The title is a bit misleading, I know, since it is not just a new year but also a new decade. I’m left sitting here dusting off memories not just from the past year but also the past decade. The next thing that comes to my mind isn’t what my resolutions or goals are for the new year but how my view on life has changed.

Part of my life always felt like Atlas holding the world on his shoulders with that angry chip on his shoulder and broken heart. Yet, unlike Atlas, who had to be tricked into putting the world back on his shoulders, I find myself putting it on mine willingly and happily for possibly the first time in a long time, if not ever, though my style is different. I want to have the world on my shoulders in a Globe Trotter style.

Mentally, I feel like Rocky when he gets the eye of the tiger back in the end of the third film. Physically, at 38, I feel like him after the fourth or fifth film, though, trust me, I don’t look nearly  as fit as him. I just feel that beat up. With that being said, my starting line for the decade isn’t so bad. How to proceed from here is the question.

In my case, that starts with not listening to doctors and nutritionists anymore on what to eat. My body has been telling me what works for it, and I should never have stopped listening to it. I’m fairly sure most people’s bodies tell them what they shouldn’t be eating one way or another despite what we do to get around it.

And, frankly, Doc, I know your charts say I should be drinking 32 oz. of water a day, but I can’t drink that much water or fluid of any kind in a day, even if I want to, or I feel like a hot water bottle. By the way, walking to work, or anywhere for that matter, doesn’t feel too good. That doesn’t mean there aren’t times when I need to drink more or less than my daily average for me. But not 32 oz. worth. Because my body says that is too much. Sorry, but my body isn’t like a car that you can pull a stick out of and see if it is running low on fluids.

As you can see, I am going to try and inject a bit more humor into things even when covering serious topics. I started to sound like a mix of Spock and Worf there for a while. And, while right now, the world needs to focus on a lot of serious topics some laughter would help too.

Aside from loosening up a bit and eating a bit better, my only other major goal is to survive the decade. That should be easy right? I mean Australia only looks like something out of Dante’s Inferno, while New Zealand blows a gasket, and Indonesia is being power washed, and Mother Nature is basically acting bipolar in the rest of the world. Surviving the decade–nevermind the year–should be a piece of cake.

*Tips his hat, and walks out the door into the unknown decade.*