't feel bad.

 

So instead of a resolution, I come up with lists of things I'd like to try and do in the new year. Notice how I said try? I know half the things on my list won't happen but I put I out there. A lot of the time items from the year before that I didn't do will make it on the next years list. If I don't happen to get these done, so what? So below is a selection of a few of the items I put on my "2011 To Do List". Again, don't hold me to all of them because chances are I won't get to do half of them.

 

TRAVEL

 

Those who know me know I love to travel and since last year included trips to London, DC, Key West and more, it's going to be tough to top. As of now the only trip somewhat confirmed is another trip to Key West in April with the same boys as last years but with our female companions as well. If Key West is the only place I travel this year, I will actually count it as a success. That's how much fun you have in Key West. With that said though, there are a few places I'd like to try and visit. Chicago and San Francisco are two big ones that I'd like to make it to for a long weekend. Chicago is somewhere Meg and I have both never been but desperately want to go to. I want some traditional deep dish, Chicago style pizza. San Fran is somewhere I have never been but am dying to visit and if I get a chance I want to try and get to Canton, OH to visit the Football Hall of Fame. Also, I've been to Philly a few times but there are some things I haven't seen so a weekend trip there would be fun and there is a possibility of seeing the Colts play in New Orleans.

 

FOOD

 

I love cooking and I really love baking as many of you know. I am hoping to cook more this year and try to make tougher recipes. Of course cupcakes are our big thing so we are going to try and make a new cupcake every month. We got some great design books from our friends Mike and Heather at burgersutra.blogspot.com that have some awesome decorating ideas. Look for a cupcake blog to spring up soon!! I am also going to try and do one eating contest, a la Man vs. Food at some point. I keep talking about it and never do it. This is the year.

 

HEALTH

 

Like everyone else I am also hoping to lose weight this year and I plan on doing it by not only eating healthy (minus the eating contest) but by running more. I want to try and run at least 3 5k's this year as well as do one triathlon. My friends Mike and Dee and I are planning on one in the late summer which means I have to start swimming come spring as well as get a bike. I also want to try and play more sports, maybe even in a league of some sort. Softball or soccer maybe. I'm going to try and join a golf league as well to improve my game from horrible to just bad.

 

MIND

 

Well I want to finish my MBA this year and it looks like I should barring any unforeseen roadblock. I could use this as my resolution since I know it will get done, therefore giving me a successful resolution. On top of that I want to try and read about 5-7 books not related to class. Recently I went on a binge and got a books on scotch and cigars in hopes of learning more about two of my favorite things, the George Bush book  because I loved the Bill Clinton memoirs and want to learn as much as I can about past presidents and "Dirty, Sexy Politics" by Meghan McCain. I want to try and read more historical books and maybe more biographies as well as just learn as much as I can about random stuff.

 

RANDOM

 

Some random things I want to try and do this year:

 

Go to a Red Sox game

Go to a football game (pro/college)

Visit the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum (I read a book about the heist that took place here so now I want to see it.

Donate blood

Volunteer

 

Now again, I may not do all these this but a list is a good start. If I keep writing and you keep reading then you'll get to see which ones I actually do. What are some of your things to do this year?

2010

On New Years I was discussing with Meg (my girlfriend) and our friend Heather about how much people seem to always hate the year they had. Facebook was littered with updates such as "Good Riddance 2010" and "I am so done with 2010. Next year better be good" and "Fuck 2010. Bring in the new year". You get the idea. My point was that I don't think people really think about the year they had. They simply just talk about the next year being better in hopes that some life changing even will occur and mark that year into their memory forever. When I started to think about 2010, I realized that I had a lot of really great things happen and I must say that if I were to rank my favorite years, 2010 would probably be near the top.

In January I started up grad school going for my MBA. This was a big step since it had been 3 years since I was in school and still really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (still not quite sure). While it was tough to get started back into it, once it got going, it got a little easier.

A low point of the year came in February when my beloved Colts dropped the ball against New Orleans in the Super Bowl. I know the majority of you reading this are Pats fans and were happy when this happened but imagine how you felt in 2007 when the Giants knocked off the Pats. That's exactly how I felt.

March brought me a "spring break" and for the first time ever I actually went somewhere for it! Meg and I went to London and had pretty much the best time ever. We stayed with her good friend Mollie who lives, works and studies in London. She took great care of us and showed us around to a lot of cool places that you wont find in a travel guide. We also saw the big tourist attractions such as Kensington Palace, Big Ben and the cathedral. One of the highlights for me was going to the Globe Theatre. I'm a big Shakespeare fan so seeing that as well as some of his writings at the London Museum gave me chills. While I wasn't a huge fan of the beer (warm!), by the last two nights I had been turned on to London Pride by Megs friend Drew, also working in England. I still enjoy a London Pride when I can get one here at a bar.

Right before I left for London, I quit my old job. For those who don't know I was a manager for Givovanni's at their Manchester and Nashua stores for a long time and with the MBA in the works I figured it was a good time to get out. The only logical next step in that business was to start my own restaurant and I didn't want to do that so I went the temp route and got a job in Woburn in an accounts payable department. Nice people, easy work and got me some experience.

April also brought another trip as Meg and I went to DC with our friends Mike and Heather for a nice long weekend. Their friends Matt and Erin lived there and Matt, a chef, took us out to a lot of great places to eat. We did the general tourist attractions as well, seeing the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial as well as the war memorials. A highlight of the weekend was food related (big surprise) when Meg and I , both feeling pretty buzzed if not drunk, went to a place called Jumbo Slice that I had seen on TV. They served 16 inch slices of pizza and I need to try it. So instead of being a normal person and ordering one slice, I took two. I mean I had a craving for roni and sausage. Anyway, I only ate one but damn was it good.

May is always a good month because its my birth month. How can you go wrong? More traveling happened as I went to Key West with my buddies Jeremy, Joe and Derek. Needless to say it was a shitshow most of the time. I got hammered till 6 am, got on a boat the next day and also vomited in its bathroom. I think what really encapsulates the trip was leaving a voicemail for Derek at 5:30 am telling him I was out on the street looking for a party. I was gone but damn, it was a good trip.

June brought the beginning of summer and wedding season. 2010 only had two weddings for us compared to the year before where it seemed like a dozen. Diana's wedding was a blast in June and was by far one of the best weddings I've been to (not just saying that because she is reading this). Any wedding gets a big up from me when you have an after party after the reception.

Summer was summer. In July I did my first 5K as I talked about in an earlier blog. I started enjoying more cigars which while the lady may not care for, nothing beats sitting out on the deck with a good cigar, a good book and a good beer.

August was pretty boring really. A wedding in western Mass for one of Megs friends. I must say though, my dance moves at that one was some of my best not too mention open bar with Shock Top on tap.

September meant the beginning of football season which is pretty much the greatest sport there is. As with millions of others I participate in fantasy football and yes, it's a bad addiction but its fun and sometimes, very lucrative.

October was a little boring. I started on a permanent basis at my temp job. It's not the greatest job but for now it works Halloween was a good time as I went as "GTL" from Jersey Shore. For those who don't know, GTL stands for Gym, Tan, Laundry, the three vital things to do each day according to the guidos on Jersey Shore. My favorite costume was my friend Brian going as Ray Finkle, porno mustache and all.

November was great. Mid month Meg and I with our friends Mike and Heather went to Indianapolis to see the Colts play the Bengals. The weekend was awesome. Indy was a great city to walk around in and everyone was incredibly nice. We found a great cupcake shop as well as some great bars. The game was great too. We had a nice brunch before where we got huge beers and bloody marys. The stadium was huge and clean. It was a great trip and one I hope to make once a year. Obviously a big plus to November is Thanksgiving. I went to NY with Meg and her family and had a great time even though I was hungover the morning of on the drive there. Like many others I attended the LHS 10 year reunion where I unexpectedly had a great time. The next night my sisters and I had a surprise 40 year anniversary party for my parents. It was a busy four days.

And then there was December. This was an okay month. I think everyone enjoys the holidays but the time flies by so quick with everyone being so busy that before you know it the year is over.

So there it is. Tony's 2010 in a nutshell. 2011? I'll let you know in the next blog what the year holds. And yes, I know, I don't blog as much but I promise to make 2011 a good blog year so make sure you check back. It'll be funny, insightful and probably a little annoying but I promise, it will be entertaining.