Gratuitous I miss my Stash Pic

When a Door Closes a Window Opens

So since I have been on a bit of a hiatus from writing on here I feel as tho I owe myself some updating. The main reason I haven’t written on here is that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I got a job offer to move to NYC and a week later I packed up my stuff and left Little Rock. I am currently looking for a place to live and couch surfing the in the process but very excited about the possibilities. I did make some good friends while I was down there and I will miss some of the people I met in AR but I can’t honestly say I was sad to leave the state. I don’t think a Northerner like myself has much of a place down there.

On another note I read Malcom Gladwell’s Outliers over the Thanksgiving break. Start to finish in 5 days which for me is ridiculous, especially since almost all of the reading was done on my 2 travel days. When I finished blink I wrote a whole synopsis now I don’t have the time but just to give you an idea the book talks about how people who are wildly successful (ie. Bill Gates) weren’t just the best at their craft they were born at the right time and had ample opportunity to practice their craft. That is not to say they lucked into anything they had just that they were put in a situation that allowed them to be great and they put in the effort before the opportunity arose and were ready to execute when that time came. The thing from the book that will stay with me the longest though is Gladwell’s analysis of how long it takes to master something, How much practice time does it take for Bill Gates to be able to build Microsoft or a Canadian hockey player to make it to the NHL, or how many hours did the Beatles need to have played before they could have not only come over to the US and be successful but be all time greats.

10,000 Hours

I don’t know about you but I have never done anything in my life for that long, but it is definitely a goal worth shooting for

More to come once I get settled here, and hopefully find a place to live

"Now I Can Die in Peace"

So I have completed "Now I can die in Peace" unlike the last book I have no review. If you are a Red Sox fan or even a fan of the sports story I believe this is a must read. Simmons is great which is pretty much all I have to say on that topic.

I also just went back and added pics to the race for the cure post. As and editors note i would say i sound a little snobbish in that one when I talk about raising money. It shouldn't matter who raised it just that it was raised. Since i don't want this to be a revisionist history I am going to leave it in there. I am still waiting on the pic's from Phish, They should be good. I am excited for them. More to come...

Festival 8

1st off Festival 8 was amazing. The setting was unbelievable, the Polo grounds were amazing and they did so much to make it visually appealing. There was all kind of things with fire shooting out of them, a Farris wheel, and a huge TV for anyone who wanted to watch World Series or NFL games. The weather, I did not do such a good job of preparing for, it said 90 during the day was accurate but i failed to realize that it would be in the 30's and 40's at night. I of course didn't bring any pants just shorts and only one hoodie so once the sun went down I struggled to stay warm. I prob spent more money than I planned but after it was all said and done I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only thing I would change is I would like to go with more people, I love Domsky but he is a difficult person to follow on a weekend like that and I hate playing games. If we had a group of 10-12 or more I bet that it would be amazing. I feel like a broken record but there will be pictures coming, I still don't have a camera so I must relay on others. I know I said I might change a list item and I still might, i will have to review the list and see if there is an area I could make that happen. I did make some actual progress on the list this weekend however. I am about 40 pages shy of finishing "Now I can Die in Peace" and i found a trinket that i plan on carrying around for the next year then giving it away. I wanted to make it a key chain thing but was told that would break it so I will figure it out. again Pic's coming. I also am going to try and just type more on here. I have found that I write things in word or OneNote then they never make it to the web, so hopefully that stops now.

Been doing some cooking

So I have been meaning to write here more, it doesn't keep an accurate record if you don't put anything down. So I have been cooking more. So far i have made 3 things out of the how to cook everything book, I made some stur fry with beef, sauteed some pork, and made some carmel. The Carmel was the only thing other people tasted but i got good reviews. I also made some chili in the crock pot. Getting better but still need to keep it up

I am thinking about changing one of the list items to going to some number of festivals. On Monday Domsky called me and told me he was going to Festival 8 and I should go, at first I just laughed, I mean its in Indio CA, I am in Arkansas. Then I realized that pretty much every time I want to see someone now a flight will be involved so why not, I will give Domsky credit, if he hadn't called back Monday after work to try for a second time I might not have switched over. Tuesday morning I went online and bought a plane ticket. I still don't have a ticket to the actual show but I'm sure I will find one of those once we get out to CA . I will have a costume for Halloween, i was informed I would be the only one without a costume at the entire festival. Heather has a camera so I will wait for the pictures when we get back to let you know what I choose. One thing i didn't pick but would have been awesome if i had thought of it before I committed to the one i did choose, is Michael Phelps. just get either a speedo or a warm up suit, dangle a bunch of gold metals around your neck and walk around the Phish festival asking people to smoke pot. too bad, it would have been a good one

I will be back with pictures

Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure & updates

I have been in AR for almost 3 months now, It has been interesting to say the least. I have had my car totaled (some moron backed out of a parking spot w/o looking), bought a new one( 08' Camry SE, see pic), both my power and water shut off at different times, the water was my fault the power was not, I made a payment, they told me after they shut off my power 3 weeks later that it didn’t go thru, but no notice before than.

Above all else I have struggled to become part of the area, so yesterday I volunteered at the Susan G. Koman Race for a Cure. It was something one of the diversity groups at work was doing and I figured if we want them to participate in our YEN events we need to do there's. They had a fundraising goal of $500 for the HP team, I personally raised $205, I would like to thank those who helped me in that effort, Steve & Katie, my parents and grandparents. Because of you guys I raised a little under 1/3 of the $650 we raised as a team. Yesterday I was in downtown little rock at 5:45 to start handing out Yogurt at the Yoplait truck for 4 hours. This works nicely for my volunteering hours since I have been slacking on them. I have done some helping putting up a tailgate for the UCA Bears but that doesn't really feel like I should count it. Again I don't have pics cuz I don't have a camera (which is also why their is the cheesy car pic above cuz i need something to break up the words) but I know there were a bunch of pics taken so once I can get my hands on a few I will post them (Just for the record that is 6/101)

I have also been working on cooking more, my parents were here last weekend and my mom did an unbelievable job outfitting my kitchen, just to name a few things I have now that I didn't before: Crockpot, coffee maker, cheese shredder, large baking pans w/ tops, mixing bowls, dish drying rack, and a ton of spices and all of those other things that I need to season which I never would have thought of on my own. Which brings me to the fact that I am currently making Chili in my crock pot right now. This will be the 1st non hunk of meat and one side meal that I have made on my own

A final note of updates, I am going to join a Racquetball league soon, I have looked a couple up and just need to make a call and get signed up

Paintballing & #88

So in reviewing the list, I noticed that I actually have crosses off something other than buying a TV. I went paintballing a few weeks ago. It was a great time and fairly cheap. Like $30 for 500 Paintballs and all the rentals. #81 I think I might have to go back for seconds

So I haven't done the math but if I am not at 200 days something is wrong. I am going to add an Item to the list and that is "Complete the UFO clubs 200 Beers @ The Flying Saucer". I started this quest a few weeks ago when I got here. The basic idea is drink 200 different types of beers at the bar. Biggest catch, only 3 beers per day, which means 67 visits to complete. I am currently at 20, but they didn't register one of my tickets last time I went so I will have to have that fixed.

I don't own a camera so recently I have been forced to search the Internet for pics like I did above, I plan on rectifying that at some point but until then this blog will be more words than pictures which I don't think is a good thing.

The glass is half full....

AR- 6 Weeks in

So I shaved my beard off yesterday. What does this have to do with my list you might ask, a couple things. 1st I have gained at least 15 lbs since I moved to AR, prob a combination of less exercise and eating like crap (Fucking Sonic). Second when I 1st shaved I was quite distraught at the neck flab I had going on which I might not have noticed except that the last time I was cleanly shaven was right after I ran the marathon (list item) and I was in much better shape. I have only completed only 1 list item since the move and that was to buy a HDTV (prob also contributing to my weight gain)

The point of me telling you all of this is I am getting back on the list bandwagon. I have not done a good job of assimilating into AR. From what I have been told in the last couple weeks I have started just complaining and no one likes a complainer. I enjoy sarcasm but I apparently am now incapable of simply being sarcastic. When a friend from MA asked me if I had shaved my angry beard that is when I knew what had to be done.

There are a lot of list items that can help me both lose weight and get better acquainted with AR. I still have to run races of 5K, 10K and 1/2 Marathon, although I am willing to substitute 5 and 10 Mi's for the K's if that is how the races present themselves. I also need to take kickboxing & Yoga classes as well as join a racquetball league. That is just the physical aspect of my current problem. I also need to learn how to cook better so I don't end up eating shit all the time like I do now. Hopefully good cooking with help me impress the ladies, if I ever meet an attractive one that isn't married.

Overall this last 6 weeks have been a struggle for me. I am searching for my place down here and not finding many answers. Everyone else down here came in a class or with people they knew, friends and wives or are from here. I came as me, alone, and I don't fit into any of the defined categories at work (Since I only know people from work). I am not supposed to be friends with the reps because I am a manager but I don't have a common theme with the other managers. I am putting on my best face from here out but I won't be surprised if I am not excited about the results (sorry to any Arkansan who doesn't understand where I am commin from)

Here's to keeping my pursuit of living deliciously alive

#87- Buy a new HDTV

It has been purchased but it is to large to fit in my car so I will find a larger car tomorrow to go pick it up. They couldn't deliver it until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and I could not handle not having a TV for my 1st weekend, which I plan to sleep though with a few rounds of golf in-between. The weather has been shit this week so I am hoping for some Sun since I haven't gotten a chance to take advantage of one of the main perks of the complex. And when you pick a place site unseen that can be quite the determining factor.

If you are the type who enjoy specs, it is a 55" Samsung /1080p / 120Hz / LCD w/ 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio

Next up in the purchase department is the PS3 to go with it, I mean I need to do something for me. Right? (In my head that sentence sounds like Arty Lang was saying it)

1st Impressions

Pro’s
- less than a ¼ mile from: Walmart Supercenter, gas station, liquor store* & a Sonic
- 9 Hole golf course I can play for free (looks to be in decent condition for a free golf course)
- Pool, Hot Tub, Fitness Center(haven’t seen it but I have low expectations), Pool & Pong tables

*both Walmart and Gas station sell beer

Con’s
- I’m in Arkansas
- I’m in Arkansas
- I’m in Arkansas
- Now that I have that out of my system, Charter Can Lick MY BALLS
o They do not offer DVR or HD service in this area but they hope to have it soon (Please read that again)
o Comcast services Little Rock and they have both of those options, but don’t provide service to North Little Rock (Although I have been told for cable purposes I am considered to be in Maumelle, either way I’m fucked)
o This means I am currently looking into television from ATT because for some reason they have both a DVR and HD capabilities right here in where Charter does not
§ My apartment complex doesn’t allow satellites so Direct TV is a no go
-Did I mention I am in Arkansas

Anyway I am Fast Tracking #87 Buy an HDTV because I am currently void of a TV at all and that can not stand. I also need to count some days I could be close to having to pick a new thing at 200 days. Technically I went out in Nashville last night but I can’t count it toward #73 cuz I went to bed at 10. The last time I checked I have yet to get anyone pregnant so #33 is lookin good(Ladies you will inform me if there was an issue, right?) I am up to 2001 in “Now I can Die in Peace” but with the move I have a feeling it will be awhile before I get the chance to finish it.(#52). Enough updating for now

Live from Nashville

It would be great if I could blog while driving, I mean I have been driving for 3 days now and I when you spend that much time in the car (22.5 Hr’s) over a 3 day period you come up with some pretty ridiculous stuff. I talk to myself anyway so me having a conversation with just me isn’t that weird but the levels I have taken it too after this much time in the car is ridiculous. I need this trip to end.

I also just got Sirius, I am annoyed b/c the package I got included the best of XM but Baseball is no where on the dial. That was the whole point. I wanted to hear Joe C. no matter where I was. Anyway I have already figured out satellite radio they have the same format of playing the same songs on the same channels over and over again. But they have the bonus of the comedy, Howard, and other crap that you just can’t get on regular radio so overall still happy with the decision. Now I need to buy a TV. I hope I make a good decision there as well.

I know this post has nothing to do with any of my things but I gotta tell ya, leaving Boston was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. This isn’t the 1st time I had to leave somewhere I loved because it was the right thing to do but it doesn’t get any easier. It rips you up inside and there are so many things I felt were left unsaid between myself and various people. Some of which I am sure would have fell on deaf ears but I have always felt it is better to put it out there and let ppl make their own decision then hold back and wonder. I have no regrets about my time there and hope to return to the North East at some point but right now I think it is time for me to ride the wave and see where life takes me. I don’t know who said it first or best but I never want to regret not doing something, so let the chips fall…..

So I am a slacker, but enjoy another post

So here with my first of what will be many posts from Little Rock, Arkansas I have to admit I have been slacking. So a quick recap of what I have been doing,

1st I went out in NYC a couple of weeks ago for Phinney's b-day and although fun not exactly the most exciting thing to cross off the list. I assume this has to do with the fact that I have been to NYC many times over my life I just never went out in the city so simply getting drunk in a city didn't get me excited enough to write this until a couple weeks after the fact.

I also was recently approved for a mortgage which brings me one step closer to owning property (#28). I also just spent today looking at houses in and around Little Rock. If you don't know me let me fill you in as to why i would ever make a decision to move to Little Rock AR from Boston because believe me if you had told me 2 years ago I would do this I would have told you that you were crazy. There is a long story and a short one, I don't feel it is prudent for me to go into the Gorey detail of how i got here but basically I was giving a choice move to AR or get WFR'd. I wasn't going to move to do the same job that I had been doing so i let my management team i was willing to move for the right opportunity and after many months I got promotion so I am moving down to LR (apparently that is how the cool kids down here write it)

Finally I started reading "Now I can Die in Peace" by Bill Simmons. I didn't realize that this book was just a collection of articles that he had wrote that he then went back and commented on but so far I am enjoyin it

Holbrook if you are gonna read this you can at least comment on it (Jerk)

2 Phish Shows and Michael Domsky

So I wanted to go to more concerts and when the opportunity to go to see Phish at Fenway arose I felt I had to oblige. Granted it took pat and becca going to sit outside Fenway at 2:30 the night before tickets went on sale, then the next weekend one Michael "the man, the myth, the legend" Domsky showed up for another Phish show down in Mansfield. And that is 2 birds with one stone my friend.

Although I will add an editors note that when creating the list one of the most difficult things is to choose numbers for items your not really sure whats a lot of something until you start doing it.h Expect some changes to list items with numbers such as the score for a round of golf, and this one although i haven't come up with a new number yet

I think for this one I am going to let the pictures do the talking but it was good to see Domsky, I hope he goes to Alumni weekend and stays in touch over the years because he can be very elusive

Mansfield Show

^Michael Domsky ^

blink - The Power of Thinking without Thinking

So I just finished blink, Malcolm Gladwell’s book about the power of thinking without thinking. It is about how we make snap judgments and how those influence our behavior. This is my 2nd Gladwell book. I read The Tipping Point a couple of years ago when I was taking some time between college and looking for a job. I had actually had the book for a few years before I finally got around to reading it but I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to try and gain a new understanding about the world around them.

So what blink really boils down to is our own judgment. How can we know when to trust our gut and when do we need to gather more information. What I found most interesting was that Gladwell actually argues that more often than not we try and use too much information to make our decisions. He uses a series of stories that if not for the common theme of snap second decisions are otherwise unrelated.

The book opens with a story about a historical statue that supposedly dated back to 6,000 BC. The museum in question spent years trying to verify its authenticity, brought in all kinds of experts to run numbers and statistics to prove it was real. Then they brought in 2 statue experts and based on seeing the statue for a split second they knew it was a fake.
If I was to see this statue I probably wouldn’t know any better then all of the other experts’ whose numbers were wrong. The main issue is that these types of decisions are made by people with a very extensive knowledge of the subject matter they are being asked about. For example one man who spent years working with couples could tell based on a 5 minute conversation if that couple will stay together with 90% accuracy.

One of the most interesting chapters was about being able to read emotions on people’s faces. Not just being able to understand how someone feels without them ever speaking, but that everyone’s real emotions are worn on their face, if only for a split second, weather or not they know it. As I have a left a few open items on my list I might use one of them to learn how to read faces.

Being able to train ourselves to trust our instincts knowing that more times then not they will be correct is a big leap. There are many different examples of snap judgments, right and wrong, illustrating how our mind can know something before we are even cognitively aware of it in this book. As this isn’t a topic I have ever thought about before I hope I am able to continue to develop my judgment abilities as they could be very valuable over the course of my life and career.

I wasn’t sure how to record the books that I read in this blog so I decided to go with this kind of format, as I just finished this book, I immediately came in and got some thoughts down. In the interest of full disclosure I started to write this blog before I read the afterword. In retrospect that was a mistake as I changed quite a bit of this blog after finishing the book. I could probably have used more of the examples from the book but I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone who is interested in it.

In the end I would highly recommend either of the Gladwell books talked about here. At some point I will get to Outliers then I can let you about that as well.

PS. Once I gather the pic’s I need to blog about Phish & Michael Domsky, crossing things off left and right

MICHAEL DOMSKY IS HERE!!!

Domsky is in the building and we are about to leave for Phish, He told me at 11:54 he would be here at 1:30 and hit it to the minute. Absolutely shocking. I am excited to get Domsky in his natural habitat. I couldn’t ask for anything more when decided on wording it “hang out with Michael Domsky”

Getting Back into Golf + notes

So I put a number of golf things on my list because I used to play a lot when I was younger but once I got into high school I just slowed down and basically stopped playing. It seemed like a good idea to start playing again since it is a great way to network and spend time with family. So I started talking about it last fall although didn’t play. My dad got me new Nike clubs, a new bag and a Taylor Made Burner driver for Christmas probably to encourage me to play with him.

I finally went out the Saturday before my sisters wedding with my uncle Peter Belanger, my grandfather Peter Belanger, and my grandfather’s nephew (whatever that makes him to me) Peter Belanger (my 3 partners) my brother, my dad, my dad’s cousin Denis, and my now bother in law (still weird to say that). In the end shot a 101 on the day. 57 on the front 9 and 44 on the back. So you might say that I needed to shake the rust off, as that was my 1st time playing since last yr for father’s day. Also probably my 1st time keeping a legitimate score in at least a decade (also weird to be able to say that).

Overall I am pretty happy with the performance. It may cause me to have to change one of my list items though. Since I shot a 101 on my 1st legitimate time in a decade I am going to drop number 46. Play a round of golf under 100 to 85. I picked 85 because I figured that my baseline, which I will use as the back nine, since I was properly warmed up, times 2 is 88. So I would like to improve on that since I think it is unlikely I will start throwing up compete rounds of 44 on a regular basis but with some more practice we will see

So some other random things to make note of:

38. Try 5 different types of Sushi- I have tried a California Roll, a Spicy Roll, and a Tuna Roll – Overall I am warming up to Sushi, and hopefully fish in general, we will see

55. Learn How to make 2 appetizers really well- I will declare my Taco dip ready to be consider “really well”. I should have worded this one better but what are you gonna do. But for all future events if you want a Taco dip, I am your man

Cleaning up Simarano Dr.- 2/101

So I have started on my 101 hours of volunteering with 2. Today I went with our employee programs and cleaned up Simarano Dr. which is the road right outside of our office complex. I’ll be honest and couldn’t believe some of the things we found out there. Large laundry detergent things filled with some kind of oil, someone’s week worth of dirty diapers, used tampons, at least 4 tires, 2 hubcaps, a sink, and a ton of beer & liquor bottles and coffee cups. On a side note I like that I get to triple count it as volunteering for my list, YEN and HP.






Kind of gives you a new perspective on throwing shit out your window

Bruins Vs Canes, Game 1, Eastern Conference Semifinals 2009

So I picked a good time to cross off going to a Bruins game w/ gear. When I was working on the list a Bruins game was on there but then I went for Pat’s birthday in November so I edited the list item to get some gear. I have always liked hockey more than basketball but when the Celtic’s got Garnett I felt compelled to pay more attention to the Burins

So yesterday, the day of the game, I finally get around to picking up some Bruin’s gear. I ended up picking up a hat and a Chara t-shirt jersey, I was between Big Z and Lucic, Just made a game time decision. Almost bought an old school style Neely t-shirt jersey b/c there were signs all over Olympia that said buy one get one ½ off but apparently that was only for red tagged items, which I didn’t see any. Since the shirts were $20 I felt it was a good time to use the economies of scale in my favor. As it turns out I could have gotten the same shirt for $12 from a guy set up in North Station.

On an amusing guy on the street side note after the game one of the guys selling shirts on the street and when he was moving his cart a random guy grabbed one of the shirts that was on display. It took a minute for the vendor to realize it and he grabbed some other guy thinking he had stolen it. But the guy who did steal it was stupid enough to just leave 60% of the shirt hanging out of his back pocket. Before to long this lead to the vendor strait up tackling him and getting his shirt back. James of course had his camera ready

The game was fun, people enjoyed the stach. I didn’t get put on the Jumbotron, prob b/c I wasn’t drunk enough to dance around till later in the game, I did meet a camera guy close to the end of the game and he tried to get me up there but no luck. Bruin’s won 4-1, Holbook has an RI license and won’t be 25 until July so he couldn’t buy beer at the garden so me and James had to go get beers constantly. One of these trips lead to me missing the 3rd Bruins goal.

Personally I thought the game would be more up tempo given that it was a playoff game but a W is a W.

Some Post Marathon Monday Thoughts

So I am still trying to figure out this blog thing. I guess like most things it is what you make of it but really its about how much you wanna let people into who you are what makes you tick. You have to make a choice of weather or not you want to just report just the facts or add the emotion and personality behind them. Something that I think needs to be tested and refined. The fact is that I have no idea who is reading this, it could be one of my close friends, someone from the past, someone who was just board so they surfed around facebook, a possible employer or anyone else. Knowing that I have to decide what level of myself I am comfortable with. I have only made a few posts on here but I have gone back and edited them if I didn’t like the phrasing or if upon a second read I feel like it didn’t come across as I intended. Not sure if that means something or not. But I am sure time will tell.

So I guess the reason I was thinking about this is because I had some day after thoughts from the marathon and I thought I should write them on here. I mean the reason I decided to do a blog was to make it real, make me accountable in a sense, and to have a record of my 1001 days, and if I am going to do that I might as well start from the beginning.

If nothing else running the marathon reaffirmed my belief that I can do anything I put my mind to. I don’t think I have challenged myself to something that took that kind of dedication since wrestling in high school. It was nice to see that I was still up to the task. Through the years I have always assumed that the most important week of doing anything is the first week. My first Friday I was supposed to run a mile but we were going to the Burins game for Pats birthday so I didn’t have much time to get in the run but I went out and got it done. As little or insignificant as that seems for me, that is the most important thing. If you are going to do something you need to drive right in, as it says on the dry erase above my toilet “Go Big or Go Home”. That is what I did with the marathon and what I am attempting to do with this post.

Cross off Boston Marathon

So in the interest of actually updating this blog thing, and keeping some kind of record of this 1001 days. Today I ran the Boston Marathon in 4:37. Overall very satisfied by the performance. 1 bathroom break and a 100 yard walk while drinking some water and a quick stop by Mom and Dad. My average mile was 10:34 but the last 2.2 KM I ran at a 9 min pace so I had something left for the finish. I think I passed way more people in those last couple miles than I did in the entire rest of the race.

Since I didn't have my name or something identifying on me I didn't get many shout outs from random people until the final stretch down Beacon where I prob got a dozen Forrest Gump references easy. At that point i it was nice to be picked out, the crowd is a big, when you have been running for 24 miles and you have people cheering for you the whole way even if they don’t know you it is a great feeling and it surprisingly not as difficult to finish as I thought. I think I did a good job of pacing myself and it paid dividends in the end.

When I made he list I guess I figured that on my way to running a marathon I would run a 5K, 10K, and half marathon but it didn’t happen so I guess I will have to continue to run until I have crossed them all off, although after this none of those seem daunting.

Breaking News!!!!

Michael Domsky just called me and asked me if he could stay at my place for a Phish show in June! This was a shock to me for a number of reasons, the main being I haven't spoken to him in prob close to a year, looks like that one will be easier than I thought

Finally a follow up post and some things to cross off

So it has been 3 months and I have had nothing I felt worthy of reporting. But I finally can cross the 1st thing off my list. Go to a Boston Blazers Game. I went with James and Doobage. James was in town for Easter weekend and suggested it and since it was on the list I felt compelled to comply. We met at The Fours before the game and Doobage wondered how something that costs $20 and involves getting drunk could be on the same list as something that required 6 months of training, Running the Boson Marathon, which I will be doing tomorrow, and yes it took me a week to write this. I told him it was the magic of the list, plus you gotta make some easy ones to get you going. You also have to put things on the list that you have been planning on doing and just haven’t gotten around to.

This brings me to my 2nd list item being crossed off. Finish My baggo boards. I had started building these during the 2007 Patriots season because I had gone to 4 of the home games and brought the boards to 3 of them, but back then they were just a board and a milk crate and some homemade bags. Last 4th of July I went to Holbrook’s place in RI and we built a frame for them so they would stand on there own. I got to 3 Pats games last year but only brought the boards to 1 but they were a big hit.

I finally got around to starting to paint them during the fall and over the last 2 months started to paint the Red Sox symbol and Pat the Patriot on the other. And today right before the Marathon I have completed them. I will say that there are things I would like to upgrade some things on them but I feel as though I am at the point where every time I go to put paint on them I have an equal chance of making it worse as I do better so I stopped because I am happy with where they are. Finishing them in time for the Marathon was my goal since it is now nice out and we will be able to play on the roof. I also broke down and ordered bags online since my original homemade ones all broke open and so did Doobages so I figured it was worth the $32 for the set.

Below we have me admidireing a shot that may or may not have gone in But My team did win the 1st game so all is well, 2nd is just a closer look at Pat

Day 1 (Well 2)

So i got a late start, I choose to start this on my birthday which was yesterday but I went skiing and when I got home I had no energy left to start creating my first blog/ posting my 101 things to do list. I received the idea from Becca, one of my current roommates and Pat's girlfriend. Anyway i figured it would be a good way to give my self some direction over the next few years so I wrote up a list then took some time to actually start it, i changed a few items and played with it before I was ready to post and my birthday seemed like the best time to start. You will notice that my list is actually only 91 items long. There are 10 more that for a variety of reasons I have chosen not to publish online but i will keep a tracker of the 10 so you at least see if they are being accomplished.

So with no further delay, the List:

1. Run a 5K
2. Run 10K Race
3. Run ½ Marathon
4. Run Boston Marathon
5. Go to Las Vegas
6. Learn how to give a massage
7. Go out in NYC
8. Hangout w/ Michael Domsky
9. See Baseball games at 3 stadiums you have never been before
10. See Football games at 2 stadiums you have never been before
11. Go to a Celtic’s Game
12. Go to a New England Revolution Game
13. Go to a Boston Blazers game
14. Get some Bruins gear and wear it to a Bruins Game
15. Do a 360 on skis off a jump
16. Do a 720 on skis off a jump
17. Learn how to do rails on skis
18. Go off a jump backwards
19. Ski Whistler
20. Ski Mad River Glen
21. Go skiing in a State I haven’t been before
22. Do 3 Mt. Dew races at 3 different locations
23. Learn to Snowboard
24. Learn how to create a web site
25. Go to a Playoff game at Fenway Park
26. Take GMATS
27. Start on my Masters
28. Buy some real estate
29. Go to San Diego
30. Bungee Jump/Sky Dive
31. Be making more money on day 1001 than Day 1
32. Read a weekly tech update for 1 year consecutively
33. Don’t get anyone pregnant
34. Stay Disease Free
35. Go wake boarding
36. Ride a jet ski
37. Go surfing
38. Try 5 types of sushi
39. Eat a lobster from NE
40. Try 3 types of fish
41. Take some kind of kickboxing/boxing aerobic class
42. Take a yoga class
43. Strengthen my shoulder so I can throw w/o pain
44. Bench 225 10 times
45. Play in a Racquetball league
46. Play a round of golf under 100
47. Play a round of golf where I hit all 18 fairways on the drive
48. Play a round of golf with less than 27 putts
49. Build a piece of furniture from scratch
50. Finish Baggo boards
51. Finish Blink
52. Read Now I can Die in Peace, by Bill Simmons
53. Read Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell
54. Learn how to make 3 different dinners from scratch
55. Find 2 appetizers and make them really well
56. Learn how to make 3 different desserts
57. Learn how to make 4 types of punch that can be made w/ & w/o alcohol
58. Carry a token for 1 year then give it away
59. Collect a complete set of the 50 state quarters
60. Cook 50 things out of the how to cook everything book
61. Learn to type correctly
62. Carve something to hang on the wall
63. Go deep sea fishing
64. Fire a gun
65. Do 100 push ups w/o a break
66. Learn to dance
67. Cook someone breakfast in bed
68. Take someone on a picnic
69. Cook a candle lit dinner for someone
70. Go to 3 concerts
71. Host a Beer Die tournament
72. Go for a weekend hiking trip
73. Go out in 5 Cities I have never been to(Excluding NYC, Vegas & San Diego)
74. Build a Foosball table
75. refinish my coffee table
76. Go for a road trip that comprises of at least 5 states
77. Go white water rafting
78. go ATVing in the woods
79. Pay off my student loans
80. Learn how to change my own oil and use that knowledge
81. Go paintballing
82. Do a Bar-a-Thon
83. Learn how to make 10 actual drinks
84. Do 101 hours of volunteering
85. Get a Tattoo
86. Learn a new hand skill
87. Buy a new HDTV
88. Come up with a new thing on Day 200
89. Come up with a new thing on Day 400
90. Come up with a new thing on Day 600
91. Come up with a new thing on Day 800

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