Stern Views

On January 5th of this year, on my previous blog, I posted about my resolutions for the new year. For whatever reason, I was thinking about resolutions for 2009 and it made me realize that I have fulfilled 4 out of the 5 resolutions I set for myself. Here is an update about what I accomplished in 2008. Below is a list of the resolutions I set and then an update to each one

1. Get a tattoo - Update: went to BDC Tattoo here in Lawrence on May 31st and got my first tattoo. Picture:

The hebrew phrase literally translates to “in no heart and heart” which commonly gets written as “an undivided heart” or “of undivided loyalty.” It comes from 1 Chronicles 12:33 in the Old Testament, where David is gathering armies at Hebron to overthrow Saul’s kingdom. The verse reads “men of Zebulun, experienced soldiers prepared for battle with every type of weapon, to help David with undivided loyalty-50,000.” The original hebrew for “undivided loyalty” in this verse is what I have tattooed on my leg. Loyalty has been a defining characteristic of my life. The tattoo came in celebration to the fulfillment of resolution 2.

2. Be healthy - Update: I started out the year weighing 205 pounds with a goal of weighing 180. I made that goal near the end of May through regular exercise, portion control, and the overwhelming support of friends and family.

3. Pursue becoming a yoga instructor – Update: As of October of this year, I am a yoga instructor. I teach at the Lawrence Athletic Club. At this current moment I am a substitute instructor and am waiting on the finalized schedule for the next session’s classes. If all goes well, I’ll be teaching on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays starting January 5th. In March of 2009 I will be attending a YogaFit teacher training to actually be certified and I’m also hoping to do a teacher training workshop with Kathleen Kastner and Wade Mortenson at Maya Yoga in June. 

4. Buy a house – Update: This is the one resolution that I did not fulfill this year. Amelia and I shopped for houses early on in the year and we met with loan advisors and by the end of it we were overwhelmed with how much we weren’t ready for in the purchase of a house so we pursued a new rental and found the house in which we currently live. The biggest reason we did not buy the house was that we felt comfortable with the monthly payments, but looking at our budget we didn’t have any room for major expenses, repairs, upgrades, etc. so we knew then that buying at that time would be a bad decision. We may revisit in the next year or so, but we are comfortable where we are at now.

5. Waste less – Update: I’ve continued to recycle, moving my passion for conservation into my workplace by urging coworkers to use compact florescent bulbs in desk lamps, recycle all paper products, aluminum cans, etc. Amelia and have started to develop a habit of always using our own grocery bags (though we do forget sometimes) as well as bringing our own tupperware to restaurants for anything we might take home.

Looking back on these resolutions has helped me to realize how far I’ve come in just one year and it excites me that so much potential is possible in just 365 days. It might be very early to say it, but I look forward to 2009. I hope to grow as a husband, photographer, yoga instructor, and drummer/musician. I look forward to the end of 2009 as well, wondering what I’ll be writing about near this time in 2009. I hope we all can look back at 2008 to see where life has taken us in just 365 days. As I’ve heard it said before, we must look at where we’ve been to see where we’re going.