2023, Resolve This!

So, as I’m writing, it looks like 2023 arrived just in time. For whatever reason, I want 2022 to be remembered as the year USC Football regained relevancy and Elon Musk started looking like the fictional illegitimate son of Rudy Giuliani.

On one hand, the last 12-months seems like two years. To start the first half of 2022, after almost 2-years of Temple City confinement, we busted straight outta town…to a place where all the masks and Herschel Walker were missing but no one was in search of ‘em- The Lone Star state. A few months later, a second TC getaway found us in San Diego and me celebrating a birthday with close friends on the payroll. After an awesome celebration and all the candles that may have triggered the SDFD drive-by, everyone was clear that there was good reason why I totally remembered stuff like Gilligan’s Island, Laugh-in, and OJ when he won the Heisman and later got paid to run through airports.

The second 2022 began with me no longer being a big shot within four walls or even my own mind. After 46-annual “Resolve This” affirmations, Dr. Kyle Low came up with a new one. “Resolve this! I’m the new owner! Stand down Von Bulow!” A little while later, the mayor and city council invited me to the podium just to make sure I was leaving town and taking my political clout with me. The CEO for the chamber presented me to city hall with maybe the greatest introduction of all time; he mysteriously resigned a few weeks later.

So, I suppose some of us who’ve attended many past rodeos never dreamed of a bronco ride like the one since March 2020. I know I wasn’t expecting a Southern California Edison bill for over $13,000 one day after selling my dental practice and leaving the building. But without SCE being sound asleep for 26-months, I would’ve never met some super-cool peeps at the California Public Utilities Commission (see, there’s always a positive spin if you’re looking for it.)

Don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to opening a new calendar, I can’t wait to get my hands on a beautiful blank page that’s titled 2023. I also can’t wait to get my hands on a schedule that doesn’t call for a 4:30 AM wake-up call. And more than ever, I see the pristine sheet as a reminder the new year brings hope, opportunity, and yet another chance to be the author of our own story.

I love New Year resolutions; and even though my stats are mediocre at best, I even go public with ‘em. Here are my Top Ten for 2023 (with maybe a few minor last-minute edits.)

10. So you’re in my dental chair. I say, “Almost done.” 3-minutes later I’m still working. You get a brand-new designer N95 mask! Ha-ha! Not this year, and just so you know, it never takes me 3-minutes to line up a putt.

9. I’ll practice empathy the way I used to enjoy generating sarcasm (Sorry, there’s no crying or authentic empathy in golf.)

8. After 2022, I’ll begin counting half-years on May 3 (my aunt started when she was 90- why wait, I’m almost there?)

7. I’ll commend the University of Southern California (my alma mater) for helping UCLA become the second best money-grab school in town.

6. I’ll remember Dental Assistant Appreciation Day is every day…and I’ll do as I’m told (even on the golf course.)

5. I’ll make dentistry fun no matter what…and it’s easy when you’re the mascot or greeter-in-training. (a secondary resolution: to become the Arcadia Nordstrom Greeter by National Align Your Teeth Day 2024.)

4. I will swear even though Will Rogers never met a man he didn’t like…he probably never met an underwriter.

3. I’ll use the word “love” at least once every day; and document it with witnesses. Do I start by finding the witnesses first?

2. I will NOT recommend do-it-yourself orthodontics unless a patient can show live video of a successful do-it-yourself colonoscopy!

1. And, I’ll be looking and listening for greatness, humor, and compassion every single minute of 2023…unless I’m standing in front of Michael Bolton, Luis Suarez, the Southern Cal Edison VP of Customer Service, the loudmouth barista at Peets or... an underwriter.

Happy New Year 2023!