1 photo

Chris Cooke

finds 43Things thinks he's an extroverted, creative, self-improver.



I'm doing 22 things
  

Chris Cooke's Life List

  2. 1. get in shape
    21 entries . 7 cheers     		10,218 people
  3. 2. lose weight
    10 entries . 1 cheer     		40,803 people
  4. 3. Manage my money better
    4 entries . 9 cheers     		546 people
  5. 4. improve my piano skills
    3 entries . 5 cheers     		81 people
  6. 5. get rid of all my clutter
    8 entries . 8 cheers     		1,133 people
  7. 6. gather all the original songs covered in Moulin Rouge!
    3 cheers     		1 person
  8. 7. Go for a midnight picnic
    9 cheers     		97 people
  9. 8. Keep in closer contact with friends (regularly)
    5 entries . 4 cheers     		161 people
  10. 9. stop biting my nails
    6 entries . 3 cheers     		7,333 people
  11. 10. take a dance class
    6 entries . 3 cheers     		912 people
  12. 11. get better at estimating web development projects
    2 entries . 1 cheer     		1 person
  13. 12. compose a symphony
    8 entries . 13 cheers     		106 people
  14. 13. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination
    4 cheers     		21,236 people
  15. 14. Contribute to an open source software project
    1 entry . 6 cheers     		779 people
  16. 15. be a tourist in my own town
    1 entry . 2 cheers     		89 people
  17. 16. Watch all 6 Star Wars movies, in order, on one day.
    1 entry . 4 cheers     		189 people
  18. 17. spend an entire day watching the extended version of all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back-to-back
    4 cheers     		1,040 people
  19. 18. learn the thriller dance
    3 entries . 3 cheers     		2,778 people
  20. 19. host a sing-along of kid TV show themes and songs for pre-K parents, WITHOUT the kids.
    4 cheers     		1 person
  21. 20. start a photo journal - take at least a photo a day to represent my life
    1 entry . 3 cheers     		1,004 people
  22. 21. learn guitar
    1 entry     		3,567 people
  23. 22. see the northern lights
    5 cheers     		18,963 people

How I did it
How to hear one of my classical compositions played by real musicians
It took me
1 year
It made me
Ecstatic

How I did it: I started making connections with chamber music meetups. So far that has not yielded any fruit, but it may by the by. Ultimately, my wife decided she wanted to give me this experience as a 40th birthday present. She contacted a local music school, that in turn put her in touch with the Head of Chamber Music Studies at a local university. He organized and coached a chamber ensemble of students and recent graduates. I had to provide the sco… Read how I did it…

Oct 26, 2009, 07:32PM PDT | 3 comments | 4 cheers


How to improve my posture
It took me
2 years
It made me
more stable

How I did it: Basically I got off my butt and started exercising. I really started seeing progress when I worked with a trainer for 4 months, strengthening my core.  Then I took up Kung Fu, which continues to strengthen the core and provides a whole body workout 3 times a week. Kung Fu also requires focus on form, and increased awareness of what every part of your body is doing at each instant.Most recently, we got a Wii Fit, and I started doing y… Read how I did it…

May 22, 2009, 05:19AM PDT | 0 comments | 3 cheers


How to find something easy and healthy to take to work for lunch
It took me
3 months
It made me
healthier

How I did it: Assessed what I wanted out of lunch to make me happy, and balanced it with what I wanted nutritionally. Found I liked hot food, but wanted to avoid fast food and lots of fat. Now I hit the store every Monday and get the stuff for turkey sandwiches, which I then heat in the microwave. A side of carrot sticks or rice cakes, and some fruit for snacks during the day. Read how I did it…

May 04, 2009, 05:09AM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer


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

Recent entries
earn my black belt (read all 8 entries…)
Progress

Earned my green belt with blue stripe tonight.

Honestly, though, in the last month or so I’ve really stopped caring about my belt color. I know what I know, and I don’t know what I don’t know (a lot more than what I know), and that doesn’t change regardless of my belt.

The belt may reflect what I know to the outside world, but it in no way defines what I know. And since I’m doing martial arts for me, and no one else, I’m not particularly concerned with reflecting what I know to the outside world.

So, I’ll wear the belt, out of respect for the school and for the positive effect it has on other people, but I’m not really fired up any more for new belts for my own sake.

I even considered eliminating this goal, but I think I’ll keep it around anyway.

Nov 19, 2009, 07:02PM PST | 1 cheer | 0 comments


read the Logic Pro 8 manual (read all 3 entries…)
long before I can do this

I’ll probably have upgraded to Logic 9, so giving up.

Sep 08, 2009, 11:17AM PDT | 0 comments


get rid of all my clutter (read all 8 entries…)
a little more done in the basement

More organizing than eliminating, but I gathered a pile for Saturday’s dump run, and gave an item away to a co-worker.

Sep 08, 2009, 11:16AM PDT | 0 comments


See all entries ...


 

I want to:

The world wants to...

find the symbol for my next tattoo pass biology fall in love again createkg wants to Lose 30 pounds be more patient Share a night under the stars Lose Weight and Get Healthy Run around town in a bear suit learn to play bass guitar visit every MLB stadium write music watch the IMDB.com Top 100 movies play the game halo online make a free layout for my imvu home page Lolly wants to get rid of things I don't need financial independence Appreciate people for who they are lose 20 lbs Read every Far Side Comic Strip stop procrastinating hotwire a car lose weight meditate daily be more outgoing celebrate my benign schizophrenia Buy a House Clean out my closet.
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