In anticipation of a new year

In anticipation of the new year, here go my resolutions:

* Lose massive amount of weight by:
--- leading a healthy life
--- exercising ... at least once in a while
--- eating properly and stop pretending you are eating healthy

* Make new friends
--- stop whining about "London was it!". It was, but that's beyond the point
--- step out of your comfort zone

* Get closer to God
--- absolutely do the things you need to do
--- no compromising
--- get your act back together... yes, the one you used to have

* Don't forget your Family and old friends
--- say "hi" to them whenever you can
--- hope they say "hi" back

*Force yourself to do at least one thing against your will every weekend
--- let it be a good thing
--- enjoy it ... don't have high expectations
--- plan, but don't over-plan

* Stop thinking about your job and professional career in your spare time
--- it's going well enough, so stop complaining
--- it's called "spare time", isn't it?

* Have fun and stop writing these resolution texts

The 100th post

I could tell you about the experience of running a blog since 2003 and actually after a failed start in the late 90s.

I could summarize my adventures in the last few years and how my life has changed.

I could tell you about my exceptional friends who have been patient enough to put up with me (quite an achievement, I might add).

But no... I have decided to tell you about the most important in my life: my Family.

My Family has been my true north: always there to remind me where I come from, to show me who I really am and to entice me to be the best I can be.

So, a special ode to them in no particular order:

- To my Grandfather: for showing me that focusing on the future of your family, while trying to keep it together, goes a long way.

- To my Father: for showing me the value of hard work; the value of strong ethics; for giving me my sense of justice; and not letting me be too lazy...which I would be otherwise. Finally, for together with my Mom, having given me freedom to choose my own path in life and always supporting me throughout it.

- To my Mother: for showing me that empathy is a key virtue; that helping others in need is an obligation, not a right; for showing me that easy answers typically are not good answers or the questions were wrong in the first place.

- To my Uncle: for showing me that my potential had to be met; for enticing a spirit of aspiration to become better; for his unconditional support under all circumstances (even teaching me how to love math).

- To my Aunt: for grounding my uncle; for helping him become a better person; for providing the family she adopted with an extreme sense of "calmness" that we would not see in others.

- To my Cousin and Godson: for not being afraid to tell me I'm fat; for being inteligent; for reminding me of how I used to be like.

- To my little Cousin: for asking when I will get a "proper girlfriend"; for treating me at times like a teddy bear.

- To my Sister: for giving me faith in the human race and that there are still genuinely good people in this world, who can also be inteligent and demanding; for being probably the best person I know; for being humble while being effortlessly brilliant; for being herself and even after all that still counting on me.

Thank you all. Although I don't say it often, I love you all.

P.S.: I could not forget my two grandmothers who are gone from this Earth, but I fell are still close to me; my great grandmother who was my first "educator"; and my grandfather who I sadly don't remember.