I Resolve . . .

I'm a little too late to post this before midnight Zulu time, but I'll just make it before 2006 arrives in Canada.

I've been thinking about New Year's resolutions all week, and while I do intend to do better on the standard things we all resolve, like diet, exercise, sleep, and keeping in touch with far-flung friends and family, I'm not considering those to be official resolutions. They're boring, vague and simply discouraging, because no matter how well you do, you are never perfect. When I took my first "Human Factors" class as a student pilot I remember remarking "Whoa! if you did all those things you're supposed to do to be a better pilot, you'd be a perfect person."

I have decided on three resolutions. In increasing order of specificity, I resolve ...

One: I will get rid of things I don't need. I will be alert for clothes in my closet that I never wear, tasks I shouldn't be doing, responsibilities that aren't really mine, jars without lids, books I won't read again, socks without mates, and mysterious little metal things with flanges that sit next to the washing machine. I will gleefully give away or discard these things. I don't need to get rid of everything, just count it as a triumph whenever I do.

Two: I will prepare for airline job interviews. I'm going to pretend I have my first airline interview on March 1st, and I'm going to do all the things I should do to prepare for it. More on this in coming weeks.

Three: I will get that job interview. I will winnow my mammals list to just those companies that I would feel really happy making part of my life, with no regrets moving from here. Thereby I would remove some of the "do I really want to move there to fly for them?" inertia that stalls my mammal list, and I will make my name and talents known.

There are a few more I'll keep to myself, but those are the ones you'll see me progressing on.

Happy New Year to all, and thank you for all your comments and encouragement in 2005.