Unresolved

Neither my wife nor I have ever failed in our new years resolutions. Nor have we ever made any. But this year my wife has promised to turn over a new leaf. I'll let her share that with you if she cares to start a blog or you care to ask her.

For my part, I'm not a big fan of new years resolutions. Is there any bigger set-up for failure than being coerced into making a commitment on one - and only one -particular day of the year? Add to that all your friends who make their promises and break them, or the past years you've broken your resolution and you've got a recipe for failure.

But I do like the idea of change, improvement and resolve. There's something honorable about quitting or beginning a habit that will consequently make you more disciplined or less selfish. Commitment is something our culture lacks and is therefore all the more valuable.

So I am going to make a resolution. And I've got a few ideas. But I'm not going to rush to a hasty decision. I'll wait 'til I'm good and ready. Maybe it'll be January 15th, maybe February 28th. We'll see.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Do You Say Compromise in Croatian?

Image
Photo by  Jackson Simmer  on  Unsplash Throughout my 18 years in Croatia, there are generally three ways I've dealt with the cultural differences I've encountered:  Completely accept the new culture's way of doing things. Coffee culture comes to mind. Completely reject the new culture's way of doing things. The draft is a prime example. Make some sort of compromise.  This post is about one of the compromises I continue arguing with myself about making. It still causes a degree or two of tension in my mind when it comes up. In fact, I sometimes end up talking to myself (in English) while speaking (in Croatian).  Since a year or two after I moved to Croatia, I have worked towards learning Croatian as well as I can. There have certainly been ebbs and flows, mountains and valleys, but the progress has generally looked like the sort of economic growth chart a company would strive for. But there's one thing I have to - and often do - push against when it comes ...
Read more

Citizenship

Would you give up your citizenship? I've been going through the mandatory five year process of acquiring permanent residence in Croatia. Every year, I've renewed my visa. Last month I passed a language test. Turns out, my last obstacle will be passing a culture test I wasn't aware of until a few days ago. My knowledge of the Croatian constitution, amendments and laws will be the difference between attaining residence and having to go through the whole five year process again. Despite the bureaucratic inconvenience that would be, a phone call with a friend caused a bigger discomfort to situate itself in my psyche. See, attaining residence would allow me to apply for Croatian citizenship in a year. My wife and three kids already have dual citizenship. In my thinking, in another year I could become the bi-cultured individual I'd always dreamed of becoming. That's just a half joke. There's something about the idea of dual citizenship that nudges the ego up a no...
Read more

Have I Ever Told You About Parking Lots/Spots In Croatia?

One of the reasons I update this blog is to inform those who come after me. Some of the things I've experienced in Croatia have taken me completely by surprise. For example, I had no idea it was so beautiful here . Have I mentioned the hospitality ? And who would have thought you might have to pay to use the facilities? Now it's time to add parking lots to the list of things that have taken me off guard. I've been at fault for 2 car accidents in my 12 years of driving. Both happened in Croatia. Both occurred while driving slower than 3 MPH. And both car accidents were in a parking lot. Now, I realize I  am the one at fault. Not Croatia. I understand that. And I've taken full responsibility. But if you are an American driver who learned how to park at Wal-Mart, just know that things are different here. Parking often involves sidewalks - two tires on, two tires off. Parking is often very hard to find. The lines are extremely narrow. Your car will get...
Read more