A fine-spun remake
December 15, 2006RICHMOND, Va. — What a week! I made my first incursion into the District in many months to fetch my sickly mother. I brought her home, made her some chicken noodle soup, tea, the whole deal. She had a nasty cough and actually spent the week out of work.
So instead of returning home on Monday or Tuesday like originally planned, I decided to stay and keep her company on the couch. I didn’t do much for her, but I also know what it’s like to be sick and home alone.
So Mom and I sat on our asses, talking and watching the daytime television as she recovered. Good times, except, of course, for her being sick.
My father’s birthday was yesterday. My sister, whom I haven’t seen in a while, also came up. Also sick. And that was my week.
Anyway, a couple of days ago I showed readers the “Life List.” I wrote back in 2003. I also said I’d write up an updated list.
For the last three days I’ve scribbled ideas and concepts in an old (I mean old) government issued notebook. The resulting list is in no way exhaustive or complete. It is also not a list of New Year’s resolutions. What we have here is simply things to do before I die.
Education
- Finish one of two partially completed degrees at Virginia Commonwealth University and Curtin University of Technology.
- Grad school: possibly in New York, Boston, or Chicago.
The color of money
- Fix budget/finances quandary
- Retirement fund
Do by December 31, 2007
- Paint self portrait
- Learn to pick locks
- Read book a month
- Continue writing/editing for Commonwealth Times
- Write one investigative story (weighty)
- Write 50,000 words on single story line
- Pet, for inspirations
- Maintain between 3-3.5 grade point average
- Miss no more than one class per class per week
- Film screenplay
- Attend Richmond Braves/Richmond Kickers game
- Write 1,000 words a day (morning)
- Wake up earlier
- Stop making fun of the morbidly obese
- Find pen pal on every continent
- Complete web resume
In pursuit of women
- Reinstate black book
- Companionship
- Commission attire
- Put more effort into my love making
- Bring back Paco Rabanne
- Date girl that has asshole boyfriend
The hobbyist
- Skydive
- Cinematography
- Continue photography
- Boost music collection
- Rebuild classic vehicle (DeSoto?)
- Stamps (Magyar Posta)
- Aquariums built inside walls of house
- Deep wilderness camping
- Learn to fly
- Build library
On enhanced health
- Re-get and stay fit (see Life List 2003)
- Waist: 36 inches to 32 inches
- Run 2 miles in 15 minutes
- Eat three square meals a day
- Increase wine consumption
Improving business position
- Rework quarg.com to increase revenue stream.
- Write copy for fee
- Move office operations out of office
- Environmental (naturalist) journalism
- Richmond area blog aggregator
- richmondwrites.com, richmondstandard.com, eroticrichmond.com, desotopress.com, americanterrorist.org, thereveller.com, de-soto.net, quarghost.com, getrichmond.com, civiccert.org.
The long-term vision
- Own a house
- Returning to traveling man lifestyle
- Live on a boat
- Spend time in West Africa
- Do radio show