Day 516 progress

8. Go one day without speaking (COMPLETED): I completed this item on July 23rd, 2008.  This was intended more as a test of will, albeit a simple one, but at the conclusion it became a nice way to approach the day more reflective manner.

I tend to think that the ability to remain silent is a dying virtue, as so many of our days are occupied by trying to be noticed by others, usually through verbal communication.  I've always been intrigued by members of monastic societies that take vows of silence.  I can say that from my simple, and brief experience, that a good period of silence is also a good way to cam the chatter of the mind, especially for someone like myself who is constantly processing information and creating plans in my mind.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: I have currently listened to 6051 of 7168 total tracks.  I am 84.42% of the way through my collection.

 

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: I restarted this item on July 21, 2008.  I've been drinking herbal teas in place of the green and black tea that I would normally consume.  Skipping coffee is easy, as I typically don't drink coffee during the summer months.  I am also avoiding chocolate and caffeine found in dietary supplements.

At this point I have reached day 7 of 90, and have had no issues, not even a single headache.  My biggest pitfall will be forgetting to avoid caffeine, but with a little attention to my choices, this item should be an easy completion.

The final day of this item will be October 18, 2008.

 

85. Attend 3 plays (COMPLETED): On July 20th, 2008, I attended the Shakespeare Dallas production of Othello at Samuel Grand Park.

We made an evening of it, and Claudia, my parents, and my sister and her boyfriend all attended.  Everyone brought some element of the picnic.  We had sandwiches, melon wrapped in prosciutto, couscous, naan bread, wine, sangria, almond horns, and homemade hummus.

The evening was reasonable mild, and the production was very well presented.

This completes this item, along with my attendance of Edmond and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Day 508 progress

I've crossed the halfway point in my project.  As of this post my progress is such:

- 33 completed items.

- 20 items in progress.

- 48 items not started.

Overall my progress is pretty good, considering that many of the items in progress are long term goals, and a large number of the items not started are single instance or short term goals.

Here is my recent progress:

 

2. Do a 10 day Master Cleanse (COMPLETED): With a lot of willpower, I completed my first and likely last Master Cleanse ever.  I did lose 14 pounds over the 10 days, but more importantly I had time to reflect on all the things I was craving, but did not actually need.

Now, with my digestion sorted out, I can realign my dietary goals and make better decisions than I had in the past.

 

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: I've been listening to a lot of music lately, and I've made significant progress since my last post.

So far I have listened to 5833 tracks out of 7155 total tracks.  I am 81.52% of the way through my collection.

 

29. Record 3 original songs (COMPLETED): On July 14th, 2008, Dylan and I cut the final part to "Nice Boots", a clean bass part intended to match with the effected bass part.

At this point, I've been party to three completed recordings, "Love's a Sigh", "Grin and Bear", and "Nice Boots", all of which are original compositions by the band of which I am a member.  Mixing still needs to occur, but the recording is complete, fulfilling the intent and requirements of this item.

 

37. Eat at home for one month: In my excitement over ending the Master Cleanse I partook of a pizza, which I had delivered.  A lack of patience on my part is forcing me to restart this item.

 

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: As with item 37, I failed to stick with this item.  The offer of a free bottle of Coke with my pizza was too much to resist.  I know this is in stark contrast to my desire to make better choices, but we learn as much if not more from our failures as we do our successes.

 

51. Save $1 cash each day for 1001 days: I received a dividend check from one of my investments, and I decided to put that money toward this goal.  I set aside $49, bringing my total to $714 of $1001.

Day 497 progress

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: I've listened to 5514 of 7089 tracks. I am now 77.77% of the way through my collection.

37. Eat at home for 1 month: I started this item on 7/7/2008. My goal is to eat meals at home, or prepared at home, rather than going out to eat or ordering take-out. I will complete this item on 8/5/2008.

41. Refrain from ingesting caffeine for 90 days: I started this item on 7/7/2008. My goal is to refrain from knowingly ingesting caffeine, in food, beverages, or dietary supplements. Ideally, I would like to totally avoid it for the 90 day duration, but in the event that I ingest something that contains caffeine outside of my knowledge, that would not disqualify me from this item. I will complete this item on 10/4/2008.

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I completed Jennifer Government on 7/7/2008, bringing my total of completed books to 14 of 50.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who shares an appreciation for dystopian literature. I found the novel to be entertaining and containing many valid ideas on the pitfalls of corporate marketing schemes. There were some flaws to the novel, mainly in the plausibility of some of the events and how the overall plot played out, but in all it was enjoyable.

I will start reading The Koran Interpreted by A.J. Arberry later this evening.

46. Read the Koran: Of the religious traditions that I have studied, my understanding of Islam is the least developed. As with all the other religions associated with the texts on my list, my preference is to read and understand the messages offered for myself, rather than rely on what is sometimes inaccurate or misleading information available from interpretations of interpretations.

I expect that the Koran will be an easier read than some of the other texts, as it is closely connected to other Western religious traditions, and so the concepts should be more familiar.

68. Complete a training course related to my profession: I completed 2 more training modules on 7/7/2008. In addition to the 14 original modules, 4 more have been added. So far I have completed 4 of 18 modules.

Day 495 progress

My pace has picked back up, and I'm doing well in recent completions, progress on current items, and new item starts.

2. Do a 10 day Master Cleanse: I officially start today, even though my first real day is clocked tomorrow. Thankfully I have a few things on my side for this item.

First, Claudia has already completed one 10 day session, and will be doing the cleanse at the same time as me, so I'll have someone knowledgeable, and some moral support.

Second, I have two and a half more days of vacation ahead of me, so I'll have a little time to make it past the worst part of the cleanse, namely the first three days.

Tomorrow morning, I'll take my starting weight so I can see how much I lose over the course of the cleanse. Of course, this program isn't primarily for weight loss, but has weight loss as a side effect. I should lose about 20 pounds based on what I have read, which will be a nice outcome.

The most important part of the cleanse is that it will give me a "clean slate" to rethink my overall diet. Fast food and carbonated drinks have crept back into my daily meals, and it isn't helping me have a healthy lifestyle on the whole. When I complete this cleanse, I plan on making the suffering worth something by focusing on eating more fresh foods prepared at home.

The official end of my cleanse will be at midnight on July 16th.

5. Get a tattoo (COMPLETED): While in the Los Angeles area I got a tattoo as planned. While I had to adjust my overall plans a bit, I'm happy with the results, and the tattoo is healing very well.

I had my tattoo done by Andrew at Donovan's Autumn Moon in Anaheim, CA on June 29th, 2008. I decided to get the "P" in the Pixies logo, since they are easily my favorite band, and heavily influence my playing style and how I approach the music writing process.

Here's a picture taken about 3 hours after the tattoo was done:

25. Listen to every one of my tracks on iTunes: My total is now 5453 tracks out of a total of 7089. I am 76.92% of the way through my collection.

42. Read 50 books that I have not read before: I finished reading The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha on July 1st, 2008.

I will begin reading Jennifer Government tonight (July 6th, 2008).

So far I have read 13 of 50 books.

47. Read The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha (COMPLETED): I finished reading this book on July 1st, 2008. It took me far longer to finish this rather slim volume than I had previously thought.

I found a lot of the writing to be more difficult to move through, and the concepts far more murky than those in The Upanishads or The Bhagavad Gita. I also found it to be less engaging and frankly, boring at times.

I do think that I took away some valuable concepts from the work, mainly that we tend to be our greatest enemies and the largest impediments to our intellectual and spiritual development.

74. Take a road trip along Route 66 (COMPLETED): I started the Route 66 segment of my road trip on June 26th, 2008, and ended it on June 27th, 2008.

We connected with Route 66 on the morning of June 26 just up the road from our hotel in Amarillo, TX. While we traveled intermittently along Interstate 40 and what is left of Route 66, I did make an effort to see a decent portion of the old road.

We stopped for the night in Flagstaff, AZ, and then continued the next day through Barstow, CA, where we then headed south to Los Angeles.

Sadly, it seems that a lot of the elements that made the route a storied and semi-legendary path across the west have either died away completely or have fallen into a state of disrepair. Many of the towns along Route 66 are now bypassed by Interstate 40, and the commercial centers, the hotels and restaurants, have turned into national chains that gravitate toward the Interstate, rather than the smaller, kitschy, local establishments of the 1950's.

I enjoyed my trip, and would like to conduct a longer, and more thorough exploration of the road, but any such plans are far in the future.