The expat's goals for 2013

I’ve recently been thinking of my goals for 2013.  I wonder why that is?  

And I have come up with a short list that I’m sure is achievable.  Well, at least 3 of them I’m sure of.  One of them I’m less sure but feel that by writing it down and sharing publicly with you, I’m more likely to commit to it.  I may even blog regular updates, until you tell me you are bored with them.

Anyway, here is the list.  Can you spot the one that fills me with trepidation?

-  Drink less.

Not abstinence, as I love (really love) drinking.  But definitely reduce my intake and frequency.  Perhaps tailoring my current philosophy of only having a drink on days with a “Y” in them.  And limit myself to spirits, less calorie laden than my usual Coopers Pale ale, or Dirty Granny cider.  This of course will have to wait until after Australia Day on 26^th January when it seems the whole country shuns sobriety.

-  Lose weight

This will no doubt be aided by the one above but also by reducing my intake of Tim Tams, Anzac biscuits, Lamingtons and Charlie Lovett’s banana bread.  I also have my bicycle now so have no excuse not to get out on it on a weekend, helping trim inches off the burgeoning waistline.  I don’t think Mosman, or indeed the rest of Sydney, is quite ready for my truffle shuffle just yet.

-  Travel to new places

This appears on my list every year, and will continue to do so whilst I am still breathing.  However, now I am based on the other side of the world, and am upside down, I should explore the opportunities now open to me.  Places like Vanuatu (which I had not previously heard of) immediately spring to mind.  And Tasmania, one of the only major places of Australia that I have yet to visit.  And what about all the gorgeous little coastal towns, with sun kissed beaches?  Friends of mine are going to Jervis Bay soon so I immediately checked it out on the internet.  It looks amazing.  And not far from home.  In a car, not on the aforementioned bicycle, or my beloved Besbi scooter.  I could spend the whole year exploring places like this.  Even better, fulfill a life’s ambition of travelling in a campervan.

-  Read “War & Peace”

In literary circles, widely regarded as one of the THE best books ever written, this is one of Tolstoy’s that I have yet to tackle.  At over 1400 pages long, it is not an undertaking to accept lightly.  Having completed the 1079 pages of “Infinite Jest” (David Foster Wallace) last year I know tomes of this size are possible, but how many other books would have to be sacrificed?  I suppose there is only one way to find out.

So there we are, my (potential) goals for 2013.  Now, do I commit to them???