Garrett and I celebrated New Year's Eve first at the movie theater ("Sherlock Holmes" -- excellent!), and then at the apartment of our friend, Jaime. The crowd was international, hailing from South Korea, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. We Americans brought our appetites for the tasty South American cuisine, while the others brought their Latin traditions. After toasting with champagne at midnight (and strangely viewing a delayed showing of the celebrations in Times Square), we were each given a bunch of 12 grapes and told to make a wish for each month of the year as we ate them. Then a few brave souls went out into the cold with assorted pieces of luggage (containing a shoe from each of the guests) and circled the block -- making it known to the gods that they would like to travel in 2010. Finally, Jaime produced a stack of 12 quarters. He explained that we were to bend our arm, balance the stack on our elbow, and then quickly throw and catch the quarters with the hand of the same arm. I managed to catch 4 of my 12, which I think means that I will come in to some money in 2010.
I started off New Year's Day with a Jazzercise class. Trying out Jazzercise was one of my 2009 Resolutions, and I'm proud to say that I've stuck with it (and thoroughly enjoyed it) since last January. I knew today's class would be special, with two instructors -- one of whom is the franchise owner and a truly inspiring teacher. So I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when I showed up right as class was starting to find about SEVENTY people in attendance! Participants included veteran Jazzercisers, newcomers with 2010 resolutions, a girl of about age 10, and a man who was wearing what can only be described as exercise suspenders. It was a great workout to start the new year -- part aerobics class, part music video, and part church revival! The women love to hoot and holler during their favorite songs, and the instructor's encouragements make everyone feel good about themselves and their bodies. Tomorrow I am embarking on a new Jazzercise adventure: a Houston Rockets halftime show! Practice begins on Saturday, and the performance is three weeks later.
This afternoon I reflected on last year's resolutions and drew up some new ones. I'm pleased to say that I met many of my objectives for 2009. Last year I expanded my exercise regimen -- I tried spinning and yoga and continue with Jazzercise. I spent quality time with Garrett, in and out of Houston -- as confirmed by the entries and photos on this blog, I hope! I explored my career options and became an educational diagnostician. I encouraged others to recycle in our apartment building, sent letters and cards to friends throughout the year, and decorated our apartment to make it vibrant yet inviting.
Here are my new goals for the upcoming year:
- Return to daily meditation.
- Be positive about Houston -- investigate activities and pursue friendships here.
- Blog more frequently to exercise my writing muscles.
- Continue the quest for a good pilates mat class.
- Explore ESL certification (English as a Second Language) to add to my professional profile.
- Continue to spend quality time with Garrett in and out of Houston!
Wish us luck! Happy New Year!
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