Now that it’s July, I realized it’s been six months since I put up my list of 30 Things To Do Before 31. Halfway through the year, I’m not really halfway done but I think the progress has been steadier than last year. The full list is below, with commentary–green is done, red is not, and pending or in progress things are orange.
- Put the money that I was using to pay off debt into savings for a down payment on some sort of house, townhouse, or condo. Still saving!
- Learn about real estate and home buying through the Utah State Extension classes. I made it through the first few chapters, ran aground on the “choosing a realtor” unit (there was an icky video) and then gave up. But I need to learn about earnest money and closing costs.
- Stop buying non-essentials (ready-made clothes, really expensive fabric, shoes, magazines, etc.) for three months (months TBD) I made it a month, and now I’m limiting personal spending to $100 or less a month–so far, so good.
- Buy that Eames desk chair. I’ll use the money I’ll be saving from not buying any non-essentials. I’ve actually found a different desk chair and have plans to get a whole new desk set-up involving an IKEA desk top, filing cabinets, and decoupage. I’ll let you know how it goes.
- Buy that damn garbage can already. Um…
- Buy a living room chair–armless, small-ish, but comfy. This will help with seating to accomplish #22. Done!
- Sew new pillow covers for the living room. Done!
- Buy a vacuum. Done! (How did I live so long without one?!)
- Refresh my yoga skills and then…
- Start doing yoga once or twice a week. In progress. I finally started going to beginning yoga in June and I’ve mostly kept it up.
- Get recycling at the apartment. I haven’t had it for three years and I’m tired of feeling guilty every time I throw away some junk mail. Not done. Sorry, Earth.
- Similarly, bring in some actual flatware for the breakroom at work to cut down on waste. Also not done. But I feel guilty every time I throw away a plastic fork.
- November-March, walk or ride to work at least twice a month. April-September, up it to at least four times a month. Summer is going pretty well.
- Eat at one new restaurant a month–any meal, but it has to be somewhere I haven’t been before. I’ve been doing ok with this, if you count Sampan takeout in June as a restaurant experience. (And I do.)
- Eat at Red Iguana. Why is this so hard? I’ve been trying for two years now!
- Go to Bonneville Speed Week. It’s in August. Or in October. They need a better website.
- Go to a roller derby game. Planned for this Saturday, so I say it’s green!
- Stop biting my fingernails (I mean it this year). Things were bad, then I got a manicure, then I did some home manicures, and then crazy a week at work did me in again. I think I can keep up the manicures at home.
- Wear more colors of lipstick than “pink” and “darker pink.” Um…
- Find a perfume I want to wear regularly. Done!
- Stock and maintain a home bar and keep it stocked. No drinking it up and not replacing it. I still haven’t done this–for some reason it seems SO decadent to go spend $150 on booze all at once.
- Have more people over to the apartment–not huge parties, but a few people for dinner, or drinks before a restaurant, etc. I was being really social (for me) at the beginning of the year but no one has been over all spring. I’d better plan something.
- Learn more about wine. Does a wine class in January count?
- Learn and retain the difference between whisk(e)y, bourbon, and scotch. “Retain” is the key word here…
- Learn and retain the difference between brandy and cognac. Cognac is more expensive? Does that count?
- Get my eyes checked again, update my prescription, and start wearing glasses in front of the computer. Not yet.
- Find a dermatologist to look at a couple of moles, if only so I can stop worrying about skin cancer. Ha, I’ve been too busy sunbathing to look up a doctor…
- Learn how to can fruits, veggies, or jam. Done! Oh, the feeling of accomplishment. What can I can next?
- Get a better camera. Every time I get a blurry or overly dark shot (which is ALL the time with the Target closeout toy camera I use), I mean to really do the research and just buy one. Not yet, though…
- Go to Moab and/or Zion. Planned for the fall, hooray!
July 19, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Demolition derbies are better than roller derbies, but it was still pretty fun!
July 18, 2010 @ 12:07 pm
Karen – I am SOOOO impressed, you have accomplished LOADS. How was the Roller Derby? I am so jealous. I think I will have to steal that one from you for my 40 for 40 (which I am in denial about!).
July 9, 2010 @ 1:29 pm
Hooray, thanks for BOTH tips!
July 9, 2010 @ 1:18 pm
Congrats on making some progress. Better than I’ve managed to do this year…
Re: Bonneville, I think what you’re getting confused by is that there are several different events held out there, not just one “speed week.” The event officially known as Speedweek is set for Aug. 14-20 this year; the event in October (Oct 6-9) is the BNI World Finals. There’s also an event called the World of Speed (organized by a different race association than the one that does the first two) scheduled for September 15-18.
A lot of this is dependent on the condition of the salt, too — some years, there’s still water out there, or the salt layer isn’t hard enough or deep enough to race on without digging it up, so the events get canceled or moved on short notice. Hope that’s helpful.
As for your whiskey/bourbon/scotch conundrum, scotch and bourbon and varieties of whiskey. See, easy. 🙂