Every year, in the chaotic weeks leading up to the holidays, I confess that I become complicit in the collective suspension of reality that plagues much of our National consciousness. I find myself using the crutch phrase that can best be described as , I'll deal with that in the new year. I think at it's root, there is a secret hope behind the use of this delay tactic that maybe the new year will never come and maybe the thing that I'm putting off will actually never have to be dealt with. I mean, there's something tenuous about the turning of the new year. If all goes well, we'll see the ball drop and the clocks will turn. If not, then what? Nothingness, perhaps? Either way, what fun!

(Yes, I'm a closet nihilist. I don't think it's morbid. It's just that if I had my choice, I'd rather be here to see the end of the world then not. Wouldn't you?)

So every year, we engage in this great putting off. And every new year, much to our dismay, we find these things still exist. There were a lot of annoying things I put off before the holidays that I had to deal with last week. Here's the short list:

• Doing finances/budget
• Renewing my car's registration at the DMV
• Taking care of certain condo-related business

Last week I successfully completed all but one of these tasks. I got organized in regard to my finances (which was a monumental task) and I took care of business at my building. I still have to go to the DMV, which absolutely frightens me for a myriad of reasons. This may actually turn into a good story. We'll see.

There were also some things I had put off for the new year that were more positive, and last week I made sure to add these to the mix of things to do to balance the good with the bad. First, I made plans to go to SXSW Interactive in Austin in March. I registered last week and booked my travel, so it's official and I'm really looking forward to the trip. Second, I've enrolled in jazz piano lessons with Robert Redd at the Washington Conservatory of Music. I feel like my playing has been stagnating somewhat over the last several months and I wanted to try to give it a jump start and develop some new sounds and styles. I'm hopeful this will lead me in the right direction.

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