Grandes Esperanzas 2019

Happy New Year from Catriona.

You might think it's a bit late but my New Year doesn't start until after Twelfth Night, so 2019 is only two days old and the perfect day to talk of resolutions. 

I make NYRs every year. Last year they were: get fit, lose weight, learn Spanish, read Dickens, "get offline one day a week or one weekend a month". Tha- last one wasn't very snappy so I retitled it as "don't phub". Phubbing is the habit of looking at one's phone and thereby effectively snubbing the real people, pets, flowers, clouds and flickering firelight around one. (Guess where I learned the term? Yup, standing scrolling through the news feed on my phone in the kitchen instead of speaking to the person who was cooking my dinner.)

So how did I do? 

Well, I joined a gym on Valentine's Day and started going five mornings a week, plus two yoga classes and a five-mile Saturday-morning walk (more later). I'm fitter than I've been since I was a kid and stronger than I've been since before 2015 - the annus horribilis of injury and surgery. 1 out of 1.

And I lost twenty-five pounds. Of course, I've just been in Scotland for Christmas and put five of them back on again, but now that Twelfth Night has happened, the Christmas five will soon be gone. It's hard to explain the range and bounty of calorific food that makes up festive eating in Scotland. Everyone knows about turkey and stuffing, but there's also chippolotas and kilties. Everyone knows about mince pies and shortbread, but there's also clootie dumpling and black bun. And the box of Quality Street open on the coffee table and the ginger wine (the recipe includes three pounds of sugar) and the inclusion of bread fried in bacon fat, black pudding and tattie scones on the breakfast menu . . . Only five pounds, you echo in wonder. I'm calling it 2 out of 2.

But I completely failed to learn Spanish. Again. I thought I was all set with Rosetta Stone, pre summer road trip, but that was when I believed the yellow box contained discs to pop in the car stereo. When I found out it was some kind of complicated CD Rom affair with a forty page booklet, I flaked. 2 out 3. What I need is a coffee-break length podcast or something. I'm determined. Estoy decidido!

And although I read over a hundred books last year, none of them were Dickens. So here I go again. I want to read something I don't know the plot of, so that's Great Expectations out (blog title aside), along with A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Little Dorrit. Still leaves plenty to choose from. (I don't have many happy memories of academia but I do treasure the time a third-year English literature student came to see me to complain about her Dickens module. "So much reading!" she said. I managed not to laugh.) Of course, I've got a few cracking Christmas presents to ignore if I'm ever going to get to Dickens. But if that's my biggest problem, right? 2 out of 4.

And the phubbing? Nailed it. It wasn't so much a resolution to make an effort as it was giving myself permission to do something nice. My offline Saturdays are precious now. And on the five-mile Saturday morning walk, I go a bit further. The scientist and I talk about anything that springs to mind with just one rule: no sharing of titbits from social media. It was so hard the first time that we both got a wake-up call about looking up from the screen a bit more. 3 out 5.

This year, I'm aiming for: learn Spanish, read Dickens, lose the other twenty-five pounds (unless I start to feel scrawny before I get there, in which case stop), set up a newsletter, and visit four more states (probably Idaho, Montana, West Virginia and Kentucky, and that would leave only Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, and Alaska. Handy, eh?)

How about you? Do you make NYRs? Do you keep them? Do you have a great tip for language learning? I'll swap you a black bun recipe . . . 

Cxx

Comments

[Aimee Hix]

Duo Lingo, babe! Bits and bites on your phone whilst you're waiting in line or with a few spare minutes to fill.

[Art Taylor]

Your new year's resolutions sounds a lot like mine--including two years ago vowing to read Bleak House (which I eventually gave up, have to admit). Congrats on a great year, though, and best wishes for the new one too!

[catriona]

Duo Lingo sounds worth checking. Thank you!

[Lori Rader-Day]

Duo Lingo while walking...does it break the offline goal?

I always do NYR and have a pretty good track record for reaching them. Pretty good. Not perfect.

Congrats on all your progress!

[Mark]

You’ve been to more states than I have. Unfair!!

Good luck with your resolutions. I usually fail at mine so I rarely make them any more.

[Angela]

Happy New Year to you fabulous lady! I too am determined to learn Spanish this year. Someone else already mentioned duo lingo, but when I was in college we used a program called Destinos Introduction to Spanish, and I found it online at learning.org It's super old, but words don't change. Here's hoping we'll both be Spanish speakers by the end of the year. Happy to say I'm all caught up on my Dickens.

[Elaine Viets]

Happy New Year, Catriona! I'm impressed by how much you accomplished -- and you only gained 5 pounds during the holidays? Another achievement. You look fabulous in your red dress.

[Debi Huff]

Glad to hear you are considering visiting Kentucky!!! Let me know when and I’ll show you around the bluegrass! Good job on your other resolutions!
Debi Huff

[Karen in Ohio]

Well done, you! I agree with Elaine on that fab red dress.

Please also let me know if you visit Kentucky. Especially since I can't make it to either Malice or Bouchercon this year.

[krisneri]

You look fabulous! Good for you for doing such a great job with your last resolutions. Much luck with keeping them going.

[Anne Louise Bannon]

Actually, the best way I know to learn a language is to go where they speak it and don't let anyone talk to you in English. It can be pretty rocky, at first, but it's the fastest and most accurate way to do it.

[Laura-Kate Rurka]

Congratulations! I don't make New Year's resolutions as I always disappoint myself. I'm impressed! I also recommend Babbel for learning Spanish. I used it with my kids when they were young and still interested in learning other languages. It was fun to use.