A New Year and Resolutions

I'm not usually into making New Year's resolutions. Mainly because I think I make numerous kinds of resolutions throughout the year. I don't really need to wait for a new one to begin before doing so. But for some reason this New Year's Eve I'm feeling like it's a good time to take stock of my life to date and think through what I want to get accomplished in 2006. So here's the current list revolving in my head:

1. Finish my dissertation--must get this done so I can get a job!
2. Go on the job market in fall 2006--I want to have most of my dissertation in draft form by the time I start applying in September.
3. Get 1-2 more academic publications--I have one now, but a few more couldn't hurt.
4. Visit Charlie and Monkey out in LA--I haven't seen either of them for ages and now that they are conveniently located in the same area I want to make the most of that opportunity and visit them. I think I'll do this in the summer. Hopefully I can hit a good show or two when I'm back in Cali.
5. Maintain current fitness regimen--I've already managed to go down one size (woo-hoo!) and I've been feeling a lot more energetic since I started going to the gym.
6. Get a publishing contract for my novel (and maybe the sequel)--Hey, it could happen. I'm working on it. I gotta pay off my government debt somehow...
7. Go to MLA in December whether I have a job interview or not--Joanna and I are set on doing this. We think it could be worthwhile even if we don't have any immediate prospects.
8. Get a dissertation fellowship of some kind--I've already applied for several, but most of them don't notify until spring 2006, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Any extra cash and CV-liscious lines are great.
9. Make better/more consisten use of my Netflix account--I know this might seem kind of trivial, but I frequently go for months where I hold onto the same movies without watching them. I don't get charged late fees but I'm paying for a service that I'm not using consistently and I know I can.
10. Make time for dating--I've sort of been off the dating/relationship bandwagon for a while now. Usually I consider myself too busy to bother. And I haven't really met anyone who's gotten me really interested in a while. So I think I need to be keeping myself a bit more open to this. And Violet and Joanna are quite dedicated to helping me improve my lackluster flirting skills.

That's the list. What are your hopes for the new year?

P.S. I've updated my music playlist on the right side bar for those interested.