Final Analysis: Items progressed or completed by day 1001

 

There are a few completions that I need to clear up before I discuss the final results of the project.

17. Hike all official trails at the Cedar Ridge Preserve (COMPLETED): I finished this item over the span of two weekends.  Claudia and I hiked the Red Oak Cutoff and the Fossil Ridge Trail on November 7, 2009.  On November 21, 2009, my dad and I hiked the Possum Haw Trail and the Mulberry Trail.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes (COMPLETED): Even after my snafu around day 852, I was able to listen to all of my music by the deadline.  In all, I listened to over 11,000 songs.

 

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I started Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian on October 2, 2009, and finished it on October 26, 2009.  I thought the novel was amazing while extremely unsettling at times.  I highly recommend this novel, and it is easily considered one of the greatest American novels of the past century.

 

 

I finished Nietzsche's Political Skepticism by Tamsin Shaw on November 15, 2009.  I'm sure I missed some of the finer points, but I did have enough "eureka" moments to feel good about the reading.

 

To this point I have read 21 of 50 books.

 

68. Complete a training course related to my profession (COMPLETED): I completed 13 modules in one evening, and completed the entire online training program.  While I already knew much of the information, the refresher did help me remember some finer points that had slipped from my memory.

 

84. Visit the Shiloh Battlefield (COMPLETED): I visited Shiloh, Tennessee on October 18, 2009 with Claudia and my parents.  I've now visited at least 10 major Civil War battlefields.

The end of the line: Day 1002

I've reached the predetermined end of this project, which started on February 28th, 2007.  I'll be posting some recaps over the next few days detailing my successes, failures, and overall thoughts.

Day 852 progress

Needless to say, my attention to this project has been sorely lacking.  A college friend brought my attention back around to this point after asking me about this project.  So, with just under 5 months worth of time left to finish what I set out to do, I'm going to complete what I can with the knowledge that while I will not reach all of my goals, the goals that were completed  provided me with valuable experiences and memories.

This is not to say that I have been a total slouch.  I did complete a number of items over the past 4-plus months.  While all of the detail may be a bit hazy with the passage of time, here is a quick update on what I did accomplish.

 

7. Grow my hair out again (COMPLETED): My hair had finally reached shoulder length and on 2/28/09, my 32nd birthday, I decided that was long enough.  I cut everything off.  My hair looked good, but it was becoming a mess, and I had it pulled back almost all the time, just to keep it out of my face.  It was cool, and I may grow it out again, but no time soon.

 

17. Hike all official trails at the Cedar Ridge Preserve: On February 20th, I hiked the Bluebonnet Trail at the CRP.  This leaves 4 trails to complete.  I plan on finishing this item in the fall when the weather cools considerably.

 

25. Listen to every one of my track on iTunes: I had a small disaster here.  When moving my 90+ gigs of music to an external hard drive, I lost all of my "listened" data.  Therefore I am going to do my damndest to listen to all 10,000+ tracks between now and November 2009.  Wish me luck.

 

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: On February 13th, I began reading Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche, and finished it on February 25th.  I also finished reading The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain on February 21st.  On February 26th I started Tamsin Shaw's Nietzsche's Political Skepticism, but did not finish it before I had to return the book.  I intend on completing this one in the future.  On April 3rd I began Stendhal's The Red and the Black but found it terribly boring and put it aside.  I will likewise make an effort to finish this book before the end of the project.

 

63. Complete 3 college correspondence courses (COMPLETED): I actually went a few better on this item than I had intended.  Not only did I get into graduate school (Library and Information Science), but in my first semester I completed two core courses and earned a 4.0 for the semester!

 

68. Complete a training course related to my profession: Since my last update I have completed 3 more modules.  They have added 6 since that time.  At this point I have completed 13 of the 26 available modules.

 

77. Travel to Chicago (COMPLETED): On May 16th, 2009, Claudia and I traveled to Chicago for a portion of our vacation.  Chicago is a great city, easily navigated with plenty of interesting sites and tons of great food.  Even with the bitterly cold winters, I would gladly consider living in Chicago.  I highly recommend it as a travel destination.

 

79. Travel to New York (COMPLETED): On May 20th, 2009, I arrived by train from Chicago in New York City.  New York has always been one of those legendary cities that I've wanted to see first hand, and while it was impressive in person, it's definitely a place that I would visit, but would never live in.  While Chicago felt like a small town, New York is massively impersonal and looming.  Sure, there are spots that are without compare, but much of the city is very faceless and boring.  Still, I had a great time and would go back if I had the opportunity.

 

87. Attend a college basketball game (COMPLETED): For my birthday, Claudia and I saw SMU play Tulsa at Moody Coliseum.  We had a great time, ate plenty of stadium food, and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit. 

 

93. Attend a Stars game (COMPLETED): On March 24th, Claudia and I attended a Dallas Stars game at the American Airlines Center.  They were playing for a chance to sneak into the playoffs, but lost this particular game.  While we had nosebleed seats, the view was really quite good and gave us a great view of the action.

 

96. Eat at Les Halles Brasserie (COMPLETED): This item is completed, but in a very conditional sort of way.  Let me explain.  The intent of this item was to eat at a nicer place while I was in New York.  I also thought it would be cool to eat where Anthony Bourdain used to work, as he is one of my travel and food icons.  Well, perhaps disappointingly, I did not complete this item as intended; however, I feel that I managed to complete the spirit of the item.  Again, my explanation.

One of Bourdain's good friends, Eric Ripert, owns and runs a restaurant in New York called Le Bernardin.  This restaurant is considered one of the best places to eat seafood in the world, and is also considered one of the 20 best restaurants in the world.  So, to my mind it was an acceptable trade, especially given the cost of the endeavor.  Let me say that the meal was as close to a religious experience as I have ever had, and the experience immediately returns fully formed to my mind when I think back to it.

 

100. Smoke 5 high end cigars: On February 25th, I enjoyed a Cohiba Churchill.  I can't say much more about it, since it's been so long, my recollection would be guesswork at best, but it was a good one!  I have smoked 2 of 5 cigars for this item.

 

As of this point I have completed 52 of 101 items, and have 20 in the process of completion.  My conservative estimate is that I can complete at least 70 of the 101, which is acceptable.  I've learned at this point that when creating my list is it good to stretch a bit, but there is some amount of stretching that is in excess of reality.  But then, that's what this project is for: learning and developing as a person.  I think to this point I've done that, but that item is far from completed.

Day 689 progress

Well, it's been over 100 days since I last posted, and I have a lot to catch up.

Briefly, I have 7 newly completed items, and 20 items in a partial state.

3. Floss every night for 1 month (COMPLETED): I completed this item on 1/5/2009.  The first few days were a bit gory, since my gums weren't used to the process, but the process got easier as I continued.  I am still flossing regularly, which was the ultimate goal of this item.

 

14. Cycle a total of 5000 miles: I cycled an additional 6.41 miles for a total of 14.10.  I'm going to have to seriously pick up the pace if I want to even make the half way point on this item.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: On 10/13/2008 I finished listening to all of the tracks that were imported into my iTunes at that point in time.  While this might be technically completed, I know that I will be acquiring more music before the end of this project.  Therefore, I can't consider this item truly completed until the final day of the project.

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days (COMPLETED): I completed this item on 11/10/08.  I did feel a lot better by the end of the 90 days, but I did miss the occasional cup of coffee, Dr. Pepper, or Coca-Cola.  I am ingesting caffeine now, but my preference leans toward green and black tea.

 

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I started and completed The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Venus in Furs by Sacher-Masoch, and I completed reading the Koran Interpreted by Arberry.  I started The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain.

 

46. Read the Koran (COMPLETED): I finished the second book of the Koran Interpreted on 11/22/2008.  On the whole, and of the religious texts I have read, it said the least to me in the final analysis.  In my mind, too much of the text dealt with the divisions between the believer and the non-believer, and it seemed that every chapter spoke only of "painful chastisement" and the retribution of God.  To me, there were too few direct lessons on how to live a good life, or ways in which to make the world a better place.

 

53. Sell off the firearms that I don't use anymore: Roughly two months after dropping off my K31, I received a call from the Bullet Trap notifying me that they had sold my gun.  I had asked for a price of $89, partly because I wanted to sell it quickly, and partly because I wanted to keep my price competitive.

Not only did they sell the gun, which is a bit of an oddity in that it uses a very uncommon type of ammunition, they sold it for at least twice what I was asking for it.

I do have a few more items to sell, but I need to use up some remaining ammunition at the range and clean them up before dropping them off.

 

54. Build a deck/patio on the back of the house: I've discussed the idea with my Dad, and we're leaning toward having a slab poured with footings for the installation of pergola in the future.

 

55. Build an outdoor grill/firepit in the backyard (COMPLETED): I bought a nice, large charcoal grill at Lowes in preparation for a post wedding party for Claudia and me.

Not only is it much larger than our old grill, it had an adjustable coal tray, removable ceramic coated grill plates, and utility hooks and working surfaces.  It was also on sale because it was the end of the summer and a discontinued model.

 

56. Clean each room of the house from top to bottom (COMPLETED): Since we had a party, Claudia and I cleaned every room in the house.

 

60. Install and maintain landscaping in the front and back yards: Claudia and I expanded one of the garden beds by adding another vertical tier.  Claudia, my Dad and I also did some end of summer/fall maintenance by cleaning out the planting beds in the back yard.

In the front yard, I'd like to enlarge some of the flower beds, and add new edging and perhaps a path from the front patio to the mailbox.

 

63. Complete 2 college courses: I was accepted into my graduate program, and I have registered for 2 classes for a total of 5 credit hours.  Classes start next week, and while most of the work is going to be Internet based, there will be some classroom sessions between now and the middle of May.

 

68. Complete a training course related to my profession: Over the past 100 days I have completed 3 more modules bringing my total to 10 of 20.

 

77. Travel to Chicago: Claudia and I purchased our airplane tickets for our trip in May 2009.  We also booked our hotel, which is located in the heart of downtown Chicago.

 

79. Travel to New York: We also purchased our train tickets for the trip between Chicago and New York, and our plane tickets for the ride home.  Our hotel reservations place us just south of Central Park, in the 5th and Madison area.

 

83. Visit paternal grandmother (COMPLETED): On 1/3/09 my family and I traveled to LaGrange, TX to visit my Dad's family.  It was good to see my grandmother, who I haven't really seen in a couple of years.  She's in her mid 80's, yet still looks healthy and well.

 

88. Attend a college football game (COMPLETED): I attended the SMU vs. University of Houston game at Ford Field at SMU on 10/18/2008.  My Dad, being a Houston alum, suggested that we go to the game, which turned out the be one of the best football games I've ever seen.  Not only was the game a shootout that went down to the final play, it was made even more exciting by the enthusiastic crowd and large group of away team fans present.

Day 584 progress

It's been nearly a month since my last post, but I have made some progress on a few large items during that time.

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: So far I have listened to 7345 of 7593 total tracks.  I am 96.73% of the way through my collection.

It's very likely that I will listen to my entire current collection before the end of the year.  If that is the case, it would not cause this item to be truly complete, as I might acquire more music for my collection between then and the end date of the entire project.

So, even though I may listen to my current collection, my official complete date will be closer to November 24th, 2009, the end of this 101 project.

 

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: I've reached day 52 of 90.  There have been more than a few times that I could have enjoyed a cup of coffee, and a few mornings where I nearly broke down to have one, but I've stuck to my goal of finishing off this item and I've made it this far.  There's no sense in having to stat over now.

 

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: At the suggestion of a co-worker, I started reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy on September 30, 2008.

 

46. Read the Koran: I finished book one of The Koran Interpreted on September 28th, 2008.  It's slow reading, and I am taking a small break while I read other material.

 

50. Pay off credit cards: I'm happy to report that I have completely paid off my Visa card, and I only have a little bit left on my Discover card.  I do have a balance on my Musician's Friend card, but I have a plan in place, and intend on paying it off sooner than later.

 

54. Build a deck or patio on the back of the house: I have a design planned.  I had hoped to have it in place by early November, but it looks like January or February are more likely.

I will need to talk to the city permit office to clear my design and get approval for the construction.

 

63. Complete 2 college courses: I've been involved in the application process for my chosen graduate program at UNT.  In the past month, I have created an organizational plan for the application process, found that I need to retake the GRE since my previous scores expired, studied for said GRE, began the application process, acquired transcripts, and worked on my financial aid package.

I still need to take the GRE, distribute my letter of recommendation packets to my letter writers, complete my application pending receipt of one more transcript, write a few essays, write my cover letter, and finish my FASFA application.

 

100. Smoke 5 high end cigars: On September 17th, I took the time (around 90 minutes) to enjoy an Arturo Fuente Double Chateau Natural in the back yard while listening to my favorite AM radio show.  Of the cigars that I have tried over the years, this one was mild, with very little aftertaste.  Nice coffee flavors, without being too spicy.  It burned evenly, and produced a nice volume of smoke on the draw with the ash holding up well throughout the smoke.

This is my first of five cigars.

Day 557 progress

I made some decent progress since the last post, with 3 completions in the bag.

16. Go rock climbing (COMPLETED): On August 31, Claudia and I traveled to Fredericksburg, Texas, where we visited Enchanted Rock, a massive granite pluton located in the Texas hill country.

While there we hiked to the top of the rock, and then descended on the western side where we did some bouldering away from the main path.

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: So far I have listened to 6921 of 7591 tracks. I am 91.17% of the way through my collection.

31. Take guitar lessons for at least 3 months: This is another changing goal. I've found it difficult to schedule lessons with my current work and band schedule, and when I begin my graduate program, such scheduling will become more difficult.

So, I am going to change my goal, while trying to retain the purpose of the originally stated goal, namely to improve my guitar skills.

My new goal will read as follows: Practice bass or guitar for 3 hours per week for 3 months.

This does not include time spent at band practice. This is intended to be an improvement of my skills above and beyond what I put in during a normal week.

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: I've made it to day 25 of 90. I have two cases of Dublin Dr. Pepper that are tempting me, but I've decided to look forward to them as a reward, rather than a temptation. So far, so good.

53. Sell off the firearms that I don't use anymore: I took the first of the rifles on my list on September 5th. I'm selling it on consignment at a popular local gun store. While this is a passive way to sell the gun, it eliminates a lot of the legal hassles involved in selling a firearm.

Hopefully I can declare it sold within the month. If not, I can look into more active methods of selling it, and the other items on my list.

58. Clean out my drawers and closet (COMPLETED): On September 6th, I spent a few hours sorting, and eliminating clothing from my wardrobe. I mainly eliminated older clothes that were worn, clothes that no longer fit, or those that I do not wear enough to justify keeping.

In all I eliminated 2 medium sized garbage bags of clothes, all of which will be donated to a local charity.

68. Complete a training course related to my profession: On September 6th, I completed 2 more modules of my training course. The company providing the training has added another module, bringing the total to 19 modules. So far I have completed 6 modules.

75. Take a weekend trip to Austin (COMPLETED): Claudia and I traveled to Austin for the 2008 Memorial Day weekend. We arrived on Saturday night, and left on Monday morning.

While there were ate at local restaurants (North by Northwest, Maria's Taco Xpress, The Salt Lick), took a day trip to Fredericksburg, did some shopping, visited the Lamar Street Whole Foods and the Gateway Whole Foods, took the tour at the Longhorn Caverns state park in Burnet, TX, and had a good time relaxing.

84. Visit the Shiloh battlefield: I have some negative developments on this item.

With Claudia's new job, she will not be eligible to attend her work event in Tennessee as planned. So, we will have to shuffle our travel plans a bit to fit this item into the mix.

We've discussed our options a bit, and it looks like the trip can still work out, but nothing is certain yet.

Day 544 progress

14. Cycle a total of 5000 miles: Better late than never, right?  I really should have started this item a year ago, if not earlier.  Well, I'm here now, and now I have to put together a decent pace.

So far I have put in 7.69 miles at the gym on the stationary bike.  I count these miles because I have the ability to set resistance on the bike that mimics road conditions like hills.

So far I am 0.15% of the way to my goal of 5000 miles.  As the weather outside cools, I'll be doing more road riding, and as the winter sets in, I'll have the option of using the gym.

 

19. Train with weights twice a week for 6 months: On 8/18.08, Claudia and I worked arms and chest, and on 8/22/08 we worked legs and abdomen.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes:  I have now listened to 6637 of 7465 total tracks.  I am 88.91% of the way through my collection.

 

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: Today is day 12 of 90.  So far so good.  I've become more cognizant of my goal, and much less likely to err since I keep my prohibition front of mind when purchasing food and drink.

 

51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I set aside $7 since my last update.  My new total is $730.

 

If things go as planned over the next couple of weeks, I should have at least a couple of completions.