22 photos

Niel

is figuring out if he likes what he's doing.



I'm doing 41 things
  

Niel's Life List

  2. 1. Get a PhD
    2 team members . 27 entries . 141 cheers     		2,788 people
  3. 2. keep a good laboratory notebook
    18 entries . 25 cheers     		4 people
  4. 3. Watch a space shuttle launch
    1 entry     		957 people
  5. 4. plan
    17 entries . 27 cheers     		18 people
  6. 5. stick to a schedule
    6 entries . 8 cheers     		76 people
  7. 6. try an unschedule
    2 entries . 4 cheers     		1 person
  8. 7. do NaNoWriMo 2009
    17 entries . 6 cheers     		21 people
  9. 8. lose weight
    9 team members . 126 entries . 47 cheers     		36,386 people
  10. 9. never have a BMI of more than 29
    5 entries . 12 cheers     		1 person
  11. 10. be as buff as Yul Brynner in the Magnificent Seven
    6 entries . 8 cheers     		1 person
  12. 11. be able to touch the floor with the palms of my hands while standing up
    5 entries . 6 cheers     		119 people
  13. 12. read
    4 entries . 17 cheers     		532 people
  14. 13. live in a tidy, spacious environment
    20 entries . 35 cheers     		2 people
  15. 14. declutter 15 minutes a day
    16 entries . 31 cheers     		71 people
  16. 15. be an adventurer
    24 entries . 75 cheers     		14 people
  17. 16. keep track of each penny I spend
    32 entries . 31 cheers     		5 people
  18. 17. have an emergency fund
    5 entries . 8 cheers     		36 people
  19. 18. discover motivation through enjoyment
    34 entries . 47 cheers     		2 people
  20. 19. Make new friends
    8 entries . 25 cheers     		12,791 people
  21. 20. be an eligible bachelor
    8 entries . 30 cheers     		1 person
  22. 21. Make a list of 43 reasons why you want to be my girlfriend
    31 entries . 48 cheers     		1 person
  23. 22. fall in love with someone who loves me too
    8 entries . 20 cheers     		1,060 people
  24. 23. risk getting hurt in a relationship
    4 entries . 2 cheers     		1 person
  25. 24. Daily: Reflect on at least 5 things for which I'm grateful (Happiness Manifesto #2)
    14 team members . 933 entries . 12 cheers     		161 people
  26. 25. write a Linux device driver
    3 entries . 15 cheers     		3 people
  27. 26. learn OpenCMS
    4 entries . 17 cheers     		1 person
  28. 27. fix my car
    27 entries . 13 cheers     		245 people
  29. 28. hike the Fish River Canyon
    4 entries . 24 cheers     		5 people
  30. 29. learn zulu
    9 entries . 31 cheers     		54 people
  31. 30. own a home
    2 entries . 26 cheers     		969 people
  32. 31. start my own company
    11 entries . 36 cheers     		885 people
  33. 32. reveal 43 random and inconsequential things about myself
    29 entries . 5 cheers     		4 people
  34. 33. learn to talk to my boss
    4 entries . 18 cheers     		1 person
  35. 34. create my own Happiness Project
    15 entries . 21 cheers     		3 people
  36. 35. see a Short Sunderland flying boat
    3 entries . 2 cheers     		1 person
  37. 36. go sailing again
    2 entries . 4 cheers     		8 people
  38. 37. photograph my slides
    1 entry . 1 cheer     		1 person
  39. 38. Present at Riva 2010
    1 entry . 1 cheer     		1 person
  40. 39. Create a topic for daily journal writing
    2 team members . 10 entries . 2 cheers     		3 people
  41. 40. Do a 2009 holiday card exchange with my 43Things friends
    2 cheers     		53 people
  42. 41. update my website
    1 cheer     		298 people

How I did it
How to make a list of 43 things I'd like to own.
It took me
33 months
It made me
bored

How I did it: I thought about things I would buy if I had enough money but not too much. If somebody offered me a grant to get one thing that I needed, what would I choose? Then I started writing the list, on and off. It sat on my list for a long time, and in the end I had to push myself to get it finished. Read how I did it…

Nov 10, 12:41PM PST | 0 comments


How to do another triathlon.
It took me
1 year
It made me
feel fit

How I did it: I did the same as I did for the first triathlon: entered online, and practiced until the date arrived.The morning of the event I got up, but in my contact lenses, and before I dressed I covered myself in sunblock. I loaded all the necessary gear (that I had packed the previous night) on my car, and drove to the site. I parked my car where directed, and pushed my bike and all the gear to the site. I fell in the queue for registration, wher… Read how I did it…

Oct 25, 01:07PM PDT | 2 comments | 2 cheers


How to mindfully and gently examine some of my habits
It took me
3 years
It made me
untethered

How I did it: I looked at the habits I found to not be very good for me, and I wrote down what I observed, without being harsh or forcing myself to change them, without looking for root causes, just gently examining in their different aspects as time went by. Not forcing action on the habit allowed me to gently let go of it, instead of feeling that something was going to be ripped from me and therefore cling to it.I don't think I'm rid of problem habit… Read how I did it…

Oct 24, 09:38AM PDT | 0 comments


See all "How I Did It" stories...

Recent entries
Daily: Reflect on at least 5 things for which I'm grateful (Happiness Manifesto #2) (read all 933 entries…)
Cold weather. 17 hours ago

It is Friday, and I am grateful …

... that I got all the papers marked before the weekend started.

... for the quiet satisfaction in having an instrument working again, and knowing exactly what the problem was.

... for the prospect of making some more modifications to the instrument before the next round of chromatography.

... for another good write-in, where I met new people.

... that I didn’t cancel the write-in because of work commitments, but carried on with it, just limiting the time I would put in on it.

Nov 20, 02:58PM PST | 2 cheers | 0 comments


Daily: Reflect on at least 5 things for which I'm grateful (Happiness Manifesto #2) (read all 933 entries…)
Loose screws. 1 day ago

It is Thursday, and I am grateful …

... that I found the loose bolt that gave me all those troubles this past year.

... for the beautiful noise-free temperature curves I get now.

... for another 2000 fresh words today.

... for the rain that’s falling.

... that too much sweetness isn’t toxic, just fattening.

Nov 19, 01:28PM PST | 2 cheers | 0 comments


do NaNoWriMo 2009 (read all 17 entries…)
32021 1 day ago

I attended a write-in today, but I was on my own. Which helped me blast through those 2000 words.

Another write-in tomorrow, for those who can’t make it weekends and nights. Should have two people there.

Nov 19, 01:10PM PST | 3 cheers | 0 comments


See all entries ...


 

I want to:

The world wants to...

get in shape get my driver's license top 16 Learn to fly find the love of my life incendio wants to finish cross stitch projects learn to speak ukrainian drink more water spend more time painting Work out daily have more energy Invest abbyy wants to Go skydiving become an actress move to barcelona learn to ride a motorbike Read the entire Bible go to synagogue more often be a mom laugh every day stop buying things i dont need. overcome my aversion to phones get a four pack finish this list Spend wisely be at peace Hydriad wants to take time for myself jump off a waterfall
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