It is almost time to start my project and I have to confess that I feel like I am sandbagging a little.  Since opening my Christmas gifts, I have been delaying writing my thank-you notes so that I will be able to use them for my New Year’s Resolution.  My rationalization is that I will need a little extra help to get going.  One thank-you note per day (or seven per week) is going to be a challenge.  I imagine just finding addresses to send the notes to will become an issue. 

I have been collecting supplies ~ i.e. thank you notes. I have been thinking a lot about it lately: “Who would I thank today if I were going to send a note…” Often I think, “I wonder how I would get the note to them?” I guess we’ll see ; )

It seems like as I am driving into work lately, I have been hashing through the nitty-gritty details of the resolution.  Such as: Does an email thank-you count?  Can I thank the sun for shining? Can I thank my husband once a month at least for being so wonderful?

Answer: No.  This project is designed to connect with people not inatimate objects and in a personal way, hence the old-fashioned hand written letter. Also, it seems like cheating to thank someone more than once, doesn’t it?

Here are the rules as they have accumulated thus far:

Resolution Rules

1. 365 Thank-you notes in 365 days

2. Not necessarily 1 per day

3. Only one thank you per person

4. No work thank you notes (letters you are required to write as part of your job)

5. No back-handed thank-yous (i.e. thanks for not messing up the country more)

6. No sappy thank yous looking for something in return

7. Handwritten only, no email thank yous

8. Must be to actual people.

So why bother with all the time, stamps, and gnashing of teeth?  What are the benefits; why should I even bother?

First, I am hoping this will help me focus on all that I have and all the people in my life who have helped me, been kind, or have done a really good job. Simply put: I think writing thank you notes will help me feel thankful.

Second, I think this project will add to the world.  I am hoping that the people who receive my notes will feel appreciated; they will feel like someone else noticed their actions or kindness.  I am hoping their will be a ripple effect similar to that described in pay it forward - only on a smaller scale: a ripple effect of intention.

Third, I am hoping to convince other people to join me and thereby, increase the impact of telling people thank you exponentially.

As a social worker in a homeless shelter, you’d think I would be more thankful…

As the mother of three healthy children, you’d think I would be more thankful…

So many reasons for me to be grateful, but I often feel deprived instead.  As I drive my 1994 Corolla with 313,000 miles, I wish for more.  As I search for something to wear before work, I wish for more.  As I think about planning a vacation to the ocean, I wish for more. 

I once kept a gratitude journal for a period of months, and it was wonderful.  It was the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude by  Sarah Ban Breathnach, that basically asked you to write down five things you were thankful for each day.  I sat down before bed most nights and ran back through my day picking out the best parts.  It was a nice way to reframe my days.

So, to help adjust my attitude this coming year, I’ve decided to make my 2008 New Years Resolution be to write 365 Thank You notes in 365 days.  Certainly that will focus my gratitude - it will help me understand all that I have.  I am hoping the process will be transforming and I plan to share it with my children, and on this blog.

Odds of Sucess:

I am sure there are statistics available that site how very few resolutions are ever kept.  Fortunately, mine is not to lose weight or to quit smoking.  Plus, I have had resolution sucess in the past - I once went an entire year without shopping at Walmart (well - just about.) 

Again, I am hoping the process of giving thanks will be more important than the product part of this resolution, so that at the end of the year, if I am only at 325 thank you notes, it will still have been a sucess. That said, I will still do my best to write one thank you note a day - 365 in 2008! 

Sharing & Joining

Additionally, my plan is to blog about how writing so many thank you notes is affecting me.  Will I become burned out? Will I run out of people to thank?  How will it make a difference? Will my knuckles get nobby from all the handwriting? Do I even know 365 people?

And finally, I would like to challenge you to join me.  Resolve to Write 365 thank you notes or Resolve to Write 100 (resolution-lite) - share your progress, too.  Or, simply watch, give suggestions, and help hold me accountable.

This is going to be a fun holiday in Montreal. For the first time in three years, it won’t be just Chuck and me; we have two other couples joining us for portions of the holiday.

We’ll rendezvous in Toronto on December 20th with Bob and Michael, and they’ll join us on the train to Montreal on 12/21. When we arrive in Montreal, we’ll meet up with Howard and Donovan. They be with us until Christmas Eve; Bob and Michael will return home the day after Christmas.

As I’ve noted before, the presence of others has caused us to shift our approach to dining plans. Both couples have been in Montreal before, but not during the holidays. What we’re aiming to give them is a small taste of the city, knowing that we can’t begin to show everything we’ve discovered about Montreal, much less the vastness of the city we haven’t yet discovered.

Here’s how things are shaping up:

Toronto
12/20: Rain - the Rubinos are celebrities, and their restaurant gets some backlash because of it, but over multiple visits, we’ve loved the experience. Guy Rubino creates some really amazing dishes; we like the design of the space; Robert Gonsalves is one of the best pastry chefs around. I still remember a food and wine pairing from a tasting menu two years ago that was the most seamless expression of a pairing that I’ve ever had. Toronto has some good restaurants; in the “great” category, there’s Susur and we must break old habits to visit it soon. But sometimes it fun to drop in on an old friend, after nearly two years to the day since our last visit to Rain, we’re looking forward to it.

Montreal
12/21: Toque - this restaurant regularly surfaces in the “top restaurants” lists, and it has a solid reputation. We’ve never been, so I’ll have more to say in about a month. Chuck chose it because it’s likely to be a perfect “first night” restaurant, one of those places you choose to go because you’re in a celebratory mood and you want a crowd around you. I think it’s a great choice.

12/22: Pintxo - this was to be our night at Brunoise, which closed about a week ago. Forced to make another choice, we went with another restaurant we’ve not visited, but one that lets us focus on the smaller neighborhood bistro, which, despite the loss of Brunoise and Anise, seems to flourish in Montreal. Pinxto has a solid reputation; again, we’ll have more to say after we’ve been there.

12/23: Au Pied de Cochon - Martin Picard’s restaurant hits several buttons at once: quintessential Montreal, neighborhood establishment, solid reputation, den of decadence. Where else should one worship foie gras than in a loud restaurant, packed to the gills with diners who can’t get enough of it? Chuck and I ate here for the first time last year, and it’s been on every version of this list we’ve made since then.

12/24, 12/25 and 12/26 are still up in the air. I have a soft spot for Bonaparte on Christmas Eve; it’s traditional French/Quebecois, a little frumpy - it just feels right for Christmas Eve, where the stately meal is followed by bedtime viewing of “Scrooge” on CBC. Chuck, however, notes that the menu hasn’t changed in three years. This is largely true. So Bonaparte maybe out this year - at least for Christmas Eve. Christmas night, it’s hard to find much open, so it might turn out to be our lifesaver that night. Last year, we noticed that Gandhi had a special meal for Christmas Eve - we hadn’t noticed this in previous years. That’s tempting, if they’re planning it again for this year.

Lunch: I expect we’ll visit the usual suspects: Olive et Gourmando, Titanic, Holder, Cluny.

More updates as we nail it down.

I start my temporary job with on the Plaza next Monday.  It is only seasonal but at least it will give me some experience and a little to pad my resume.

DENIED

The year has gone by quickly - I can remember our last trip to Montreal as though it was only a few weeks ago, but the bottom line is, in about 10 weeks, we’ll be back in the city.

It’s a different trip this year, in a couple ways. First, we’ll have two great friends joining us for the days leading up to Christmas Eve. I wouldn’t say we’ve tried to over-script those 3 days, but we have rearranged our plans somewhat to give them what we hope will be an enjoyable snapshot of the city. This means plenty of downtime, but also a few focus destinations - probably Musee d’art contemporain and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; perhaps a visit to Notre Dame Basilica. Up to now, we’ve avoided Schwartz’s, but we might make our first visit this year, using our friends as a good excuse.

Because Chuck and I are foodies, we’ve also started rearranging our restaurant plans to highlight particular favorite restaurants while they’re with us. The leading candidates for “Dinners for Four” are Au Pied de Cochon, BAZaAR Anise, Brunoise, and Bonaparte.

I would hesitate to portray these choices as quintessential. I think that’s a mistake a lot of people make when they visit a place - they either have a list set in stone that “represents” a city, or they become overwhelmed trying to create that kind of list. We won’t play that game, but we do have a rationale for our choices, which takes into account the menu, the chef, the reviews, the patron buzz (Chowhound and elsewhere), proximity to our hotel or accessibility via Metro, previous experience, etc.

“Cochon” isn’t a restaurant that “represents all of Montreal” but it certainly represents the vision of Chef Martin Picard, and there’s something about that place that makes you think it would be hard to locate elsewhere. Bonaparte very nicely executes the French/Quebec theme and the ambience is quiet and restrained. As neighborhood bistros, Brunoise and BAZaAR Anise might offer an experience no different than you’d find in any other bistro, but again, it’s the menu, flavors and execution that make these restaurants shine.

Then there’s lunch! Frankly, I could have lunch every day at Olive et Gourmando and never be unhappy, but I expect Chuck will expand the lunch choices.

So that’s where we are now. This list will change, I’m certain.

I submitted my application to the Sheriff’s Department and they said that they would call me for an interview in a week or two.

I plan on getting a position at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department as a Sheriff’s Deputy. I took the Civil Service Exam and passed last week. This week I am gathering the appropriate documents and information to complete the Employment Application.

I have talked with my family and friends about this and some are concerned as to why I want to be a policeman. I think it is inline with what I have already chosen in regards to the military and I think it will be a good fit. I am not sure if it will be my ultimate career goal, but I think it will be interesting and definitely will be a learning experience.

Wow, I actually have two job opportunities at the same time.

1. Incident Management Team as a Response Management Associate.

2. ADSW work for the KSARNG in Hiawatha updating our SOP as it pertains to GWOT.

It is a good day for me besides my strained back.

You know, it’s never too early to prove one’s obsession with a city. So, in the spirit of obsession, here’s our first pass at lunch and dinner plans for December 2007.

Dinner
Friday 12/21 - Holder???
Saturday 12/22 - Brunoise???
Sunday 12/23 - Anise???
Christmas Eve 12/24 - Gandhi
Christmas Night 12/25 - Niu Kee
Wednesday 12/26 - Au Pied du Cochon

Montreal Bagels
Tokyo Sushi on St. Paul

Lunch
Olive et Gourmando
Pho Bang New York
Au Petit Express
Cluny
Titanic

* One lunch plus one dinner in Chinatown

Just back from our 2006 trip to Montreal, so it’s time to plan for next year. We’ll be back in Montreal December 21-27, 2007. We can’t wait! We’re also thinking about a September trip with friends - a chance to enjoy the city in late summer.