So we’re into 2012.  Could be the last year before the ghost of the Mayans come and kill us all. In the spirit of not making it to my next birthday (thanks Mayans) I made a different sort of resolution list this year.

Historically it’s always been things like “lose fifty pounds”, “travel to Amsterdam”, “go on a national ad campaign against bald vagina” – you know – the usual crap people say they’re going to do while they’re drunk on New Years eve trying to find someone to sex up kiss at midnight.

So as I mentioned up in paragraph one the theme this year will be to resolve to do/be five things I’ve always wanted to do/be.

In no particular order they are as follows:

1) Learn to ride a horse
2) Learn to ride a motorcycle
3) Learn to play the blues guitar
4) 100 sit-ups / 100 push-ups without dying
5) Go to Vegas and take $1,000 gambling money

Allow me to break it down further

Learn to Ride a Horse: It’s not just about riding but about caring for and learning how to gear up the animal. It’s my goal later in life (assuming the Mayans are full of shit) to own a couple of horses. I love them and all of the riding I did as a kid (and the trail rides as adults) have engraved in me the desire to own a couple of nice horses. No time like the present (or spring time out here) to learn how to handle the beasts before I drop the cash on them later in life.

Learn to Ride a Motorcycle: I had a dirt bike as a kid.  It was a Yamaha YZ-80 and it was a blast. I grew up around motorcycles and quads and I’m now ready to own one. I’ve been looking at them since I was 25 but kept saying I need to be older, I need to understand better my sense of  mortality, and more stable financially. I’ve done my research, I know which one(s) I want, and I’m ready to make the leap. So I’m looking for the bike(s) I want in this area and sometime this year will have one.

Learn to Play Blues Guitar: I’ve always wanted to play guitar but never really wanted to dedicate myself to the time it would take to do it right. A few years ago I really started really getting into that Delta Blues sound and fell in love with the resonator style guitars. It’s a tinny sound but with warmth and it seems like it was made for the slide. Since I have very little social life out here outside the gym/work I’ve decided that I’ll be signing up for lessons and picking up a resonator to get my Delta Blues on. (Lord knows I’ve accumulated enough to sing about over the years)

100 Sit-ups / 100 Push-ups: This is a fitness goal. I struggle with the basic core exercises so I’ve been focusing most of my training on core, speed, agility, flexibility, and cardio. The pinnacle for me would be to hit my goal weight but the flag on it would be able to do 100 sit-ups and then 100 push-ups. (Followed by a 10 minute mile or less and I’ll change my name to Thor or something)

Vegas With a Little Cash: Likely the easiest of the resolutions. I’ve never been to Las Vegas. I’ve never gambled more than about $25 (mostly on nickle slots). I want to take a chunk of money and head off to sin city to see what I can do with it. I’ve started my Vegas fund and am targeting sometime in December for the trip. Since December is my birthday month and likely when the world will implode I best do it in early December.

So these are the things I resolve to do this year. I’ll figure out things like “sleep more than 3 hours a night”, “work less than 10 hours a day”, “lose the 50 lbs I want to lose”, and “buy a house” for years the Mayan people haven’t cursed (or run out of stone calendar making material).