learn something new every month

December is going to be…...erm I’ll come back to you!!

that, being a student, I really don’t have a whole lot of time for this goal. Thus, instead, I am adopting another goal which is sort of similar but doesn’t seem as demanding to me. Thus, I will change this goal to ‘make a list of 43 things i know very little about, and then learn at least 3 things about each of them’ instead.

Well, let’s put it this way…I’m not doing so well on this goal. I didn’t research anything over the Christmas Break because a) I worked nearly full time, and b) I was on a break from school and researching was too much like school. Thus, I researched nothing. I really do want to do this. I’ll just have to force it upon myself at the start I guess.

It’s the break and I have yet to start learning about Catholicism. Am I allowed to blame working every day since school ended (save for one day) for that? Probably not… Anyway, it’s late tonight so I won’t start now. I’ll start my research tomorrow (yes, on Christmas Eve) with wikipedia. I know it’s not a scholarly source, however, it’s a good place to start. I will then branch out from there.

is Catholicism. I am Protestant and I do know some things about Catholicism, however, I would like to know more about it and also learn the differences between it and Protestantism. I also plan on learning a bit more about the reformation and the counter reformation.

I would like to pick something that interests me every month and research it so I learn more about it. As it’s the beginning of a new month I will begin right away. I just have to decide what I want to learn…

My vegetarian girlfriend wanted to try a new Ehtiopian restaurant that opened the other night so I went with her. Well, that was an experience. It was like eating in someone’s family room, very informal to the point of being ridiculous. The owner’s kids were running around ( I mean literally running around) making such a racket you couldn’t hear yourself talk. My friend, who doesn’t particularly like kids, kept telling them politely to be quiet, but that was ignored. The chairs were lounge chairs with fabric drapped on them and the tables were traditional Ethiopan basket like things that were a little tough to get close enough to. There were no utensils used since you were to scoop up the food with this flat spongy bread. Wish we we could have had napkins, though. We had a combination platter of a wide variety of dishes. I must admit I loved it. Everything was very flavorful. All in all, a night to remember.

Yesterday I went to a fundraiser that was a “High Tea.” I had never done that before, and it really isn’t my kind of event, but it was different. It wasn’t quite the fancy high tea that is done is really posh places, but it was a version that was possible for a service club to replicate as a fundraiser event. There was a lady there who was opening a tea shop and she explained about the different kind of tea blends she was going to stock, some of them from Africa called rooibos, not sure I liked it. There was a tea that tasted like drinking a vanilla candle, not so good. There was a passion fruit, good. There was a black current, like it. And one called orchid which tasted like a cinnamon apple. I really didn’t like the Earl Grey, which was the only tea I had heard of, but never had tried before, too strong for me. There were lots of finger sandwiches, most which were very good, scones, don’t much like-too dry, and lots of pastries. There was a harpist and lots of idle conversation. It was an OK time because it was a fundraiser for a good time and it was a new experience for me, but I’m not sure I would do it again.

I wrote before that I’m learning just by spending a little time on 43 Things each day. I kept running across people who had goals about practicing pronoia and I had jotted down that word a couple times since I had not heard of it before. I finally took a few minutes today to look it up. I like to think that I’m somewhat well read and up on current events, but pronoia totally escaped me. I like the concept and now understand why people have it listed as one of their 43 Things. I really appreciate how this site is expanding my exposure to thoughts and opinions.

Tomorrow I’m going to a special fundraising event that my friend is coordinating. Its called “East Meets West” and at it the Jia-Ho You Troupe from Taiwain will perform as well as other Asian and Pacific Islanders performers will dance and sing. I’m looking forward to it. It will be something different plus its supporting the Asian Pacific Community in Action charity which works to enrich livs through health education. I should go to more events like this.