Resolution update

I think I have managed to do at least one thing from my list each day so far, and I checked off 3 or 4 on Saturday.

The biggest weekend accomplishment was dealing with The Sock Problem. You know... socks get bigger or smaller or just disappear completely (but always one sock at a time, never in pairs). You buy new socks to replace the baggy ones you never wear anymore, but never get around to getting rid of the old ones. And who hasn't known the heartbreak of the mysteriously orphaned sock? When do you finally accept that the other one isn't coming back and throw away the orphan? For some of us, the answer is NEVER. So I had a hamper full of single socks whose mates were sure to turn up in the next wash, and another hamper full of pairs of socks because I had way too many to fit in my sock drawer. I dealt with this whole issue by going to The Gap and buying 20 new pairs of socks. No, really. Once I had the socks I felt I needed (a whole bunch of tall boot socks and a handful of light-weight but warm dress socks) I could throw out all those marginal ones I'd been afraid to let go of.

Then I made a great discovery: a bunch of empty drawers! Yes, indeed, the little chest of drawers in the closet of the room we still call Amber's Room had nothing in it. Now it has 3 drawers full of carefully sorted and folded socks. Today I am wearing some really cool black socks with silvery bats flying around on them. They are just the type of sock I like: close fitting but slightly wooly, and they don't fall down. They aren't new; I just saw them for the first time in months when I got near the bottom of the sock hamper.

I also balanced my checkbook for the last 2 months, deposited 3 checks, paid off my credit card balance online, mended some little holes in a favorite shirt, emailed my mother and sister, and bought a new Franklin Planner.

Yesterday's accomplishment was less than spectacular, but it was something I had been putting off. I finally took down last year's 12-month wall calendar and put up the new one in my cubicle at work.

Today I called my hairdresser and made an appointment to get my hair cut. Okay, it's not much, but I'm still emotionally exhausted from the sock purge.

Weekend date - Midtown Global Market

Looking back through my LJ memories made me realize what a good idea it is to record the fun things. For a while during the summer I must have been having lots of fun, because I was writing about "in-town vacations" pretty much every weekend. I did a lot of stuff over The Holidays, but never got around to writing about it. Somehow I don't have any psychic energy to spare in December, no matter how few responsibilities I take on. But now it's January, the sun is coming out again, and I can get back to journalling my life.

On Saturday evening Richard and I took a trip to the Midtown Global Market. (aka "the Old Sears Building.") I've been meaning to check it out ever since it opened, but never got around to it. For one thing, I wasn't sure if it was open in the evenings at all or if it was just a daytime phenom (answer: it's open until 8pm, and it's a fine place to get a quick, interesting, supper).

I also wasn't sure if it was just a food court or what? I guess the answer to that one is "yes." Maybe a third of the little shops are restaurants or fast food, but not like the chain restaurants you see in The Mall. There's Italian, Mexican, Asian, African, Tibetan(?), and so on. We had dinner at a Mexican place that makes its own masa. Most Mexican-American restaurants don't even serve masa. Probably the best reason to go back is the food shops (the website bills it as an indoor farmer's market). There's fresh produce, quite a lot of fresh meat (including hard-to-find meats like yak), Asian groceries and deli fare, and an outpost of The Holy Land. There are also a handful of random shops scattered around: here a guy selling spices, there a little art gallery. There's also a stage in the middle of the food court area. Some local musicians were onstage while we ate, singing, playing piano and violin. It's a fun place for a visit. I wish I had thought of going there when I was shopping for Christmas presents.

Tips: bring a shopping bag or backpack and set aside an hour or so for wandering around. There is free ramp parking on the east side of the building.