New Year... New Update

Talk about slacking on the blog!

Just updated my 101 things to do in 1001 days list and I thought I'd share some of the accomplishments and those unaccomplished.

FULL ACCOMPLISHMENTS


#1- I completed visiting 5 states I'd never been to before. The stipulation was that I had to spend at least one full night in that state.

1. Nevada - Las Vegas (February 6-9, 2011)
2. New York - Rochester (March 18-20, 2011)
3. Illinois - Chicago (June 16-19, 2011)
4. Connecticut - Westbrook (September 15-16, 2011)
5. New Hampshire - Meredith (February 3-5, 2012)

#8 - BwaLL and I ended up hiking in Stoneybrook State Park in Dansville, NY on July 2nd, 2011. We originally just wanted to go for a nature walk to see all the waterfalls, but ended up hiking along the gorge and east rim trails. I'm glad I wore good shoes!

#56 - I had lunch with Gramma Jean in October 2011 after she altered my uniform pants. I also went out for dinner with her and aunt Mar in December 2011 at the Cromwell Grill.

#77 - I have finally watched all of the Star Wars movies. I very much disliked the newer ones and often fell asleep during them. Whoops!

#83 - I took a one week vacation from work just recently (one week + 2 days). February 1st - 9th, 2012. I traveled to BwaLL's on the 1st and we left on the 3rd and drove through New York and Vermont to get to Meredith, New Hampshire where his sister, CwaLL & Ry-dun were married. Spent the 6th - 9th in Rochester before heading home. Good times!

PROGRESSIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

#70 - I have now visited 2 out of 3 Aquariums. 

John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL

Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara Falls, NY

#80 - Went to 1 out of 5 concerts. K.hi & I saw the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys at the Union Center in Chicago on June 18th, 2011.

#95 - I made 1 new recipe out of 5. On Saturday, I made a Cauliflower Pizza Crust from this recipe. It was amazing. I couldn't believe that Cauliflower crust could taste so much like the real thing!                                  

606 days left...

But there's a light on in Chicago...

Who knew I would fall for Chicago?! Don't get me wrong. I was excited about my trip to Chicago, but I didn't realize how much fun and how interesting it would actually be. My best friend and I managed to do all things Chicago (just like we promised the guy at U.S. customs - lol).

The Famous Wrigley Field

K.Hi & I left my house around 6:30 A.M. on a Thursday morning in June. We left early because we had tickets to a Chicago Cubs afternoon game (interesting fact #1 - almost all cubs games are afternoon games). We encountered some hard rain, but made it to Chicago without incident and even early for the game so we scored free Chicago Cubs sunglasses. Being able to experience a game at Wrigley Field more than made up for the less than desirable hotdog and seating. After the game, K.Hi and I had a late lunch at Al's #1 Beef (which has been featured on Man Vs. Food). K.Hi thoroughly enjoyed her beef dip!

My wonderful friend, J. and her husband, M. were more than welcoming, allowing K.Hi & I to stay at their humble abode for Thursday and Friday night while we were touring the city. J. helped us figure out the transit system in Chicago so we could get around easily. I'm not familiar with public transit having grown up in a small town, but Chicago's system seemed fairly easy to get the hang of. That night we set out to Willis Tower (formally the Sears Tower) to take in the view from the Skydeck, 104 floors up. We stayed long enough so that we could get late evening and night pictures. 

Loooking up at the Willis Tower

Me - 104 floors above Chicago

Sunset over Chicago

                                                   

                                                                 The Ledge - 104 floors above S. Wacker Dr.

Gino's East Pizzeria

We then found our way to the Magnificent Mile and got to see the long stretch of designer stores. It was late and they were all closed, but let's be realistic... we weren't going to be buying anything at Tiffany's or Georgio Armani anyways. From there we went to eat a very late dinner at Gino's East (which is known for it's deep dish pizza and was also featured on Man vs. Food). There was a line up at this pizza joint at 10:30 at night with two floors of seating full. By the time we got in at 11pm we were starving only to find out that the deep dish pizza's we ordered would take an hour to make. We spent most of our time waiting, taking in the scenery of the restaurant which was covered in graffiti. K.Hi loved her deep dish pizza! I liked mine, but I think I'll stick with regular pizza.

Shedd Aquarium

The next morning we took the bus to the Shedd Aquarium. It was a free admission Friday and there was a 2 hour line-up. It was the main thing I had wanted to do in Chicago, so K.Hi, being the good sport she is, put up with the 2 hour wait in the hot sun with me. Afterwards, we took a water taxi to Navy Pier and boarded the 3pm Architectural Boat Tour. This Tour was about an hour long and took us up and down the river with a guide who talked about the different buildings along the river's edge. It was so beautiful to witness and interesting as well. After arriving back at Navy Pier, we had a late lunch at Harry Caray's Tavern.

River City - from the boat tour

Lunch @ Harry Caray's

Millenium Park

We then found our way to Millenium Park where we saw the giant sculpture that looks like a chrome jelly bean. Right beside Millenium Park is Grant Park and an ampitheater. There just so happened to be a free orchestra concert that night so we took a seat and listened for an hour or so and relaxed. We then found State Street where we were advised to go shopping. K.Hi scored a Michael Kors bag there and was ecstatic! By this time it was 10 or so and we found our way to "Ditka's" which we assumed would be a sports bar/tavern. When we arrived it was a fancy steak and seafood place. WHOOPS. We weren't turned away for a dresscode so we stayed. K.Hi had the meatloaf stack and I had a burger (the cheapest thing on the menu for $15 dollars). 

Saturday came and J. and M. took us to a farmer's market and then to Lincoln Park Zoo (interesting fact #2 - it is a FREE zoo). We took J&M out for lunch to thank them for allowing us to stay with them while we were in town and then headed out to our hotel near the airport. We stopped for dinner at a place (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives) called Smoque. I didn't order anything, but K.Hi was in bbq heaven! We signed in at the Hyatt and chilled a bit before getting ready for the event to end out our weekend: the NKOTBSB concert at the United Center. What a concert it was! It was the perfect mix of boyband greatness, if I may be so blunt! The shuttle back to our hotel from the airport subway was quite an adventure. I got spat on by a crazy person who I thought was going to take the shuttle driver hostage and/or turn around and knife me, but I survived!

New Kids On The Block AND Backstreet Boys

Not only did I have an amazing trip, I also got to cross off another new state visited on my 101 in 1001 list. 

Update: 101 in 1001 (4 months)

Well, it's been four months since I created my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I am currently on day #119 which means I only have 882 days left to complete my list. 


I have completed the following tasks in full :


1.  (#28) Make pizza from scratch (minus the dough) - February 19th in Rochester with Bri ♥ (so many pineapples!)


2. (#59) Join Dictionary.com Word of the Day mailing List to build my vocab - January 25th (I've unsubscribed because the emails were getting annoying haha!)


3. (#90) Give Rich his Nintendo Wii back - March 29th (easiest thing on my list to do and it still took a month or so)


4. (#91) Kiss someone in the rain - May 15th (after several attempts of Brian trying to set this one up, it finally happened, spontaneously ♥)


5. (#99) Post a piece of art online - March 29th (posted pictures of my old sketches on facebook)


I have started a lot of others on my list. Many I have been slacking on.


-I haven't been to church since March (so much for twice a month).
-I've only written one letter and sent via snailmail to friend which included a postcard from Vegas.
-I've watched all three original Star Wars movies (only 3 to go!)
-I've already watched my two IFC films for this year (The Killer Inside Me and Fish Tank). I liked
 both even though they were both dark(ish) and demented. 
-I tried one new beer each month except May. 
* Pabst Blue Ribbon in Las Vegas - February
* Heinekin in Niagara Falls - March
* Stone Ruination in Rochester - April (gross - mostly chose it because of it's cool label)

I have a lot more to accomplish, so I best get into gear. 

Constellations - Part II - The Little Dipper

source

Ursa Minor is the “Little Bear” or “Son of the Mother Bear" – Ursa Major.  It is made up of 7 stars just like its larger counterpart.

• Polaris (North Star)
• Kochab
• Pherkad
• Yildun
• Ahfa al Farkadain
• Anwar al Farkadain

·   OTHER INTERESTING FACTS:

**In earlier times, the Little Dipper was named “Dragon’s Wing” as it was thought of as part the constellation, “Draco”. 

**Both the big and little dippers are found in the Northern Sky, near the pole.

**You can only see them clearly if you are in the Northern Hemisphere.

**The North Star is as bright as the seven stars in the Big Dipper (the rest are fainter).

**A dwarf galaxy named “Ursa Minor Dwarf” is located in the same area as The Little Dipper.

**One of the stars within the constellation has its own extrasolar planet (planet outside of solar system)

**Constellations that border Ursa Minor are: Draco, Camelopardalis and Cepheus.

Constellations - Part I - The Big Dipper

When I was younger, I spent a lot of my childhood summers at our trailer in Ipperwash. I think it was my Uncle Gary who bought me a book, geared towards children, to help identify constellations. It was cool because the pages had glow in the dark stars of constellations so you could use it outside at night. Since then I've been able to find the Big Dipper, but wanted to learn more about them and more. Here is some info about The Big Dipper that I found interesting (and didn't have previous knowledge of): 

• The names of the seven stars that make up "The Big Dipper" are : Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar & Alkaid
• Mizor (the middle star of the handle) is in the same line of sight as another star called Alcor, so if you look close enough, it looks like a "double star" that has been named "the horse and the rider"
• In 50,000 years or so, the Big Dipper will not look the same. The stars alignment will have shifted and be completely different. There will still be a handle, but the trapezoid will look different. 
• If you use the furthest side of the dipper, and draw an imaginary line from the bottom to the top and keep extending it, it points directly at the North Star
• Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos refers to the Big Dipper as "Valacirca" (Sickle of the Valar) - a sign of hope signifying doom for evil.
• The Big Dipper and North Star are on Alaska's State flag

Source

101 in 1001

One thing you should know about me is that I ♥ LISTS! I love making them and organizing them and checking things off. I make lists for EVERYTHING: what I need to spend my money on for each paycheque, items of clothes I pack when I travel, things I have to get done in a week, etc. If I can make a list for it, I probably do. After posting my "Things to Do Before I Die..." list, I mentioned wanting to create a more specific measurable goal list in order to get focused. First thing on this list was "Launch A Blog"... I've already done that, so here is the challenge:

101 things to do in 1001 days (approximately 2 years and 291 days)


Start Date: Monday, January 24, 2011
End Date: Monday, October 21, 2013

Go Places
1. Visit 5 states I've never visited before (5/5) 

Nevada - Las Vegas - Feb 6-9th, 2011

New York - Rochester - March 18th-20th, 2011
Illinois - Chicago - June 16th - 19th, 2011
Connecticut - Westbrooke - September 15th-16th, 2011  
New Hampshire - Meredith - February 3rd-4th, 2012 

2. Visit a Province or Territory I've never visited before (0/1)
3. Visit 10 new cities/towns in Canada (0/10)

Get In Touch With Nature
4. Go camping in tents
5. Watch the sunrise at least once a month between June-Aug each year (2/9)
6. Go fishing
7.  Spend a full day (8 hours) at the beach once a summer (0/3)
8. Go hiking - Stoneybrook State Park in Dansville, NY - July 2nd, 2011 

Physical Health
9. Drop 3-4 sizes
10. Run a 5k race
11. Complete the 200 sit-up challenge
12. Get my first mammogram (ugh)
14. Get a professional massage
15. No fast food for a month
16. Meditate once a month (0/32)
17. Floss every day for a month (0/30)
18. Exercise 4 times a week for a month
19. Drink only water for 2 weeks

Get Creative
20. Learn to quilt
21. Learn to knit
22. Compose a song
23. Blog once a day for a month (0/30)
24. post some of my old writing to the public (eeek!)
25. Learn 10 new piano pieces (0/10)
26. Put together and order a photo book
27. Write a song or poem for someone and perform it for them
28. Make a pizza from scratch (minus dough) - picture [February 19, 2011]
29. Brainstorm ideas for and start writing my book/screenplay

Purchase
30. Buy a descent DSLR camera
31. Get my body work completed on my car
32. Buy a piece of art that I love
33. Own an iPod that will hold ALL my music (not just 4gb's)

Get Adventurous
34. Go skydiving
35. Go on a roller coaster

Professional Development
36. Have a more stable teaching position
37. Get my First Aid Certification
38. Complete another AQ course
39. Update my teaching profile
40. Review the Ontario Curriculum (Elementary)

Finances
41. Pay off my Mastercard
42. Have my own place
43. Have a minimum of 5k more saved in my RRSP

Be Charitable
44. Volunteer for 3 community events
45. Give blood
46. Donate $50 to a charity
47. Take part in TWLOHA every year (0/2)
48. Donate my CDs

Friends & Family
49. Write someone a letter once a month and send via snail mail (1/32)
50. Send someone flowers anonymously
51. Take my parents out for dinner once a year (0/3)
52. Take my godparents out for dinner
53. Meet a friend from Tool Community with no romantic ties
54. Wish someone a Happy Birthday via media outlet
55. Tell someone in my life why I'm glad I know them (3/32)
56. Have lunch with Gramma Jean once a year (1/3)
57. Send all of my aunts a card/letter telling them how awesome they are (0/9)

Broaden My Mind
58. Read 5 books revolving around philosophy (0/5)
59. Join Dictionary.com Word Of The Day mailing list to build my vocab [Jan 25, 2011]
60. Learn about 5 different world views (0/5)
61. Read 5 biographies/autobiographies (0/5)
62. Learn 5 common phrases in 5 different languages (0/5)

Leisure
63. Host a dinner party with cocktails
64. Go to 3 museums (0/3)
65. Go to an NBA game
66. Go to an MLS game
67. Learn to golf
68. Try a new beer once a month (3/32) Pabst Blue Ribbon Heinekin Ruination
69. Go see a stand-up comedy act
70. Visit 3 well known aquariums (2/3) - Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Niagara Aquarium in New York
71. Read 5 books that were later turned into Hollywood films (0/5)
72. Take the Steamwhistle Brewery tour
73. Listen to only classical music one night per week (5/143)
74. Go on a picnic
75. Go see a movie by myself
76. Re-read Stephen King's The Stand
77. Watch all of the Star Wars movies (6/6)
78. Watch 26 movies I've never seen - one starting with each letter of the alphabet (10/26)

79. Read 3 Shakespeare plays I've never read before (0/3)

80. Go to 5 concerts (1/5) NKOTB/BSB - Chicago June 18, 2011
81. Watch 2 IFC films a year (2/6)
82. Renew my The Hockey News subscription
83. Take a one-week vacation from work - February 1st - 7th, 2012
84. Drive a boat

Miscellaneous
85. Change my own oil
86. Make my bed every day for a month (0/30)
87. Go to church twice a month (1/64)
88. Take one day off a week from IRC chatting/ IM'ing (7/143)
89. See Sidney Crosby in person (game, signing, endorsement, etc)
90. Give Rich his wii back  February 27, 2011
91. Kiss someone in the rain May 15, 2011
92. Write a letter to someone I admire that I've never met
93. Send a postcard through postcrossing
94. Make a candlelit dinner for someone
95. Try 5 new recipes (1/5) - cauliflower pizza crust
96. Get another tattoo
97. Learn to identify 10 constellations (2/10)
98. Test drive a luxury car
99. Post a piece of art online March 29, 2011
100. Organize all my computer files
101. Correctly tag all of my music files

Day 1 starts tomorrow ....