Personal

It’s happened. I am, without a doubt, in my late twenties. In my ripe old age, I managed to go out for a filling dinner at Peter Luger’s before retiring to my apartment at a decent hour, with hardly enough energy (or stomach room) to choke back a funfetti cupcake. Yes, this is a typical evening in my twenty something life. Although normally, I have room for dessert.

My birthday, being so close to the middle of the calendar year, has always been a good check point to see what goals I’ve accomplished and evaluate my progress. This year, I can’t seem to remember the resolutions I ambitiously made just six short months ago. Each year seems to move faster than the last and I’m sure my handwritten goals are somewhere underneath a pile of last year’s Christmas cards.

In the spirit of productivity, I’ve made a new list of goals and hung it above my desk as a daunting reminder that I have work to do. In fact, I even found a brightly colored sticky pad with all the days of the week for smaller, more immediate “to-dos.” If that doesn’t keep me motivated, well, I’m sure I can think of something that will…

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This year’s business resolutions have been looking a little grim. One of my biggest annoyances is relying on something or someone other than myself to get my work done. I’m holding computer software issues responsible for January’s shortcomings (curse you, Photoshop!). I fell short on my weekly goals and haven’t even begun to think of an excuse for not even attempting more long term ambitions. Although February is going to be a little busier, maybe the pressure of “resolutions” will have died down a bit. With any luck, I’ll continue to complete my weekly tasks in a timely manner and maybe tackle a long term to-do. Baby steps, internet.

One of my flaws, I’m sure my friends will agree, is my need to be in control at all times. I like to have my way (not a crime, by the way). I’m slowly accepting the inevitability of losing control while trying to run a business. However, it seems there are infinitely more opportunities to lose control in a business setting. It is the very nature of business to rely on an outside source.

My goal for February is to hold myself accountable for my responsibilities. Starting next week. I’m in Florida right now for Haley and Charles‘ wedding. I’ll be celebrating one of the most important days with one of my closest friends and also getting in some much needed family time. And maybe, if I have my way, I’ll make it to the beach.

It happened again. Another year passed since I uprooted my life in Florida and moved to “the big city.” This year was even quicker than the last. Maybe that says something about my productivity level. Maybe not. Either way, a celebration was in order and consisted of the traditional Rabbithole dinner. This year, however, I decided to throw in a Broadway show to reward myself for my hard work in year two (plus tickets during Broadway Week are half off).

I was a little hesitant to see Phantom of the Opera but The Lion King and Wicked were the first tickets to go. Apparently, Broadway Week is NOT a secret. I had loved the Phantom movie and had seen several versions of the play in the past and was afraid of a bad experience. There is not enough time in the day to get to the bottom of that irrational mentality. Still, this was the longest running play on Broadway and I was confident the cast wouldn’t disappoint. As the snow began to blanket the city, Ben and I made our way up to Times Square (a place we’ve been finding ourselves a lot lately). I’m always surprised at how quick the commute is from my apartment. I instinctively allow one hour to travel anywhere in Manhattan. Usually that’s pretty accurate but when I am granted a few extra minutes, I remind myself that I’m not running a marathon and slow down a bit (perpetually fast-walkers don’t like when people do this). Yet, if I kept my pace, I would have missed the meeting of the minds.

Ben pointed out that this was the first time we were seeing Times Square in the snow. He was right. Strangely, this is the second mild winter in NYC since my arrival. Some are pleased with mother nature’s stinginess. I am not.

The performance was phenomenal. Our seats, however, were in the second mezzanine, a little higher than usual. Wow, does it get rowdy up there! The narrow rows presented a few obstacles, specifically in reference to everything. While the space hardly allowed for sitting still, the abundance of coats and legs threatened everyone’s balance. For a brief moment, a tired man in the preceding row rested his head on Ben’s leg. Phones and cameras were going off behind us. During intermission, I waved from a distance to the camcorder naively scanning the audience (it was refreshing to see those haven’t become extinct).

The walk home was cold and beautiful. It was the kind of powdery snow you just want to roll around in. In fact, I did. I regretted it immediately but just long enough for the icy sting to numb my legs while I carelessly made snow angels and mischievously drew faces on the freshly covered cars.

 Since I’ve been a New Yorker, it hasn’t failed to snow on January 25th. This was my gift back to New York.

It has been so difficult to stick to a schedule this month. Part of my personal resolution is to go out more and have more fun (I’m pretty much an old lady). I failed to consider how that would effect my business. After all, I would need to be sacrificing something to clear up some time for all these new activities I have planned. At the moment, I am trying to have the best of both worlds and, as a result, I’m not fully committing to anything. There is just not enough time in the day to read a whole book, see a movie, redesign my business cards and contracts while simultaneously playing with Chandler! “I’ll just do yoga tomorrow” is becoming my catch phrase. I’ve never been a “seize the day” kind of person but lately I’ve been inclined to say yes to everything. This may also be an excuse to get out of my tiny charming apartment. Nevertheless, I’d like to consider these past two weeks a trial period. They didn’t really count…

Even so, I’m happy to say that things are, in fact, moving forward. After a year(!) of brainstorming and edits, I finally have a new logo. My graphic designer (AKA dad) and I exchanged countless emails before finally agreeing on the design below. I’m so relieved to be able to cross this off my list and move onto the next task.

So seize the crap out of 2013…and maybe prioritize, just in case.

New Year’s Eve has never been my favorite holiday. When I was younger, I appreciated the fancy hors d’oeuvres (i.e. pigs in a blanket) and the luxurious privilege of sipping from my parents’ champagne flutes. Even then, I had high hopes for future New Years, comforted with the perception that this was a “grown-up” holiday. So I waited. I made the obvious resolutions every year: stop biting my nails, stop hitting my little brother, the usual. Then finally, I became an adult. The time had come. I finally had the power to decide where I would be spending my holidays, what glamorous party I would attend, where I would be when the ball dropped. My perception of New Year’s Eve, and adulthood, was one long episode of Sex and the City.

Ironically, I now live in New York, just a subway away from Times Square. And I avoid it like the plague. The thought of standing outside for hours on end in the freezing weather only for the sheer satisfaction of saying, “I was there”? I’ll admit, from February 1st through December 30th, I romanticize it a bit. But the morning of New Year’s Eve? I’m busy deciding what movie I want to watch and how much hot chocolate I want to drink before switching to Times Square coverage for the last ten minutes of the year.

In the past few days, I’ve come to realize that my idea of an adult New Year’s celebration might be a little outdated. While the bringing in of the new year was a little lack luster, I had time to reflect on my accomplishments of 2012. For the first time, I set goals and followed through. For the first time, I actually had accomplishments to reflect on.

In an effort to make the most of 2013, I made two lists. Rather than bore you with my list of new goals, I’m going to share the second list.

TOP 5 THINGS TO NAME YOUR DOG:

1. Artichoke (Arti for short)

2. Mr. President

3. Leonardo DogVinci

4. JK Growling

5. Jeff

Here’s to a grown-up 2013!