resolve

My New Year's resolutions are as thus:
--to be a more healthy person
--to get into a pattern of exercising regularly
--to improve my mental attitude towards life

I don't know how all this is going to go, but so far everything seems okay. I certainly think its all worth the effort in the long run, whatever the long run may be.

My classes appear to be going well so far. I'm getting ready for my History of Modern Japan class at the moment, something I know quite a bit about. I accidentally slept through a class already, but I don't predict that it should be a problem in the future. It is my last semester after all. I feel that I should be getting my money's worth from this whole experience. Tomorrow I plan to make an appearance at the Career Center to look into options post May 17th. I also plan on beginning my regime at the health and wellness center tomorrow morning, waking up early and getting on track to forming a habit of being active.

Obviously, anyone who had been paying attention things over the past couple of weeks knows that things in DC are getting pretty active in preparation for the Inauguration. The construction that has been going on for years has been suddenly completed. Streets that haven't been cleaned in months are suddenly spotless. The price of food is absolutely insane; a week's worth of groceries cost me about as much as I could ususally get for two or more weeks. Security on campus, where I live, has been increased tenfold. From Monday afternoon, there is a no-drive-zone being imposed on the campus. Rent-a-cops are supposed to be checking IDs all over the place. Guests have to be registered with the university, and there are rumors that Secret Service and the National Guard may also be present. Amid all this, there is just so much to do that I'm starting to get really excited about the whole thing. There's a huge free concert Sunday afternoon, with Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Bono, and soooo many others, all right on the National Mall. Of course there is the parade, and then the Inauguration itself. I haven't decided which I'll be going to. It's supposed to be some ridiculous degree of cold outside that day, and perhaps with a chance of rain. Somehow though, I think it would be waste of my four years here if I didn't show my face at the Inauguration. Screaming my head off, surrounded by 5 million or so people who are doing the same... there is just something appealing about it that may not be apparent from my description. I was at the White House after the election results were read, and feeling the energy coming from those people was one of the most incredible experiences. I imagine that, despite the difference in the size of the crowd, the feeling that I would have being there would be much of the same. Besides, how many chances do you have to be present at the inauguration of the first African-American president after all?