101 things to do in 1001 days

I am copying the Neener and coming up with 101 things to do in 1001 days. I already had a running list of these, so this is awesome!

Health and Fitness

1. Get back to running a ten minute mile
2. Try crossfit
3. Go back on the abs diet for at least a month (I saw a lot of results last time)
4. No sweets for a month.Bam! Done! I didn't eat sweets for 30 days!
5. Sign up for Obamacare Bam! Did it! 3/28/14
6. Lose 15 pounds (so original, I know)
7. Run three times a week on a regular basis
8. Attempt to ski
9. Try a new vegetable
10. Try a new fruit Tried the Durian Fruit
11. Run a 10k (it's time to bump this thing up a bit)
12. Strength train twice a week Went well for a while.
13. Get those two moles removed
14. Try swimming as an exercise for one month
15. See a nutritionist I have been working with the health coordinator from the City of Rowlett & she's awesome!
16. Read "You" book


Personal and Family

17. Write at least twice a week (it doesn't have to be public) I have been writing fairly regularly.
18. Take some of the kiddos on an outing (American Girl? Klyde Warren Park?)
19. Have a family game day
20. Hike with family members Done 3/11/14!
21. Move again

Career and computer

22. Find a new kick-butt job I should start my job at Rowlett on 1/29/14!
23. Learn Spanish (Already started, and doing pretty well!)
24. Get my website up and running (sunnylibrarian.com)
25. Set up arduino
26. Set up photo robot
27. Learn how to make animated gifs
28. Build a simple robot

Culture and Artsy Fartsy Stuff

29. Finish watching AFI 100
30. Get nice stationary and write some letters I've been writing letters like a champ.
31. Read Life of Pi Done it! Read the review here
32. Read the Stranger Finished 3/20/2014
33. Play competitive Scrabble again
34. Buy new thank you notes 1/9/14
35. Read Honda manual
36. Go to at least three meetups
37. TV seasons with friends (Mad Men? Cody?) Watched Mad Men and Amy Schumer with mr. cody.
38. rifftracks Watched Birdemic, Shock and Awe! It was so funny! 3/16
39. Billy Bob's (Willie's Fourth?)
40. Cowgirl Museum
41. Private karaoke
42. Trader's Village Done with Switchblade and his lovely girlfriend.
43. Pee off of Andrew's roof (the dream is still alive)
44. Sixth floor museum
45. Porn Bloopers
46. Babe's Chicken Finished 3/20/14
47. Fred's Texas Cafe
48. Metzlers 49. Sneaky Petes (I don't know why)
50. Spa Castle
51. Find the Toto Washlets in Dallas and experience them
52. Campisi's
53. Drinks in Reunion Tower
54. First Friday at the Modern
55. Learn to play an instrument (I really want to play drums, but that is unrealistic)
56. Make a quilt
57. See all the Oscar contenders one year
58. Brew my own beer
59. Volunteer some place that interests me
60. Get that tattoo

Mac Dog

61. Get Mac to lose 5 pounds
62. Teach Mac not to jump on people (or bite men in their crotches)
63. Start a Corgi meetup
64. Learn how to clip Mac's nails
65. Brush Mac's teeth once a month
66. Read So You're Dog's Not Lassie
67. Teach Mac "Squeak"
68. Teach Mac "Peek a boo" 2/4/14 Click for video. Took about 5 minutes! Damn that dog is smart!
69. Go to some sort of class or group with Mac (agility?)

Financial

70. Pay off credit card debt As of 6/24, only one left
71. Come up with down payment on a house
72. Save for Australia

Journeying

73. Take a road trip across half the country
74. Renew passport
75. Camping
76. Go to Australia
77. Go to Canada
78. Go to Mexico again
79. Go to weird caverns in Austin
80. Go tubing in Austin
81. Try brandy Tried it at the Green House. Not my jam, but good. 1/17/14
82. Go to Fraternal Order of Eagles
83. Go to a tiki restaurant
84. Visit Marfa
85. Go on a themed cruise (comedy? max fun cruise?)
86. Go to at least two stand up shows
87. Pie someone in the face
88. Zilker Park Done with Mr. Chris, 2/2015
89. Shiner, TX
90. Brenham Blue Bell Tour
91. Pick your own fruit place
92. Dollywood
93. Dr. Pepper Museum I did it! Check it out here! 1/25/14
94. Sesame Place
95. House on Rock
96. Buddy Holly museum
97. Winstar (Dolly Parton is coming!)
I went to see Dolly Parton at Winstar 5/31 and it was so much fun!! Thanks to the fabulous wizardof78 for the awesome birthday gift.
98. One day on the Pacific Trail
99. Go to that weird shopping center between Denton and Dallas with the dinette store
100. Go fishing
101. Go caroling

If anyone wants to help me with any of these, let me know!!

2013 Books - More 4 Star books

This guy is an asshole, and it's really fun to read.

Apparently, I read volume two, but didn't like it enough to make this list.

Murakami; ears, cats, mysterious lady, impeccable descriptions of simple food.

Oh Gladwell. I love that you're just out there, being all positive and stuff.

Obviously this works, just look at me now!

The year in books-4 stars

No seriously, I just now read this. 

I don't have kids, I don't know why I read this. but apparently I enjoyed it. 

This makes me want to hike and stuff. I bought a pack, I have yet to camp. A guy tried to make me carry all of his stuff in it. That was the last date we had. 

Look at me, I'm fancy.

He looks like McLovin.

I got this for my parents, but read it myself. So sue me.

This book is almost as depressing as Dear Zachary. Have fun with that. 

Just what Denton needs, more pollution!

The Sriracha to Denton campaign is a cute idea and a great way to gain social media love, but did anyone actually think it through?

Denton has some of the worst air quality in the state of Texas. I didn't have any respiratory issues until I moved there, and lo and behold, I moved just forty miles away and my need for daily respiratory medication has ceased. Also gone is my recurring upper respiratory infections. (Although, I have only been gone only a few months, so honestly this may still be up in the air.) I love the City, just not the air.

And for a county like Los Angeles, which is not known for taking a tough stand on air pollution, to decide that the complaints of ear, nose, and throat irritation are too much is really saying something.

It's not cute, it's not funny and it doesn't make you a better person.

There's a Denton Twitter account that posts pictures of all the people being arrested in town. I won't link to it because it's pretty easy to find, but this shit can be highly entertaining. People often retweet particularly hideous mugshots with mean comments. It's all in good fun.

Over a beer the other day, a lovely friend reminded me that these are people on their worst day, and I am laughing at them. This made me feel like a complete mean girl piece of shit. He was right; I'm getting pleasure out of someone else's misery. He also added that this could easily be any one of us if caught on the wrong day; let a speeding ticket lapse, look sideways at a cop, or be suspicious looking and your ass is in the pokey. And a thing that he didn't remind me, but needs reiterating is that these people HAVE NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME. They have just been arrested.

Most recently, one of my friends on Facebook posted that when she is having a bad day, she feels better knowing that she is not *insert name of notoriously always in the hoosegow for a variety of reasons lady.* I almost called her out, but I know that Facebook isn't the place for that. I know that, like me, she probably didn't think of this as mean, but in good fun.

It's weird, because I have to balance my belief as a librarian that information should be open, with my equally held belief that people have a right to privacy and this one is a tough one. I know that from now on, I am going to act with more empathy and not ridicule those that are in one of the worst moments of their life.

I do want to thank my friend for calling me out on this behavior. It wasn't good to hear, but I know that it will make me a better person in the long run. I encourage any one of my other friends who sees my shitty behavior to call me out as well.

It's not cute, it's not funny and it doesn't make you a better person.

Judge it by it's cover

A beautiful mess photo idea book : 95 inspiring ideas for photographing your friends, your world, and yourself

For hispters, by hipsters. If you love Instagram, you'll love this book. While I occasionally enjoy this blog, it is definitely a guilty pleasure. The ladies that run this blog are always mugging for the camera in a way that cannot be fun.

"What details make your life special?" Apparently, the answer to this is your Starbucks drink, because that is what this caption points to. This is a handbook on how to photograph for blogs, not for those with any talent. If you must, pick this one up from the library and don't buy it. 

Weird things about Dallas

People from Dallas act as though Fort Worth is a billion miles away. In actuality, it's thirty minutes away.

Hollywood Said No!: Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show

This was definitely for die-hard fans only. This is one you should get from your library, not for your collection at home.

Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes

I am a firm believer that we don't all need to run marathons and do yoga daily to be in good health. This books confirms that.

In this book, Rath comes up with many ideas for normal people to achieve better health. Much like Michael Pollan, he breaks it down pretty simply in his title. This is a good, short read with simple tips such as, try to get out of your chair as much as possible, make all of your calories count and practice good sleep habits.

Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but I might recommend it for one of my patrons looking to create some healthy new habits.

Interesting facts from Stephen King's Wikipedia Page

His dad did the "I'm going out for cigaerettes" thing, and never came back.

As a child, he witnessed one of his friends being hit by a train, but does not remember the event. 

King's appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy benefited the Bangor Public Library. You know I like that! 

I've got a Golden Ticket!

When I was in elementary school, we had a system called the golden ticket system. The idea was, that if a teacher spotted you doing a good deed, you got a ticket. You get five, you get to go to the Principal's Office and pick out a toy.

I clearly remember being so excited and picturing the cheap version of this thing. Although I am sure at the time I was not concerned with underage workers and the like.

 hilarious.

In the line at brunch the other day, I spot my friends ahead in line...by one person. The guy sees me talking to my friends and tells me to jump ahead of them to be with them. "Good guy!" I yell. I wish we had sort of a good guy award in the style of the Golden Ticket. People just being good citizens. We always take note of those who aren't, it might be nice to recognize the good little things people are doing in the world.

Someone decided to leave us the Terminator translated in French on the back of a Walgreens receipt

No good deed.

I had a horrendous move that essentially left half of my stuff in Denton while I try to get things started here in Dallas.
There's a TLDR at the end, if you're into that sort of thing.

After realizing that it will probably take 6 trips to get all of my stuff to Dallas in my Honda Fit, I borrowed my dad's behemoth Suburban. The transition from a Honda Fit to a monster Suburban is difficult to say the least, so of course, I backed into a Volvo at Starbucks.

No one is around so I go back in the Starbucks and ask if it's a staff members car. The manager said no and gave me some scratch paper and a pen and said something about karma. Cue ominous music.

I didn't see any damage and I wrote a note saying that I didn't see damage but if she sees any, call me. An hour later, I get a call from the woman and she said that both her and her husband looked and there was no damage! She just wanted to call and let me know how great it was that I left a note. She talked for a LONG time about it, which was kind of odd. She went on to say that the car is old and beat up, so she probably wouldn't do anything if it were damaged. Ominous music gets louder.

A few hours later, I get a text that says that there actually WAS damage and that I should call them. Covered in sweat from moving, no battery life on my phone and two more trips to make and now I have to deal with this. I was told them I would contact him and have to use his interpreter because he is deaf.

Why is this suddenly a priority? I told the lady that she will need to file a police report and contact my insurance and get an estimate. No answer. Then she tells me to contact her husband the next day with no mention of the text I sent her.

7AM the next morning, I get a phone call. It's the woman panicked. They need to get this fixed right away. They are acting like their car is totaled and they can't do anything. They are also acting as though I am avoiding them. I get at least ten calls or texts between 8AM and 2PM. Mind you, I am responding to most of these peoples' texts. Finally I tell them to talk to my dad. He deals with it. The woman calls two more times. I tell her to talk to my dad and let her know that this is bordering on harassment. Two hours later, I get five more texts with no mention of my telling her to quit texting me.

My dad finally gets it fixed, but not without a phone call where the lady just inexplicably starts discussing a DIFFERENT Volvo that they own and all the repairs it needs.

TLDR; Ran into crazy people's Volvo in a Starbucks lot. She called me to thank me for being honest and leaving a note. Her brand of crazy made me never want to be honest and leave a note again.

Places I have sunscreen stowed away

Bathroom
Desk at work (there are windows)
Desk at home (there are windows)
My car's glove box
On my Corgi at all times
Soccer bag
Mom's house (she is olive-skinned)
purse
keychain
gym bag
the back porch
In a package coming from Amazon as we speak

What I Love this Week-John Dies at the End

So far, John Dies at the End is one of the weirdest, books I have ever read. I can't wait to see how it turns out and then watch the movie. I read this because I saw it being mentioned a couple of places and recognized the author as the author of this piece Six Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person, which is pretty amazing.

What I love this week-Split Decision, Mental Floss' app

Mental Floss has a trivia app called Split Decision, a question may be like this; 

"Leslie Neilson" and your choices might be Texan or Canadian. The game is a surprisingly difficult time-waster. And it's free! 

http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12367/introducing-split-decision-app-iphone-and-android

Googles of year's past

This year's first google;
Prefab Sprout
First Google last year;
Harry's Law
2011-Minus the Bear
2010-Silverleaf Resorts
2009-iyoko inyake buffalo
2008-Bob Barker
2007-I didn't google anything on the first (!) but the first one the next day was "Tyra Banks vaseline"