#ottawanomad

It's become a bit of a tradition for me to publicly share my resolutions and goals for the coming year. It also happens to be my twenty second birthday so today is as good a time as any to set my standards high for myself for the coming twelve months. It's no secret that 2011 was my favorite year of life, I plan on making 2012 just as epic.

This year's goals are less tangible and much more based in broad-based in nature. Most importantly are themes of living life and making the most of what I have at my disposal. There are seven, so sit tight.

1. Keep it local. My first goal is dedicated to my friends from Ottawa. If you know me at all you know that I rarely stay in one place for too long. In the last 12 months I've been to eight countries, worked abroad, spent the summer in the backwoods of Ontario and visited a few Canadian provinces as well. This year I want to try and keep it local. I feel like there is so much I have yet to see around Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. I definitely need (and want) to spend some time catching up with my friends and have some mighty grand adventures while we're at it. This goal is actually more about investing real time and meaning to my friendships and relationships than anything else. 

2. Run, run, RUN! Looking back on my goals from last year  my good friend Emma pointed out that the only one I did not fully achieve was running a half-marathon. Needless to say this is very close to the top of my list this year but is really about keeping active. This year's sports to improve upon include swimming, cross-country skiing, cycling and rock climbing.

3. Ottawa Art Scene. Starting in the fall I made it a semester resolution to go to as many concerts as possible. This autumn I did have the chance to see Said the Whale and Ra Ra Riot, two of my favorite bands. In 2012 I want to make music, and more broadly art, a bigger part of my life in Ottawa. That means getting a membership to the Bytowne, reading up on some art history, getting to more concerts and being open to anything Ottawa throws at me.

4. Write. Even though I dropped out of Journalism I still love to write. I want to make blogging, writing and running after stories a bigger part of my life. This goal isn't really vague but very much specific. Hopefully I can make sure it happens. If anyone followed my old blog you may have noticed that last year I only posted four times...sorry Europe and lack of internet at Bon Echo Provincial Park distracted me.

5. Aim High. This one if pretty self-explanatory. I've taken a bit of a relaxed view on life over the last few years but now I'm ready to bring out Takin' Care of business Colin. I really believe in the concept that if you want and work hard enough you can get what you want. In the words of my favorite East Coast friends, "Let's Geter' done"

6. Get outside. I realized the other day that I haven't been downhill skiing in almost three years. This is obviously a travesty. Well let's not be dramatic. I think what I was really horrified at was the fact that I have not taken the advantage of what Winter has to offer here in Ottawa. This year I want to make the most of all four seasons. I want to be outside and active. Hopefully this CBC Massey Lecture series on Winter will give me some inspiration to make the most of this frigid time of year.

7. Keep it Green. This one is number seven not because its the least important but because I want to add some luck to this cause. Over the holidays I read The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant.The book looks at the murder of an ancient Golden Spruce on the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia and the social, cultural and environmental repercussions caused by the actions of an activist of sorts (It was a great non-fiction read and I definitely suggest it to anyone). Over the last two years my environmental ethic has been relatively dormant but this book reignited it. I'm always down to compost and use less paper but many anecdotes from this book made me remember why I recycle in the first place. Now before you conclude that I am the biggest hippie in the world (I know how this sounds), I think everyone must look at the things one can do for the environment and how those actions go beyond destruction of the physical landscape and can have positive social and economic impacts. This year I want to reawaken that environmental ethic in my daily practices. I'm sure this topic is going to be expanded upon in a later post.