Happy New Year, a week late but nothing short.

They say that one's year is dictated by how she rings it in. If that's the case, I'm not sure what to make of my year to come. For the last couple of days of 2010 and the first several of '11, I've been experiencing the kind of sickness that encompasses one's head in a bubble of congestion and makes everything outside that bubble seem like slow-motion cinema of surreal proportions.

But during the last couple of days, I have experienced this shattering lucidness in the bubble. Light has seemingly been drawn on matters as large as my purpose here (yeah, like on Earth) and as small as my love for carbohydrates (yes, I do love bagels!). And everything has seemed extraordinarily wonderful and shiny and new since then. I realize that what I am experiencing is likely nothing more than shortness of oxygen to the brain. But, oh, how glorious the high.

And where I'd had zero New Year's resolutions before, I now have several.

1. I want to learn! I'm not done learning I realized in the car yesterday (whether or not I should be driving is agreeably disputable). I want to read. I want to take classes. I want to make up for the last ten years of brain stagnancy.

2. I want to eat bagels! As previously stated, I have rediscovered a love for the chewy, soft circles of carbohydrate that I've denied myself for many years. But I love bagels. And I want to have things that I love. I want to have them every day. I want to savor them in beautiful parks. I want to pull over on the side of the road to eat them with the concentration they deserve. Sometimes, I want to eat them in bed with an open jar of peanut butter. Life is short, and I want my short life to be full of bagels!

3. I want to appreciate life! It is beautiful out, the weather in Los Angeles this week. It is sunny and the air is fresh and the whole city feels like it's full of the greatest possibilities. I am sick, but I'm not that sick. I am a little down in the dumps for being stuck in a perpetual state of feverish looniness, but life could be worse. I wish I had more money, but I could always have less. Basically, life kicks ass but it's so damn short and I'm turning 30 in 2011 and you better believe I'm about to start kicking the 2nd third of my lif'e's butt--this year and then the next and hopefully the year after that one too.

So, a long and drawn out and much belated Happy New Year from me to you. Being stuck inside this congestion bubble has opened my mind up to the wondrous all around me. I hope you can see it too. May you feel a little bit of the manic joy I've felt this week from a headcold all year round.

xo * Jessie

New Year's Resolution: pretend to train to run a marathon.

I'm a little late for New Year's Resolutions, I know. But publicly declaring aspirations which one knows one will likely never see fulfilled is never inappropriate. Several days ago, I decided that it would be grand to attempt to run a marathon in 2010. Now, this is not the type of resolution one makes lightly. Quitting carbs--easy--just throw the bread away and substitute with hunks of cheese and gobs of peanut butter--delightful. Being 'nicer' to people--a little less honking of the horn and cutting folks off on line should suffice. But running a marathon--that's tons and tons of bloody work for, like, months at a time.

But in an effort to keep to this resolution which I may or may not have been tipsy while making, I'm looking at the bright side--the reasons why training for a marathon--or at least pretending to for a week or two--is worth my time.

1. Running sheds pounds, or so I'm told. And I've got a few pounds left to shed. Should the physical and mental benefits of training take precedence over superficial weight loss--sure. But...well, I have no excuse. I simply care more about the fat busting.

2. There are some really snazzy outfits out there for running. Tonight, for instance, I dropped over $300 at Lululemon, the overpriced outfitter for yuppy yogis and stylish runners. To put this in perspective, this is nearly half my monthly rent. But the pants I bought just shaped my butt so nicely. I had intended to hit the gym in my new gear this evening. After forgetting the shopping bag in my backseat, I decided eating dinner was far more pressing. I will workout tomorrow...I'm sure...possibly.

3. There is community to be built while you and your newfound running buddies kill yourselves over 26 godawful and unnatural miles. I look forward to start training with my enthusiastic friends--those who don't yet know I can't run over a mile and don't really like to sweat. I envision post-workout smoothies and rendevous at coffee shops to pore over running magazines. It's just the actual running together which I can't quite wrap my head around.

[Image Credit: BBC]

2009 in. With resolve.

The picture above is one of the last images my poor eyes saw in 2008. Forget all the worst dressed lists in the usual rags--I am here to tell you I saw the worst up front and personal. And my corneas are still healing. In line to return some items at Target, I witnessed the biggest fashion faux pas of 2008, if not perhaps the decade. Sparkly denim pockets, a bedazzled zip-up sweatshirt, and a striped back-pack (yes, that's right, back-pack) emblazoned with an image of the Jonas Brothers. The culprit--a middle-aged woman. I pray for her.

And with that, on to 2009, a year I hope to be filled with wonderful things, people and experiences. In honor of the long-standing tradition of resolutions, I present you with mine:

Jessie B. R.'s Top Resolutions for 2009

1. To bring prosperity to my life (according to my bank statements, it can only go up from here).

2. To welcome happiness into my days (this is easy--stock freezer with more Haagen Dazs).

3. To be tolerant of people from whom I am different (this would really go smoothly if other people would stop being such biatches).

4. To eat a balanced and healthy diet (I'm not yet sure how to resolve this with #2).

I look forward to sharing my progress with you over the next 12 months. Here's to health, wealth and a kick-ass 2009 my friends.

xo * Jessie. B. R.

Photo Credit: Jessie B. R. (she wishes she could forget this image, but she took it for you, dear readers)