A Non-Comprehensive List
I understand I’m well over two months late for New Year’s Resolutions but WHAT CAN I SAY I like goals and lists so here we go!
In 2016 I will be attempting to…
- Stay active with exercise and other activity – yoga, stretching, body weight exercises at home, and dance (ballet, ideally). Even though I have never consistently studied dance, it has popped up at different parts of my life, and every time it does I am healthier, happier, and more relaxed because I have that physical outlet. I get a little taste of that in running or in yoga, but nothing beats moving your body to music. Somehow, I aim to make time to do this a bit more regularly than I currently am – which is to say, even if I can do it at ALL that’ll be a win. I will openly confess that my current fitness icon is Daisy Ridley. Holy CRAP.
- Develop healthy eating habits – low sugar, balanced diet, stay within my daily calorie goals, etc. In the last year I have already begun to change my old ways – I am more conscious of what I choose to eat and how much I have, and I eat better on a daily basis than I did a year or two years ago. Cutting back on soda and sweets has helped immensely, and I’m learning to broaden my taste horizons as well. Since the Fella and I got together, I’ve really come to love spicy foods, whereas my 10-year-old self would have wept like Hecuba in The Trojan Women if you’d have made her eat red curry. NOT ANYMORE! I’ll try anything unless it has suckers, a face, or a beating pulse.
- Learn Japanese! Haha, yeah, I know, like I’m not busy enough. And it’s not like there’s three alphabets to learn. I’ve been talking about learning for years, but it’s always been too daunting… but I recently downloaded some apps and did some digging online… and I made the leap. I’m doing it. A little every day makes a big difference. The Fella is joining me in this endeavor – did you know he was born in Japan? I love language and learning about other culture through language, so this is actually fueling me like a moon rocket right now. I am energized and excited and — well, I aim to keep that going as long as I can! できます!
- Create and produce the Three New Projects I’ve mentioned on my Patreon and social medias. Yes, friends, if somehow you’ve missed the updates, I have three new projects in the works for 2016. Production has already begun on all three, and they will be ongoing throughout the year. These projects are as follows:
- A comedic spacey adventure podcast called “Tiny Space Hat Pirates.” TSHP will be released sometime in 2016 or early 2017 – there will be ten episodes and a full cast of voice actors as well as (fingers crossed!) sound effects and exquisite musical introduction and interludes. Pew pew pew!
- A satirical faux public radio spotlight on the All Orc and Goblin Community Theatre Project, called “DND20 Public Radio Presents.” We’ve already recorded the first episode and I’m in the process of editing it. This is a much more pared-down type of pod-fiction, and is primarily improvised by excellent and outstanding humans that I know in person. It will also (probably) be ten episodes long (for starters) and will be released (I imagine) sometime in the summer of 2016.
- A serial fiction tale transcribed from gameplay sessions of a Fate-based RPG I’ve built from scratch (with the Fella’s help), in a world called Warda. The players are preparing for our first game (Game Zero) where we will join forces to discuss the world, the characters they’ve come up with, and how these things all link in together in wondrous and unexpected ways. I will record the game sessions and then transcribe and fictionalize them for you all in readable formats! How exciting! NEW FICTION!
- Bear in mind that for all three of the New Projects (and any new projects that appear along the way), being a Patreon patron will get you early access and wonderful sneak peeks, not to mention voting powers when applicable! Do consider joining the party. Click here for more information!
- Write my next novel. I cannot tell you how badly I want to delve back into the rhythms of writing, re-writing, and crafting a new full-length story. I’ve had ideas blip through my radar in the last year since On The Isle of Sound and Wonder was released, but for the most part, those blips were just blips. Now that I’ve been digging the trenches for the foundations of Warda (WORLDBUILDING IS ACTUALLY REALLY HARD) I am becoming more and more excited to discover the stories and people and things that live and exist within it. I have a running list of character notions, story ideas, and scene images. I’m armed, and I plan on using that ammo… I want to get the RPG/serial fiction bit going first, but rest assured I’m raring to go on a full-length feature fantasy. *adjusts collar of natty jacket* *slips into fancy gloves* *adds a jaunty Edwardian chapeau*
- Travel somewhere new! This is a classic resolution/yearly goal for me. I love to travel, and I love to go new places. I think it’s a grand way to progress. So each year I strive to visit a new town/state/country (if possible). In 2014, I visited Utah for the first time. Last year, I visited South Dakota and Wyoming for the first time. (It is a westerly-moving theme thusfar, is it not?) This year, I’m not sure where that location will be, but I intend to visit somewhere that I’ve never been before – ideally with the Fella at my side. He’s got a fearsome hankering to return to his childhood home in Okinawa, and I’d love to see Japan for myself. We’ll see how finances work out on that front, but we may have to settle for something a bit more local that’s still a new frontier.
My list for 2016 is pretty ambitious. Attempting to learn a new language, travel to new places, write/create/produce content in fiction and audio format, keep up the Disney Odyssey and other blog content, not to mention the day job and other ‘real life’ obligations from month to month… But I am satisfied with my list. I am satisfied with my ambition, my desire to grow and learn and explore. I am excited to tackle my own challenges, and face the various challenges that are yet unknown. 2015 was an insane roller coaster of good things and bad things, including a lot of radical social and personal changes – including but not limited to being engaged and subsequently married to the Fella. There is so much change still in the air, and so many possibilities. I intend to continue to chase that potential all the way through the year.
Alyson Grauer 