Arun Gets Waxed...Hilarity Ensues

There's a reason Men don't give birth.

Women are somehow able to siphon a divine pain threshold that allows them to make it through the process. Apparently God also has a hand in waxing.

The night started promising. I went out to Rancho San Diego with my buddy Danny to have dinner and drinks at his family's place. The place, by the way is awesome. It's pretty far removed from San Diego, but has an awesome little cabana in the back, perfect for entertaining.

The lobster dinner is amazing, then we make our way to the blackjack table for some post dinner fun...apparently this was the opening act for the main event. I win BIG! 10 dollars! Things are going awesome!

Danny had mentioned to me that his Mom is a professional hairstylist and beautician. Me, seeing this as a good opportunity to get a professional opinion on if there is any way for me to actually get MORE handsome, decide to ask her opinion on what I should do about the crazy mop I have on my head these days.

Well, her professional hairstyling opinion extended beyond just the top of my head.

Next thing I know, she's talking about how much more amazing I'd look with "just a little bit of eyebrow waxing." Soon, all the women are remarking that a little work does wonders. Danny, seeing this as a grand opportunity to stir the pot, joins in on the wax encouragement.

I'm obviously resistant. As you regulars know I've already vehemently denied the opportunity to be waxed before. I continue to make brilliant arguments as to why I shouldn't get waxed.

Me: "I don't need to be any more handsome!"
"I think I might be allergic to wax!"
"My face gets cold in the winter!"

Doesn't fly. Eventually I figure out a good strategy. I'll just relent and agree to the waxing and then conveniently forget to make an appointment at her salon to have it done! GENIUS! They are no match for Arun's wit and cleverness!

I resume playing blackjack, when ten minutes later, Danny's Mom calls me into the kitchen! Yes! Must be time for dessert! I excitedly mosey in and sit down at the table. Then, I see my nightmare before me...a cold-waxing kit. Reema, Danny's cousin of our age, runs in. "This is too good to miss!" Wonderful.

I have no where to run and no where to hide, so I relent. I try to convince myself it will all be ok. "Hey, at least it's not that hot wax goop! Besides, I'm a MAN! I can take it easy!

Danny's Mom lines up the first strip. Reema is clenching my hand for "emotional support." Three...two...one...RRRRRIIIIPPPP!

Me: "YEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!"

The immediate sense of pain and shock threw my body into an involuntary spasm of discomfort. Meanwhile, everyone in the adjacent room erupted in laughter at my vocal projections.

I knew I wouldn't be able to get through this without some "assistance." I scanned the kitchen. Tequila. YES!...No, wait...I need something more powerful. More Potent. Something that will take me to a happy place and dull the pain. Then I spotted it. Glorious! Radiating warmth and happiness; mine for the taking!

A Giant Costco Cookie.

Now I know normally I'm an advocate of healthy eating but desperate times call for desperate measures.

So there I was, giant cookie in one hand, Reema's hand in the other as Danny's Mom lined up the next strip. Everyone began to trickle in to watch the spectacle. Girls remarked what a difference it was making. Guys laughed and said I looked the same. I was the center of attention.

Now usually I'm all for being the center of attention. But I like to earn it with my wit and charm as opposed to my cowering yelps of pain. It didn't help that before each ensuing strip, Reema would squeeze the life out of my hand and exclaim, "Oooooh, this ones gonna really hurt!" Gee, real great "emotional support" there Reema. The anticipation is actually worse than the stripping itself.

So for the rest of the time, I had to deal with eruptions of laughter with each strip, and then side commentary as to how I'm taking it, and how I'm looking. When it was over, I took a gander at the mirror. Hey! I actually look a little sharper than before! (Yes, believe it or not, I became even more devilishly good looking! :)

So the evening turned out OK. I won ten bucks (yeah!), ate a hearty meal plus a delicious cookie (MMM MMM!), and got a free eyebrow wax (....). Was it worth it? I wouldn't go that far. Sure I looked better, but the procedure was...well...not exactly ideal. Would I do it again? Probably not. I'm not that metro and the difference was minimal.

I've heard some men get "Brazilian bikini waxing." My God that's unbelievable. You'd have to tie me down. And forget the Costco cookie...I'd need a wedding cake.

Pyramid Racer

It's no secret that I'm a pretty competitive person. I LOVE playing games and love winning even more!

Although I'm not a fan of video games, I've recently been roped into playing "Smash Brothers" on my roommates Nintendo Game Cube. Highly addictive game! I end up getting so worked up that my neighbors can here me yelling Trash Talk from next door. Luckily, those crazy girls adore me, so it's all good :)

The only one of my friends that comes close to my competitive fury is Aaron. It seems like every time we hang out, we invent or take part in some kind of crazy competitive game. Aaron and I have invented such classics as Spinners, Pocket-E-Pocket, the human field goal, the pool olympics, and The Cone Olympics.

Our competitive spirit doesn't take vacations.

Two years ago in Teotihuacan, Mexico, we decided on an impromptu race. The big pyramids would have been hazardous to race since we had a limited water supply with us. So instead, we decided to scale one of the smaller, yet incredibly steep, side pyramids.

A small crowd was gathered, most of which consisted of people on our travel bus. We had been primed with four shots of pure tequila from the cactus-tequila factory next door. It was on!

It was a tight race to the top, but as you can see (and hear), Arun prevailed!!! The crowd roared, ladies swooned, and I was adored by all! I am now hailed in Teotihuacan as Arun - The Great Pyramid Racer! *

COMING SOON! Another video of me kicking Aaron's ass - this time at BOXING!

*creative liberties may have been taken at the end of this story :)

Celtic-American Idol

I used to be an avid watcher of American Idol. Afterall, I love singing and have long maintained that if I ever tried out, I'd be immediately inducted into the American Idol Hall of Fame of Awesomeness. As a challenge seeking individual however, I've decided to pursue more difficult paths to Fame and Fortune :)

Recently though, the show has kind of worn on me, and the last couple of years I've lost interest. Honestly, how many times do I need to hear a progressively worse version of "Unchained Melody?" Sure it makes for good TV to watch people embarrass themselves, but honestly, the level of badness has started to irritate the hell out of me.



And it's not only the level of suckiness, but the LENGTH of suckiness. It wouldn't be so irritating if they just shut the contestant up after a few seconds, but they let them grind on for ages!

Sure the show has it's fair share of good singers, but honestly, a lot of people in my high school choir sang better.

So of course last night, San Diego night, I missed the show. Driving to work this morning, I heard on the radio that my beloved Carly Hennessy made it to Hollywood! For those of you who don't know, Carly Hennessy is/was the Saturday night entertainment at my favorite irish pub in San Diego, The Field. This also happens to be the location of one of my more memorable snafu's.

Me and all of my friends are pretty much in love with this Irish singing sensation. She's awesomely talented, she has these sexy tattoos on her arm, she's Irish, and she and her guitar ripping band mate tear the house down! Apparently she's now changed her last name to her *cough* husband's *cough* last name of 'Smithson'. If only I'd convinced her the first time we chatted, to make the obvious choice of leaving her husband for a supreme bad-ass like me...(Ok, OK....FINE!.....maybe the title "supreme bad-ass" is a tiny bit of a stretch).

So now I have a bit of an excuse to watch the show later on and root for someone. By the way, if you're the owner of The Field, and are reading this article because you've received approximately 57 emails containing a link to this post, it just so happens I'm available Saturday nights and have been known to bust a note or two :)

Fantastic Fanatical Fan Rant

Rule number 255 in "Arun's Guide to Lifetime Awesomeness": The Kansas City Chiefs, KC Royals, Las Angeles Lakers (except when Michael Jordan played for the Bulls), are the best sports teams EVER in their respective sports. Pete Sampras is the best tennis player ever (unless playing a Grand-Slamless Goran Ivanisevic) and Golf is only watchable when Tiger Woods is playing.

In general, sports is only interesting to me if I can be a fan. I never watch college basketball until March Madness, since I do a bracket with my friends which automatically makes me a fan of the teams I pick.

But TRUE fandom is proudly sticking behind your team through thick and thin and NOT just coming out of the woodwork when they're winning.

Growing up in Alaska, everyone was either Cowboys or Packers fans (since Alaska carries no professional sports teams). I would guarantee that this year, the best selling football jerseys belong to the New England Patriots. Apparently the Texans and Wisconsinites were forced out of Alaska by the influx of New Jersyans who just discovered Alaska.

Here, San Diego has it's fair share of die hard fans, but there are also a number of "new" fans who've decided to jump on the bandwagon.

No one can question my fandom. Despite the fact that I dislike baseball, I'm an overt supporter of the Kansas City Royals (and by "overt supporter," I mean I don't watch any games, but I check the standings every now and then, and wear my Royals hat on occasion).

So what you ask?

So what, is the Royals are possibly the statistically worst team in baseball over the last decade and a half! Being a Royals fan is like voting for Ralph Nader in a Presidential election. Sure you may want him to win, but you know there's no way in hell it's happening!

And then there's by beloved Kansas City Chiefs. Oh they who control my Sunday afternoon mood. Every football Sunday, I wake up with butterflies in my stomach, pumped for the game! The night before opening day, I have trouble sleeping because I'm so excited!

Since I've watched football, they've never won a playoff game. NEVER! Do you know what that does to a fan like me? Being a fan is probably like smoking cigarettes. Every loss takes 18 minutes off my life.

Even worse are the close wins. Fourth quarter, tie score, and my blood pressure is through the roof...A last second field goal to win the game! ELATION! I jump up and down, high five people I don't know, and throw "air punches of fury." This emotional yo-yoing cannot be healthy.

I used to be much worse though. If the Chiefs lost an important game, I'd mope around all day (and sometimes a couple of days if it was a playoff loss). Luckily, the Chiefs have gotten me accustomed to dealing with loss. My recovery time is now about a half hour of moping, then I'm fine the rest of the day.

But a true fan like me, sticks behind his team despite finishing a novel 4-12. He supports the ownership even though the General Manager who promised a "five year plan" to the Superbowl is in year 15 with the organization. A true fan overlooks the fact that my head coach says scoring too many points is "Arena Ball stuff." Yes, as a true fan, I make it a point to hang out with similarly true fans.

Last weekend, I joined a bunch of my Seattle Seahawk Fan Friends, to watch the Seahawks face the Packers. Everyone reacts the same (in varying degrees) to great plays from their own team: Jumping, elated yells of joy, high fiving, chest bumping, broken glass, and punching (ok, maybe they're a different breed of fan, but you've heard about these guys before).

When the Seahawks started losing though, it was interesting to see the different reactions.

One guy wouldn't stop complaining about every possible way in which the Seahawks got screwed....and I mean EVERY POSSIBLE WAY. "THE REFS ARE F**KING TERRIBLE! THE PACKERS ARE SO LUCKY OUR GUYS ARE HURT! WHO DECIDED THIS SHOULD BE A SATURDAY GAME ANYWAYS! WE'RE NOT RESTED! HOW CAN THEY EXPECT US TO WIN ON A FIELD KEPT IN THIS KIND OF CONDITION! COLLINSWORTH IS THE WORST COMMENTATOR EVER! WHO THE F**K FINISHED THE DORITOS!"

Then their was Steve and Brooks who took on the "sullen look of acceptance." They complained a little, but then just got quiet.

Justin, aka The Magician, is my personal favorite. He just disappears. He's so big of a fan, that when the game gets close, he can't watch. Last season, I remember he went for a run in the middle of the fourth quarter of a playoff game. A couple of weeks ago he vanished. Gone. Phone off. Incommunicado. Turns out he drunkenly walked home and watched the end of the game in silence at his house.

The external stimuli was too much for him.

Last week, he was pacing outside. Every now and then, I'd see him sneak up to the window to take a peak, then dejectedly sneak away.

Some people tried to give the poor guy the "there's always next year" speech to make him feel better. I wish it worked. I repeat it to myself every year.

Inner Dork

I know it's hard to believe, but I feel now is the time to reveal to you all that I do actually contain some inner dorkiness. I had to think long and hard about some of the dorky moments I've had over the years, hiding beneath this smooth, suave exterior.

Don't worry though...I'm still 99.999 percent calm, cool, and collected. But, believe it or not, I have a top ten list of "Arun's Inner Dork."

10. I have a degree in Computer Engineering. Don't get much nerdier than that folks! And as a graduate, I can attest that 98% of computer engineers fit the stereotype we all put them in. They love their computer games, programming is fun, they're generally socially inept, slashdot.com is their homepage, and they all own iphones.

I spent five years in college trying to fight the nerd stereotype, but alas, one man can only do so much! Eventually I was overcome by the Binary soldiers of Nerd!

In fact, somewhere along the line during college, I realized that I really didn't care for computers, or engineering for that matter. Luckily I currently have a position that requires NO computer programming and a sort of alternative approach to engineering.

9. I was the youngest "Mathlete" in grade school. Yep, in third grade, I pretty much dominated the school in addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction (my weakest area) time tests. I went on to be inducted into "The Knights of the Mathtable" before finishing my sixth grade career.

For some reason, the kids at recess didn't think this was such a big deal.

8. Speaking of Sixth grade, I actually skipped it. Well, I actually skipped half of sixth grade and half of seventh. Basically I spent first half of my sixth grade year in elementary school, going to sixth grade. Then, after numerous parent-teacher conferences and a couple of tests, it was decided that I'd be finishing up seventh grade for the remainder of the year.

Suffice to say, when I went into middle school on the first day of second semester, I was not the coolest cat around. I was a pudgy kid with glasses wandering around, totally lost, trying to find my locker. Instead of having one teacher, I now had six. No orientation, no welcome to Junior High, nothing.

In Middle School, when you're not rollin around the halls with your posse, you're probably a dork. Add the chubbiness, glasses, and general look of confusion and you don't exactly picture the boyfriend of Hannah Montana.

7. I have an affinity for stuffed animals. In my room here, I've got a couple, and back in Anchorage, I've got a bunch that I received over the years. They all have names.....and feelings and personalities :)

6. I was in the Math Club in high school. Ok, ok, I can explain. My agenda in high school was all about having as many things on my "resume" as I could to make my college applications look impeccable, while doing as little work as possible. Sure I was in the math club but I only sparsely attended the meetings, and never attended the competitions.

I sort of did the same thing with Key Club, and the Youth Symphony. Still, I admit, even being a member of Math Club is Dorktacular.

5. Sometimes at Costco, I look around to make sure no one else is in the isle, and practice moonwalking. Next time you go to Costco, note the incredibly smooth surface of the floor that's perfect for dancing! Ok, I actually don't really do it any more, but I used to and was once caught in the act by a teacher who happened to be at Costco that day.

When she brought this little incident up in class the next day, I didn't exactly come off as the smoothest bottom in the nursery.

4. My DVD collection contains classics such as: "Journey Live in Concert!, Boyz II Men: Singing in Higher Places, We are The World: Special edition, and Sesame Street Visits the Metropolitan Museum."

Hey, I like music, and the We are The World DVD contains basically every significant 80's singer! Plus, it's got great bonus features! (Don't even start with me Lauren!)

I suppose that doesn't really explain the Sesame Street DVD though...

3. I like old school Sesame Street. Back in the day when Jim Henson was the man in charge, I absolutely LOVED Sesame Street and the Muppets. As I got older, I obviously grew out of them (don't act surprised!) but on occasion would peak at an episode to see how the old Sesame gang is...disappointment.

The quality has gone down, and Oscar the Grouch is actually nice! (totally unacceptable) But, when I had the opportunity to buy the Sesame Street 80's smash hit movies "Sesame Street Visits the Metropolitan Museum," and "Christmas on Sesame Street," I couldn't resist and was rewarded with some good, quality, Sesame action.

I guess part of it's nostalgia, but honestly, the muppets are hilarious and I'm very entertained.

Didn't I hear once that girls are attracted to guys who relate well with kids???

2. Speaking of watching weird stuff on TV, I was thoroughly invested in the soap opera "All My Children" as a kid. My Mom watched (and still watches) everyday after work, so naturally both me and my sister were exposed to the glamour and sex-fest that is "All My Children."

I can still name the core characters and remember some of the old storylines. For any of you avid female (or inner-dork male) watchers, do the names Adam Chandler and Erica Kane ring a bell?

Jeez that was bad and I'm not even to number 1 yet!

1. I've read, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire Harry Potter series! No excuses. And if you call ME a Dork, go read them yourselves and THEN call me a dork!

After such an exhaustive and reputation debilitating, one might not think there's anything else left! Surprise! I've giving you a bonus! Ready?........

I know how to play "MMMBOP" on the guitar and bust it out sometimes when I'm in a good mood.

So yes fans and friends, I AM human. I have some inner dorkiness, but hey, who wants to be superhuman anyways? I'm a testament that even the coolest cats can have some hidden geekyness. It's OK!

So next time you wanna bust a move at Costco while singing MMMBOP, then go home and watch a Sesame Street and All My Children Marathon with your awesome stuffed animal, GO FOR IT!....just don't tell anyone :)

Familiar Unknown Faces

It's nice to have a unique look. Sometimes it gets me in trouble when someone recognizes me, and I have no clue who they are or where I've met them, but overall, I like the experience.

So what's this unique look I speak of? Well, I do seem to stand out a bit. First of all, I'm a minority in America. And, among minorities, I'm a minority. I'd say Indians take a backseat to Latinos, African Americans, and Asians (and by Asians, I mean Orientals) when it comes to population. I'm often asked about my nationality though, because I don't look like your run of mill Indian.

Let's take a little trip to India, shall we? There, amongst the endless hoard of people you'll see the rail thin, to the plumply chubby and all in between. I would guess the average height of most men there is about 5'8, the younger of whom are pretty skinny, and the older of whom have been healthily fed along the way.

And then there's the Beautiful Giant (me :) One might think that I would blend in, walking through the land of my ancestry.

Think again.

At 6'2" and 205 lbs, I definitely stand out (and "over"). I guess it's a combination of the food in America (hormones in food, as well as my omnivorous, not to mention plentiful, diet), my working out, and some heredity factors that contribute to me being built so differently than most Indians.

Combine that with the fact that I dress differently (and much more fashionably if I do say so :), and it's apparent I stand out.

So how does this all relate to the title of the day, "Familiar Unknown Faces?" Well, it's interesting that, no matter where you are, people always feel a natural bond to people of similar background.

In India for example, whenever I saw white people, I always wanted to run over and say "Hey Guys! How's it going? Where're you from?!" From a cultural standpoint, I just felt the need to connect with fellow travellers from my home! (Nevermind the fact that most of the "Whities" ended up being European)

In America, Indians behave the same way.

Example 1: Indians that I don't know always smile at me in the streets while passing by.

Example 2: There are a couple of Indian guys who work on my floor at work. Despite not really knowing them, they always stop by my office to chit-chat and make small talk, and are particularly friendly. This happens to no one else in my hall.

Example 3: When I used to work at Tennis Warehouse and took customer calls, it was always interesting to note the behavioral differences when an Indian customer learned my name. On the phone, it's impossible to know my ethnic background, but upon hearing my name, Indians were always particularly friendly.

In fact, on a couple of occasions, the Indian customer didn't hear my name at first and proceeded with whatever question the had. Then, towards the end of the call, they'd ask my name. As soon as they heard it, they immediately became doubly friendly and ask me about my day, how I like California, what I'm majoring on in school etc.

Example 4: There's this Indian restaurant I used to take a lot of my friends to in college. My roommate and I had been there a few times, but the staff was always EXTRA nice to me (above their general friendly demeanor). They'd card everyone at the table ordering beer except for me (despite me being the youngest), and would always give me a mystery 10% discount. My friends named this "The Countrymen Discount."

Example 5: My dental hygienist is Persian. Somehow, she feels this special bond with me though because our countries are relatively close. Whenever I go, she shows me pictures of her kids, talks about how "properly" I must have been raised by parents with good (Asian) morals, and has begun scolding me like a mother for not brushing my teeth after each cup of coffee. She's ok, but I think it's hilarious how, if I were not Indian, we'd have a normal friendly relationship, and since I am, it's like a familial relationship with my Aunt concerned about my dental health.

I suppose some of that is Asian culture though. In India, we call all significant elders "Uncle" and "Auntie," irrespective of any actual relation. The Uncles and Aunties in turn, usually treat you with the same affection that they would their own nieces and nephews.

Yes, despite any real life familiarity, it's fascinating how we gravitate and automatically elevate people with whom we find cultural similarities.

I've decided to begin testing this trend of "similarity gravitation" on purely physical appearance.

The Question: "Are supermodels particularly attracted to people with similarly stellar looks?"

The Experiment: I suppose I'm going to have to be the guinea pig and and hang out with a lot of supermodels :) All in the name of science!

2008: Resolution Knockout

Man I'm getting old. Is it seriously 2008 already? It doesn't seem that long ago that I wrote my 2007 New Years Post. With that in mind, it's time to revisit the resolutions I made last year, see how I did, and make some new ones. BTW, I stole this idea last year from Tynan at Better Than Your Boyfriend. (How cool is that blog title by the way...second only to Your Daily Remedy :)

Last Years Goals (see last years post for a detailed description:

1. Become Real Estate and Investment Savy.

2. Progress in Internet Marketing.

3. Become a better musician.

4. Learn more about Social Interactions.

5. Become healthier.

Number One, I'd say I did OK on. I definitely learned a lot about investments and what it's going to take to get involved in real estate. On that front, I AM in a position to buy property, however the two issues preventing me from diving in are the current market outlook, and the fact that San Diego is a tough place to buy property (especially if it ends up being held for a relatively short time).

Also, I'm not quite as involved in the stock market as I'd like to be, but that should change soon. Financially, I'm much better off and I have a few new avenues of income which is great (and no this blog is not one of them). Despite all of my expenditures, my future savings rate looks to increase!

I'll give myself a 7/10 on this one. I'd say I had pretty lofty expectations, but also was somewhat naive considering I had just recently begun making any sort of substantial money when I wrote last year's post.

Number Two. Hmmm....well I'd say I didn't do so hot on this one. Sure, I learned some about internet marketing, namely that having a blog that doesn't focus on one central topic, isn't going to make a lot of money.

A couple of times, I considered doing some sponsored posts which can pay pretty decently, but I decided against that because I didn't want to ruin the integrity of the page. Seriously, people will STOP coming if I'm doing some ridiculous review on some "as seen on TV" product!

One of the reasons I only post once or twice a week, is that I try to focus on writing QUALITY material. I don't want to dilute this page and make it an advertising haven or personal diary of baloney that no one cares about. Only the best stories, adventures, rants, and advice make it through!

Basically, if I want to make money writing a blog, it won't be on this page. Sure it's nice when I make money and people click on the ads, but I don't write for this reason. My all time record money making day was sometime last month when I made 5 bucks in a day! I treated myself to a victory Jamba Juice :)

I'll give myself a 3/10. The effort wasn't really there.

For Number 3, I started out really slow, but recently my music has been picking up again. I've started playing guitar more, and even relearned some stuff on the piano! Last week in Alaska, I picked up my cello, and was not actually as bad as I thought I would be. I wish I had the cello here, but it's too damn big for apartment living. Overall though, most of the year was a musical failure. I improved marginally at guitar, and probably got worse at piano. 3/10

NUMBER 4!!! Finally some success. I read quite a few books on social dynamics and psychology and learned a ton! I've learned everything from neuro linguistics, to body language and actually been able to observe and apply what I've learned. I would say that I have reached a pretty accomplished level of knowledge in this area.

This is great because, despite the fact that I'm already a social butterfly, it has made going out and meeting new people that much easier and fun! It's also upped my charisma and charm to the point of being able to finnegle free cell phones and smoothies, as well as being better with the ladies (Yes, I know...hard to believe I could ANY smoother than I already was! ;)

9/10. Not much more I could've done here.

And lastly, Number 5, becoming healthier. Well, I definitely became healthier overall. I increase my exercise and cleaned up my diet. Most of this progress though, came towards the end of the year (except for the Holidays where I ate tons of awesomely tasty and unhealthy food). I'm back on the healthy wagon though, so I'm gonna try to do better this year. 6/10.

Now its time for this years goals!

1. Increase my Output. Reading Tynan's Post about effort and output helped me realize the blunder I make in overthinking and underdoing. I devote a lot of time thinking and reading about ideas without actually putting them into practice.

Part of this is because of wasted time I spend doing unproductive things that are really not that emotionally fullfilling (ie puttering around, watching TV, etc). I'm going to start producing more results and wasting less time!

2. Begin to delve into the world or Passive Income. Easier said than done. After reading The Four Hour Workweek though, I realized how awesome it is to work as little as possible to make the most money. One of the ways to do this is to automate things, and have money (and people) work FOR you. I'm the boss, instructions are given, and money comes in. This is gonna be a hard one, but I'll give it the ol' Arun try.

3. Make long term goals clearer. Ideally, I'd love to have a little business going that eventually makes me ridiculously rich. However, until I get that genius idea, I need to get a clear picture of my options down the road. I'm pretty sure I want to get an MBA either way, as having business savy NEVER hurts. This means I'm going to have to make some progress this year towards that eventual accomplishment.

4. Become Healthier. Ahh yes...the old staple. I found some great foods this year that are tasty, filling, AND healthy! Now they're gonna become thoroughly integrated into my daily diet as well as some new excercise routines. This year WILL BE the healthiest one yet!

Four goals for the year. They're all pretty general, but all very attainable. It's time to step it up, and pass every one! You should do the same! List your goals somewhere, and hold yourself accountable! There's really no excuse not to do this, and writing them down (and in my case, making them public) is a great motivator.