Yay! I finished a 50,000 word novel in under 30 days! It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again in years to come.
I also wanted to thank MaryAnn, Robert, and JoAnna for helping me come up with ideas. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks!
It’s been a rather successful week working on my 101 goals. Tuesday afternoon Robert came over and showed my how to change the oil in my car as well as how to change a tire- both things I think I should have learned a long time ago. Anyway, come November I’ll have to see how much I remember about changing my oil. I’m so thankful to have a friend who could show me those useful skills 🙂
This morning I went golfing with my dad for the first time ever. We’d gone to the driving range yesterday to practice my swing, and he felt confident that I could tee off with them today. I don’t think I did too badly for a beginner. It was pretty fun and it was really nice to spend time with my dad. We’re hoping to go again next week while we’re camping.
I also got my CD for the month of August from the library yesterday. I’d heard a song or two by This Beautiful Republic on the radio and when I found out they were a local band (one of the band members goes to my church) I thought it would be a cool CD to check out.
A few weekends ago I realized that I have some of the best friends in the world. I was camping at Hueston Woods and went to meet Ryan and Anna at the Meijer in Hamilton, per their request, though the wouldn’t say why. When I got there, Anna handed me a note card that said, “#81 Try a fruit I’ve never tried.” She had copied it from my 101 list. My second card, which she gave me just a few minutes later said, “#7 Fly a Kite.” I realized the afternoon planned would involve crossing off a few things from my list.
So I bought some kumquats (Ryan’s suggestion) and a kite before we headed to Camp Cambellguard (where Anna worked a few summers ago and where she keeps her horse, Molly). We ate lunch and I tried my first Kumquat. Very sour little fruits, but good. They kind of look like a cross between a grape and an orange, although you don’t have to peal them.
Then Anna introduced me to Molly. Molly usually helps teach little kids to ride, which was rather perfect because I’ve never done it before. So, with Anna’s help, Molly took me for my first (real) horse-ride. Molly is a sweetheart and was rather patient with me even though it was super hot that day. And of course, I loved it and would love to do it again sometime.
After my ride, we went out to a field to fly my new kite. Anna and I decided she looked like something out of the 1980’s, so I named my kite Janet. Anna, Ryan and I took turns flying her, although I seemed to have a little trouble keeping her in the air. I can’t wait to fly her again.
When Janet was tired, we folded her up and headed down to the lake in order to practice skipping stones. Anna and Ryan were very good…. I was only mildly successful and did manage to skip a few stones, but I definitely need more practice.
So yeah. Did I mention how much I love my friends?
This weekend I went on a road trip with Anna and Ryan Snyder. We saw the Blue Man Group in Chicago on Saturday (Amazing!), and then yesterday we stopped in South Bend to check out the Notre Dame campus, since Ryan will begin law school there in the fall. They have such a beautiful campus, we decided it would be the perfect place for a picnic.
My CD for this month is Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static.” I’ve only been through the whole CD twice, but I’m definitely a fan already. He has such a pleasant voice, it probably wouldn’t matter if his songs sucked. But they don’t, so it’s great 🙂
Last Friday I went to see Star Trek. Mostly because I like Zachary Quinto (Sylar!) and because, well, it looked good. But when I looked it up on imdb when I got home, I discovered that it’s currently on the top 250 list. So, that’s one down for # 30.
I’ve begun the task of relearning cadences on the piano, but that’s more of a long term goal. It’s been so long since I’ve seriously played. Hopefully it’ll get easier with more practice.
Also, I got my letter of admission into the graduate program at UT today! Not that that was on my list, but I suppose it’ll make #47 possible, so it matters.
I’ve memorized Luke 5:31-32 for the first and second week. “Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance.”
I’m also almost finished with Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card. As Robert recommended it and it falls in the science fiction category, it’s essentially killing two birds with one stone 🙂 Anyway, it’s an amazing book- brilliant plot and not overly alien-focused, which helps. Definitely a success. I fully intend to give some more sci-fi books a chance.
While I haven’t worked on much else yet, I have managed to organize my list into categories (activities, things to read, movies to watch, etc.) as per JoAnna’s suggestion. She’s a smart cookie, really. Anyway, looking at it broken up in groups like that really helps me feel more organized. Hopefully I’ll have more success in the coming weeks.
My mission (should I choose to accept- which, clearly I have) is to complete all 101 things on this list by January 26, 2012. That’s 1001 days to complete everything. No sweat.
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