X-Minus 261: Part Two

I actually started scratching things off of my list before it was online. Yesterday I visited the final resting place of Jimi Hendrix, arguably the greatest guitarist in history.

The shrine includes a marble "gazebo" with images of Jimi and some of his apropos song lyrics etched in the stone. Surrounding it are markers for several present and future Hendrix clan graves.

I also ate my first new item from the produce department, a kumquat. Looking something like a small orange, a kumquat is very tart and as I understand it, best enjoyed candied or otherwise prepared. Not too shabby raw, though.

X-Minus 261

Today, January 30, 2009, begins my goal of accomplishing thirty new things in the time I have left before I turn the big three-oh.

The goals are all relatively small and definitely doable. The only challenge will be the stick-toitiveness needed to stay with it. I tried to make fun, desirable challenges, though, that should help to keep me motivated and keep things interesting.

I will be trying hard to do daily posts with updates on my progress (not a goal from the list, more of a personal resolution), so stay tuned.

And now...

THE LIST!


1. Go to the top of the Space Needle.
2. Try 30 new ethnic foods.
3. Call in sick to work and just relax.
4. Lose 30 pounds.
5. Get my Johnny Cash concert posters framed.
6. Set up a compost bin.
7. Inventory my DVDs.
8. Go to a roller derby.
9. Read a classic novel, cover to cover, in one sitting.
10. Do 100 push-ups.
11. Plant a vegetable garden.
12. Try a Whopper and Big Mac side by side.
13. Run around Green Lake.
14. Visit the Glass Museum and Seattle Art Museum.
15. Try 30 new beers.
16. Have the following movie marathons:
· Terry Gilliam
· Humphrey Bogart
· Zombie movies
· Irish movies
· Movies I haven’t seen yet but assume I’ll hate
17. See a play at the Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse.
18. Change jobs within Metropolitan Market, find a new job, or at least find peace with the job I have.
19. Run a 5k.
20. Buy a kilt.
21. Run a 5k in a kilt.
22. Try 30 new kinds of produce.
23. Write something that gets published.
24. Organize my digital media.
25. Visit the grave sites of Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee.
26. Have a picnic in a park.
27. Beat Super Mario Bros. on the original NES.
28. Go to a shooting range.
29. Find a town I’ve never heard of on the map, drive there, eat a meal, see the sights, and come home.
30. Learn to juggle.

Wish me luck.