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Chris Cooke

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



I'm doing 27 things
  

Chris Cooke's Life List

  2. 1. Do the 2009 TBR challenge
    7 entries     		19 people
  3. 2. get in shape
    20 entries . 3 cheers     		9,059 people
  4. 3. lose weight
    9 entries     		35,227 people
  5. 4. Manage my money better
    4 entries . 8 cheers     		471 people
  6. 5. improve my piano skills
    3 entries . 5 cheers     		60 people
  7. 6. get rid of all my clutter
    6 entries . 7 cheers     		1,133 people
  8. 7. gather all the original songs covered in Moulin Rouge!
    3 cheers     		1 person
  9. 8. earn my black belt
    6 entries . 4 cheers     		69 people
  10. 9. Go for a midnight picnic
    8 cheers     		67 people
  11. 10. read the Logic Pro 8 manual
    2 entries     		1 person
  12. 11. Keep in closer contact with friends (regularly)
    5 entries . 4 cheers     		163 people
  13. 12. stop biting my nails
    6 entries . 2 cheers     		6,893 people
  14. 13. take a dance class
    6 entries . 5 cheers     		776 people
  15. 14. master Rails
    3 entries . 1 cheer     		33 people
  16. 15. get better at estimating web development projects
    2 entries . 1 cheer     		1 person
  17. 16. hear one of my classical compositions played by real musicians
    3 entries . 3 cheers     		1 person
  18. 17. compose a symphony
    8 entries . 13 cheers     		96 people
  19. 18. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination
    3 cheers     		18,102 people
  20. 19. Contribute to an open source software project
    1 entry . 8 cheers     		809 people
  21. 20. be a tourist in my own town
    1 entry . 3 cheers     		88 people
  22. 21. Watch all 6 Star Wars movies, in order, on one day.
    1 entry . 5 cheers     		185 people
  23. 22. spend an entire day watching the extended version of all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back-to-back
    5 cheers     		1,102 people
  24. 23. learn the thriller dance
    3 entries . 3 cheers     		2,632 people
  25. 24. host a sing-along of kid TV show themes and songs for pre-K parents, WITHOUT the kids.
    3 cheers     		1 person
  26. 25. start a photo journal - take at least a photo a day to represent my life
    1 entry . 3 cheers     		961 people
  27. 26. learn guitar
    1 entry     		2,971 people
  28. 27. see the northern lights
    6 cheers     		16,368 people

How I did it
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, 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, 05:09AM PDT | 0 comments


How to become a Zumba instructor
It took me
1 year
It made me
happy but tired

How I did it: I say it took one year, but the actual becoming an instructor part only takes a day.  It took me a year to get to the point where I had confidence taking the Zumba Instructor Workshop, though.So, you complete the one-day workshop, and you're a certified instructor. Read how I did it…

Dec 06, 03:14PM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers


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

Recent entries
Do the 2009 TBR challenge (read all 7 entries…)
5 done in 6 months -- behind schedule 2 days ago

Just completed:
Pragmatic Ajax, Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, Dion Almaer

Overall status:
  1. The Advent of Divine Justice, Shogi Effendi
  2. The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense, Suzette Haden Elgin
  3. The Eudaemonic Pie, Thomas A. Bass
  4. The Expert Witness Handbook, Dan Poynter
  5. A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar
  6. Year’s Best SF 12, David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor)
  7. Pragmatic Ajax, Justin Gehtland, Ben Galbraith, Dion Almaer
  8. Eric Meyer on CSS, Eric Meyer
  9. The Sword and the Mind, Hiroaki Sato (Translator)
  10. Crypto, Stephen Levy
  11. Patent Pending in 24 Hours, Richard Stim, David Pressman
  12. Data Mining, Ian H. Witten, Eibe Frank

Jul 02, 10:12AM PDT | 0 comments


lose weight (read all 9 entries…)
Another 2 lbs. lost 1 month ago

Loss rate is good. Goal for next two weeks is lose or maintain, but don’t gain.

May 26, 10:29AM PDT | 1 cheer | 0 comments


Improve my posture (read all 3 entries…)
Calling this "done" 1 month ago

A vague goal like “improve” is always hard to call completed. If I totally sucked, and now I suck a little less, I’ve technically “improved”, but wouldn’t call it done. That’s why I’ve left this for more than a year.

Recently, though, as I’ve been working on the Wii Fit, I’ve noticed a definite improvement, and it’s also telling me I have good posture. Beyond that, as I was walking down the hall yesterday, I was suddenly started to notice how straight and tall I was carrying myself as I walked.

So I’m going to call this “done” in the sense that my posture, while still needing improvement, is no longer bad.

May 22, 05:12AM PDT | 0 comments


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I want to:

The world wants to...

hacking email password get my GED own a home learn how to prepare 10 excellent meals see the 7 wonders of the world be a better photographer stop picking my skin take more photographs Learn how to say 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch' serenity wants to Make myself a Harry Potter school uniform learn to line dance stop drinking hollymerryman wants to get in shape Maintain a positive attitude get dreadlocks change my major become a gangster Learn to knit find my birth parents Read all the books I own, but have not yet read. Lose the bad attitude about my job go to London Start running MODLE Become a wizard make friends all over the world learn to sail
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