Day 184 progress

5. Get a tattoo: I came up with a design that incorporates a Nietzsche quote in German and written in a high German font.  I haven't set a date to get it done, but my sister and I will probably go together, since she has much more experience with this whole process.

 

22. Build a home studio: I finally got a new office chair.  I got it at Ikea and put it together in about 15 minutes.  It is far superior to the chair I was using before, and looks a lot better too.  I still need to get my art on the walls.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: My progress is 1985 tracks of 5903.

 

38. Eat at least one serving of fruit everyday for one month: I made it for 17 days in a row before I messed up and forgot to eat my fruit one day.  And so, I have to start over.

 

39. No fast food for 90 days in a row: I've made it to day 82 of 90.  I don't plan on eating any fast food even when this item is completed.  I'd rather pay a little more, with a longer wait for better quality food.

 

40. Refrain from ingesting alcohol for 90 days: So far I have made it 23 days out of 90.  This item isn't difficult, but I do want the occasional beer or drink now and then.

 

51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I put aside another $6 for a total of $256.

 

71. Ride the entirety of the DART rail line (COMPLETED): Claudia and I rode the DART rail on 8/24/07.  We started the morning at the Parker Road station and rode the train to the Westmoreland station.  We then took the red line train back to 8th and Corinth, jumped on the blue line, and rode it to the Ledbetter station.  Then we rode the blue line up to Mockingbird station where we got off the train and at lunch at Margarita Ranch.  After that we got back on the blue line and rode out to Downtown Garland.  From that point we rode back to Mockingbird, got back onto the red line and rode it back to the parking lot where we left the car.

It was a pretty fun trip, and it ended up taking a lot longer than I had expected.  The neatest parts were seeing all the area of town that you would never see when traveling by car, and getting to see the gradual transitions from the various sections of town.  I also liked seeing the different people on the trains.  Whether it was people going to work, kids taking the train to school, people going shopping or to the zoo, it was a bit of an education in observing other people going about their daily business.

 

95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: I completed 10 more games over the past few weeks for a total of 60 games.

Day 161 progress

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: My total is now 1479 of 5855, which puts my progress at this point at 25.26%.  My overall number of tracks did decrease as I deleted a large number of anime related tracks that I have never listened to, and that I no longer have the CDs for.  Don't worry, being a music hoarder, my total will creep back up over the next 850 or so days.

 

32. Upgrade my Squier '51: I received my switch and control plate.  Since the stock model did not come with a switch, I had to remove some of the body to make room for the switch.  The new control plate came with a template, and after about 30 minutes with my Dremel, the niche was cut.

Now I just have to wire up the controls and everything will be complete!

 

38. Eat at least one serving of fruit everyday for one month: I started on 8/3/07 and will continue this item for 30 days.  So far I have consumed 2 peaches and 3 pluots.  I am 16.67% of the way to completion.

 

39. No fast food for 90 days in a row: I've made it to day 59 of 90!  I am 65.56% complete and really have no desire to eat fast food in the future.  Sure, it's "convenient", but I can get better food for roughly the same price at any decent "ethnic" restaurant (Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Mediterranean), and the options are a lot healthier and taste much better.

 

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I finished The Quiet American by Graham Greene.  I thought the novel was a perfect length, the story was compelling enough to keep me interested, and the subject matter gave me a look at a facet of Vietnam that often gets overlooked, namely the French colonialism.  Excellent read.

 

51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I set aside another $25, brining my total to $250.

 

57. Clean out my anime collection (COMPLETED): On 8/3/07 I sold my last listing on eBay, effectively cleaning out all of the anime titles that I wanted to sell off.

 

95. Complete 100 expert level Sudoku games without hints: I went on a bit of a tear and knocked out 9 more games, bringing my total to 50 of 100.

 

98. Go to 5 concerts:  I attended the Project Revolution show on 8/4/07 at the Smirnoff Music Centre in Dallas.  Of the bands playing, I was really only interested in 3 of them: Mindless Self Indulgence, HIM, and My Chemical Romance.

Mindless Self Indulgence was the final act on the side stage, and they put on a great show.  They had good energy, played a variety of their songs, kept the crowd entertained between songs, and looked like they were having fun.

HIM was disappointing.  I've seen them a total of 3 times, and this was by far their weakest performance.  They played their "safe" hits, and didn't really seem like they were interested in impressing anyone.

My Chemical Romance was excellent as usual.  I've also seen them 3 times, and while this performance didn't beat the first time I saw them, it was still entertaining and impressive.  MCR puts on a great live show, and their CDs don't really convey the strength of their performances.  Even when they aren't the headlining act, they still go on stage and act like they are.

I got a bit sunburned, but overall it made for a good afternoon.