Irresolutions

Like many of you, I am taking the opportunity of the new year to make some self-improving promises. Unlike the rest of you, I know I'm going to backslide. I'm counting on it. I've programmed it into the promises. Hence my New Year's Irresolutions, the beginning of an annual tradition...perhaps.

#1
Looking ahead to spring semester, I am resolved to motivate my students through more sophisticated and powerful pedagogical methods. I had up to this point mainly relied on the regular wearing of a tie. Laugh if you must; the fact that I'm the only one in class with a tie, when combined with being the only one standing and (for better or worse) the only one talking, is still a pretty good source of symbolic authority. But it's hollow, particularly if I want to encourage students to motivate themselves rather than rely on the Authority Figure to tell them what to think/do.

Resolved: to relax my wardrobe and intensify my teaching efforts.

(Who am I kidding? The ties aren't going anywhere.)

#2
Speaking of the effective management of wayward youth, I'm beginning to see the necessity for disciplining our cats...better...or at all. On several behavioral matters, sweet little Shoggoth and Tsathoggua have lately been leaning toward the feral end of the feline spectrum. They (and when I use the plural I'm mostly referring to Ms. Tsathoggua) have discovered that acting out gets them instant attention. It's not so bad as a distraction from waking responsibilities. But even the most solicitous affection at 03:00 is obnoxious--doubly so when it doesn't persist after a feeding, indicating it was a means to an end.

Resolved: the cats get a good dose of tough love, starting with a digital contraption that will take over early-AM meal doling duties.

(Will I still pet a fuzzy, purring beast crouching on my chest in the wee hours? As long as it's one of the cats, probably.)

#3
Thinking of ways to spruce up the living quarters, one way that I have debated, considered, dreamt about, and yet found reasons to avoid is now at the top of my list. It's cheap, it's versatile, it's readily available, and a near-essential for hosting visitors. All it would take is getting off my butt and rounding it up.

Resolved: I'm going to have more alcohol around the house.

(And yet, if stocking up still involves spending money and making choices--my two arch-nemesiseses--do you think it's likely to happen?)

#4
Finally, making a clean break with the old ways and starting fresh, I resolve: to keep the promises and carry out the plans I make during 2007.

(Any bets on how long this lasts?)