FINALLY!!!

After a long delay, I have finally completed another task. #92 Complete a 1000 piece puzzle. When I put this down on my list I thought: this will be pretty easy and fun... and it will be just like when I was a kid and finish it in a day or two easily. Apparently, my fond memories of doing puzzles when I was younger were somewhat skewed or I was some type of puzzle-solving savant as a kid. This thing had to have been that I chose the hardest possible 1000 piece puzzle ever!! It was a BEAST to solve! It took more hours than I would like to admit to finally finish, but it did feel like an accomplishment when I finally completed it (I know that sounds kind of lame because it was just a simple puzzle, but this thing was ridiculous).

Here is a pic of this devil-spawn of a puzzle:

It may look innocent, but it is actually pure evil (dun dun dun!)

I haven't just been solving this puzzle for the last 4 weeks though; I've also nearly finished finding all the state quarters, and, coincidentally, I began to memorize the states and their capitals too. I have even stated reading a book --don't act like your not impressed.

Hopefully, there won't be such a long break before my next post...

Count it!

My camera just came in the mail today, so the picture updates will being coming along now and this will help me complete item #100. Also, I've got my first item completed today. FINALLY!!! It is #99 on the list, which was to get 100% on a hard guitar hero song. I wish that I could say that I looked this badass while doing completing this goal:
However, I was not nearly that cool looking when I beat Mississippi Queen on Guitar Hero 3 with 100%. I actually played with a pretty boring style, just sitting down and chillin'; unlike how playing guitar hero is portrayed in TV and movies where the player is jumping around, doing spin moves, and playing behind their head, plus they are hitting every note (rediculous!). Here is the actual picture of me completing this task:
I am very happy that I have finally finished a whole task, though.

I have some other progress updates on some other items too. First, I now have 4 of the 50 state quarters (#55) that I need: Iowa, New York, Rhode Island, and Missouri. Next, I visited a museum (#63) today with my friend Julia, which is only leaves 4 more left to go. It was a contemporary art museum in LA called LACMA. It was much more boring than I hoped, but I did learn a little more about Andy Warhol. All-in-all it has been a pretty productive day; hopefully there are many more of these to come...

The sweet taste of failure

So far, the success in crossing off an item from the list has eluded me. However, I have been VERY close to getting a couple of goals.
This past Thursday I went bowling with Bryan (aka Bubba) in an attempt to try to finish #25. My previous best score was a 163. So, getting a 173 or better may seem like a completely random number, but a 172 is the highest that I have seen anyone that I have played with get. I will have to say that it was the luckiest game of bowling in the history of the world, but that is where i set my goal. So, on the second game of the day -- the best game of bowling to me because I'm warmed up but my arm is not yet jello -- I was down to the final ball on the frame and all i needed was 6 pins to get a 173. I figured that it was a guarantee that I would get it since I was doing pretty good all day. I threw the ball and it looked perfect, so I turned around with the satisfaction that I knew I had completed my first goal... but it was not meant to be. I somehow got only five pins, which had to have been due to some laws of physics being broken when I wasn't looking because I thought I nailed it for sure.
This Saturday I then tried my luck at #24 on my list, which is beating the aforementioned Bryan at "his" sport of tennis. We typically play 3 set matches, and I have lost everytime!! This match was about as close as I could get to beating him though, with him winning 7-6, 7-6 by winning the tiebreaker in both sets.
On a positvie note, I have one movie out of the way of the 150 that I need (#15): Paranormal Activity. This was possibly the scariest movie I have ever seen. I'm glad I was wearing brown shorts to the theater so that it didn't show the fact that I shit myself it was sooo scary... jk. Ok, it wasn't that bad! But I did sleep with a light on the night after seeing it and every little noise freaked me out.
#60 is going well. So far I have cooked American (a burger), Italian (pasta), and Chinese (stir-fry).

And it begins...

The Mission:

Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:

Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?

Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

List Key:

In Progress

Completed

Start Date: 10/19/2009

End Date: 7/16/2012

And now for the list:

1. Run a marathon
   
2. Bench press 300 pounds
   
3. Drink only water for a week
4. Take a yoga class
5. Go skydiving
6. Play a poker tournament in Las Vegas
7. Build my own computer
8. Read 5 non-school related books (0/5)
9. See Linkin Park in concert
10. Go snowboarding
11. See 2 Lakers games at Staples Center (0/2)
    
12. Play a hand with a poker pro online
13. Change my own oil in my car
    
14. Do a backflip
15. Watch 150 new movies (8/150)
    
16. Eat something that I have grown myself
17. Buy a handle of Patron
18. Do an ollie on a skateboard
19. Go skinny dipping in the ocean
20. Go a week without using a computer
21. Visit 2 national parks outside California (0/2)
    
22. Eat at a vegan restaurant
23. Write a poem
24. Beat Bryan at tennis
25. Score 173 or better at bowling
26. Complete an internship
27. Give $5 to a homeless person
28. Do not speak for a day
29. Donate blood
30. Play a round of golf every 6 months (0/5)
31. Make a vodka watermelon.
32. Graduate college!
33. Buy a hat and wear it 5 times (0/5)
34. Shoot a gun
35. Eat a habanero pepper
36. Carve an awesome pumpkin
37. Go on a road trip to at least 6 different states (0/6)
38. Cook something with saffron
39. Go paintballing
40. Learn to speak basic French
41. Play a song on the guitar
42. Bake a pie from scratch
43. Get a professional message
44. Take a cooking class
45. Memorize all the states and their capitals
    
46. Get a fauxhawk (even if its just for a day)
47. Go to the beach and see 3 sunrises (0/3)
48. Watch a movie from each of the past 50 years
49. Get CPR certified
50. See a play
51. Make something from wood and nails
52. Win a fantasy football league
53. Go to a 49ers game
54. Go to a professor's office hours
55. Collect all 50 state quarters (44/50)
    
56. Go wine tasting
57. Make back-to-back half court basketball shots
58. Eat at a famous chef's restaurant
59. Buy an original painting
60. Cook 10 different countries cuisines (4/10)
    
61. See a game show live
62. Eat at a sit-down restaurant by myself
63. Go to 5 different museums (1/5)
    
64. Go to a fruit festival
65. Build a big sand castle
66. Go inside a lighthouse
67. See 3 movies in 3-D (0/3)
    
68. Get a new ipod
69. Buy 10 lottery tickets
70. Go to 3 music festivals (0/3)
71. Go to a film festival
72. Visit a zoo
73. Eat breakfast before noon for 2 weeks
74. Sell something on ebay
75. Type at 60 wpm or faster
76. Go to a comedy club
77. Go to an all you can eat sushi restaurant
78. Play a song on the piano with chords
79. Send a card to my parents in the mail randomly
80. buy and decorate my own Christmas tree
81. Figure out which type of wine I like the most
82. Attend a car show
83. Get in a water balloon fight
84. Go in a maze
85. Bake a loaf of bread
86. Go to a drive in movie theater
87. Decorate my apartment for 3 different holidays (1/3)
88. Put down $50 on a single hand of blackjack
    
89. Go in a sauna
90. Take on a eating challenge at a restaurant
91. Make a fire from just rubbing wood together
92. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle
93. Get an autograph from a sports star
94. Learn how to juggle
95. Go to church by myself twice
96. Learn how to play backgammon
97. Go to bed before midnight for a week
98. Buy something at a swap meet
99. Get 100% on a guitar hero song on hard difficulty
    
100. Take a picture of each item on the list being completed
101. Volunteer for 1 hour for every item that I do not complete