Meditations on Meditations on New Year's Resolutions

I have a terrible memory for emotional states and this allows me to write posts such as this one. If this were not the case, I would have remembered how every semester there are too many things to do, and too little time to do them all well. I would also remember how, when stress levels rise, I don't pursue the things that reduce stress. The outlandishness of the post would have been apparent to me as I wrote it.  Instead the outlandishness is apparent to me now, and I can't help but wonder, who exactly was the author of that post?  The wife notices such inconsistencies as well. She doesn't get upset or even curious any more.  She merely points out when I contradict myself in a week's time.  Usually my decisions (e.g. I'm going to write and stretch more) don't have much impact on anything.  

Instead of regaling you with an impossibly dull list of the things I have to do (and am not doing at the moment) I'll tell you about my fish tank: It makes me really really happy.  It belongs to both my wife and me, but I say 'my' fish tank in the same way one might talk about 'my' sports team.  Shortly before the end of last year my wife and I decided to get her five gallon tank going again.  Once we got to the fish store we noticed that the ten gallon tanks weren't so expensive, and would hold a lot more fish, rocks, plants, and general fish tank stuff.  We made one of those impulse decisions that I am quite good at and my wife is not so good at and got a new tank. In stages we've stocked  it with some cardinals, platys, an algae eater, some plants and a rock that I spent twenty minutes picking out myself.

When I get up in the morning I go check out the tank before I shower.  I like to eat breakfast and dinner watching the fish.  I cut up an old paper grocery bag to make a blind so that sunlight during the day doesn't cause algae blooms.  I feel joy when the glass is clean, the water is clear and I can see the fishies exploring their three dimensional world.  The problems and rewards associated with taking care of a fish tank are wonderfully simple.

I'd like to get a much bigger tank, but that requires buying a house which in turn requires finishing grad school.