Resolutions Update

So it's common practice to make a New Years Resolution, and I decided to kick off a less than impressive blog-year by making a few of my own. As commonly as resolutions are made, however, they are rarely followed up on. People don't want to make a promise to get fit in January, then openly admit a few months later that they actually put on some LBs. The bottom line is that keeping people up to date on one's shortcomings is a great way to monitor both shrinking in the waistline department and growth in the character one. So hear we go, with one third of the year already ancient history, I'm going to do a little status check on my resolutions...


Resolution: GRADUATE!!!
Status: Check baby!!! I finally did it and could not be happier. It was the number 1 resolution on my list, and I can say that it was achieved. To give you some perspective on what a historic accomplishment this was, and more specifically how long it took, When my college career began:
--George Bush was the President
--Army Fatigues had successfully made a comeback (and I swear I brought them back, for better or for worse)
--My Sister couldn't legally drink, heck she could barely get into a rated R movie
--I had never worked with a disabled person in any capacity, and as a matter of fact, had worked one job for my entire life.
--I weighed in the 180 range
--I did not have a facebook account, and not because I knew facebook was evil, but because I was not aware of its existence
--"Oops I Did it Again" by Britney Spears topped the charts...well maybe not, but I'm sure that Britney was still somewhat relevant
--I had not seen a Philadelphia Sports Championship in my lifetime. Wow...I will give you a second to let that sink in...

My sister and I rag on each other about pretty much everything, so naturally she's a pro at taking shots at my inability to graduate before her. Keeping in mind that we are both fielding congratulations on our respective collegiate achievements, one of the funniest things that happens now is how we get congratulated. She noted that the people are so pleasantly surprised that I actually finished that I get louder remarks, bigger smiles, and overall greater vigor from people complementing me on my accomplishment than she does. So its, "Congrats Kirsten, great job!" followed by something like, "I am sooo proud of you Ryan!! I knew you would eventually make it! You have a bright future ahead you just had to get past this big bump in the road!! We are so inspired by your perseverance!!!" It is high comedy, let me tell you.

The previous paragraph reminds me, I forgot to include something in my "Goodbye Temple" blog. Many, many, many thanks to all the lovely people who helped me along the tumultuous road to the finish line. The amount of love that I have felt recently has been incredible, but more on that soon in an upcoming blog.


Resolution: I am fully resolved to take a flight out to Chicago to visit Tommy Boy, and catch a game at historic Wrigley Field.
Status: 10 days till my Southwest flight leaves Philly for the Windy City! I bought my Cubbies tickets and could not possibly be more pumped up for the game and for the trip in general. I told Tommy Boy that it would totally happen, and it certainly is.

Resolution: Mas blogos por favor!
Status: Okay, the ball was dropped on this one, there's just no getting around it. In my defense, this resolution was very low on the priority list, and I should be able to step up my blogging game a bit since college is officially a thing of the past. Although I do fear the loss of my job at the Computer Lab (with my Temple departure) will hurt my output during certain months of the year. Still, onward and upward as far as posting the irrelevant details of my life goes.

Resolution: I will have a six-pack by summer.
Status: Definitely a "fail" to this point. While I did find times to regularly work out during the majority of the school year, my eating habits towards the end of the semester were awful, and the importance of getting in perfect shape was put in perspective by a multitude of other far more significant things. I will always be a fit dude, but looking like a cover model for Men's Health isn't an aspiration that I will ever hold. It's great to be healthy, but there's line between doing something for health and doing something for vanity, and if I'm being totally honest, it gets blurred for me. That probably sounds like a total copout for "I just got lazy and didn't make it happen" but either way I think it holds truth. I still have to get off my keester and get back into running mode, as that improves my quality of life across the board.

Totally random side note and true story: My dad just walked into my room, laid down on the floor to hang out with me and chat for a bit, and after 3-5 minutes of talking fell sound asleep. As I type this, he is out like a light with his head partially underneath a stool. This situation could not describe him better in a nutshell.

Resolution: I want to complete all my unfinished original works, write a few more, and freestyle at least 2 times with random groups of brothas.
Status: This one is far from complete, but I will say that the future is bright as far as these things go, and I think I will be able to get an "A" in regards to this resolution by year's end. I work with a handful of guys who can spit some, and with many more who can appreciate good raw (and white) talent. I am excited at the prospect of some summer barbeques to showcase my Eminem-like whiteboy skill set...On the musical side of things, this semester killed most of my guitar time, and I was not able to do much with my written work. That said, I feel confident that my lyrical lows are behind me (embodied by one unfortunate song in particular) and summer will bring a renewed dedication to my "Making-the-acoustic-guitar-not-a-lame-chick-attracting-gimmick" mission.

Resolution: I will be a man and approach/get digits of a dame that I'm digging.
Status: While I did succeed in this a few times, my perspective changed totally on this. A few less-than-impressive additions to my dating résumé made me realize that when it comes to approaching women when I'm out with friends, less is more. And by "less is more," I mean never is more. My interest in drawing the attention of females is at an all-time low. Okay, that's definitely overstating the point, but let me explain. I'm trying to avoid situations where I will either waste money on taking a loser out on a date, or become smitten over a girl who I know ultimately has no shot at being the future Mrs.Lewis. There's no point in leading someone on or in tricking myself into thinking that any sort of casual romantic relationship is a good idea. "Casual" is a word that only has positive connotations when it refers to an outfit choice. The most important things in life require passion, commitment and dedication, all words that can not correspond with casual. Back to my point: sweating the process of finding a love interest is not worth it, even though inevitably everyone does it, or has done it, at some point or another. If I have confidence in myself, remain somewhat social, and trust God's plan for my life,

Resolution: Find a home church.
Status: I think when I wrote my resolutions I was losing sight of what really mattered as far as church went: Just being there consistently. Not attending church on a reg is a very bad idea if you claim to follow Christ. There are a million reasons to not go to church, and I think I've used just about every one at some point in varying moments of spiritual laziness. It comes down to to the fact that Christians need to regularly be in worship and fellowship with other believers to strengthen their own faith, and to have some sense of accountability. You're not a Christian because you go to church, but you do go to church because you're a Christian, as corny as that may sound. The church I grew up in is by no means perfect, and may not even be the right church for me long term, but right now it is my home church, and it's where I'm supposed to be.

Resolution: Survive Desmond till June.
Status: Next to graduating, I am most proud of this accomplishment. I was very close to ditching this gig and finding another, and it was only by God's grace that I remained with Dezzy. Sticking through the rough start proved to be totally worth it, as Des is a reformed youngster nowadays, and though he still has some bad moments here and there, the transformation in his personality has made him unrecognizable to a lot of people. I'm at the point now where I actually want to stay with him longer than I'm actually able to. The kid finds ways to crack me up on a daily basis, and the staff that I work with is a cast of characters that I've grown extremely fond of over the past 4 months. My work day goes approximately 425 times faster than the average person's, and as I've mentioned already in passing, there's always something new to laugh about. I really have to bust out a "Ways you know you have a great/awful job" blog because I feel I have infinite wisdom on the subject at this point in my life.

Resolution: Play one game of beer pong with V-Dub Wright.
Status: Plenty of time left to get this one accomplished and bring our career record to 2-0. I did not have a picture of Val rocking a random pair of sunglasses she found as I did with Desmond, but you can be sure if I did have one, it would be the perfect end to this blog post.



Problem Solved. Good day friends!