Resolved

“New Year, New You.”

After 37 (or is it 38?) January 1sts, I should know better. Resolutions are fooey. Most are broken within days (if not hours) of being made. And yet every year, like millions of others who suffer from delusions of miraculous self-transformation–brought about, no doubt, by marathon-watching of Twilight Zone episodes, celebrity “Best/Worst-of-the-Year” highlights on E!, and hypnotic infomercials about the latest diet/exercise gizmo/youth serum in the run-up to that mystical midnight moment–I resolve. To be a better, thinner, smarter, healthier, kinder version of me. After midnight.

Bullshit.

I dig deeper into this word that takes on fresh, new meaning every January, and becomes as overused on the covers of women’s magazines as “fabulous”. I find at my very favorite and most oft-used website, dictionary.com (yup, I’m a nerd):

res·o·lu·tion, rɛzəˈluʃən/[rez-uh-loo-shuhn], noun: the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.; the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose; a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.; Music . the progression of a voice part or of the harmony as a whole from a dissonance to a consonance; reduction to a simpler form; conversion; Medicine/Medical. the reduction or disappearance of a swelling or inflammation without suppuration. Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English

The first thing I think when I read through the definition is that, prior to the late 14th century, people didn’t worry about making New Year’s resolutions because the word didn’t yet exist. Lucky bastards. The second thing I think is that “suppuration” sounds like a really gross thing (looked that up, and Google imaged it, and it is).

Image via Wikipedia

But mostly I focus on the musical definition. “The progression…from a dissonance to a consonance.” I like that. That’s the approach I have decided to take to this New Year. To gather my thoughts, opinions, experiences, and habits, and shepherd them via this blog to achieve that progression. To be consonant.

From what I hear/read, blogs are supposed to have a point, a focus, cover an area of expertise. I can’t claim to be expert in anything, and interest and relevancy to any audience are, well, relative. So I enter into this with me as the core audience, and will be tickled if anyone else out there takes the time to read/follow/comment. As its focus, and as the title conveys, my blog will cover:

• Ramblings–Be they road trips or just random thoughts (I engage in a lot of both); and
• Roasts–Of both the culinary and the critical persuasion (I love to cook, but love even more to eat; I love to complain and criticize, too, but rarely about anything food-related…just everything else).

So, in 2012, with just enough time to spare before the world comes to an end, my resolution: To write, to read and be read, to record my daily doings for whatever purpose this might serve. And hopefully not to experience any sort of suppuration. Cheers.

Tags: blog, Consonance and dissonance, Google, January, New Year, New Year's resolution, resolution