New Year's Meme

Thanks to LutherPunk for submitting his own meme and planting the suggestion in my mind!

1. Will you be looking for a new job?

Nope - but I will be starting one soon.

2. Will you be looking for a new relationship?

Yes - with a running group in Ames, IA. Other than that, I'm all set for relationships. Oops! I forgot one important new relationship: the fourth member of our household, currently "under construction."

3. New house?

Nope - but we will be moving into one soon!

4. What will you do different in 08?

Umm, not being psychic, I can't say for sure, but I think I'll do a lot more weddings and a lot fewer funerals.

5. New Years resolution?

Run more, sleep faster, eat less, worry less, blog better.

6. What will you not be doing in 08?

Sleeping more - with a 2 year-old and an infant I don't really think sleeping more will be possible.

7. Any trips planned?

To my birthplace for my home congregation's 125th anniversary celebration.

8. Wedding plans?

Thanks, but I'm all set.

9. Major thing on your calendar?

The due date of our new baby.

10. What can’t you wait for?

The due date of our new baby. [Thanks, LP, couldn't have said it better myself

11. What would you like to see happen differently?

I would like to see an increase of substantial discourse in our political process. I'd like to see us paying far less attention to fundraising and commercials and far more to actual debate about policy matters that could actually change lives for the better in our country.

12. What about yourself will you be changing?

I want to live more purposefully. Not Rick-Warren-purpose, mind you, but the kind of life where I do what I love, love what I do, and let the rest go hang. I want to keep my journal better, blog in ways that actually make people think (all two of you), spend less time fruitlessly wandering around waiting for stuff to happen to me.

13. What happened in 07 that you didn’t think would ever happen?

I got my first three pieces of "hate" mail: one unsigned and left at our church, the other two via email from folks I knew. Not a lot of fun, but I suppose I should have known it was going to happen eventually.

14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about?

I really despise the word "nice;" I'll say instead that I will strive to love better in 2008.

15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in 07?

Not at all - I like where I'm at clothes-wise.

16. Will you start or quit drinking?

"I am pretty sure that if I quit drinking beer I get my Lutheran card taken away." LP

Yeah, that pretty well covers it.

17. Will you better your relationship with your family?

I hope so, but things are already very good. Let's just hope nothing goes south this year.

18. Will you do charity work?

YES! I hope to get involved with Habitat for Humanity this year once we're moved.

19. Will you go to bars?

Not often, unless we do resurrect the "Beer and Theology" group at the Lutheran Center. If so, then there might be a bar in my future.

20. Will you be nice to people you don’t know?

I always try to be polite and kindly toward strangers. And if it were up to me, we'd strike the word "nice" from our vocabulary.

21. Do you expect 08 to be a good year for you?

I try to have as few expectations as possible (they have this annoying tendency to turn false).

22. How much did you change from this time last year till now?

Well, I've certainly become a different person since I added "Daddy" to the list of titles I currently hold. Need I say more?

23. Do you plan on having a child?

No, but I'm hoping Beloved will deliver a healthy baby sometime in mid-July.

24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?

You know, if I were to answer that question in the negative, do you think I'd be stupid enough to broadcast it here?

25. Major lifestyle changes?

Let's see: mortgage, one income, one additional child. We might have to give up something, I guess: maybe the weekly visit to John Edwards' hairstylist?

26. Will you be moving?

Yes, on January 10th.

27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in 08 that happened in 07?

I can only wish I had that much power...

28. What are your New Years Eve plans?

So far today I've watched two bowl games come up at odds with my predictions, bought three cheap paperback classics at Barnes & Noble (Frankenstein, Bleak House and a book of essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson), eaten homemade tacos & drank some beer with my in-laws, played a really lousy rip-off of Trivial Pursuit and now I'm blogging while everyone else goes to sleep at 11:00. Huzzah!

29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight?

Yes, but I'm sure she's going to grumble because she'll be asleep when I do it. I mean my Beloved, of course - who did you think I meant?

30. One wish for 08?

That the church I love might better live out the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that we could spend less time worrying about members and policies and budgets and spend more time finding ways to give ourselves away for the sake of the world.

A blessed New Year to you all - here's hoping we can do it all over again next year.

Pax,

Scott