Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Operation 100 Goals--Day 2


                I spent a good chunk of time today alphabetizing my 100+ Goals list.  While I did so, I also added some goals (e.g., “Keep my list alphabetized by category and alphabetized within categories”) and got rid of/“cleaned up” some old goals.  For example, one of my goals read: “Read all of the Gregory Maguire books”.  At the time that I crafted that particular goal, I was about to start the novel Wicked, and because of the intriguing concept (writing the “untold story” behind a well-known classic), I figured the book would be amazing.  Since most of Maguire’s other novels follow this same concept, I envisioned myself plowing through all of his works, relishing every minute.  Then I read Wicked……and I darn near despised it.  With that said, I have little to no desire to ever read the rest of Maguire’s books, so I got rid of that goal.  There are too many phenomenal books out there to force my way through Maguire’s catalogue for the sake of crossing off this dated goal.
                I found that the alphabetization process was worthwhile for a few more reasons:  #1. I am extremely anal, and I now feel better about my list because it’s more organized.  And #2. I was reminded of some of my goals that I had forgotten about.  One of my goals reads: “Challenge people to Bobby Flay-style 'throwdowns' at least ten different times throughout my life (e.g., challenge Jenny Wilson to a 3-point shooting contest)”.  This reminded me that I have to challenge a student this year......and, guess what!?  I have something in mind:  Let’s just say that if your initials are W.S. and you’re comfortable behind the 3-point arc, we need to “throwdown”.  I’ll be practicing my J while I’m out.
                I also added a few goals that I’ve thought of but haven’t put to paper yet.  I plan to continuously add to my list while I am out as new ideas pop into my head.  Today, I added a goal that reads: “Follow people’s book recommendations by reading the backs of suggested books and then the first 100 pages.  If a book is good, finish it—if not, stop reading!”  Underneath this goal, I will keep a running list of books that I read (or give a chance) following recommendations.  I am currently 65 pages from the end of a book called Snow Crash that was recommended to me by T.D.  I’ll probably finish the book tonight and add it to my goals list.  Ah, yes……that just reminded me of another goal that I have to add onto my list.  This goal (I just opened my 100+ Goals list and added it before I forgot!) reads: “Keep adding books/reviews to GoodReads each time I finish a book”.  Tomorrow, I’ll probably spend some time posting a book review for Snow Crash to this site.  Feel free to check out this link: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/966112.
                What has Caleb been up to all day?  Well, about the same as yesterday really, though he’s been more tired than he was yesterday.  The highlight of the day so far was probably when he started chomping on the “Day 2” sign during our morning photoshoot.  Since reading has been a theme of this post, I think he and I will read a book soon, maybe Spot Loves His Daddy!?