Stuff I missed the boat on

In contrast to what was just posted...here are a few things that I missed out on...

Number 99 - Go to the Lights Before Christmas at the Zoo

Number 131 - Sit on Santa's lap and get a picture taken

Number 159 - Make holiday cookies for the Rabbis down the street (unless I wait for a different holiday...V-Day would not be it...I don't know how a bunch of dudes would feel about a random dude bringing them heart shaped cookies)

I missed the boat on these and won't get another chance until I'm 28 because they are now officially out of season. I brought it weak, but there's always next year... :/

Updates!

Hi!

So yes, I suck at not updating, but when you don't have the internet it's a little difficult to update on a regular basis. I would put "Getting the internet" on the list, but that would mean that I pay money that I don't feel like spending. I'm not too big on hawking in on others' wireless because that's stealing. Instead, I rock out at coffee shops and bookstores. I love the environment, I enjoy coffee, and I meet interesting people. Most of all (and maybe this is a little strange) but I do a lot of people watching. Not like stalking where I follow them around, but if I see a character, then I write down everything that I can observe from what they look like all the way down to how they walk and the mannerisms that they have (this helps with writing stories...if you want to be a writer, I'd suggest going to an airport or the mall and give it a shot...subtly of course!).

But yeah...in the last few weeks I've accomplished a few things, so without further ado...
I've added more to the list...


Number 4 - Read 25 novels
Just read another awesome book by Colum McCann called "This Side of Brightness". If you want to check it out, I'd suggest looking it up here.

If you want to check out "Let The Great World Spin" then click here.

So for Number 4...I'm 2/25. Currently I'm reading "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Juniot Diaz...heard it's a good one, so I'll let you know once I get it complete!

Number 8 - Get rid of my debt
I took a hit in my savings, but it was something that had to be done. The economy sucks. Everyone knows it, and the last thing you want is debt on your record right? So I got rid of it...for about three weeks and then went Christmas shopping. So while I technically did pay off my credit card, I now have a small amount to chip at. So I guess Number 8 gets an asterisk.

Number 10 - Volunteer once a week
There is no asterisk here so far. I've been doing a great job at volunteering at least one time per week. The goal is to do more, and in line with those that are within the list. But for now it's a start. Still having a beast of a time getting up early for the bread ministry at my church, but I definitely enjoy being a positive influence in the community! These events have included: Giving away Christmas trees, passing out toys, the coffee run on Black Friday, and passing out food. It's been friggin' joyous! In maybe another month, once I have two months under the belt, I will have an official list. Not so much a "HEY LOOK AT ME!" thing, but a resource for those who live in my area in case you want to get your butt off the couch and get involved somewhere.

Number 74 - Go on a mission's trip
I signed up for a trip to El Salvador. Pretty soon, once I'm officially on the roster, this blog is going to go uber public (ie Facebook) because I'm going to fundraise for my trip. I don't mind dipping into my own wallet, but my thinking here is that if I ask for money, it won't just help fund my trip, it'll also spread the word of Jesus to those who may or may not know Him. I'm pretty sure I'll be working with children over there, bouncing from school to school, although there are other options. Once I get more info I'll post what is all available for me to do. But truth be told...the dream after college was to join the Peace Corps. It's still a dream...and this would be the best test drive that I could ask for outside of backpacking through a third world country.


Number 76 - Decorate a Christmas Tree
So this might be a cop out (if you think so leave a comment :p) but the tree was already decorated. It was a resident who I help take care of...her tree was already trimmed...so we made paper decorations (a long colorful chain that we wrapped around). It was fun, and a great way to kick off the holidays.

Fitness check (this covers a few)
I can do...
-10 chinups (1/3 of the goal)
-25 dips (1/2 of the goal)
-Benchpress 270 (30 pounds shy of the goal)
-Run 4 miles straight without stopping (9 short of a half marathon, 22 short of a full...although I'm waiting for a 5k to roll around so I can dress like a luchador)

So that pretty much does it. A lot of stuff in a few weeks.

I hope everyone's holidays were awesome! I used to be one of those guys where Christmastime was depressing and all I wanted to do was crack open a sixer and watch "It's A Wonderful Life" over and over and over. This year was a little different. I enjoy it more because I've learned to appreciate the days that are given to me rather than dread them. When I see couples walking everywhere holding hands, I don't grimace and wonder why I can't have that. I actually appreciate seeing that because it shows me that love and humanity are still very real things in a world that's completely bonkers. I wish that there was more of that around (don't eat each other's face in front of me...that wouldn't be fun to look at...you look like you're both eating a pie...tilt your head to the side, open wide and nom nom nom...).

But anyway...that's all for now. I'm going to keep plugging along. I hope you do too. And as always, if you have suggestions for the list, books, training tips, cooking tips, or mountain tips then leave a dang comment!

Take it easy!

Matt

Video of Black Friday

So I finally got the Black Friday video up. It's kind of dumb, but like I'd said in the previous post about #47, I didn't want to interview anyone with my camera because people had gotten tackled at WalMart over the same kind of camera that I have. That and I didn't want to freak anyone out by my shoving a camera in their face to get a a few quotes...plus isn't that pretentious to do a good deed just to film it and show it off (ok ok...I kind of did that, but the intention isn't for you to see what I did...if anything I hope it inspires you to go out and do something out of the ordinary for others who may, or may not, need it)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR0zpbSn8vw

#147 - Try out for a play

Thanks to a few friends on Facebook I found some links to local theater groups that are having auditions coming up...so #147 may be taken care of a lot sooner than I thought.

Toledo Rep - Play s "Inventing Van Gogh". Never heard of it, so I'll have to check out the script. Audition is January 8th at 1pm.

Village Players - Play is "The Rainmaker" but there isn't a date set for the auditions. I may be more inclined to trying that one as its a cold read. Don't necessarily need a headshot or resume. This doesn't mean that the Village Players are a lesser company, but from reading their set up it's a little less intimidating.

I've never been in a play before. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prepare for one of these? Or do I just go in with my chest puffed out and act like I know what I'm doing?

#4 - Read 25 novels

Just read numero uno, which helps with #4 - Read 25 novels

Let The Great World Spin - by Colum McCann (I think I spelled it correctly...don't have the book in front of me).

It won the National Book Award, and I can see why entirely. It's awesome. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I'll dive in more on this later, but I have to be in to work in twenty minutes. If you read this, and happen to peruse the bookstore anytime soon, I'd strongly suggest giving this a read, though. I laughed...didn't cry...but it was very moving.

Also updated the list up to 201 things. As always, if you have any recommendations put them in the comments section! And if you want to find me on Facebook, I'll probably have a link up soon!

Happy Monday

Matt

PS - Quote from Dave Eggers in regards to writing a book: "Write your goddamned book already! The world is waiting for you."

#47 - Feeding Freezing Black Friday Shoppers

So since I only have one Black Friday to work with, I had to tackle this as soon as I made the list.

Each Friday after Thanksgiving, people, for some deranged and masochistic reason, feel compelled to sit outside and wait for stores to open so they can go buy stuff at a discounted price. I don't like to shop. I'm a guy. Guys usually hate shopping unless they're buying some kind of gadget (I'm not a gadget man myself...I spend my free money on food because I'm always hungry). And I feel bad for any guy that has to accompany the better half while she goes shopping.

But this year, I decided that I really wanted to do something out of the ordinary. I wanted to witness the craziness, see the lines, feel how cold it was at 3am in late November...more than that, I wanted to check out how everyone was able to sit outside for such a long time, abandoning the comforts of home, just to have one more space ahead of the next person in line...so I chose to buy some of them coffee and Pop Tarts!

This was more spur of the moment, but I had a good time.

More than a few things to keep in mind...

1. I didn't interview anyone, or bring the camera out with me while I was distributing things. For one thing, I think people would've been very apprehensive toward a stranger with a camera. And secondly, while getting coffee, I heard that people were getting tackled (!!!) while arguing over certain items. So my fancy camera I kept in the car, away from the crazies.

2. The video is choppy because I didn't know how this thing made videos. So I cut a lot of stuff out (me not aiming the camera at my floor on accident, side comments not relevant to the activity, and etc.)and spliced things together...the flow doesn't flow much at all because of that.

3. I did not ever once look through the viewing screen on the camera, so I wouldn't get into an accident. I just held it up with a hand while I drove with the left, like I always do, hoping that it would film what I wanted. If I blew the shot, then it didn't make it onto the video. I'd much rather have my driving record clean than do something stupid and drive totally distracted.

4. You would be very surprised at how difficult it is to give away free stuff to complete strangers.

5. Reactions varied across the board:
-Some thought I spiked the coffee
-Some thought it wasn't coffee
-Some thought I spat in the coffee
-Some thought I was trying to sell them something (A soccer mom thought it was for some kind of time share)
-Some thought I was high
-Some thought I was drunk
-One lady (college aged) asked if I was an angel (I laughed at that one...wee bit over the top)
-Another offered me a beer
-Some gave me a fist bump (tall college kid offered a fist and said, "Knuckle duster, bro!")
-Others simply thanked me
-The college kids asked me if I wanted to go to a party after they were done (Me: "At 6am?" Kids: "Bro, fun never sleeps.")

6. I went to both Target and Best Buy (only Target on the video). Had to go from the back to the front of both lines just to get rid of the coffee. Didn't get rid of all of the Pop Tarts until today, when I saw a homeless guy with a sign asking for anything to help...so I gave him like 10 Pop Tarts.

7. Coffee: 99 cents at Speedway. Pop Tarts: 2 for a dollar. I spent a little under $22, which is actually a lot for me, but I cashed in spare change that I'd been collecting...so I didn't hurt my monthly budget much. And big props to the guy who works nights at that Speedway (if you want to know which one, let me know). He was swamped with midnight shoppers and teenagers coming in and out the entire night.

8. The people out there looked completely miserable. Some were in tents (they told me that they'd been there for a few days). Others hid under golf umbrellas. Some folks were smart and waited in their cars. I mean, these folks brought the misery upon themselves and all, but I still felt bad for them.

9. McDonald's was packed (ridiculously I might add....my initial plan was to buy cheap burgers and give them away)...but then the question becomes: Why would you eat that at 3am anyway?

All in all, this was a lot of fun! If I do this next year (probably will...with more planning anyway), I'll have to try and recruit others to make life a little easier while rolling around. If you ever feel compelled to do this, give it a shot!

(UPDATE: Can't get the video up...file's too big...so I'll work on it :) )

Who am I?

I just turned twenty-seven and want to make the following 365 days more interesting than the previous 9855.

Why am I doing it? The last year and a half I kind of lost track of what was most important to me. The need for me to do something for myself has lingered for quite a while, but instead of going out and buying something that I don't need (i.e. video games or beer) I decided that a life change was in order.

For the next 365 days, I'm going to try and complete a list of things to do before I turn twenty-eight.

If you have a good recommendation for something that I should do, leave a comment somewhere. Here are some things to consider, though:

1. I'm poor. Not "live on the street jumping from boxcar to boxcar" type poor, but I work at a non-profit agency (I'll dive more into what I do for a living some other time...it's not relevant at the moment), and if you simply look at the words: "Non" and "Profit" you'd be safe to assume that my wallet isn't padded with the greenbacks. So the whole dream of "Going to Jamaica and drinking Red Stripe" probably won't happen, which is why I'd much rather brew my own beer (#61).

2. I don't have all the time in the world. I work full time and have to pay the rent. So the idea of "living in the woods for a month" won't work.

3. I'm afraid of needles. Tattoos and piercings are a no-no (unless you can convince of something to put on me that will last forever).

4. In regards to number 1, travel is possible as long as its by car, or something that isn't a plane.

5. What goes on this list must be legal, and won't harm another person (#136 is not harming another person, yet very legal as long as it's within season).

6. I won't go into a cage and fight. I'll watch it, but I definitely don't want to be put to sleep by someone who has bad intentions when all I want is the experience.

That's it for now. Read the list, contribute, and comment...and most of all enjoy!

-Matt