A New Obsession for 2008

People often criticize me for being obsessive.  I rarely say anything to them about it, but it kind of bugs me.  First off, it's my life, and I'll live it the way I please thank you very much. Secondly, just because they might happen to be  jaded and bitter about the world that surrounds them doesn't mean that I have to be (and you'd think they'd notice that I was nice enough not to point out their lack of enthusiasm, but no).  Maybe it's just that when I do something I do it with all my energy.  Whatever.  There is a point to all of this.  I have found a new obsession to go along with the new year: snowboarding.  I really can't explain it because at any given moment (if I stop to think about it) I am terrified by the thought of sliding down a mountain with both feet strapped to a single board.  So every time I arrange to go up the mountain with someone I have to psych myself up.  And then there I am, sliding down the mountain at an incredibly high rate of speed still totally, completely freaked out of my mind.  And inevitably I fall, usually on my ass (so far my all time coolest trick is to fall on my ass, do a backwards somersault, stand up and keep going), but sometimes right on my face, and on one memorable occasion rolling sideways down the hill, which is somewhat less fun than one might imagine when you take into consideration the fact that I had 149 cms of fiberglass and wood attached to my feet. Still, the pain of those moments is fleeting, and I get back up and keep on heading down the mountain. And I always have an awesome time.  So much so that I really wonder why it is I waited until now to learn to do this.  It could only have been easier if I'd started 10 years ago.  On a bit of an aside, learning to snowboard was a 2007 New Year's resolution.  I might be 12 months late, but I'm finally getting it done.  In the hopes that 2009 will bring another breakthrough of a similar sort I hereby resolve that 2008 will be the year I get into disgustingly great shape, find a dream job as a travel photographer, meet the man of my dreams and win an obscene amount of money on the Super7 or 649 (which I realize will require that I actually buy tickets).  Oh, and I resolve to be nicer to everyone too, even if they bug me. Look out 2009. Here I come.