start with the spring rolls

I was looking back over previous year end/beginning posts, and realized I don't have any. Seems that every year I take a sort of hiatus for 3-5 weeks, and apparently this decade followed suit. My apologies to those of you who sat at work and had 1 less non-work web reading to complete.

I've been thinking a lot over the past week about resolutions. One of my friends created a trick resolution for herself, and since she is much better at goal setting than I am, maybe I should follow her lead and trick myself into losing weight or becoming a better cook.

Or maybe I should take the approach of things to NOT do, rather than positives. Sometimes I feel like avoiding things is easier then taking initiative to add something to your life. For example, it's easier to turn off the television after watching two hours, rather than telling yourself to replace tv altogether with a theoretically more life-enriching activity that doesn't involve the Kardashian family. Needless to say, this probably won't happen as long as I'm in my current job situation.

But alas, it seems that this year my resolution comes not so much in a list, but from an unexpected source. I was out to dinner New Year's Eve at a Chinese restaurant, helping a new friend forget her very recent tool of an ex-boyfriend. When it came time to crack our fortunes, I wasn't expecting much. Usually I open gems like "you will meet new people" or "riches lay ahead." Bland and not specific. And on first read, I thought this day's was another dud:

"Reach for your dreams. Start with the spring rolls."

But after the laughter wore off, I got to thinking that this was actually an interesting philosophy for such a little cookie. Lately, I've been having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, whether that's my job or my personal life. But this slip of paper reminded me that maybe this year, instead of just complaining about the big picture, I need to take a step back and get the little things done first. After all, no good adventure starts on an empty stomach.

Although I will have to replace spring rolls with something like mozzarella sticks, as I'm not really a spring rolls fan. Small detail