OK, that seems dead so...
New year's resolutions. Did you keep the ones from last year, what are yours this year, and what excuse will you use when you inevitably experience the crushing guilt of failing (after one week) to keep to them?

Mine could be summed up as "Everything I did from June onwards was pretty good, even if it didn't always work. Use 2012 to do it all again, but better". There are some specific ones, but they're mostly dull.
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:02, 44 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

You know you're a self obsessed AND aware prick when you post something on here without reading the origional thread, but being aware enough that you've banged on about something so much that they do it in a reply instead of a new thread.
I accessorized some of my flat today, I have a combination of hot-pink and black towels. I accidently got a moave shower curtain which I thought was black, which has a gradient going darker the lower it goes, but it matches my dressing gown so that's alright. And for the livingroom I got these long (1m) black twigs with lights on that I put in a really nice black varse that looks really nice on my table in the corner hiding some of the wires and making a borring corner look good.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:29, Reply)

I now have a mental picture
Of you in a Hugh Hefner - style dressing gown, pottering barefoot around your flat with a vast glass of brandy and a cigar to try and get some of the smugness out of the way before you go back to work.
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:35, Reply)

You know how dogs drag their bums up'n'down the carpet?
Well, yeah', I do that with my feet, 'cus my carpet is so nice.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:36, Reply)

You're going to end up with grooves that go right down through the carpet
But look on the bright side. With a bit of planning as to your routes around the flat, you could fill them with scalextrix tracks.
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:39, Reply)

Haha, I love that.

( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:58, Reply)

0o0o0oh, and I saw a wireless house phone for £12 at PC World and I thought "I'll have a bit of that" and got it.
And I got myself a really cool iPad dock that'll act as a telly/radio.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:35, Reply)

You know what surprised me today gonz,
was having a wander round the shops as I got to work really early and didn't feel like opening early because it's a bank holiday and no other cunt was at work, and I found this little place called Cargo. Looks like it might be up your alley, like you said the other day of combining new stuff with a bit of old fashioned. No idea about the quality, but the prices looked to be about right. Not too cheap to be shit, not too expensive to be a fucking rip-off.
( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:58, Reply)

The name rings a bell, I'll check it out.
Actually, it's a good thing you're here, I'm looking at saucepans/frying-pans, and I quite like this set, but what do you think is good for a single person?

Here is the skivvy on what I want,
- A hole in the handle so I can hang them up.
- Oven proof, I think 180 seems to be the right temp for that, but pref a bit more than that.
- A lip on the end of the saucepans, and on the lid having a strainer.
- I think I want....
- - a small one, say, 10-14cm for sauces, or quick frying off things like nuts.
- - 2x medium 'workhorse' one, I reckon about 16-18cm, which'll be my main one.
- - A largeish one, for things like stick-pasta, or if I want to do something in batch
- - A non-stick frying pan, I've already got a hotspot one, so just another one.

Wanna spend around the £50ish mark for them in total, give or take a tenner.

Also, what do you reckon is good for batch cooking'n'freezing things like little pies or lasagnias? I reckon ceramic is the way to go. I can spend a day cooking and I'll have all week meals that I can take out the freezer and put straight into the oven.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 20:20, Reply)

To be fair gonz,
you're going to struggle to get anything proper for £50 a set. However, I just picked up this
www.amazon.co.uk/Meyer-Advantage-Non-Stick-Cookware-Saucepan/dp/B001ELKDHE/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1325536033&sr=1-3
on reccomendation form my head chef, as it's a stella price for what you get.
Also, if you want it to go in the oven possibly, you don't wat lastic or rubber grip handles, they say oven safe, but will eventally melt and tear and damamge and look shitty.

For freezing and re-heating it depends what you want. I tend to cook great big things for lady-pig to take to work, so just put it in those little plastic containers you get rice in from the chinese, so she has a portion for each day at work. But for yourself it's just as easy to get a nice big dish instead of the bottom drawer of the freezer and portion as needed. I'd go ceramic if i were you.

Did you find some decent knives?
( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 2 Jan 2012, 20:31, Reply)

Oh fab, that's like £20 difference, £15 if I go for almond.
They look like a really good set, and what you're saying makes sense, I'm just gonna go through my figures to see if I can push it. I know £15-20 isn't much on the grand scheme of things, but there are so many things with buying an _entire_ flat, £15-20 every time can add up to quite a bit. But saying that, I'm doing a hell of a lot less to the kitchen than I thought I was when I bought the place.

I've decided on my knives, and I know they're not expensive, but I've seen quite a few chefs use them on telly (Good Food Channel's show, where they go to the chef's personal home), and that's the "Taylor's Eye Witness" ranges + a cleaver in a different range.

------------------- CHANGE OF MIND AND RE-THINK ---------

OK, just had a bit of a chat'n're-think. I just went for those pots'n'pans as I'm budgeting elsewhere, and I really like those Taylor's Eye Whitness coloured ones.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 21:25, Reply)

I broke mine last night, that was to no longer smoke in my bedroom.
I was having a horrific night, stomach wise, proper pain, so much pain that even in my dreaming I was in pain, so I couldn't have with getting up and going into the livingroom so much.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:32, Reply)

That's fair enough
It's thinking "Oh, I can't be bothered keeping that one" just before breaking it that causes the real, fingernail chewing guilt.
( Hdjejjwsjdjjf LOOK, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:37, Reply)

Every year I say I'm going to cut out the tabs
Every December 31st I buy some really foul tabs so I'll feel really shit in the morning.

Every January 1st I wander round to the Newsagents, buy 20 of my usual brand and carry on.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:50, Reply)

Happy new year TD

( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:52, Reply)

And yerself Guv
Anything to report?
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:56, Reply)

Nothing.
I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow. I'm not very good at relaxing.

Are you going to relaunch the business next year?
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:04, Reply)

The business is still going
Just not very well - my Sister has been running it whilst I've been doing some consultancy work which pays a bit better.

I'm going to look at a few options in the next few weeks but I'm hopefully looking at another 2 month consultancy contract starting in the next couple of weeks.

You? I think last time we spoke your contract was winding down.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:14, Reply)

I was offered a renewal.
Which I've now accepted, although that wasn't straight forward as they have been cutting the rates of contractors, so I had to write a business case for why I shouldn't take a pay-cut.

They confirmed it would be the same rate on the Thursday before Christmas. So that was nice.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:16, Reply)

How long have you got now?

( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:25, Reply)

I'm signed on for another 6 months, so it'll be the end of June.
Although I'll probably start looking for something else at the end of Feb, these things take time usually.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:26, Reply)

I've been subbing via a KPMG offshoot.
They seem to like me but I've only just started, so we'll see what develops.

I'm getting the short term jobs that no-one else wants.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:30, Reply)

Good stuff.
I'd imagine they'd be quite busy for the next month as well!

I'm going to give the recuriting agent for this role a bell tomorrow, it's what I'm doing at the moment - but it pays more.

www.harveynash.com/uk/hnit/jobs/details.asp?jobid=1403269&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:33, Reply)

I don't know why but I'd always assumed you were an IT man
I stepped away from Insurance world in 2002, although I worked in General.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:39, Reply)

I'm IT/Financial Services
Contracting you need to be able to mix it up in a number of different environments, the project I'm working on at the moment is needs both skillsets, (which is one of the reasons I got away with not having my rate cut!).
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:50, Reply)

I'm Production Management/Analysis and Financial Management
And bus driving, dogs, heavy drinking and US Civil War although these last four don't really come into play.

It's a bit quiet here tonight isn't it?
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:57, Reply)

I don't make them in the first place.
Or if I do, I don't wait till New Year's Day to do it.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 18:58, Reply)

But if I'd been pressed to make a resolution yesterday, it would have been to stop slacking off on this distance learning course and get the work done in decent time.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:08, Reply)

What's the course, Mr Woodside?

( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:14, Reply)

SCS Diploma in Cosmetic Science.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:15, Reply)

Cosmetic Science Armchairs and sofas.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:17, Reply)

Or
tables and chairs.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:20, Reply)

That's a catchy one, to be sure
Although I didn't listen to the last 14 minutes.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:22, Reply)

I'd never heard of SCS and rather than show my ignorance I looked it up
Now I know why I've never heard of it. Good luck with that.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:24, Reply)

I find new years resolutions to be impossible to keep to,
so I never really bother. I'd like to move on from last year in a positive light, as it's been a really tough year to be honest, so if anything, my resolution would be to learn from the errors and experiences of last year.
I did say in a previous resolutions thread, that I find it impossible to force myself to do things, and need to just wait for myself to be ready to move forward. Hence the lack of any specific resolution.
( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 2 Jan 2012, 19:53, Reply)

As Woodside pointed out
January 1st is an arbitary date.

If you're going to resolve, do it when the impetus is there.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 20:12, Reply)

yeah,
I totally agree. If you really want to change it, you will, otherwise you're just going to make yourself miserable, and when you do fail just knock your own self confidence on moving forward.
( Windy Pig I'm naturally quite suspicious about the moon., Mon 2 Jan 2012, 20:32, Reply)

I suppose as I've got older
I've also asked - "Do I need to change this?"

This has left me with a very uncompromising personality but it's me and I cherish me.
( The Disappointed Caravanner of the year, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 20:53, Reply)