2009, the year in preview

If you'll indulge me for a moment I'd like to commit to the paper screen some of my plans for the coming year, if only to have them as a permanent reminder floating around the internet for me to look back on in shame 12 months hence. As much as 2008 was not as much an annus horribilis as an annus nihilis, with absolutely nothing happening that would cement my place in future history, this year is going to be a year of change and, for the first time in my life, achievements, no matter how personal and insignificant.

1. Revamp Japanmanship
The site is due a restructuring and redesign, with F.A.Q.s and significantly informative posts, few though they are, clearly indicated for the newcomer with a dream of working in Japan. Visually I just need a change and much as I loathe faffing about in CSS I'll get round to it sooner rather than later. I also need to go through the old comments and delete the dozens of spam messages, and possibly integrate some kind of verification system, although ease of commenting is a high priority for me. I personally usually don’t comment on blogs that require a lengthy process or a log in before I’m allowed to. There will also be new and hopefully hilarious merchandise, and as I'm too cheap to pay for a premium Cafepress shop it'll mean recycling some of the older wares, so now is the time to buy them if you still want them. There should also be some new focus on gamesmanship in Japan, a sadly ignored art these days.

2. Pad out my writing portfolio
This not only means getting significantly ahead in writing my magnum opus, a daring and challenging novel that plums the depth of humanity and the readers’ tolerance, but also branch out into print media of sorts, maybe online media too. Editors take note of my email address if you want your publication to benefit from some badly informed yet deeply ingrained opinion on irrelevant matters!

3. Do the indie thing proper
Work on my first indie project has been plodding along for a while now, but 2009 is the year it's going to get organised, with self-imposed milestones and a harsh work ethic. I might start writing about its progress at some point, but that would also rely on my shadowy secret partner in this venture. I can at least write about the trials and tribulations of setting up a limited liability and all that encompasses in Japan. I've had the good fortune to meet several delightful gaijin over here who have gone through the process, whom I plan to bury under an endless siege of questions and advice. Prepare for thrilling stories of form fillings in, taxes and lawyers.

4. Health and efficiency
Though I have no short-term plans to curb my tobacco and caffeine intake, I do plan to limit my drinking to the pleasurable, rather than the excessive, and cut out as much snacking and unhealthy foods as possible. I do not only need to lose a few pounds, but could do with the extra energy a healthy lifestyle imparts on you. I will have a lot of work to do, mostly seated, so looking after this temple of mine is going to be important.
With this comes my continued though as yet rather pusillanimous quest for beard growth. With the luxury of being able to hole up at home for days on end I can experiment with facial hair without much fuss. The goal is to go for an Old Dutch or Hollywoodian, possibly a Franz-Josef, yet the patchy nature of the growth so far, let alone the itchiness of it all, has meant that after several days I've gone for the complete shave (Jon Dyers is a God amongst men!). One of these days I'll manage something more substantial, which will then lead to my dream of being a pipe-smoker. Hopefully by then top hats and cloaks will be back in fashion too.

5. Learning Japanese
Well, I do of course already speak Japanese as well as your average drunken salaryman, but the writing is still a problem, the reading too. In these long years in Japan it has become clear there are no plans at all for the government to scrap kanji, so it would appear I have no other choice but to study the damn things. Long discussion about kanji in personal names, all taking place on the palm of the hand, and hours-long quiz shows on terrestrial television about the more obtuse variations are apparently not enough to dissuade the Japanese away and into the welcoming arms of the Western alphabet. Damn and blast!

6. Damn trophies
Get more PS3 trophies. I don’t know what it is about them, but they speak directly to the OCD in me and am currently well on my way to my 2nd platinum. This is rather curious as I have never completed any Xbox360 game with 100% of achievements. I guess Sony has dumbed them down enough for even someone like me to achieve the goals, which makes it all the more enticing.

The second day of the year has already been a bad start with both a full shave and a period of relative hung-over inactivity. The month is long, though, and young so things can only go up from here.

All the best for the new year, dear readers. I hope it will at least be an interesting one!