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My New Year's Resolution from 2016:
"There is Nothin' Like a D.A.M.E."
(This Is Part Of A Series Of Looking Back At My New Year's Resolutions From 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)
My New Year's Resolution from 2016 was musically themed as "There is Nothin' Like a D.A.M.E.," with the acronym 'D.A.M.E.' representing the following:
1. Debt Prevention
2. Activist Return
3. Music Appreciation
4. Emotional Development
...And this New Year's Resolution from 2016 was a continuation of my New Year's Resolution from 2015, since I found out that my musically themed New Year's Resolution "There is Nothin' Like a D.A.M.E." (which I updated, back then, to stand for Debt Prevention, Activist Return, along with Music Appreciation and Emotional Development) was taking longer than just one year! That was why I decided to carryover my New Year's Resolution from 2015 to 2016, and beyond...
Debt Prevention: Back then, I was totally out of credit card debt, as of January 2016, and I worked on preventing going into credit card debt again by relying on the savings that I had set aside in order to take care of any unexpected expenses that I might incur—which I would normally charge to a credit card and pay off over time. So, back then, if I had to make an unexpected purchase, I would still charge it to my credit card, but then I took money out of savings to pay off the entire credit card balance that I owed. Then, I repaid the savings for however much that I borrowed as soon as I able to do so.
By the way, I still owed my dad, back then, for the furniture that he bought for me when I moved to Oregon from Utah—for the second time—and I was able to repay my dad for about half of what I still owed him, before he passed away on February 18th, 2018.
Activist Return: Back then, after the 2014 "Koch Brothers' Midterm Elections," the wind had gone out of my proverbial sails, and I took an "Activist Sabbatical" for the foreseeable future... However, once I was out of debt, and because it was the 2016 election year, I was being an "Online Activist" again, but only with regard to politics, plus some environmental and social issues.
Music Appreciation: Back then, although I had returned to being an "Online Activist," I continued recharging my proverbial batteries by listening to the all of music that I wished!
Emotional Development: Back then, I realized that I am getting older by the minute... And I could tell by how inflexible I am that I needed to create a regular exercise routine, such as yoga, in order to prevent being completely immobile when I am older; however, before I could even think about starting a new Exercise Routine, I realized, back on January 31st, 2015, that I have some Emotional Development issues that I need to work on!
[October 28th, 2019 Update, Written On January 23rd, 2022: I decided to stop taking public transportation in order to get around... So, I started to walk everywhere I go in order to transport myself—and as a way for me to exercise at the same time! However, I am limited as to how far I can travel, since I can only walk about a total of three to four miles in one direction. And so, I have been walking everywhere I go, ever since October 28th, 2019.]
Also, I did not end up providing an update in 2017 of my year-long efforts with "D.A.M.E." (Debt Prevention, Activist Return, Music Appreciation and Emotional Development) in My New Year's Resolution 2016 Update, due to being too stressed out; however, I did provide updates during the year, which can be found below.
-Paul Whiting
(a.k.a., A Creative Writer)
"I maybe say too much about how life really is!"
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My Writing Notes:
The reason that I wrote this prose can be summed up with the following statement: Back then, I wrote this prose because I was carrying over My New Year's Resolution from 2015, which focused on Debt Elimination, an Activist Sabbatical, Music Appreciation and Emotional Development ("D.A.M.E."), but, in 2016, I worked on Debt Prevention, an Activist Return, along with Music Appreciation and Emotional Development.
Also, this prose was originally published January 1st, 2016 on my "Small All White in the Forest" and my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blogs; however, I eventually decided to only keep the "New Year's Resolution" type of posts on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, since these posts are more about philosophy than poetry.
And I also decided to republish these "New Year's Resolution" type of posts from my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog, on this new "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" blog. You see, these "Resolution" posts were originally published in the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 on January 1st—with updates provided, for each of the above-mentioned years, at the start of the following year (with the exception of the update for My New Year's Resolution from 2016, in which case I did not provide an update in 2017 due to being too stressed out), as well as with updates provided during the year in 2015 and 2016—and I have basically kept the same New Year's Resolutions ever since then.
Not only that, these original posts show the progression that I made as I went from consuming animal products to being totally vegan!
And this prose was also published on my "Poet, Artist and Philosopher" blog (please see the hyperlink below for the blog), since I feel that the message in this prose applies to the message I am trying to convey through "Poet, Artist and Philosopher."
This prose was written in Portland, Oregon.
-Paulee
https://poetartistandphilosopher.blogspot.com
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January 7th, 2016 Update: Speaking of emotional development, I decided to become vegan again, sometime before the end of March 2015, and I am feeling much better about my food choices, plus I am feeling much better overall. You see, I became vegan the first time in 1999, right before I moved here to Portland, Oregon from Salt Lake City, Utah the first time. (I moved back to Salt Lake City, Utah from Oregon in early 2007—for about two years—and then I returned to Portland in early 2009.) So, this is actually my second time living in Oregon and also my second time being vegan!
March 26th, 2016 Update: Speaking of emotional development, I buy "preserved foods" as much as possible (that is, canned, cooked, dried, frozen, pickled and refrigerated, etc.), so that I virtually never throw away food, because I only eat foods that are preserved, when I am in the mood to eat them... Now, this also means that I don't eat fresh foods, but I would eat my own home-grown foods, if I had my own garden! Thus, I choose to not buy fresh produce* since I worry about being able to eat produce while it is good and fresh! That is just my personal preference, however, in order to prevent throwing away food that has gone bad—which means wasting food—and that is not okay in My Philosophical Book Of Life!
*[October 18th, 2018 Update: I realized, in the year 2018, that I should be buying and eating fresh produce, especially local produce, as part of choosing to be a "Conscious Consumer." And what prompted me to realize that I should be buying and eating fresh produce, especially local produce, is the fact that in the year 2017 here in Portland, Oregon, I joined three cooperative grocery stores—as a member who buys a 'co-op' share in order to support that 'co-op'—but I was not buying any fresh produce! Thus, I realized my error with regard to not buying fresh produce in terms of being a 'Conscious Consumer,' who endeavors to support local businesses, including small farms. Therefore, I have started to buy and eat fresh produce, from the various grocery stores at which I shop, but in small quantities, so that I have time to eat the produce while it is good and fresh!]
March 27th, 2016 Update: Speaking of emotional development, I decided give up candy, sweets and chocolate bars around the first part of April 2015. And I used to eat candy, sweets and chocolate bars like they were going out of style! Plus, I even switched to eating only fair trade and/or organic chocolate when I found out that there is slavery in the chocolate industry! Then, I found out from my doctor that I was becoming diabetic; thus, I decided to stop consuming most of the foods I was eating that contained mostly sugar. Plus, candy, sweets and chocolate bars are empty-calorie foods and are not good for you! So now, I am eating organic and/or fair trade energy bars, which satisfy my need for candy, sweets and chocolate bars with something that is healthier. However, I do sometimes indulge in organic and/or fair trade chocolate for holidays and special occasions, like my birthday, but it is only a few times per year.
April 21st, 2016 Update: Speaking of emotional development, I have decided to NOT exercise until I am in the mood to do so, at some future point in time, since the only way that I will ever actually exercise is if I am in the mood. (I exercised about half a dozen times in 2015 and I have not exercised at all so far this year!) Plus, I have not lost the weight that I thought I was going to lose, since I started being vegan about a year ago. (I must consider, though, that I am seventeen years older than I was the first time that I became vegan and lost around forty pounds over several months; and I was also doing light home maintenance and furniture refinishing for my parents in Salt Lake City, Utah as a job—while I was living with my parents at that time, before moving here to Portland, Oregon—and so I was working several days per week from home; plus, vegan foods were kind of difficult to find in Utah back then and I was committed to not eating any animal meat or animal products, so I consciously chose to go hungry if I could not find vegan foods to buy.) Anyway, I have decided to focus on improving my vegan diet for the foreseeable future, as well, in order to work on making healthier food choices and to not eat so many vegan snacks as meals, as I have been doing quite frequently. Besides that, yesterday I finally realized that I really need to buy running shoes in order to be able to eventually power walk and still be able to support my "high pressure" feet, which tire me out when I walk. And my "high pressure" feet also might mean that I need orthotics, which will probably require a prescription from my doctor. So, I am probably not going to exercise for the foreseeable future, until I am good and ready!
[October 28th, 2019 Update, Written On January 23rd, 2022: I decided to stop taking public transportation in order to get around... So, I started to walk everywhere I go in order to transport myself—and as a way for me to exercise at the same time! However, I am limited as to how far I can travel, since I can only walk about a total of three to four miles in one direction. And so, I have been walking everywhere I go, ever since October 28th, 2019.]
May 26th, 2016 Update: It has been exactly one month since I have been back on Facebook (I reactivated my account on April 26th, 2016). And I wanted to say something about how I am being a "Minimal Activist" now and how I owe it all to having been a "Maximum Activist" prior to this. You see, I used to receive emails from about seventy different political and progressive organizations (hence the term "Maximum Activist"), but after the 2014 "Koch Brothers' Midterm Elections," the wind went out of my proverbial sails and I decided to take an "Activist Sabbatical" from approximately the end of 2014 to the end of 2015. So now that I am being an "Minimal Activist," I am only focusing on receiving information from Democratic political organizations during this election year and progressive organizations that represent the most important issues in the progressive movement, so that I still have time and energy to take care if my day-to-day needs, while I am being an "Online Activist."
May 29th, 2016 Update: I have decided to completely change the way that I interact on Facebook! I am simply going to use Facebook to stay in contact with friends and family with whom I only have contact via Facebook. Plus, I will share some posts from my blogs and that is pretty much it. And I am doing this because being an "Online Activist" on Facebook as much as I have been doing lately is starting to stress me out, due to me feeling so terribly insecure about this year's election, so much so that I have "Insecurity Concerns." Thus, I am continuing to be a "Minimal Activist," but I am only doing that through email by signing political and progressive petitions, by making donations to political and progressive organizations and, of course, by voting! And making this change gives me the time and energy to hope for the best in this year's election, but to prepare for the worst...
June 11th, 2016 Update: I have decided to start "Dieting Like A Man!" What I mean by that is I am trying to avoid eating so much sugar and fat in my diet. For example, I have stopped eating energy bars on a daily basis and only buy them when I go shopping at a store that carries them—and only on an occasional basis. Also, I am trying to switch to healthier "snacks" that are more like a meal, because I have been eating good meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but then I snack between meals until I am so full that it is like a meal. Thus, I am trying to choose low sugar and low fat snacks that are more like a meal, such as a vegan sandwich!
September 8th, 2016 Update: I am continuing to "Diet Like A Man!" And I am realizing—now that I have successfully removed most of the sugar from my diet, by not eating energy bars on a daily basis—that I am consuming a lot of oil in the form of vegan cheeses. So, I am working on not eating nearly as much vegan cheese as I have been lately, which is what I think is continuing to contribute to my inability to healthily lose weight on my vegan diet!
September 13th, 2016 Update: I have just finished rereading the "Conversations with God" books, including "A Conversation with God: An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1)," "Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 2)," "Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 3)," "Friendship with God: An Uncommon Dialogue," "Communion with God: An Uncommon Dialogue," "The New Revelations: A Conversation with God," "Tomorrow's God: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge," "What God Wants: A Compelling Answer to Humanity's Biggest Question," and "Home with God: In A Life That Never Ends." You see, I began rereading the "Conversations with God" books shortly after June 5th, 2016 and just finished rereading them yesterday, September 12th, 2016.
October 11th, 2016 Update: I have totally blown my diet whilst "Dieting Like A Man!" This month, I have gone on a chocolate binge and have even earned myself a pimple in the process... ("Oh God, is this red thing on my nose a zit?") Therefore, I have decided to not worry about losing weight anymore, due to the fact that I am definitely middle aged (I am 49 years old) and I am also getting tested regularly to measure my good health—and my "numbers" are usually within normal parameters. And so, when I am back on my diet, as I continue to "Diet Like A Man," I am trying to pay attention to the kind of food that I buy; I am also trying to remove the excess fat and sugar from my diet; and I am trying to not snack so much as to eat healthy meals when I get hungry.
November 2nd, 2016 Update: Due to being stressed out—and until further notice—I am no longer being an 'Online Activist' in the same way that I was before, which includes no longer signing petitions from political, social, environmental and charitable organizations, as well as no longer making donations to political, social, environmental and charitable causes the same way that I was in the past. (The reader should know that I am HIV-positive with full-blown AIDS.) And so, I am consciously choosing to not engage in any 'activism,' however, I am still planning to exercise my 'civic duty' by voting in upcoming elections.
November 7th, 2016 Update: I have continued to totally blow my diet whilst "Dieting Like A Man!" And, this month, I have continued my chocolate binge, plus I added a potato chip binge... Therefore, I have decided to not worry about losing weight anymore, due to the fact that I am definitely middle aged (I am 49 years old) and I am also getting tested regularly to measure my good health—and my "numbers" are usually within normal parameters. And so, when I am back on my diet, as I continue to "Diet Like A Man," I am trying to pay attention to the kind of food that I buy; I am also trying to remove the excess fat and sugar from my diet; and I am trying to not snack so much as to eat healthy meals when I get hungry. In addition to that, due to being stressed out—and until further notice—I am no longer posting on my blogs. (The reader should know that I am HIV-positive with full-blown AIDS.) Plus, I may—or may not—provide and update in 2017 for my year-long efforts with "D.A.M.E."
My New Year's Resolution from 2016 Update (which I have never written, due to being too stressed out):
This "Paul Whiting — A Creative Writer" Post No. 067 was edited on May 5th, 2024.
"Prose is using all of the words that are necessary in order to describe all that is necessary to describe." –Paul Whiting [June 1st, 2022]
