2011 is here!

Well, here goes round two of typing this out. I had 30 minutes to write my start of the year blog post, and since my internet explorer decided to crash, I'm speeding through this from the safety of my computers "Notepad"

So, 2010 has come and gone. And what a stagnating piece of bleh that year it was. Nothing particularly terrible occurred in 2010, but yeah. I did not do too many things to boast about. However, a few choice experiences stand out as things I can look back at and smile.

1. Big Fun - Here in Vegas there are multiple outlets for individuals who enjoy improv comedy. Whether it's watching or performing, there are chances to experiences this most amazing genre of theatre. One of which is the Improv Jam held at the insurgo theatre every Tuesday Nights at 9 pm. The entire evening is short-form improv that is performed by audience members. I absolutely LOVE the Jam and hate that I currently am not able to go and enjoy it as often as I would like. Anyway, after a particularly good night there, I was contacted by the VERY talented and funny Casper Collins and asked if I would like to join a new improv troupe he was putting together. I was very excited because I had (and still haven't) been a part of an improv troupe. So joined with Casper and 4 other very talented improvisers, Big Fun was born. We are a group that performs on a somewhat rotational basis at S.E.T. on Monday nights at 8 pm. I have learned so much from the members of Big Fun and have thoroughly enjoyed performing with them. Hoping 2011 is a prosperous year for us as a team. Casper has since left the troupe (and the improv community altogether). He is very missed, and I vow to make him proud someday.

2. For those of you who've known me for a while, you know that I was a Ka' Gatekeeper for 3.5 years until I left the job months before I went to live in Argentina. I auditioned to go back to Ka' not long after returning from down south, but was not offered a spot back, which was unfortunate, but I understood. It is a great job and I left it. So it was understandable if the offer to come back didn't come to me quickly. However, back in June, my former co-worker (now head of the department), Chad, called me up and offered me a position. I was pretty ecstatic. I had recently left my part-time job at Starbucks and was working at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on the strip. The Wax Museum is another great job that treated me VERY well. This being my 2nd time working for the company, I was appreciative of the opportunity to come back and was offered another chance to return should things not work out at Ka'. There are some truly amazing people there at MTLV that I will forever be grateful for what they did for me.

Back at Ka', the first month was PRETTY rough. Thankfully my friend Troy was rehired with me. And although Troy and I weren't the best of friends the first time we worked together, we got along well and were pretty much bonded together coming back in. There were a lot of changes to the department since the last time either one of us had worked at Ka'. Long story short, a LOT of unnecessary negatively and some preliminary bull-honkey (that's right, I went there) made my first month back at Ka' a pretty awkward adjustment. However, after 6 months back, I'm happy to say that I love my job and am grateful that I get paid to do someone that I not only do well, but have a great time doing it.




As for 2011, I'm happy and optimistic that it's going to be a great year. For no other reason than I have goals and (hopefully) the determination to keep myself in check. We'll see.
Among a few things I would like to dabble in again, I have my main goal set and also smaller weekly goals that I think are going to make the year VERY productive.


Main Goal
I WILL get out of debt this year. I'm almost done paying off my credit card. And once that is taken care off I will pay off the money that parents helped me with to help me pay for the house. It means I'm going to have to start buckling down and being more financially responsible. As some of you know (hi mom!) I'm not the best when it comes to keeping on top of stuff like that. And since it's been a year and I have only paid back 350 to my parents, I would like to be debt free come the start of 2012.



Weekly Goals

1. I will run at least 10 miles a week. For my running friends, don't laugh at me. I think 10 miles/week is a very realistic goal. It's roughly a little bit over a 5k 3 times a week. I will obviously do more if time permits, but I'm going to make that happen. I love to run, so shouldn't be too big an issue. In addition, I will go to the gym to lift weights. I was thinking it would be great to put on 15 pounds of muscle. However, considering my metabolism makes that VERY difficult. My goal regarding weightlifting is just to get stronger. If I gain some mass as a result, then cool. Otherwise, I'm not worried.

2. I will make 100 spanish vocabulary flash cards/week. Living in Argentina the time I did gave me the opportunity to learn Castellano (which is roughly spanish with a few differences). I'm not fluent by any stretch of the imagination and I want to improve my skills with the language.

3. I will listen to at least 1 new artist/album a week. I hate that the majority of the music I listen to is Top 40. While there is some good stuff to be found in the genre, I want to expose myself to different styles and improve my musical knowledge. This weeks CD is an album The Hush Sound titled "Goodbye Blues." iTunes categorizes them as Alternative & Punk. A friend let me copy the CD when he brought it over for a day of painting, and I never gave it a listen again. I'm really enjoying it.

4. I will watch a new movie every week. I am NOT a movie goer. I think between 2009 and 2010, I would have seen about 6 movies maybe if it hadn't been for the $1.50 theatre not too far from my house. And even with those, I think I saw maybe 8 more. So despite the fact that the movies there are months old when they arrive, I would like to start watching more movies. Not really sure exactly what my motivation is for such an unusual resolution, but I'm sticking with it. Last weeks pick was "Legend." Umm......Yeah, I'll address that one at a later time. I'm already half an hour over the 20 minutes I gave myself to do this.

5. I will learn to do the splits. This one is a stretch (no pun intended..........no really...) because I've been telling myself FOREVER that I would do lots and lots of yoga and stretching until I could do the splits. I've just never done it because I HATE stretching. It's like a reminder of how crap I've taken care of myself in that regard.


Other than those, I plan to be better with my money. Making sure that I make my payments on time for utilities/credit card/mortgage etc. I also plan to try and be less messy. I've sort of gotten the hand of picking up after myself in the kitchen and living room. But my bedroom still consistently looks like a tornado zone as little as days after I clean it. Rough habit I've had since I was a kid. Also plan on keeping up with my new hobby and resurrect an old one. Roller skating is my new favorite past time and I want to get back into the art of spinning poi. It's been a while since I've done it, so I want to get back in the throws.


As I said, 2011 is bound to be interesting. And i can't wait to get in there and start living it up. I'm optimistic that this will be a great year!

For anyone who might have made it this far to read this. What are your New Years resolutions? I want to know. Not just because it would be cool to know who read this, but also because I want to know what to pester you about the next time I see you. Whether it's to quit smoking, to floss regularly, or to not let any hostages escape this year, I want to know! Talk to you guys later.