We all know how hard New Year's resolutions can be to keep. So why not set yourself some more realistic goals? Róisín Ingle has a few suggestions.
It's almost impossible to make a New Year's resolution that you know you will keep. We promise ourselves that this year will be different. We will eat less chocolate. We will be in less of a hurry. We will watch less television. When things don't go to plan the guilt leaves us worse off than before. The struggle is to find a resolution we can stick to.
What about resolving to get more out of life? Be more creative, by going on a writing course or digging out those oil paints in the attic. Be healthier, by visiting one of the increasing number of local markets for organic fruit and vegetables. Be more organised, by finally clearing out your wardrobe - and inviting friends around for a clothes swap. Give yourself the gift of more time, by making certain nights no-TV evenings. Use your free time to do more in 2005 than you did in 2004, because New Year's resolutions don't have to mean depriving yourself.
1 Pop your Cork Head south and discover why Cork has been crowned European Capital of Culture for 2005. From the National Lottery Awakening Ceremony and Fireworks over the Lee to the Cork 2005 Carnival, the city will be buzzing like never before. Visit www.Cork2005.ie for more details.
2 Must-see TV Desperate Housewives is being raved about across the Atlantic. It hits our screens early next month. Taking a darkly comic look at picket-fence suburbia, the drama is about the secret lives of a group of housewives from the point of view of the ghost of one of their girlfriends. It starts on RTÉ 2 on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
3 Get to a gig Pop and rock lovers are spoiled for choice. Kylie Minogue is at the Point, in Dublin, in April; Destiny's Child are at Lansdowne Road in June; and REM are at Ardgillan Castle, near Skerries in Co Dublin, also in June, providing a music spectacular that should rival Slane for Ireland's most scenic venue. Elsewhere, Elton John will be wearing some funny glasses at the RDS in July and Erasure will camp it up at Vicar Street, in Dublin, in February.
4 Fun in Dundrum The south Dublin village is the place to be from March, as its spanking new shopping centre opens its doors. New retail names include House of Fraser, H&M, Hobbs, Hugo Boss, East, Timberland and a children's department store called Daisy and Tom. The ultraposh Harvey Nichols, as well as Movies at Dundrum, with 12 screens and 2,200 seats, will open in the autumn.
5 Lions tour The British & Irish Lions are on tour in June and July, with a much-changed squad gearing up to pick holes in the All Black defences. All eyes will be on Sir Clive Woodward, who will be looking to avenge the defeat in Australia in 2001. If you haven't booked a trip over, prepare a place on your sofa.
6 Look to the skies The newly discovered Comet Machholz will be visible to the naked eye throughout January, and on January 14th the European-built space probe Huygens will land on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Later in the year the US space-shuttle fleet should return to service for the first flight since the Columbia mission in 2003 during which seven astronauts were killed. On October 3rd there will be a 60 per cent eclipse of the sun. Log on to www. astronomy.ie for details of public watches, which will be announced early in the new year.
7 Say happy birthday to Hans Head to Copenhagen, the Danish capital, to celebrate Hans Christian Andersen's bicentenary, between April 2nd and December 6th. His fairy tales will be celebrated with ballet, theatre and parades.
8 Hear the next big thing From Portmarnock, in north Co Dublin, Joe Chester already has record companies chomping at the bit over his début album, even though it isn't released until February. Word is that A Murder Of Crows is well-produced pop with a sublime twist; it could be one of the Irish records of the year.
9 Visit some galaxies far, far away Two hotly anticipated science-fiction films are due out in May. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy will be battling it out with Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith.
10 Know your GI The glycaemic index, a method of ranking carbohydrate-rich foods between one and 100, according to how much sugar they release, and how quickly, is what many nutritionists are talking about. Low-GI foods include chickpeas, venison, green vegetables and blueberries; high-GI foods include everything from baked potatoes, waffles and white bread to, obviously, chocolate.
11 Start a blog You aren't anybody unless you have your own Internet journal, and it couldn't be easier to set one up. Share your innermost thoughts electronically by logging on to Blogger.com or Livejournals.com.
12 State your case Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan, who married in Canada, were given leave earlier this year to take an anti-discrimination case against Revenue. But same-sex couples who live together without being married are just as discriminated against when it comes to the law. Shout stop! (In the name of love, of course.)
13 Reduce, re-use, recycle As all local authorities start, next month, to charge for refuse collection by volume or weight, canny householders will be thinking even more seriously about recycling as they try to save pennies by sorting their rubbish. Find everything you need to know about recycling on Dublin waste.ie
14 Make a film Don't waste the dinky digital camera that Santa left in your stocking. Make a short film for competition or just have friends around for a private viewing of your Tarantinoesque efforts.
15 Go on a dating website There's no shame in advertising your singleness online. Try Gaire.com, which has details of dating forums for everyone from bikers to speed daters. One site, Cupid.ie, even offers to anonymously notify the person or persons on whom you have a secret crush.
16 Surf It's one of the country's fastest-growing sports, so grab a wetsuit and head to a coastal adventure centre for a spot of surf action. Donegal Adventure Centre, in Bundoran, hosts surfing weekends throughout the year, with the added bonus of athletic tutors who talk and look the part.
17 Increase your Oxegen The festival formerly known as Witnness was the biggest on the Irish music calendar last summer, and early reports suggest the two-day 2005 shindig, on July 9th and 10th, will be another crowd-pleaser. The Prodigy and Foo Fighters are just two of the acts to have confirmed. An early-bird offer, with savings of €10 on weekend tickets, is available until Tuesday. Log on to Mcd.ie for more details.
18 Jazz it up Van Morrison plays the Millennium Forum in April as part of the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival. Also taking part are The Blind Boys of Alabama, those pilgrims of the gospel highway. Call 048-71264455 or log on to www.millenniumforum.co.uk for more details.
19 Speak in tongues More and more people are opting to study languages overseas. The CESA Languages Abroad catalogue has details of courses in Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese and Japanese. See www.cesa languages.com
20 Wave the flag Ireland play France in a World Cup qualifier on September 7th. Head to Lansdowne Road to cheer on the boys in green in what will be a real test for Brian Kerr's side.
21 Love thy neighbour With apartment living reaching new heights, some of us don't even know who our neighbours are any more. Drop round with a cake or packet of fancy biscuits. Remember: getting to know them will increase the chances of their investigating any suspicious noises from your apartment when you are on holiday.
22 Plan to a tee The Ryder Cup isn't coming to the K Club, in Straffan, Co Kildare, until 2006, but it can't hurt to book your place on the green as early as possible. The official website www.european tour.com is taking details from anyone interested in securing tickets; it will release further information to the public in the spring.
23 Read all about it The memoirs of John McGahern, the Co Leitrim-based author of Amongst Women and That They May Face The Rising Sun, are being published in September. A must-read for discerning bookworms.
24 Breathe easier By December the long-awaited Dublin Port Tunnel should be open, allowing us to enjoy the city without all those smelly, noisy trucks. It should be open, mind you. It's not guaranteed. More realistically, the full congestion-reducing effects of this underground feat of engineering won't be seen until early 2006.
25 See The Beautiful South Their Olympia gig this month sold out ridiculously quickly, so the boys - and girl - are back for a proper tour of Ireland. About time too. In March you can catch them in Castlebar, Galway, Waterford, Killarney, Cork and Dublin. Log on to www.mcd.ie, www.ticketmaster.ie or www.beautifulsouth.co.uk for more details.
