And resolutions too.

I made some New Year's resolutions this year (I don't usually, since I believe I should have my life together enough that I don't have to use some occasion as an excuse to improve myself), and forgot to mention them in my two posts today. They are:

1. Stop cracking my knuckles. I am worried about the arthritis, and I think I already have it to a certain degree. But maybe I'm just being paranoid...
2. Reduce my sugar intake. After the diabetes scare with my mother right before my wedding last year, I'm a little worried about the future, considering how much Mountain Dew (oh my god, check out that page - "Mountain Dew’s name is a previously-existing euphemism for moonshine, which likely traces back to Ireland (see the Irish folk song “The Rare Auld Mountain Dew”), and has generally been marketed to highlight its potency. It was originally marketed as “zero proof moonshine” and had pictures of hillbillies on the bottle until 1973.") I drank as a child.
3. Make significant progress on my research. I am now 1.5 years in, with not enough to show for it. This semester I need to do lots of field work, and build the base level of any models that need to be made, and actually start writing.

I think there was at least one more, but I cannot remember now. I think that I have done a decent job on the first two. A couple Hershey Kisses per day, soda once in awhile. Less knuckle-cracking, although I didn't go cold turkey of course. It's funny, I've been doing it for so long that I now feel very uncomfortable when I don't crack them. And then, of course, when I give in and do it, it hurts. Research has not been as much of a win for me. I've gotten so little done this past couple weeks, it's pathetic. I've been questioning myself a lot lately on this count, and I don't understand why I just can't seem to focus on work.

Edit: 4. Be nicer to my wife. If you're reading this and don't know her, she's great. Not sure how I'm doing on this one so far, since she's in Ecuador.