As the first month of 1998 draws to a close and almost all of us have already forgotten our New Year's resolutions, perhaps it's time to look at what needs to be changed in our corner of the world, and make a collective resolotion to encourage those around us to keep the following:

• Take proper care of our pets: I have a neighbor with a beautiful and sweet dog who lets her out to wander the neighborhood for hours at a time. Quite often I have seen her nearly hit by cars and I have often spoken to my neighbor about the matter only to be ignored, and I'm sure we all know someone who lets their cat wander outside at all hours of the day and night subjecting them to feline leukemia, FIV, cat fights, dog attacks, rapidly moving vehicles, racoons, and other dangers. Maybe if we all team up to encourage those around us to properly care for their pets they may just get the hint before something dreadful happens.

• Have proper respect for houses of worship. When I attend a Buddhist or Hindu temple with friends I absolutely always remove my shoes before entering out of respect for the traditions and beliefs of others. When one enters a religious sanctuary of any faith, one ought to respect the traditions and customs of the people there. Perhaps we could all work to impress the importance of this concept on others.

• Don't blame your customer service representative: My sister was employed in an office in Garden City over her break from NYU. Daily she would return home from work drained and upset by some of the comments people made when they spoke to her over the phone. It seems there are still people out there who don't understand that the individual hired to read company policies over the phone and explain policy did not write the policy and has no power to help anyone circumvent the rules. Directing obscenities at the individual, who could be an innocent art therapy major working on New Year's Day to pay off her college bills, is not only futile, but tremendously inappropriate. So let's try and encourage everyone to be a little nicer too.