New Year, New You?

I heard that slogan on a news channel recently and it made me think.  I know that a lot of people make New Years resolutions and that most of them don't last long enough for the ink to dry before people are back to eating, working too much, watching TV, compulsively logging into Facebook or whatever.  I haven't made any resolutions per say, but I've been trying to do things to "get ready" for the new year, like what I wrote about in my last post.  There are so many unknowns in this new year I feel like I just need to get a framework in place (that just ensures I will be fed and safe), and let life happen. 

I've always thought that you are who you are over a long period of time, not simplified to one moment.  Following that line of thought, it's very difficult to reinvent yourself all at once.  Pick one area where you'd like to change and do it day by day.  That's my new years advice.

Speaking of advice, I'm a collector of random information that I like to air out on this platform from time to time.  So here's some random information I've recently heard that may or may not be true:

My fashion sources tell me that the new looks for the ladies in 2011 will be:  60s ladylike, with some elements of 70s bohemian and glam, biker & punk, lace/knit/macrame, flared pants (I assume to combat skinny jeans), stripes, and I'm sorry to say, more jumpsuits.  Hairstyles will be bobs with bangs, so I'm all set.  And if clogs are truly making a comeback, I think I'd rather go barefoot. 

My financial advisers tell me that individual stocks with high-paying dividends are the way to invest this year.  Interest rates on savings accounts and CDs are pathetically low, so picking a relatively stable stock that pays a quarterly dividend of more than 3.00% is a much better deal- if you're young and plan on holding it for the long run (which you should be doing unless you're 70).  I read in USA Today that large companies are flooded with cash right now, so that they're putting it into upping their dividends and buying their own stock, which makes each one still out there worth more.  Investing is an area that I've definitely learned more about, little by little, this year, but it's still pretty complicated. 

As far as politics go, I'm still trying to figure out this whole Tea Party thing.  I really like that people are being more vocal about how things are run, but it seems like they're focused on just one issue (the economy).  I was happy to defy demographic statistics and cast my vote during the mid-term elections this year.  I recently heard a woman call into a radio show and say that 2010 was the year she stopped voting after 30-some years.  Her reasoning was that she didn't like how things were going and didn't trust anyone, so she was would just exist while things happened around her.  I wanted to reach into the speakers and punch her.  Or send her to North Korea where she really wouldn't have to worry about doing her political homework.  Vote, people!

Let's see, what else can I talk about?  I'm sitting in an airport, if you haven't figured out yet by the length of this thing.  Travel!  In 2011, I'm going on a Holy Lands travel binge this Spring.  Egypt and climbing Mt. Sinai in February and touring Israel in April.  I'll be in the US after March 13 and hope to go to Serbia sometime in there still. 

Well it is time to go board my plane!  If you're in Manila for the next 10 days, EMAIL ME AND WE'LL HANG OUT!