50 Before 50: The Starting Point

Because a list of 40 wasn't ambitious enough, I'm adding 10 more!

I broke it out by categories this time, just to make it a bit easier for me to handle, and some of them need some metrics developed to actually make them worthwhile and real goals, but for now, this is what I'm starting with. I'll post progress and any changes made on a yearly basis and we'll see how we do from there. So, without further ado:

50 Before 50

Self Improvement

1. Run a 5K

2. Ride the whole week of RAGBRAI

3. Lose 50 lbs and keep it off

4. Hike up a mountain (like a proper, 14er type of mountain, not Everest or anything crazy though.)

5. Learn how to manage money and save

6. Get back into Tai Chi

7. If the kiddos stick with it and I can make it work with my schedule, maybe Taekwondo?

8. Get more intentional with what I eat. I'm a lazy eater and make poor choices.

9. Make exercise (of some kind, any kind!) an integrated habit of my routine.

10. Get better at self-care or at least recognizing when I need a moment.


Travel

1. Visit NYC

2. Visit All 50 States (37 states, 13 on the board: WA, OR, ID, MT, ND, MI, DE, NJ, CT, RI, ME, AK, HI)

3. Visit Isle Royale National Park

4. Family Trip to the UK

5. See Angel Falls in Venezuela

6. Take the family to a World Cup game in 2026.

7. See a total Solar eclipse

8. I want to see an Arsenal match somewhere, ideally, at the Emirates, but I'll take what I can get.

9. Greece/Turkey/Cyprus: See the ruins of Troy, Istanbul, Gallipoli, Ithacha, Cyprus, etc.

10. Family Trip to Hawaii


House Goals

1. Put in a pergola/redo the back patio

2. Plant (and maintain), a native pollinator/English garden/paradise spot in the backyard.

3. Create a mudroom/entrance to the garage in the back of the house

4. Put a deck and a sliding door off of the family room

5. Replace carpet in the basement

6. Install solar panels on the roof.

7. Get a really good, lush green lawn going in the front AND backyard

8. Replace the privacy fence in the backyard

9. Make our bedroom an actual bedroom and not just the eye of the hurricane of chaos where we sleep.

10. Get the deck out front stained/protected.


Writing & Reading

1. Publish three more novels

2. Get one short story published somewhere

3. Write a novel that's good enough to query & get trad published

4. Experiment with form a bit: consider an anthology collection, serialized fiction on Substack, audio fiction on podcast.

5. Restart podcast with the Missus.

6. Read at least one Banned Book a Year

7. Read Malazan Book of The Fallen by Steven Erickson (All 10 Books)

8. Read Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, and The Count of Monte Cristo

9. Read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

10. Read at least 500 books total


Hobby/Foodie/Life Goals

1. Learn how to Golf with the Missus

2. Learn how to Kayak with the Missus

3. Learn How to Use my Heelys

4. Actually use my wood-burning kit to create things

5. Solo trips for one/both of us (holistic retreat, etc.)

6. Visit Nashville and get some actual Nashville Hot Chicken

7. Get a really rare bottle of whiskey for my 50th birthday

8. Expand the flag collections, join NAVA, and get some quality flag poles

9. Drink some Japanese whiskey, and see what it's all about

10. Get better at grilling. (I can do the basic but I could learn how to do more.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Didn't Watch The State of The Union

I didn't watch the State of the Union last night for the first time in what seems like a very long time indeed. I didn't watch it out of some form of virtue-signalling protest. I didn't watch it because it started at about eight o'clock at that is prime time for bedtime for the kids. And anyone with kids will tell you: you don't mess with bedtime. Also, I just didn't care. I know in some areas of the flaming dumpster fire that is our political discourse these days that's a hanging offense. "You didn't care? How dare you not care! Aren't you against [insert controversy of the week here]?" or my favorite, "Well, you have the privilege of not caring about this stuff." No, it's not about my privilege. (That's an entirely different conversation.) I just genuinely did not care, because it did not matter. Both ends of the political spectrum live in parallel universes, I decided. They're going to listen to the same speech
Read more

Psephology Rocks: Holiday Grab Bag Edition

Well, there's lots to talk about post-Election Day, not only in America, but there's a few bits and bobs from around the world worth touching on as well.  We'll start local and work upwards: Local:  Well, I went three for three in my City Council Endorsements- Botchway, Salih took the At-Large Seats and Susan Mims took the District B Seat.  The District B race between incumbent Susan Mims and student Ryan Hall was less of a contest than I think people were anticipating, as Mims won handily 59% to 41%. I had nothing in particular against Hall, per say- but I feel like if Raj Patel who was another student who ran a few cycles back (I want to say 2010?) had serious money and a serious platform behind him and didn't win, then Hall was going to be a long shot. He checked all the right progressive boxes for Iowa City, but he was running against an incumbent who might not be uber-Progressive, but not say, Terry Dickens either. I think Hall would have had a better shot aga
Read more

Tintin, Ranked

Image
What can you say about Tintin? He's been around for decades- was one of the most popular comics of the 20th Century. He's spawned a television cartoon ( which I remember watching on Nickelodeon ) and more recently a movie ( two more of which are apparently coming, though it's been awhile since the movie dropped .) He hasn't been free from controversy- Tintin In The Congo is hard to find these days for a reason, the least of which is (what I'm guessing) the somewhat 'problematic' portrayal of Africans in the Belgian Congo when the reality of that chapter of colonial history was dark indeed. For sure, if there's an aspect of these books that makes me cringe somewhat, it's his portrayal of Africans. Herge's portrayal of Latinx individuals and cultures tends to be a bit better, though his portrayal of indigenous folks and Asians is somewhat mixed. He's excellent in The Blue Lotus , somewhat less so with his portrayal indigenous people in Ti
Read more