I am about 3 hours from home attending a summer school. This school is distinctly off topic and has become (more or less) a chance for me relax and escape my every day life. I am certainly learning from the sessions, but I'm not working on my own research. Of course, my brain is doing some back-burner type work. I was able to sketch out a piece of code I intend to write in the next few weeks that should be a major step forward in my ability to automate my work.
I finished the book John Adams by David McCullough last night. I started a week or so before and became entirely engrossed in the life of a man I knew too little about before now. I loved the book and learned about how John Adams work and influence permeated both his time and mine. Wow.
So... on w/ a much needed update to my 101 list:
Completed Goals
18) Make a batch of freezer jam.
54) Visit the Pizza restaurant near Lake Michigan.
62) Visit a local winery.
69) Develop a successful composting system.
71) Grow a crop of corn.
73) Clean and organize the contents of both desks.
87) Train Odie to stay at doorways.
92) Watch no television for one month. I'm well over a month w/ no TV!
101) Do not allow yourself to complain of boredom.
Partially Completed Goals:
4-7) The coding goals: I have been coding a lot recently. The work has been modular enough that I need to learn to tie it together under a header file. I compile often enough that I should write a Makefile. I'll get there in the next few months I hope.
9) Read 10 of the National Book Award winners in fiction (2/10).
10) Read 10 of the Pulitzer Prize winners in fiction (3/10).
11) Read 10 of the Modern Library’s 100 Best Nonfiction (1/10). Thomas Sowell completed!
12) Have a conversation in Portuguese. I wrote a long email in Portuguese and purchased my textbooks for fall.
13) Be able to name all of the U.S. Presidents in order... Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson.... Polk... Lincoln, Johnson, Grant... ummm.... McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson, Coolidge, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama... wow, I hope my partial list is correct. I feel as though I've missed a few. I should know this.
14) Become an architecture geek. I think I know how to recognize the Federal style.
15) T.A. a graduate level class. It isn't official, but I have a request in.
28) Run a 5K. I ran the last three mornings. About 2 miles every morning. Today was a rest day. Tomorrow I'll try to go a bit further.
32) Master a tri-cep push-up. I'm getting better at these.
52) Visit 10 Presidential Historic Sites. In about a week I'm going to the Gerald Ford Presidential Library.
53) Go on vacation without a car. This is very non-specific, but I don't plan to rent one in Costa Rica.
Goals for the week:
1) Discover a holiday to celebrate
2) Think up thoughtful/random gifts.
3) Study a bit for my candidacy exam so I can someday earn a Masters.
