Jonny Numb

I do so hate the sound of “resolutions,” but my alternate ideas for titles (“2024 To Do”; “2024 Goals”) somehow sounded even worse.

Maybe this is a none-too-subtle comment on the state of resolutions in general: if you can’t find a way to make them sound credible or non-lame, then what hope do we have in actually accomplishing them?

In any case: yes, it is that time of year.

Well, actually…it’s past that time of year. So why bother?

Well, because I started writing this post already…so that’s “why bother”!

So here are some goals…

Some resolutions…

Some things I suppose I’d just like to see change, thank-you-very-much!

Be Okay with Just STOPPING – my mother spent every Saturday of my life cleaning and cooking and cleaning some more, and concluded her day with the “relaxation” of reading the newspaper on the couch. For most of my adult life, I’ve spent Sundays in a state of organization and/or cleaning and decluttering. (Today, I spent several hours going through piles of loose papers, organizing and filing invoices, and generally rearranging things to make my office less of a disaster area; this lasted from around noon until after 5pm by the time I finally told myself I could “relax.”) I need to set limits and find sensible stopping points without grinding myself into exhaustion. I need to be okay with being a sloth and watching movies!

Be Responsive – I have gotten worse with responding to personal emails and texts in a timely manner (which is ironic, because I’m usually Jonny-on-the-spot with work emails), and would like to be more punctual in getting back to people; after all, if they took the time to reach out to me, that means they care, which is hugely valuable.

Get Educated – one of my pet peeves about online culture is the overwhelming abundance of people who sit in the comments, asking other people what something means. Granted, some of these folks are trolls, looking to get a rise out of someone by feigning ignorance. At other times, though, I wonder how far we’ve fallen as a species when a simple Google search could open up a world of knowledge. I’m already in the habit of doing this, so perhaps a more specific way of putting this would be, “educate myself more on film terminology and techniques.”

Publish a Book – the whole reason for my 2023 Movie Reviews Project (which will also be the 2024 Movie Reviews Project) was to add previously unpublished, “new” material to a tome of my existing reviews to make the overall “product” more enticing and valuable (LOL). This will be a self-published venture, and the first time a compilation of my work will be available in a physical format. I would also like to teach myself the technical side of assembling a book, as I would rather not rope someone into doing formatting if I can figure it out myself. We’ll see how far I get!

Write a Screenplay or Two – this is something I’ve been “doing” on-off for years now, but it’s fallen by the wayside for some time (for various reasons/excuses). There is one script in particular I’ve had kicking around for a while that I would like to let spill out of my brain. I also got the inspiration for a short when I found myself sick with Covid during the first week of November. On that note…

MAKE A MOVIE! – after all, the technology is so readily available that there’s really no excuse not to. Everyone is making movies these days – even people who really shouldn’t be making movies in the first place! So why not?

Read More – I am a notoriously slow reader, and would like to change that. I have a ton of unread books imploring me to give them a chance. Let’s make 2024 that year, shall we?

Draw More – drawing was my earliest artistic love as a child (thanks mostly to Calvin & Hobbes), but it’s been a while since I sat down and tried to hone my craft. At the very least, I’ll get a chance to storyboard my scripts after they’re written (and they will be written!).

Set Limits for Social Media – like a vampire, nothing drains the warm blood from a creative venture like the distracting siren call of the dopamine rush that is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media platforms. With a simple click, you can fall into a vortex of largely worthless bullshit, making it harder to remember where you left off – or, even worse, your motivation for what you were doing beforehand. On December 30, I made an informal pact with myself to limit my social-media “screen time” to 15 minutes per day, which has been going better than expected thus far.

Make Space – I realize a truly useful resolution would be to cut my spending on physical media, especially since the rapidly-filling Sterilite tubs in my basement will soon encroach on my living space and drive me slowly insane. But that’s not going to happen, so why set an unrealistic expectation? When I resided with my S.O. at our previous residence, space was at a greater premium, and we utilized a storage facility for the things that simply couldn’t fit. The upside of things? Things are already in tubs, so transport will be fairly straightforward. The next step will be to find an air-conditioned facility nearby with a reasonable monthly fee.

EXERCISE! – I fell off this wagon (for various reasons, but mostly sloth) last fall. That said, today I wound up taking a hike with my S.O. that lasted 2 hours (and left my feet begging for mercy), so we’re on the right track.

And last but not least…

Get My Antisocial Cat to Start Interacting with My S.O.’s Cat!