Last year I wrote a post about my New Years Wishes, not resolutions because well, I never keep those.  They are wishes because they are things I really want to happen but am aware that I may not quite get there.

Hey, a least I’m realistic, right?

Now I’m looking back to see what I have achieved and what still needs work.

Last year my New Years wishes were (Summary, you can see the linked post for the full story):

I want to continue on with Weight Watchers, pushing past this frustrating first plateau.
UPDATE: Umm, yes and no. I did push through the plateau but not with any help from Weight Watchers.  After four months with no improvement I took the advice of my in laws and tried something different, low carb.  The Harcombe Diet, to be exact.  After reading that book my thoughts on food changed drastically and I saw how flawed Weight Watchers really is.  Pity, since I once thought so highly of it but I chalk it down to ignorance.  I did lose weight on WW but the health benefits were minimal.  A low carb lifestyle has rid me of Type 2 diabetes, IBS and a number of other ailments that were easily cured with a change in what I was eating.

Although I’m still at the point where I hate exercise I’m hoping that I’ll soon reach that point other people say they are at where they really LOVE it.
UPDATE: Not so much!  I went to the gym for a few months but didn’t like it for a number of reasons and stopped going.  I did do other things I enjoyed more for exercise and was doing well there for a while but over the last few months I’ve become somewhat lazy again.  I am out and about more in general but not for the purpose of exercise. Thankfully I’ve been extra good where my food is concerned so it’s made up the difference. I do still hope to improve in this area.

Hopefully we’ll finally get this flat on the market this year.
UPDATE: Unfortunately this didn’t happen.  The market is still not so great and there are a number of flats in our building that have been for sale for a loooonnng time. They just aren’t selling.  We are going to be here for at least another year, I suspect.  So this is temporarily on hold. In the meantime we are working on organizing better and making the best use of the space we have.

Since I’ve been living here in Holland, I’ve never gone back to Canada on my own.
UPDATE: Oh HELL YEAH I have! This is one wish that totally came true! :)

Having been to Blijdorp Zoo here in Rotterdam a number of times and Apenheul back in 2007, I’d really like to visit some of the other popular zoos in the Netherlands.
UPDATE: This one didn’t happen either. I did go to Blijdorp again a few times and had plans one weekend for a zoo in Arnhem but those plans fell through. I’ll definitely be making this happen in 2011!

Start riding my bike again.
UPDATE: BOOYA!! Another one done!

I’ve always had an issue with worrying what people think.  I would like to be the don’t give a shit type…
UPDATE: Ok I have improved on this, but it is still an issue, probably will be next year too! haha

The Dutch language…
UPDATE: Umm, right. This will ALWAYS be an issue. I do believe I’m speaking more and more each year though, but I haven’t gone back to school for it… yet!

I want to be more sensible about friendships.
UPDATE: This one is a bit difficult and not fully achieved yet. I’ve decided that while I’m still a bit of a social fuckwit, I am always open about that with my friends.  So, the ones who know I’m trying, stick with me, love me in spite of it and help me to be better are the ones I’ll move mountains for. The rest, especially those who make me feel bad about myself because I’m not good enough or have not quite gotten there yet, well…

I absolutely positively MUST do more crafting this year.
UPDATE: I’m pleased to say that this most definitely, absolutely, has happened.  There are still a few projects I haven’t blogged about but I’ve been a busy bee crafting this year and already have loads of birthday and Christmas gifts planned for the coming year!

I’d like to learn to cook more and would like to try at least 1-2 new recipes a month.
UPDATE: Sorta happened. I still don’t really enjoy cooking, but I’ve made a lot of new recipes over the past year and have had to learn to cook a lot of new things to go with my new low carb lifestyle.  Maybe not 1-2 a month but a shitload more than I had done before.

We have decided that every month just after pay day we are going to try a new restaurant.
UPDATE: This didn’t happen but it was by choice.  Eating out is expensive and it doesn’t really jive well with how I want to eat right now. I want to know what is in my food and don’t eat potato, pasta, rice etc.  It’s difficult to find places to eat out that are suitable for how I eat nowadays.  I can go out from time to time but I won’t be trying a new place every month like we planned. I’m happy to let this wish go unfulfilled.

Take more photos!!
UPDATE: I’m pretty sure I took enough photos on my holidays this year to make this count as finished. I want to take more and more though. I don’t think there’s ever really enough photos so this will be on my list every year!

Another area I’ve been showing slooooow improvement is my housekeeping skills.
UPDATE: HA! I still have dustbunnies bigger than my dogs.  I’ve grown rather attached to them though.  I’m thinking of naming them.

Camping, there absolutely must be more camping!
UPDATE: We didn’t get camping this year because we chose to go to the south of France to visit Xander’s family instead, I also went to Canada for three weeks.  While we didn’t get camping we certainly didn’t suffer in the holiday department! Perhaps we will dust off the tent and get out camping this summer.

Right, well those were my wishes for the year 2010.  I haven’t achieved everything on my list but a lot the things I wanted to happen did or are on their way.  A lot of things that weren’t on my list happened this year too, good things. I’ve tried new things, made some amazing friends, got to spend a lot of time with both my family and Xander’s, and lost a crapload of weight.  I’d call 2010 a win!

What are my wishes for 2011?  I need to think about that a little more, also about exactly how much of it I feel comfortable sharing on my blog.  That’s a bit of an issue for me at the moment.  I’m also tired of typing right now, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Related posts:

1. New Years Wishes
2. Where Were You 10 Years Ago?
3. New Years Eve and Fireworks – A Need For Change in NL?

As you can see from the title, I’ve decided to give the 365 Days photo project another try.  Two years ago I attempted the 365 days of self portraits project, which was a miserable failure.  I hated taking photos of myself so I’m not sure what possessed me to start a project that required 365 of them!

I figured that the date 1/1/11 was a great time for my 1st photo of my new 365 photos of any old thing project.  I hoped and prayed that there would be great fireworks to take photos of but alas, it was shite.

I started getting worried when I saw fog in the forecast.  Then the news reports of the government cracking down on illegal fireworks didn’t bode well either.  I noticed that there were a lot less bangs happening during the month of December, which made me very happy but also concerned about what would take place at midnight.

As you can see from the photo above, it was nothing like in previous years. It did turn out to be really foggy and the financial dip together with the crackdown on illegal fireworks has really taken its toll.  Bummer.

Here is an example from last year for comparison:

I wonder if I will ever see fireworks like that here again…

It was such a clear night last year and there were a lot of fireworks all going of at the same time.  This year, the fireworks in the first photo are the most I saw at once.  There were times where I sat for a few minutes just waiting for one, which lead to a lot of half assed single firework photos.

I’ve decided that it’s worth dealing with an entire month of racket if the end result makes up for it, because this year may have been more peaceful, but midnight was a total dud.

You can see more of my firework photos from this year and other years on my Fireworks Flickr set.

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to do this 365 Days project again for the past two years and I’m hoping that this will be the year I actually complete it!  Now that it doesn’t rely on photos of ME and all…

Oh, and yes I am aware that I’m a am the mayor of all the hypocrites in Hypocriteville.  I haven’t forgotten my little rant about fireworks a few years ago, but I missed them this year, I really did!  I’m sorry Firework gods!  I’m sorry! UNCLE… UNCLE!!  I have seen the error of my ways!  Maybe we can compromise, like… no fireworks before the 31st but then ALL HELL CAN BREAK LOOSE! Deal?

Related posts:

1. Project 365 (Day 3) Ten Years of Christmases
2. Project 365 (Day 2) Painting With Light
3. Project 365 (Day 17) My New Favorite Thing – Singapore Sling

I know I’m late to the party with the whole New Year ‘resolution’ thing, but I needed some time to think about it.  I don’t actually do resolutions, it’s really not my thing.  Mostly because I’m a big quitter and I never keep them.   There are some things I would really like to see happen during the new year though.

• I want to continue on with Weight Watchers, pushing past this frustrating first plateau.  I know a lot of people hate being on a diet, but WW doesn’t really feel like one.  It’s just the structure and portion control that I need in my life.  I still get to eat the things I like, I just have to eat them differently than I did before, and in smaller portions.
• Although I’m still at the point where I hate exercise I’m hoping that I’ll soon reach that point other people say they are at where they really LOVE it.  I know exercise is supposed to make those happy chemicals pump through you, but at the moment all it does for me is make me sweaty and cranky.  I’ve just committed myself to at least 6 months at my new gym though, which I do really like, so I’m crossing my fingers that it becomes fun eventually.
• Hopefully we’ll finally get this flat on the market this year.  We so want to move but the thought of it is daunting.  This is the first house we’ve ever owned and it makes moving more complicated than when you are renting, especially with the market being like it is at the moment.  We both feel we have outgrown this place though, so we need to get our acts together and set this ball in motion.
• Since I’ve been living here in Holland, I’ve never gone back to Canada on my own.  There are a few reasons for it like the tiny seats and my huge ass, my hatred for being squished up against strangers, and obviously… missing my husband.  Waiting for us to be able to afford a trip together causes major gaps between my visits home and I know the only way to resolve it is to bite the bullet and go alone.  At the moment the plan is for me to go home in October so I can be there for my mother’s 60th, that gives me almost 10 months to get over the strangers in my personal space thing, and shrink my ass as much as possible.
• Having been to Blijdorp Zoo here in Rotterdam a number of times and Apenheul back in 2007, I’d really like to visit some of the other popular zoos in the Netherlands.  Maybe even some in Germany and Belgium that are within a day trip distance.  It would give Xander and I something fun to get out to do together and give me an opportunity to take some more cute animal photos.
• A few years ago I decided to get a bike.  Everyone rides around on bicycles here and I was feeling like the odd man out.  It was a bit difficult to find one that was short enough but eventually we did.  I hadn’t been on a bike since I was about 12 so I was nervous and wobbly.  That, put together with the fact that I was so out of shape, wasn’t pretty.  My legs burned, my lungs hurt, I was sweating and all the people whizzing past me in cars and other bicycles kept making me almost fall over.  Oh, and my ass hurt from the seat. SO. BAD.  We even bought an extra special cushioned seat and it still hurt.  So for the past year or two the bike has been collecting dust in the basement, which is another issue…  getting the bike up the stairs out of the basement is a giant pain in the ass.  Anyhow, I’m determined to start using it again and as soon as the ice is melted I’m getting it out.  I may just go around the block or up and down my parking lot, maybe to the supermarket… but Rome wasn’t built in a day.  I’ll get there…
• I’ve always had an issue with worrying what people think.  I would like to be the don’t give a shit type and I work hard at it but it’s definitely a work in progress.  I’m improving but I’m not quite there yet.  I’d like to spend this year trying to worry more about my own world and what makes me and my husband happy, and less about what other people are doing and thinking.
• The Dutch language… *sigh*  I understand loads, but that mental block is still there in regards to speaking it around people I know.  If I’m on my own around random Dutchies I can talk the hind leg off a mule, but if someone I know is there?  –= mute =-  Maybe this falls in line with the worrying what people think thing, if I improve that maybe this will get better too.
• I want to be more sensible about friendships.  I know that sounds weird but having been on my own for so long, sometimes I feel a bit awkward socially and am not sure how I’m meant to behave.  I have some good friends, and I want to work harder on being present and being there for them.  I want them to know that I consider them good friends and that if I sometimes go into hermit mode that it’s a bit of residual laziness and issues on my part, not that I don’t like them or don’t want to be friends.  I also need to learn that not everyone are meant to be friends.  Having only one thing in common, like both being foreigners here in the Netherlands, is not enough to base a friendship on.  I wish it was, but it’s not.  I need to learn to let go rather than continuing to try to make friendships where there isn’t meant to be one.  Especially in cases where I feel like I am the only one bothering.  In my own country where there were more possibilities and easier options in regards to making friends, I’d never tolerate being the one to always make contact or keep in touch.  The fact that it’s more difficult to find and make friends here shouldn’t mean that I should put up with things I ordinarily wouldn’t.   I guess I basically want to spend this year concentrating on keeping the good friendships I have and learning to let go or not worry so much about the ones that aren’t.
• I absolutely positively MUST do more crafting this year.  Not just because I enjoy it but it also is really relaxing.  I feel good when I’m creating something and I don’t know why I keep putting things away and not going back to them for months.  I also have a few ideas of things I could make and sell, and it wouldn’t be bad for me to have an income… however small it may be.
• I’d like to learn to cook more and would like to try at least 1-2 new recipes a month.  That doesn’t seem like a lot but cooking new things does my head in.  I worry myself sick that it’s not going to work out.  I don’t particularly love cooking, so if I spend loads of time making something that turns out to be crap… well, that just pisses me off.  Maybe knowing how to cook more interesting things will make me enjoy it more, I don’t know. We’ll see!
• We have decided that every month just after pay day we are going to try a new restaurant.  Get out there, try new things, see some new places… you know, the overall theme of my New Years Wish.  We haven’t decided where we are going to go for January yet.
• Take more photos!! I always enjoy getting out with my camera and I want to do that more.  Sometimes I feel a lack of inspiration and don’t know what I want to take photos of.  Then I see photos other people take of random every day things and realize that inspiration can be anywhere, you just have to go out and let it find you.
• Another area I’ve been showing slooooow improvement is my housekeeping skills.  I have gotten better but I’m waiting for my mother’s genes to kick in and make me clean obsessively.  Then I will be happy.  I wish I could enjoy it or get the satisfaction out of it that she does, but I don’t.  I’m perfectly happy to put it off until tomorrow.
• Camping, there absolutely must be more camping!

Yeah, so I guess that’s it.  No resolutions, just things I’d like to continue to improve on in  my life.  A general theme of move more, do more, weigh less, complain less, and be a better person.  I’ll probably screw up royally from time to time but I’m trying and that’s what matters, I think.

Related posts:

1. 2010’s New Years Wishes Revisited!
2. New Years Eve and Fireworks – A Need For Change in NL?
3. New Years Makeover

Why?  – Because of the firecrackers, bangers, fireworks and everything else that went off causing my dogs to spin circles.  It’s not just that they wake me up and make me nearly jump out of my skin every five minutes, but they have my dogs totally behind themselves the entire time.   That gets to me because I can’t figure out how to sooth their nervousness without giving into it and feeding it.  It’s frustrating and unnecessary!

I wouldn’t mind if it was just like everywhere else, fireworks going off at midnight.  That is fun and exciting!   A week (or more!) of constant banging is an entirely different kettle of fish.

I was just reading an interesting article on Expatica in regards to this very topic.  Here are a few snippits.

Incidents and accidents
From 10am New Year’s Eve until 2am on New Year’s Day, the Dutch streets could be mistaken for a military zone. This is the only time of the year that Dutch law allows the public to use fireworks.
According to figures from the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), reported in Elsevier Nieuws on 2 January 2009, there were 7,641 reported firework related ‘incidents’ across the Netherlands over New Year.

The celebrations to see 2009 in resulted in:
•    2,753 reported crimes relating to violence, mishandling, arson and vandalism
•    1,370 cases of arson,
•    800 arrests,
•    more than 325 people admitted to hospitals with firework injuries,
•    216 vehicles set alight,
•    97 incidences of violent behaviour against emergency services personnel,
•    four schools burning,
•    two people losing an eye,
•    one fatality.

Dutch tradition
Fireworks at New Year are a long-standing Dutch tradition, and signify chasing the spirits of the old year away.
Similarly, the custom of the vreugdevuur, (usually fuelled by burning Christmas trees) is a symbol of purging the old for the new.
However, many Dutch are considering the evolution of New Year’s Eve activities and questioning whether the fires and fireworks now have any real ties to the traditions of old.

According to an investigation undertaken by the Police Academy in 2007, it has become ingrained into Dutch culture that at New Year, anything goes. The report concluded that the Netherlands has a fundamental problem with violence and vandalism at this time of year.

Ok – Seriously?!!  When do you decide to put tradition aside for the sake of the safety of everyone involved?

We didn’t go out on New Years this year because we couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the dogs alone.  We did go for a walk around the neighbourhood though and after about 10 minutes we legged it back to the house because we just didn’t feel safe.   At one point this dude with a mohawk was setting fireworks off in front of our building, and he seemed to get great enjoyment out of the fact that they went every direction other than UP!

We even stood slackjawed as he and his friends laughed their heads off as a fireworks smashed into the window and balcony of the senior’s complex across from us.

If people could be responsible I would be ok with it.   If they stuck to the LEGAL period of time when the fireworks can be set off, found safer places to do it and took better care of where the fireworks were going – fine.  Fill yer boots, I say.   They don’t though.  They stand right in front of apartment buildings, in the middle of full parking lots and in playgrounds and shoot them every which way.

When I first moved here, and until just a few years ago, I loved the fireworks… but I don’t think I’m imagining it when I think it’s getting way out of hand in the last 2-3 years.   Apparently last year they took preventative measures which did lead to a decrease in vandalism this year, but going from a shitload to a whole lot doesn’t make for a nice evening really.  It’s still bad.

Here is a quote from the same article about what has been done and the difference this year.

Prevention
Government departments, councils, emergency services and local groups co-operated during 2008 to implement measures to minimise the damage following the widespread rioting and destruction at the end of 2007.
Local councils, as a matter of course, take action to protect or remove public property; rubbish bins disappear from the streets around Christmas and post box openings are narrowed to stop vandals throwing fireworks in.
In addition, this time around, the police set up an anonymous tip line for citizens to report troublemakers for anything from handling illegal fireworks to arson and vandalism.

The BZK launched a national campaign to combat violence against emergency services personnel after 14 percent of those arrested the previous year committed violent acts against ambulance, police and fire service staff.
The four big cities of the Randstad introduced supersnelrecht to ensure swift prosecutions for those arrested over the New Year with courts already open on 2 January to hear cases.

Six times as many reinforcements were available from the national police service, Korps landelijke politiediensten (KLPD), than last year to support regional forces, and police made home visits to talk to known troublemakers.
In the Haaglanden region, special ‘car fire’ teams were set up as a preventive measure as more than 100 cars were set alight a year ago in the Hague area.

Happy 2009
The consensus seems to be that the celebrations this time around were quieter than last.

Arsonists set fire to ‘only’ four schools this year, compared to 23 last year.  In Zuid-Holland, there were ten percent fewer calls to the emergency services this year than last, and in The Hague vandals set fire to 50 cars, half of the damage done in 2007/8.

However, whilst the damage is less, there is still justified consternation from different parts of Dutch society following incidents across the country.
It was necessary to deploy riot police (ME) in Haarlem to protect fire officers, 150 people threw bottles and stones at police in Rotterdam and in Nijmegen a group bombarded police and fire officers with Molotov cocktails.

In Wijchen, a police station was the target of a firebomb and in Uddel emergency service crews had bottles thrown at them. Police made 52 arrests in Friesland for obstructing the emergency services.

Oh, only four schools on fire – problem solved!   I’m completely gobsmacked at the fact that people are attacking firemen and other emergency service workers.   What kind of people do that?    You know, even as I said it I saw random faces of the lower class “Rotterdammers” and knew exactly what kind of people would do it.

Thankfully, the last part of the article discusses that there actually are people pushing for change here in the Netherlands.  People who want to ban the legal sale of fireworks completely and have large firework shows put on by each of the cities.  They do have one here in Rotterdam, but that doesn’t stop everyone from lighting their own too.   The problem is that I’m guessing most people in Rotterdam wouldn’t dare venture out in the city center to SEE this big fireworks show, because they are too afraid of what else is out there.

I know I am.

It will be interesting to see how this changes over the coming years.   At some point they will have to make a change.  New Years should be for everyone, not just the hooligans who own the currently own the streets at that time of year.

What are your thoughts?

Related posts:

1. Project 365 (Day 1) A Pitiful Year for Fireworks
2. New Year With A New Camera
3. New Years Wishes