Chris Forrette - A dude in Portland

My Top Ten Albums of 2011!

2011 was a pretty awesome year in music! I met a special lady who introduced me to lots of great music and who also got me a record player for my birthday, broadening my perspective on music in every way. Here’s a list of my top 10 albums from last year:

1. Tom Waits - Bad As Me

2. Kanye West & Jay Z - Watch the Throne

3. Defeater - Empty Days & Sleepless Nights

4. Thrice - Major/Minor

5. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

6. The Black Keys - El Camino

7. Red Fang - Murder the Mountains

8. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

9. Wye Oak - Civilian

10. August Burns Red - Leveler

Favorite discovery in 2011: Aesop Rock - Labor Days
Favorite vinyl in 2011: Colour Revolt - The Cradle

This is the New Year

I’ve never been big on resolutions. The new year provides a natural point of reflection and re-evaluation that I’ve always passively taken part in, but this time it’s a little different for me.

I went through a divorce at the end of 2010/beginning of 2011 and ended up redirecting a lot of my energy into my personal life and stopped really pushing myself elsewhere. 2011 went from bad to really great pretty quickly, but I held on to some of those habits nonetheless and I need to pick things back up again. So I’m taking the arrival of 2012 as an opportunity to set some goals for myself, and to hold myself to them once again:

1. Be more reliable.

   I value reliability, trustworthiness, and honesty a great deal, and I think I generally hold up those values pretty well, but I’ve got plenty of room for improvement.

   I tend to run late for things.

   This year I lined up a deal to build a website in trade for a tattoo that has taken way too long to finish.

   I procrastinate.

   At this age, I feel like some of these things are just part of who I am and might be extremely difficult or impossible to truly change, but I don’t like when my actions (or lack thereof) affect others negatively so I’m going to work on that.

2. Revitalize my passion.

   I’ve found that my job and hobbies aren’t really lighting a fire under me like they used to. Again, I think this has to do with where I left my focus early in the year, but I really hope it’s not a symptom of getting old/jaded. I’m hoping to spark a little something by adding a few things into my free-time-repertoire this year:

   • Learning woodworking

     I’ve fallen in love with any furniture item made of walnut this last year and I got a little taste of woodworking by making (read: sanding, staining and mounting) my own walnut shelves in my kitchen this year. I’ve always been pretty good with my hands and I’m pretty patient so I think woodworking would be rewarding, interesting, and relaxing to take on.

   • Playing drums in a band

     One of my best and oldest friends, Josh, left his drum set in my garage almost 4 years ago and I’ve been playing them semi-consistently ever since — but completely by myself. I want to take the dive into playing with a band and hopefully learn a whole bunch, have lots of fun, and hit lots of things in the process.

   • Cooking/Making Cocktails

     I’ve always been decent at cooking, but last year I explored it and learned about it like I never have and it’s been amazing and tasty — I simply want to keep this rolling.

     A great friend and co-worker has inspired me to make delicious, well-crafted cocktails, and to try more things booze-related. I’ve picked up a few good recipes but I’d love to explore this a little more like I have with cooking.

     And, above all, I want to share these more often. Cooking, eating, and drinking with friends and loved ones is perhaps one of the most underrated activities one can take part in. My friends and loved ones are particularly talented and appreciative of such things, so the fact that it doesn’t happen more often just doesn’t make sense.

3. Take better care of myself.

   Last year I got pretty lazy about exercising regularly and indulging in poor eating habits. Exercise for the sake of exercise has always been difficult for me to keep up with consistently, but it’s a necessity to living well, so I want to start exercising consistently again this year. At the very least, I want to go on a run once a week, but I’d prefer taking on a sport. I’ve played ice hockey, indoor soccer, and racquetball so I’m going to look into those options, and/or maybe something like tennis, too.

4. Finish my personal projects.

   I’ve had a really fun idea for a personal project that I’ve been basically sitting on for almost 3 years now. I’m going to (fucking) finish it this year (mother fuckers). I’m going to set due dates. I’m going to hit them. I’m going to be proud of my work.