Happy New Year's resolution!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a great celebration and you are ready for a whole new year filled with great things coming your ways!

I stepped in 2009 on the crossroad of some random streets (Lower Merton Str. and King Henry's Str.) near Swiss Cottage, in London, UK, while looking for this famous hill that shows you a great panorama of London. We never managed to get to the famous hill in time, but were happy, instead, to spend the magic moment on a charming little road that hosted 15 crazy people for a few minutes and is, probably, hosting now all our new beginning thoughts and feelings. Amazing how life turns and pleasantly surprises you:)

For the last 4 years I have taken advantage of this new beginning to set a resolution for myself, an underlying reason for all the major steps I take throughout the year. This year, I have decided to share my resolution with the world as a sign of extra-commitment to making it happen. But first, a bit of perspective on 2008:
- I have ended my marriage in a difficult, but necessary attempt to let both of our dreams come true. Thank you so much, Marcel, for your unbelievable understanding, maturity and affection! You will always be in my heart and I hope life never keeps us apart, even if we will not share it the way we initially planned!
- I have changed my job and taken over a global function at InBev. Although on the lines of what I was previously doing, this was/is an immense opportunity/challenge and I thank everyone who has believed in me and granted me this chance!
- I have moved out of Romania, my home country and the place that hosts so many people I love. At least for the medium term, my steps have taken me to Brussels, Belgium, a beautiful city filled with hidden charm and wonderful people! I am living with Nico, a curly bundle of joy that managed to be there for me through my hardest times and is making my new life so much better. Thanks, Nico!

The red line that unites everything is my quest for my vocation, for something that I want to spend my life doing. Why am I doing this? Because I feel I have to. Because I owe it to the people that I left behind home. Because I owe it to myself. Because I know the quest makes me happy, even if it might never end, but not questing makes me miserable.

The introduction for the resolution is getting to an end. I have realized that the major changes that have taken place in 2008 have left me physically and mentally vulnerable and, therefore, unprepared to embark on the adventure of my life. In conclusion, the 2009 resolution is: "I will get myself physically and mentally ready for the adventure of my life, whatever that will turn out to be." Fluffy as it sounds, this has some very concrete effects, mentioning just the most important:
- I will expand and fully exercise my networking capacities. To be able to find out what I want to do, I have to have a better view of what is possible and that only comes from people you meet, random moments, events, conversations that click in your mind and turn into your thoughts for the future. Therefore, I will allow myself to have those random moments and, hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be much closer to defining my adventure.
- I will share my thoughts more often. This blog is the first step and you will find (much shorter) posts about all sorts of issues: social matters, politics, nature, philosophy, events, friends. I appreciate you being near me in my seemingly chaotic search and I have realized that I keep many things to myself, forcing this to be an internal, unilateral exercise and that can never bring out the best result.
- I will get physically fit. I will exercise regularly, quit smoking for good, eat healthier and visit the doctor more often. In the tsunami that 2008 has been, I have totally neglected this side of me and the effects are visible on many levels. It would be a pity to find something amazing to do and be physically incapable to pursue it, wouldn't you say?

Thank you for having the patience to read all through this, if no one else, at least I will reffer back to this post as a testimony of what I need to do. Feel free to make me aware if you consider I am not keeping true to what I have committed here.

I would really love to hear about everyone else's thoughts for the new year. I will also appreciate any help I will get from my friends in achieving mine. May we have an amazing year ahead and hope to see you soon!!!