I'm in the middle of contemplating the imperative, i.e. I'm in the middle of the turn of the year and the natural tendency to wonder just what in the hell I'm doing, where I'm going, etc.

In other words, I'm trying out resolutions, looking for the ones that matter this year, the ones that can properly be called goals, rather than just random noise from my inner lazy bastard. Some of this noise might, likely will, rise to the level of goals, down the road; my task, just like, if the internet is any indication, most of the rest of humanity, is to sift through and find the gold.

Health, that's an easy one. If nothing else, I feel the whisper on the back of my neck, old age is coming. Someday, sure, I'm not so far gone, but this is one of those visitors one had best be prepared for. At least a little bit. Exercise and diet, those old doctor's standard orders, and maybe I can push back certain reckonings.

There are other tests of will. One I'm coming to grips with this morning, that would be my reading habits. I'm trying out different modes of reading, the when and how and what portion of the thing. Journals and literature for the day gig, stories for the night gig. Time being what it is, I need to relearn old tricks and habits, in new settings. And better, I want to do these things, build a balance I'm happy with, one that gets me through the world of words with purpose and feeling.

I've other things to do, of course. Stories to publish, send out into the world. That part will be pretty obvious, since that's one of my purposes with this space. So watch this space, and we'll see how this year 2019 does for us all. I hope it's beginning well for you and yours dear reader, and gets better as we all go along.