My New Years Resolutions

1.  I WILL complete HSK Level 2 before the end of January, and HSK Level 5 by the end of the year.  As an addendum to this, I will get to the end of my ‘Teach Yourself Mandarin’ book and along with my learning-Chinese friend (你好我的中国朋友！） continue learning this skill.

2.  I will be infinitely patient in the face of bureaucracy, obstruction, obtuseness and the daily infuriating… I mean, inevitable and patiently understood… frustrations that are thrown up by this universe as a side-effect of life.  My natural default position of speechless rage is unhelpful in this regard…

3.  I will take my rubbish out and hang my laundry up before either can start to smell.

4.  I will remember to publicize my own book events more than 24 hours before they happen.

5.  I will seize the moment when the moment comes, even if the moment happens to come in the middle of something really interesting on the TV or at an inopportune moment in the middle of a good chapter, because, damnit, how often does the moment really come really?

6.  I will try to learn not to squeeze the toothpaste from the middle of the tube.

7.  I will learn to master my own look of ‘are you kidding me?’ that creeps across my gaze whenever faced by a silly lighting question from someone not necessarily that well informed…

8.  I will write more novels.  Lots.

Happy New 2013!