Thursday Thirteen #10

13 things on my 40 before 40 list that I’ve knocked off this past year

1. Religion 101 – or Religion for Dummies?
   We read this for Book Club Aug 2008 – very interesting. I am happy to have a better understanding of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, with a lesser understanding of Shinto, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. I would still like to know more about the differences within Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism, etc) but I am happy to have learned what I did. Most important thing to take home: most religions have more in common fundamentally than most people realize. And there’s a lot of “isms”.
2. Perform one random act of kindness every month, anonymously and without recognition
   Done at least monthly Sep 2007 – Aug 2008, but sometimes I get found out! My favourite is to pay for the lady behind me in the drive-thru Starbucks. As long as she doesn’t order a vanload.
3. Swim with dolphins
   In the interest of being eco-friendly after I learned about some of the mishandling that happens at the “swim with dolphins” places, I changed this to “Swim with Sharks” and did it in Belize.
4. Sample more cuisines of the world – try something new each month
   Here’s what I did:
   October Ethiopian Doro Wat & Flatbread
   November Malaysian Noodles
   December Cuban Tamales & coconut flan
   January Belizean BeansNRice & tres leches
   February French Coq au vin
   March Filipino Chicken
   April Burmese Chicken
   May Portuguese piri-piri
   June Caribbean fruit salsa
   July Australian lamingtons
5. Go one week without watching TV
   Did this in Belize and didn’t miss it a bit. I still don’t know if I could do it at home, however.
6. Learn to play poker
   Spent a fun evening with Gene, Kim, and Mike playing poker. Learned enough to get by for now! I’d like to play again, though… any takers ready to get rich off me?
7. Spend an afternoon (or maybe just an hour; whatever it takes to get through a bucket of golfballs) at the driving range, and try not to be a spaz
   Done last August, then this June again and even completed a golf tournament for work. I am enjoying myself and I’m ready for my next golf date.
8. Try archery
   Tonight I am going to an archery shoot. Yes, I will be (hopefully) winging those arrows (hopefully) towards a target and (hopefully) getting bullseyes. Or I may just get a black eye and slink home in shame.
9. Start and continue an exercise regime for three months, even if it kills me
   Worked out Sep, Oct, Nov & Dec – took Jan off – consistent again Feb, Mar, & Apr. Since then – not so much! But I ran again a week ago, and biked (sort of) on Tuesday, so I’m back, baby.
10. Read 3 classic novels I should have already read
    I picked the following:
    Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) – awesome and disturbing and apparently the stuff serial killers like to read – who knew?
    A Room of One’s Own (Woolf) – very feminist and realistic, even 80 years later
    Gone With the Wind (Mitchell) – halfway through I am captivated by the story at the same time as repelled by some of the language and racism. It’s hard to struggle through some parts but I feel it will be worth it!
11. Buy a plant and keep it alive, instead of treating plants as if they are meant to be disposable
    So far so good with 3 houseplants alive for the past year. Outside plants – well, they’ve lasted six weeks so far! That is almost a record for me…
12. Organize a box for each child to hold their special childhood crap memorabilia, limit size of said box so that they can never say they don’t have room for it in their own house
    Stuffed in Jack’s closet at the moment in a large Rubbermaid container.
13. Stay connected with my girlfriends
    25 club, Book club, Experience club, La femme club all going strong. I love my girl nights!

Now only 27 to go before July 4, 2013...