Predictions and Resolutions

As 2011 ends I must say it has been a banner year.  I generally have great years that end in "1".  Liam was born this year, ten years ago Bob proposed, ten years before that I started the process of finding my birthmother (at least conceptually).  I could go on... My business this year was fantastic - thank you all!  It was certainly the year of the referral - I think at least 10 of my deals involved agents sending people to me.  It was also the year of driving, with many thanks to Bob, while negotiating deals.  Thank you iPhone, too - I could not have done it without it!

We fell far short of my predicted 90 single family homes closed in 2011, probably at 70.  I know I have a couple closings coming up early in the year so as always I will think positively that next year will be better.  But I must also be more realistic, so I will predict 80 closed homes in the Skaneateles area next year.

I said SU football would be better than they were in 2010.  Not.  No bowl game for them, not even the late odd ones.  But they did provide a wonderful throwback evening with their win over then-ranked West Virginia in the Dome.  It was like going back in time...but then like all dreams, we had to wake up.  Next year a bowl game, for sure! 

I saw SU basketball going to the Final Four, but that was in my own head admittedly wishful thinking.  This year they will go and they will win it all.  Dion Waiters will be named the MVP of the tournament, even though he will still come off the bench. 

Last year a small notation about not rushing appeared in my blog, a resolution in passing.  I took it to heart though and concentrated on it.  I allowed extra time and really limited that awful rushed feeling by being early.  Alex's introduction to "Words with Friends" this past fall has been a great help.  When I am early, I usually have plays to make thanks to him, Summer, Trish, and someone named Mr. Teach with whom I started playing and who thought I was someone else.  Great way to pass the time - although please, not on an airplane!

This year is the year of organization.  My desk has always been a mess - I tell Jolanta not to attempt to clean it, and she (probably most gratefully) doesn't.  Not at the office - Patti Callahan, when she was the manager of Longley-Jones years ago, put it in my head that desks should be cleared when not in use to give a good impression of the office.  So mine is - there - but at home...So Bob, who shared the drawers of his desk (my parents' old one) bought me a desk for Christmas.  It's lovely! And it has HUGE drawers just ready to be filled with everything that is spread out around the house.  I can see myself writing more because I can enjoy it.

I always talk about de-cluttering, but I will do it this year.  Slowly things will leave - because it is a wonderful thing to give things away.  I see some that will stay, at least a while longer that I can't yet bear to send away - my mother's mug with a photo of her cat Hermione (the Himalayan before Hermes) on it, all things Christmas, favorite books (T.S. Eliot, the J.M. Barrie first editions), that little black dress that I WILL get into again).  But I can let more go.  Bob started the thought process by saying he would give me $1,000 instead of doing more garage sales to try to reach this number.  The Thrifty Shopper over in Auburn will see me weekly - I resolve!

I resolve to do the same amount of business that I did this year but net more money in the end with less stress.  The banks are awful, as I have said, so expectations must be lowered.  Sixty days to closing is a thing of the past.  We all try so hard, and whether it's the bank or the attorneys or other deals very rarely do we hit 60 days any more.  I resolve to find a way to make each and every closing less hectic.

I want to work smarter and by doing so spend more time with friends.  I met a friend for coffee at Creekside before Christmas, and we had six harrowing months to catch up on with each other.  My friends are important, and I want to enjoy them.  Remember "When I Say No I Feel Guilty"?  I do!  But by saying no to some things, I will be saying yes to others.

I did spend more time at the lake (another resolution) and I plan to be there even more this year, thanks to my iPhone.  As technology improves it allows for greater freedom.  But since I love this area so much it makes very little sense for me to travel far and wide.  A new car is coming - wait and see! - and driving that will be my vacation.

As this year ends and another begins, I am so thankful for everyone in my life and I look forward to a spectacular 2012.