The year is almost over. Where did it go? I've come to realize that the older I get, the faster time flies. Many friends have expressed the same realization. This year has been full of new experiences, both due to my to do list and completely separate from it. I feel like this was the year I grew up. To be completely honest, growing up scares me, but I have come to think of it almost like a task on my to do list. It's not a task of necessity as much as it is a task of new experience.
Speaking of my to do list, I successfully completed 33 of the 52 tasks. I partially completed about 8 tasks, which brings the total to 41. Not too shabby, if I may say so myself. The goal of this list was originally to try to accomplish all 52 tasks, but I began to realize that the attempt was more important to me than the actual completion. I can at least say I tried to yodel and I tried to touch all the bordering salt-based bodies of water along the continental US (I touched 2 out of 3-The Pacific was a little far away...).
Some tasks were simple, like eating a rutabaga or going on a road trip. And yet some tasks brought about great anxiety. Singing at a karaoke bar literally caused a stress response equivalent to undergoing major surgery. I learned a lot of new things, such as what it was like for someone to grow up in Ghana (#9), how to offend a celebrity (#6), and that smiling at a stranger is not as scary as it seems (#13).
It is officially 3 1/2 days until 2011, so I am trying to figure out my goal/to-do list for next year. Should I keep the same format, just with different tasks? Or should I try something different, such as blogging about something unexpected that happens to me each week? Thoughts? Comments? Angry words?
Showing posts with label to do list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label to do list. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Yep. I still hate tomatoes.
Hello boys and girls. How's your week been? Olympics have been great, have they not? And my prediction regarding Men's Figure Skating came true! Maybe I should go into sports betting... Yay Evan Lysenchek!
This week has been one for the books, I fear. I literally had a nervous breakdown over an online class. Yes, I know. Pathetic. However, the weekend is here, I slept in until the afternoon, I'm currently half-watching Notting Hill (LOVE HUGH GRANT) and...
I completed a task!! Probably the most revolting of all the tasks on the list. I was at a get-together for the clinical psychology program and there they were... a whole slew of grape tomatoes. I would have much rather eaten the rutabaga I've been blogging about for weeks now, but I have yet to get around to the grocery store to see if I can actually find a rutabaga in this town. Literally, grad school has been eating all my time. BUT I did eat an entire one of those awful grape tomatoes (Task 22). Y'all, it was disgusting. Don't believe me?
Before
During/After
It took about 4 hours to get the taste out of my mouth/mind. If I didn't have a psychologically-based taste-aversion to those disgusting things before, I sure do now.
Ok, class, let's review:
#9- Introduce myself to a random stranger. DONE
#10- Go 1 month without eating any fast food- IN PROGRESS
I have a confession. I accidentally ate a barbeque sandwhich from DQ tonight. Mid-way through, I realized my mistake. HOWEVER, I did not get it myself. My uncle asked me if I wanted him to get me one when he went out for them, and in the mindset of "I'm broke and love free food" I automatically said, "Yes please." SO, since I didn't actually purchase it myself and in the spirit of frugality, I'm going to let it slide. As my panel of judges, is this okay?
#14- Memorize how to say "hello" in 10 languages. DONE
I will eventually get around to posting the video on youtube or something. I promise I completed this task, but the video is boring, I'm not going to lie. However, I have been told it is needed as evidence. Oh, ye of little faith.
#19- Do something completely spontaneous that no one would ever expect me to do. DONE (I think)
#22- Eat an entire grape tomato. DONE
#24- Write a letter to a person in the military. DONE
6 down. 47 to go.
Question of the day: What's your favorite Hugh Grant movie? My answer: it's a tie between Sense and Sensibility and Two Weeks Notice, with Music and Lyrics right on their heels.
This week has been one for the books, I fear. I literally had a nervous breakdown over an online class. Yes, I know. Pathetic. However, the weekend is here, I slept in until the afternoon, I'm currently half-watching Notting Hill (LOVE HUGH GRANT) and...
I completed a task!! Probably the most revolting of all the tasks on the list. I was at a get-together for the clinical psychology program and there they were... a whole slew of grape tomatoes. I would have much rather eaten the rutabaga I've been blogging about for weeks now, but I have yet to get around to the grocery store to see if I can actually find a rutabaga in this town. Literally, grad school has been eating all my time. BUT I did eat an entire one of those awful grape tomatoes (Task 22). Y'all, it was disgusting. Don't believe me?
Before
During/After
It took about 4 hours to get the taste out of my mouth/mind. If I didn't have a psychologically-based taste-aversion to those disgusting things before, I sure do now.
Ok, class, let's review:
#9- Introduce myself to a random stranger. DONE
#10- Go 1 month without eating any fast food- IN PROGRESS
I have a confession. I accidentally ate a barbeque sandwhich from DQ tonight. Mid-way through, I realized my mistake. HOWEVER, I did not get it myself. My uncle asked me if I wanted him to get me one when he went out for them, and in the mindset of "I'm broke and love free food" I automatically said, "Yes please." SO, since I didn't actually purchase it myself and in the spirit of frugality, I'm going to let it slide. As my panel of judges, is this okay?
#14- Memorize how to say "hello" in 10 languages. DONE
I will eventually get around to posting the video on youtube or something. I promise I completed this task, but the video is boring, I'm not going to lie. However, I have been told it is needed as evidence. Oh, ye of little faith.
#19- Do something completely spontaneous that no one would ever expect me to do. DONE (I think)
#22- Eat an entire grape tomato. DONE
#24- Write a letter to a person in the military. DONE
6 down. 47 to go.
Question of the day: What's your favorite Hugh Grant movie? My answer: it's a tie between Sense and Sensibility and Two Weeks Notice, with Music and Lyrics right on their heels.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Task #5: Read an entire book in a week
Task #1: Read a book in its entirity (without skipping any chapters or pages) in one week (must be at least 150 pages).
Well, dear readers (all two of you), I have often been deemed an overachiever by my friends and family. I often try to deny any such accusations, but today, I have proven them all true. My book of choice is Dave Egger's "What is the What." I bought it today and did not look at the page count. 535 pages. I have until 11:59 PM on Thursday to complete it. I am about 26 1/2 pages in, after an hour or two. I have my work cut out for me. I picked this task for this week because it will most likely be the least-grad-school-filled week for the rest of the year (except maybe the end of December, which I'm saving for the more difficult,complex tasks). I should not have much homework due this week. Watch all my professors decide to assign a paper a piece due next Thursday. Lovely.
Anyway, I chose this seemingly overwhelming book on purpose (even though I was oblivious to its length). I could have chosen a 150-pager out of the teen fiction section, but what would I have achieved by that other than getting frustrated by realizing the crap that teenagers are being enticed by nowadays? If I see another vampire-teenage-romance, I might vomit. Seriously. Old-school vampires are the only way to go. (Interestingly enough, I'm currently listening to the original cast recording of Dracula the Musical. Thanks to my friend Creaves for introducing me to it.) Moving on from my vampire rant...
Of the 26 1/2 pages that I've read of "What is the What," all of them have been intense, emotional, and incredibly poignant. The novel is based on the true story of a Sudanese man who was a refugee as a result of the wars in Sudan. Because he could not remember all of the facts and conversations that took place in his childhood, the book was deemed a novel, although most of it is indeed factual. The book opens with the main character, Valentino, being robbed. He is beaten and wakes up later to find himself bound by a telephone cord, his mouth taped shut by packing tape. "My voice and movements are restricted by the things I own" (Eggers, 26). That sentence really speaks to me. I am intrigued by this book and will write a review once I finish it by next Thursday.
So, my quest for getting out of the ol' comfort zone has begun! Pop open the champagne (or the Pringles, for those of you who are more conservative)!
Note: I know this task is technically #5 on the original list. Since I'm completing the tasks out of order, I will enumerate each one in the order I complete it. So, this week's task is now #1. Also, my weeks are going to be Friday-Thursday, to get a jump start with the weekend. I will have to double-up tasks one week since I have already lost the first week of January.
Well, dear readers (all two of you), I have often been deemed an overachiever by my friends and family. I often try to deny any such accusations, but today, I have proven them all true. My book of choice is Dave Egger's "What is the What." I bought it today and did not look at the page count. 535 pages. I have until 11:59 PM on Thursday to complete it. I am about 26 1/2 pages in, after an hour or two. I have my work cut out for me. I picked this task for this week because it will most likely be the least-grad-school-filled week for the rest of the year (except maybe the end of December, which I'm saving for the more difficult,complex tasks). I should not have much homework due this week. Watch all my professors decide to assign a paper a piece due next Thursday. Lovely.
Anyway, I chose this seemingly overwhelming book on purpose (even though I was oblivious to its length). I could have chosen a 150-pager out of the teen fiction section, but what would I have achieved by that other than getting frustrated by realizing the crap that teenagers are being enticed by nowadays? If I see another vampire-teenage-romance, I might vomit. Seriously. Old-school vampires are the only way to go. (Interestingly enough, I'm currently listening to the original cast recording of Dracula the Musical. Thanks to my friend Creaves for introducing me to it.) Moving on from my vampire rant...
Of the 26 1/2 pages that I've read of "What is the What," all of them have been intense, emotional, and incredibly poignant. The novel is based on the true story of a Sudanese man who was a refugee as a result of the wars in Sudan. Because he could not remember all of the facts and conversations that took place in his childhood, the book was deemed a novel, although most of it is indeed factual. The book opens with the main character, Valentino, being robbed. He is beaten and wakes up later to find himself bound by a telephone cord, his mouth taped shut by packing tape. "My voice and movements are restricted by the things I own" (Eggers, 26). That sentence really speaks to me. I am intrigued by this book and will write a review once I finish it by next Thursday.
So, my quest for getting out of the ol' comfort zone has begun! Pop open the champagne (or the Pringles, for those of you who are more conservative)!
Note: I know this task is technically #5 on the original list. Since I'm completing the tasks out of order, I will enumerate each one in the order I complete it. So, this week's task is now #1. Also, my weeks are going to be Friday-Thursday, to get a jump start with the weekend. I will have to double-up tasks one week since I have already lost the first week of January.
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