New Year Resolutions (Social)

Everyone has self-improvement resolutions that he or she makes at the beginning of each year, and I am no different. I make several each year (and last year I kept them all!), but I also make several social resolutions as well. It's important to get out and see the world up close and personal, whether it's faraway travel (nationwide or international), or closer to home. This allows for broadening of the mind, stimulation of the imagination, and accumulation of interesting stories to share with friends and family. Plus it's just plain fun!

Here are my social resolutions for 2010:

• See ten live music acts. I made this resolution last year as well, and managed to go to eight shows. The Cranberries and Mute Math were as amazing as always, but I enjoyed seeing my friends Jay & Luc, and The Johnnies more. I always feel a great pride in seeing my extremely talented friends do so well. There are so many great local bands all over the country, who are inexpensive to see, yet pour their hearts into every note. Do your local music and business communities a solid, and check out a local band or two. You may just find a sound you suddenly can't live without, while helping promote talent and assisting the local economy, all just by going out to have a great time! And we always have fun dates listed here at Not Lame Minus. So please take advantage, however you can ☺
• Average one new place for a beer or coffee per week. For many of the same reasons I listed above, I plan to patronize a coffee shop or bar per week, in order to see what is good, and to help the locals. Sure, Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks are dependable, but they lack a certain charm, a certain je ne sais quoi if you will. And okay, I will admit, I am a beer snob, but I know what I like, and if a beer needs a commercial to keep its sales up, it's probably not that interesting in the first place. Basically, for less than five bucks, I'll be able to enjoy either a good cup of coffee and a fresh pastry, or a microbrewed beer that just might knock my socks off. Plus having the satisfaction of being a small part of helping the local economy.
  
• Visit ten states. Last year I made it to California (to visit my youngest bro & his family), upstate New York (to stay overnight at a college chum's house), and Vermont (a day trip, to break up the monotony of my fruitless-to-date job search). I also saw The Johnnies in Maine for Brian's birthday (it was only for a few hours, but hey, I wasn't in MA). Being in New England, I can hit any one of five of the planned ten states in my car between sunrise and sunset on any given day. I want to get back to Cali to see my brother again, and hit four others (NYC is high on my list) just to see more of the country.
• Use my passport. Pretty self-explanatory. I've only been to Canada a few times, and I would love to spend some time in a country or two where I didn't speak the native tongue.
• Host a music festival. I would LOVE to get a bunch of my musically-inclined friends down to the lake for a day of music performance and sunshine. I haven't brought it up to any of them yet, and I know scheduling could be difficult, but my goal is to get several of them down to the family lot on Wyman's Pond, provide a keg or two of the local beer, with grill and firepit going, and just have a heck of a time. I envision several short sets throughout the day, with a jam or two in between (performers willing, maybe even with audience members), with an opportunity to aquire their respective recordings should one desire. And maybe even free t-shirts for MusicFest 2010!

My year would be pretty darn exciting if even half of the above happen, with the occasional Red Sox game and a trip to Nantucket and/or Martha's Vineyard thrown in for good measure. There is nothing better than experiencing travel and music with friends and family. What plans do you have for 2010? We would love to know. And we hope to see many of you over the course of the year at the above events!