Marina

The ironic thing was, I kept putting off this blog launch until I could get a custom Wordpress layout, and then decided (in order to accomplish this goal) to just put it up even if I wasn’t crazy about the template. Then, lo and behold, I found a very cool template that I really like the day before I launched.

Check it out at http://www.sufficientthrust.com/ ... if you’re on 43things my blog would probably interest you :)

Oh man. I just realized I only have 19 days left to decide on and complete this goal…

Lots of options: Take up bikram yoga. Run daily. Stop being such a perfectionist and just launch my damned blog already.

I think I pick the latter.

My only consolation for this procrastination is that I have already done a number of more formally life-changing things this year, just before this challenge was issued…

I sent three, in fact…

I do not remember what prompted me to work on my first postcard in Photoshop, but I found it to be a much more meaningful process than I had expected. I am about as far away from creative as one can get - I can barely draw a stick figure, and I need a ruler to do so - so it was pretty crazy to see what my imagination + Google Image Search could come up with to complement my secrets.

Definitely an experience we should all share. Then we should frame our postcards and hang them on the wall … it’s surprising how casually some people can take those same burdens that seem to have been weighing us down so heavily for so long…

I bought glasses.

As an avid Firefox fan, I can’t believe I haven’t heard an even greater buzz about Thunderbird. Yes, Internet Explorer sucks—but Outlook sucks much worse. I was at my wit’s end, what with it constantly crashing in the midst of long emails, randomly experiencing connection problems, and what have you.

Thunderbird is fabulous so far. Its junk mail filter is taking a little time to adjust, but since the concept is fresh, I don’t mind taking the time to mark incoming items as junk or not junk.

Funny how changing your email application can make it feel like you’re running a whole new computer! My Sony Vaio is blazing with my current Firefox/Thunderbird setup.

I have pretty much ceased using silverware these days (except the infrequent spoon). Chopsticks are so much easier—they transport well, they take up no room in the dishwasher, you don’t feel guilty if you break one/lose one/throw one out, and by their very nature you are forced to take smaller bites.

My eye-hand coordination sucks but I still find them pretty easy to use. For those of you with this goal, buy a 12-pack for $2 at the store and just dig in!

Was it overpriced? Possibly. But it’s hard to put a pricetag on being able to bring 4400+ songs with me on cross-country road trips AND to the gym without the need for batteries, a CD player, and a stack of CDs taller than me.

...but I can’t help but wonder if someday a private email I wrote to a friend won’t be found in a web search.

This was the most amazing goal to stumble upon this evening… my shirts will never be the same.

Actually, my specific goal is to make love outside in a thunderstorm. A warm thunderstorm.

I’m sure it won’t be anywhere near as great in reality as it is in my head, but heck, it’s sex and it’s a thunderstorm, it can’t be that bad.

In order to accomplish this goal, I need to:

1) Get a boyfriend
2) Fall in love with said boyfriend (who must fall in love with me)
3) Have access to a private backyard
4) Access the private backyard during a warm thunderstorm

So basically… I need to buy a house in Seattle.

Making baklava is easy and hard to screw up. I can barely boil water, but I can make rave-worthy baklava with no sweat.

If anyone wants a Greek baklava recipe, drop me a line.

I was driving home from work one day and impulsively decided to stop by a local piercing studio. Minutes later, I had my piercing. I didn’t think it hurt for more than a second, but it was odd getting used to it being there for the first week.

I heard all sorts of horror stories about botched piercings, infections, jeans riding up and causing irritation, yadda yadda but I experienced no such things. I’ve had mine for three years and it’s never given me even a tiny bit of trouble.

It’s hard to think of my stomach without it, actually, at this point.

My personal trainer wanted me to get in 100oz a day, not counting water while working out.

I tried making lists, putting up sticky notes, and so on, but I kept falling short.

Then, while buying a PFD, I was staring at the display of Nalgene bottles and realied that three Nalgenes (32oz/ea) add up to 96oz of water, which is pretty close to 100oz.

Each night I fill the three Nalgenes and stick them in the fridge. Then I carry one around with me until it’s empty, and repeat with the other two. (I use a different water bottle at the gym, but when you’re sweating, it’s not hard to drink!)

The first few days I felt heavy and lethargic. Then, I felt great. Now I find that I drink tons of water without thinking of it as a chore. (Your body also starts getting used to the water and, contrary to first impression, you will not need to use the restroom every 30 minutes.)

Now I have to make sure I remember to wash the Nalgene bottles regulalry, though :)

I’ve done this a few times now, both alone and with friends:

- CT to Salt Lake City, UT (with a friend; 32 hours without stopping. Not recommended. Stop once!)

- San Francisco, CA to St. Paul, MN via Denver, CO (alone; three days; 12 hours to Salt Lake City, 8 hours to Denver, 14 hours to St. Paul)

- St. Paul, MN to Salt Lake City, UT (alone; one day, 18 hours)

- Los Angeles, CA to New York, NY (alone; three days; 10 hours to Salt Lake City, 14 hours to Des Moines, 14 hours to NYC)

The first time, people were always warning me that I wouldn’t be able to find gas stations. BS. Granted, I get 30mpg, but I have never once been worried about finding a gas station on I-80.

The only time I was ever worried was just south of St. Paul—beware of “coop gas stations”!

If you ever pass Sterling, CO stop at the state-run rest stop. The people that work there come out to your car to invite you in for free and fresh coffee and homemade cookies. They are genuinely interested in your story: where you’re from, where you’re going, etc. I always end up staying for half an hour meeting other people. Very cool.

The time goes by faster and faster the more you drive. I drove from San Francisco to Salt Lake City every week (12 hours each way) for a few months, and it started going by in the blink of an eye. You get to have “favorite” exits, coffee shops, and such.

Strip poker is even better when you don’t know how to play poker :)

I am a list-a-holic and yet still found myself stuck after I hit 30-odd entries.

I found checking the homepage multiple times over the course of the day and reading other goals helped jog my memory/imagination enough to get to 43.

Ironically, my 43 Places list was well behind my 43 Things list until I realized that in order to accomplish my “Drink a Guinness in every European country” goal, I would have to add every country in Europe. Now I have to get cracking on scheduling trips so I can make room for other places I want to go!

I wish there was a “queue” feature where I can save thoughts for goals/places after I remove some items from my current list.

I have a high pain tolerance and found that this was not, as the woman on Oprah said, a 7.0/10.0 with 10.0 being a C-section without an epidural. It helps if they firmly tap (hit) the skin immediately after removing the strip, which is distracting.

However, I don’t understand why this method is lauded so much. Salons recommend letting your hair grow out for one month before your appointment. Results then last about two weeks, not counting the stray hairs that pop out beforehand. That’s a long time to go without grooming.

I shall stick with my epilator and Venus Vibrance razor until I can schedule some laser hair removal, which will likely hurt more than a Brazilian, but at least be more effective.