Thursday, September 13, 2012

26 things: Report

Now that my birthday has passed, it's time to report on my "26 Goals While 26"! On my 27th birthday, 2 goals were retired, 16 were accomplished, 2 were in progress, 6 had yet to be done. Not bad!

1. Personal goal. (Sorry, readers, you don't get in on this one.)
Didn't make it. But we will!

2. Attend a Parson Red Heads show.
Retired. The opportunity just didn't present itself. We were even in Portland! But they weren't playing. It's still a goal, though!

3. Read 26 new books. (Plays, poetry collections and short story collections count if I read the whole thing, cover to cover) 
DONE - Last book finished on Tuesday, May 8th! (I'm going to keep reading books, of course. Check out which ones on goodreads if you're interested. Just click on "reading!" up at the top)

4. Hike Inspiration Point at Jenny Lake.
Never made it!

5. Learn to cook 5 new things (dinner things). 
Completed July 1st. This one has helped me discover that I actually like cooking! When I know what I'm making ahead of time, and have some time, I really like cooking.

6. Finish the current volume of my journal, with more than just notes from Church. 
Final entry written on Saturday, January 29th, 2012. On to Volume #18!

7. Go through the temple for 5 family names.
In progress - 1 out of 5 I'm going to keep working on this one.

8. Learn to ride a motorcycle bigger than 110 cc’s. 
May 19th - 20th: Took the Idaho motorcycle safety course. Learned on a Suzuki GZ 250.

9. Finish writing the first draft of the “Kirby Novel.” 
At 10:17 pm on Monday, November 28th. There's still so much to do that it doesn't feel done, but I'm thrilled to have at least a complete draft!

10. Anonymously pay for a stranger's meal. 
September 5th. I did this at a drive-through! This is cool because it also coincided with my friend Carrie's birthday. She's the one who came up with the "26 Things to Do While 26" thing anyway, and for her birthday, she asked that people do random acts of kindness. Bam.

11. Get a 3.4 GPA each semester. 
Fall semester 2011 - 4.0
Winter semester 2012 - 3.9 (Including an A- in Hyrum Conrad's Directing I class!)
BAM.

12. Give someone a copy of the Book of Mormon. 
August. This was part of a group effort, and it was awesome.

13. Sleep under the stars.
 I guess you're technically ALWAYS sleeping underneath the stars, but I had intended to do so without a roof in between me and them. Oh well.

14. Travel to someplace I've NEVER been before. 
Weekend of April 14th - 16th, 2012. I'm counting Cannon Beach, Oregon. Because while I've been to Oregon, including the coast, I'm 99.9% sure I've never been to Cannon Beach itself. And I'm not made of money, you know.

15. Go sledding.
RETIRED. There was never a combination of enough snow and time to accomplish this. (Remember this?) Which is AWESOME. This goal had to do with making the most of my least favorite season, but I didn't even have to! Oh global warming, how I love you. (Not really.)

16. Bake a pumpkin pie. 
I've modified this one. Maybe I'll actually make a pumpkin pie someday, but in the meantime, on Sunday, March 25th, I made a apple pie. And it was really good. So I'm counting it.

17. Complete the scrapbook for the trip to Germany my family made in high school. 
Done! As of December 17th, around 10 pm. Just in time for Christmas!

18. Finish the New York City travel diary.
Yeah, that might not get done. Maybe ever.

19. Learn Hindi basics. (I might modify this one...I've been focusing on ASL lately...)
I actually don't really know much more Hindi OR ASL than I did a year ago.

20. Read 5 Shakespeare plays I haven't read before.
In progress - 1 out of 5 Twelfth Night

21. Go horseback riding. 
Friday, Sept. 30th, through the BYU-I Outdoor Resource Center. Sunset ride through Harriman State Park, coming back under the stars and listening to elk call all around.

22. Sew a skirt or dress for myself. 
Ah, heck, I'll count this. I didn't sew a skirt or a dress. But I did modify like, three shirts, and sewed some curtains and some slipcovers for couch cushions.

23. Build an online acting resume. 
Done! As of Friday, May 18th. Check it out.

24. Ride the carousel at Porter Park. 
Wednesday, June 13th. Twice in one day! With Beckah once, and then again with Beckah AND Jacob.

25. Run a mile in under 15 minutes.
I think I might have done this, but I didn't actually time it. I ran/walked a 5K in 25 minutes, so...

26. Make a painting. 
I think this counts. This is my final for scene painting. It's a little rough, but from 30 feet away, it works. And I did it in two and a half hours.



So, this was awesome. I like having goals and I like correlating them with my birthday rather than with the new year. But I found that 26 is a few too many goals to realistically tackle in one year. I love the idea of it, but it also means that I'll have to keep adding goals each year forever. And I don't want to give myself quite so many things to accomplish in one year. So I've decided to modify it and do 15 things each year. As for the goals while I'm 27? Check it out: 

1. Do an street art installation of some kind. Rules: Must be impermanent! No damage to property allowed.
2. Self-publish a book of poetry and sell it (online, local stores, etc.).
3. Complete the T-shirt quilt project that's been languishing in various closets for over ten years.
4. Become a certified secondary school teacher and receive my Bachelor's degree. (which is totally in progress--I love student teaching!)
5. Eliminate red meat from my diet (uuggghhh...I love it so much! I don't even eat that much! Oh, this is going to be hard.)
6. Eliminate the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags (shopping = reusable canvas, trash = biodegradable).
7. Learn to juggle. (Shout-out to Carrie Chapman!)
8. Travel to a place I've never been before, and be cool about it. (Sometimes I suck at traveling...I get stressed out. I want to live life more stress-free anyway!)
9. Do yoga outdoors.
10. Build a bookcase. A sturdy one. One that shall stand for many years. But also be affordable and easily rearranged and transported.
11. Go on a hike. (I didn't hike AT ALL this past year! How silly!)
12. Attend a Parson Redheads show.
13. Do the temple work for at least 5 family names.
14. Complete reading the entire Book of Mormon with Jacob.
15. Go on a spontaneous road trip.

Let it begin. 

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