Recent news from around the world
The Stranger has an entertaining article up titled “Confessions of a Gasoline Huffer”:
[...] The tree I was sitting beneath began to sway. The tree became sentient and uprooted itself, and then fell over, grew four legs, and invited me onto its back. I don't remember it walking the eight miles to town, but suddenly there we were, in the middle of the street, me straddling a tree. We were in a parade, like the one that happens on the island every Fourth of July, with vets in their jeeps and farmers on their tractors. I waved at all the people on the sidewalk, hoping they didn't realize I was high on gasoline.
Los Angeles Times has an awesome news item about the “Tijuana Rambo”, Tijuana’s new police chief Alberto Capella Ibarra, it begins:
TIJUANA -- The bullet holes pockmarking the walls of his home were just three days old when Alberto Capella Ibarra took over the police force of this violence-plagued city.Twenty gunmen dressed in black had swarmed his yard in the middle of the night, and he'd fought them off, firing an automatic rifle.
The New York Times also has an article on the Mexican federal police vs. drug cartel skirmishes, this time in Río Bravo.
Finally, Heath Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. Also: Sydney Morning Herald, Los Angeles Times. Got to say, I was quite shocked when I first saw it.
New Year, New Goals
Ok, I know this is perhaps a little trite, but I figured I'd throw my Goals for 2008 out onto the web, in the hopes of giving them some semblance of accountability. So, here goes:
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Get my finances in order
I've got buckets of debt, I'm saving almost nothing, and Ben has to chase me up for rent each month. That's got to change. Now, I've got myself a awesome permanent job (with a healthy pay raise to boot), I don't really have any excuses anymore -- of course, I didn't really have any excuses prior either, but whatever. -
Lose some weight
I have no illusions about this. I may not be huge, and I don't really feel like my body image is holding me back much -- if at all -- but realistically, I'm bigger than I should be, and I need to lose some fat, gain some muscle, and finally get rid of my gut. I've started running a little lately, but as Emeril would say, I've got to "kick it up a notch." -
Stop smoking
Goes hand in hand with losing weight, really. This shit just isn't doing me any favours.
My three goals for 2008: the three things that are pissing me off the most right now. Now to create a more specific, concrete plan to achieve them, and come 2009, I'll be a new man.