2006 Will Be A Good Year

And I present to you Ginny Mata's Top Ten Resolutions for 2006.

1. I will become highly organized.

Much of the gigantic trainwreck that was 2005 can be attributed to my total lack of organizational skills. From now on, I will be less laissez faire about things: I will schedule everything, and I will make to-do lists everyday. I will accomplish all the items on those to-do lists ahead of or right on schedule. I will have a healthy respect for deadlines. I will no longer go gallavanting out late at night unnecessarily, only when the occasion calls for it (i.e. parties where I can make connections for professional projects, friends' weddings/ baptisms/ engagement parties/ birthday parties, etcetera). I will wake up every morning at 6 a.m. irregardless of how much sleep I had the night before. I will try to get at least 6 hours of sleep everyday. Paradoxically, I will also sleep less (i.e. try to get through reading a novel, no matter how boring or monotonous, without falling a sleep). I will make more time for more important things, namely: (a) exercise, (b) work, (c) family, (d) friends. I will spend less time on the internet (blogging, etcetera), limiting it to only research and work-related emails. I will devote my leisurely hours to reading and developing new skills (this year, I seriously plan to undertake Spanish at Instituto Cervantes, and I will take many workshops in scriptwriting, photography, film-making and pottery.)

2. I will stop entering into dead-end relationships with the wrong men.

I am notorious for attracting (and being attracted to) older, sadder, emotionally unavailable men. This will come to a screeching, ear-splitting halt. I will love only those who deserve to be loved. They must meet certain criteria: they must have direction in life, they must treat me well, and they must care about me as much as I do about them. Furthermore, I will stop dating until ...

3. I finish at least half of the twenty-five stories that I need to write for my dissertation.

4. I will finish the Chick-Lit Novel I have been blabbering on about to friends since last year.

5. I will get my stories/essays (not just magazine articles) published one way or another (Story Philippines, Free Press, Philippine Graphic, etc.)

6. I will enter all literary contests and workshops in 2006.

7. I will adopt a healthier lifestyle.

That includes exercising everyday (preferably two hours in the morning, and trying new sports as well [Bikram Yoga sounds most interesting]), and eating healthier. Being a resolute pesco-vegetarian helps, but I must cut down on soda and sweets (chocolate, thine name is sin - once a week, on Sundays, is more than enough).

8. I will learn to forgive myself for my past transgressions, and with that, I will love myself, knowing that I have flaws and that I have many more things that I need to learn within this lifetime.

9. I will be less selfish.

I will talk less about myself. I will ask other people about themselves more. I will be more tolerant and observant of those around me. I will be more silent. I will meditate.

10. I will love with all that I have in my heart by deepening my relationship with the Lord.