Do people change?

One of the things I'd like to do more of this year would be to post at least one blog per month.  In an effort to do this, I've created an entire board on pintrest to help me.  I'm going to answer some of the January questions on that board over the next few days.

One of the first questions I want to write about is "Do you think people change?"

When I was younger, I would have answered with a resounding "no."  But, I feel this is a more complicated question than it seems.  When originally asked that question it's normally in reference to "does a leopard change his/her spots" type of question.  But it's really not as shallow as it first seems.

One of my favorite quotes is by Alvin Toffler "Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life."

Change: by Alvin Toffler

This holds true on both a broader scale as well as a more personal one.  Change is everything.  Change is all.  It is ambivalent and apathetic - neither good nor bad.  It simply is.  Therefore, to truly live, we are constantly changing.

What mustn't change is our inner core of being.  We can be open to experience and change, but you must still have a sense of self.  You must remain true to your being.  No one knows this better than parents.  You have created this being that is so much like you, and so dissimilar.  And often, when you have very small children, you tend to lose yourself in them.

So, simply put - do people change:  yes.  All the time.  Even by trying not to change, the influences around them as well as the information that they are exposed to, are constantly changing.  And thus, their perceptions, ideas, and thoughts are also in a constant state of fluctuation.

Goodbye 2011. Hello...what's this?

Last year right at this time, I remember thinking "I can't believe it's over already.  But I know that I'll blink and it'll be time for winter/Christmas again.  Gee, I hope I enjoy the summer while it lasts!"

And...here we are.  Thinking the same exact thing, only a year later.  In all fairness, I did remember that when summer arrived that I should savor it, since it'll be cold again soon.

Don't get me wrong, I love the fall and early winter.  Now comes the part that I loathe beyond all things...January - May.  It's usually colder than Snow Miser's lair during this time, and there are few holidays (aka: days off, not those lame holidays that we have to work through, hahah!) to be had during this time.  In fact, it's usually February & March when it becomes the worst.  I'm cold and it's dark out a lot. (despite the winter solstice having come and gone.  Shorter nights my arse!)

Anyway, I say all of that to get to this point:  I was thinking that I should compile a list of stuff I actually did this past year.  That way, I'll feel like I accomplished something, even if I feel like I haven't.  I should also compile a list of stuff I want to do next year.  Plans are good.  They're wonderful for looking back at and thinking "bwahahahaha, that's funny!  wtf was I thinking?!?!"

So, without further ado, here's my look back at 2011:

• Where I went:  This year we went to the beach and had a blast.  Didn't go anywhere else, but at least nothing broke while I was gone (usually something happens at the house while I'm gone...like the well pump that broke last year).
• What I saw:  This year I saw the last Harry Potter, and the first of the last Breaking Dawn.  I also just saw Sherlock Holmes.  I wanted to see Smurfs and the new Muppet movie, but I think that's going to have to wait till next year.  I got the Smurfs for Christmas on DVD.  And the Muppet Movie I will have to catch early next year...I hope.
• What I read:  (so proud, I actually kept a list this year!)  
• Heartless, by Gail Carriger
• Down These Strange Streets; The Sookie Stackhouse Companion; Home Improvement: Undead Edition; and Dead Reckoning, by Charlaine Harris
• Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
• The Pirate King, by Laurie R. King
• Blood Bound & River Marked by Patricia Briggs
• Magic Slays; Curran: Volume I; & Fathers and Sons by Illona Andrews 
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dreadfully Ever After, by Steve Hockensmith
• The Finer Point of Sausage Dogs, by Alexander McCall Smith
• Dark Predator, Christine Feehan
• Brains: a Zombie Memoir, by Robin Becker
• Grave Minder, by Melissa Marr
• Royal Brotherhood trilogy (all 3) and Hellions of Hallstead Hall series (except for the last, due out in January next year), by Sabrina Jeffries
• WOWZA, that's a lot more than I thought!
• What I learned this year: Never put a sock in a toaster.
• What I tried that was new for me:  uh...I tried pneumonia.  I didn't like it at all.  It kept me down from October till now.  I'm still trying to get over the complications from it.  Lucky me...it's only bronchitis now.

Looking forward, just a few quick things:

• Where would I like to go: I'd love to take Leilani to the mountains in Fall.  She's mentioned wanting to see mountains and be able to touch a cloud.  I'd love for her to ride the parkway with me and stop at the mill where Mom used to take us.  I hope I can make that possible.
• What would I like to read: Want to read the newest from Gail Carriger, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Christine Feehan, and the last of the Sabrina Jeffries' Hallstead Hall books.  I'd also like to finally finish The 13 1/2 Lives of Captian Bluebear by Walter Moers.  It's a great book, and it will have taken me 3 years reading it with Leilani on and off.
• What movies do I want to see:  I'm desperately awaiting The Hobbit, in December 2012.  I'll also go see the finale of Breaking Dawn.  But, that's really about it, unless I see something else that floats my fancy in the previews when I go to see the Muppet Movie in January.
• What would I like to learn:  How to multi task.  It's killing me.

What hopes do you have for 2012?