2017 Goals Update

I’m not a “New Year’s Resolutions” kind of person, but I did make a short list of things I’d like to do this year.  Having a list helps me visualize the tasks ahead of me, prioritize them in my life, and keep me motivated so that I make progress.  It is so easy to just be tired and zone out while watching TV, or escape by reading a book, or do any number of things that are enjoyable, and can be done “no-problem”; but won’t really benefit you in the long run.

So, since four is my second favorite number (yes, I have a second favorite number, and a third and fourth, but I stop there, because who needs more than four favorite numbers, right?) I made a list of four things to get done during the calendar year of 2017, and aside from the first one they’re relatively specific:

Spend more time outside
Attend a good concert
Do a five minute stand-up set
Run an obstacle course

Spend More Time Outside

Nailed this one.  I skateboard to work (a little less than a mile each way), have been swimming every weekend this summer, walk my dogs a few times a day (about three miles distance all together), and we walk to one of our favorite restaurants that is a couple blocks away once a week or so.  Now that it is cooling off a little bit, there won’t be so much pool time, but until it actually gets cold I’ll be taking the kids to the park as much as possible.

Attend a Good Concert

Thanks to Alice Cooper and his band for making this one easy.  Last month Karah and I saw him at The Pavilion.  She liked it way more than she thought she would, he played all my favorites, died twice (electrocuted and beheaded by guillotine), and ended the show with a mix of School’s Out and Another Brick in The Wall pt 2 (by Pink Floyd).  His drummer was fantastic, but Nita Strauss (guitar) was amazing!  I’ve been a fan of Alice Cooper for maybe 20 years now (which I think for someone sub-thirty is pretty good), and was super disappointed when I missed his Houston show last year.  I’m just so glad that evening happened.

Do a Five Minute Stand-Up Set

I’ve got my material ready, and hope to be on stage by the end of next month.  It’s been fun to write and rehearse some jokes – this time when I repeat the same thing over and over it isn’t “lame and repetitive”, it’s practice.  I’ll be telling some stories about my family mostly, I’ll give them a heads up and we’ll see if they attend…

Run an Obstacle Course

Okay, you know that first part of American Ninja Warrior? The part that takes about thirty seconds and ends in a curved wall, it’s about one-quarter of the pre-qualification course?  Yeah, that’s about what I’d like to run (but not on TV, the fewer people who see me, the better).  Something short, fun, challenging, but not impossible – even for people like me with a couple extra chins.  I’m still trying to find one nearby that isn’t part of a gym where people are hanging around to watch my embarrassing tries, failures, and retries.

I know I didn’t post about this at the start of the year (missed opportunity), but hopefully at the start of next year I can tell you how those second two items went and we’ll see what four new things I come up with!