Julia’s 2008 New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Run a 5K by 2008. I really blew this one last year, so I hope to avoid further humiliation and get this one done.
Uhhh… well *cough*  As Britney Spears would say, “Running is hard, y’all — gosh!”  But to be fair, I did hike 10K of the Great Wall of China (right) and biked 12K around Xi’an’s old city wall this year.  I also run on a treadmill more frequently now. It’ll happen eventually, y’all — gosh! (C)

2. Get good enough at badminton to cover it at the Olympics and beat Jonas, my German badminton foe.
Turns out I had little choice over what I was going to cover at the Olympics, though I ended up loving basketball coverage (hello, Lebron!). I am still pretty agile with a racquet and birdie, so come spring, watch out. Note: no one can beat Jonas. (A-)

3. Attend yoga classes regularly. (This will cover the generic “lose weight, get in shape” Bridget Jones requisite resolution for all women.)
Travel didn’t help, but I signed up for yoga classes that start in January this week, and I’ve been using the gym at my apartment — no small feat. Count it. (B)

4. Take conversational Chinese classes. Learn how to say “pandas are the cutest.”
I did not do this ahead of China, though I did get around okay while in Beijing. I’m still looking into language classes offered in D.C., but I’m not married to the idea until I see the cost. (D)

5. Watch all of “Lost” Season 3 in time for “Lost” Season 4. Must also single-handedly end the writer’s strike.
Big success here, but Season 5 starts in early January and I still haven’t found a Lost fan in D.C. with cable and ample couch room for me to sprawl out on weekly in my quest to discover the island’s mysteries. (A)

6. Learn how to podcast.
Easy enough. (A)

7. Get a job. In journalism, preferably. In D.C. (too much to ask?).
By now most of you know I was awarded the Kuralt Fellowship, which has landed me a very nice job at the Voice of America in D.C.  And with newspapers failing, unemployment rising and the economy in the tank, I couldn’t be more relieved. (A+)

8. See Prague, Amsterdam, Paris and London with Krissy. Take dad to Ireland on last leg of the trip.
Krissy got a job in Savannah and my dad just recently landed a passport. I ended up traversing the globe by myself, but it was as grand and self-fulfilling as I hoped it would be. China turned out to be the surprise favorite. (A++)

9. Blog frequently! Consider doing NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), where you blog every single day of November.
I’ve heard no complaints from you, but I guess I could always write more, assuming I do more interesting things. (A)

10. Bake pies from scratch. Invent my own type of pie.
I did bang out a few pies this year, but none with homemade crusts. My new apartment lacks counter space and a rolling pin.  Maybe I’m a better fan of pies than maker of them. (C)

A 50% success rate! How ’bout that! The more ambitious goals were accomplished, so I couldn’t be happier. For next year’s resolutions, I’m going to try to just focus on five tasks for self-improvement.