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Habitually
tardy on the resolutions, I am a bit late on the declarations
of new resolutions, so I decided this years’ offerings had
better get out before I had changed my mind. For years, resolution
after resolution, with the combination of the religious observance
of lent, has exponentially increased my own perception of the
importance of self-evaluation and change.
A year has passed, transpired, considered done, and this vato
has changed in every sense of the word. Priorities have changed,
some for the better, others warranting improvement, and my transition
into that twenty-something category from that illusion of perpetual
youth has been a process of learning, frustration, and acceptance.
This years’ resolutions stems from that fact of my own situation
and the embracement of time’s wing chariot and the challenges
that 2004 will harbor. Understanding my life is now about two,
a pair, a couple, in regards to my engagement to Edith, pronounced
“A-DEET,” and the responsibilities this arrangement
entails have, no doubt, altered my stance on life and the decided
set of resolutions I have considered to accomplish in the upcoming
year. Without further adieu, the 2004 resolutions:
Education,
education, and more education, in variants other than the obvious.
Everyday I learn something new, outside of college, those that
know me understand this, and, once again, I will continue with
this ritual of learning, regardless of whether or not that fact,
that morsel of information, is trivial to some because with every
opposition is appreciation. My interests, and lifetime field of
study, has always been in the arts and although the output of
arts has abated, until the completion of college, it has always
been my passion. This year I will include a return to the visual
with the merging of the literal. Last semester I did this with
my poetry and this year will be more of the same, except with
inclusion of more media options and standalone paintings.
Music.
Yearly, in my opinion, the importance of music, ignoring pop culture,
diminishes in our current society. Moreover, the importance of
new music subsides to the established standards. Many contemporary
masters such as Stockhausen and Cage have acknowledged this enigma,
yet without an answer from the public. Understanding this problem,
individuals, including myself, should, while supporting the arts,
study the old with the new. For every art exhibition that is viewed
of the past, should also include viewing of the new, likewise,
for every hour spent on studying the counterpoint of Beethoven,
another hour on learning chance operations of Cage. I will remember
this in my own studies, and appreciations, of the all the arts
I encounter in 2004.
Guitar
works. The timeline has been set, a year to make good on the promise,
for I have already started, but with small advances, a guitar
composition for our wedding day, circa January 2005. Writing for
women of the past was a laborious, but not impossible affair,
yet for the one that I choose to share my life with, has been
a real challenge. This year I will complete our wedding piece,
to be played at the wedding reception after the vows have been
stated and the cake has been eaten. Also, I will be learning another
batch of Mariachi tunes to play in the wedding. Hopefully, this
time, the band that will play with me will be as good as the ones
played for Ana. As for other guitar works, there will be unfortunately
none because of the absolute devotion towards Edith’s piece.
Maybe if I finish it in time, but given my track record, this
will not happen.
Oh,
I forgot three things…
1.
Graduate Christmas 2004 in Creative Writing
from the University of Houston.
2. Do
everything within my power to make sure our January 2005 wedding
goes without a problem.
3. Be nice
to the dog.
DAMON JASSO
Sincerely,
Copyright
© 1999-2003 Damon
Jasso |
