Things I want to do before 9/8/2007

Now is as good a time as any to revisit some goals and create new ones for the upcoming (birth) year. Hey, I'm a goal-oriented person looking to constantly improving myself, so... why not?

First off is going to be a couple of ideas from the "25/25/25" blog that I previously mentioned.

I have obtained from a friend of mine who had a collection of "essential knowledge" books a reading list, featuring many classic books that ideally should be read by the end of high school. Since I only went to high school for three years and did not get a lot of reading done while I was there, there is a lot missing. I do not know off the top of my head how long the list is, however, I can confidently state that I have not read at least 25 of those books. So, starting with books on that list that I have not read, I will read 25 books before 9/8/2007. I will even cheat, as I am currently reading a book on that list, and have been for a few days now. If I get more than 25, great, if not, well, then that's good too. I am going to throw myself at the mercy of the local library for this one, but I will also take responsibility to ensure that I have an adequate amount of books ready to read... i.e. I always have something checked out or ready to pick up on reserve.

I will also select 25 movies from the IMDB Top 100, again, ones that I haven't seen, and watch those. This may be more difficult for me, as I do not want to watch any R-rated movies, however, I'm confident that I can watch a movie every two weeks or so to accomplish this goal. I have some gift certificates, but I also have other resources to which I can apply myself to accomplish this goal.

The 25 cultural events I will not commit myself at this time, however, there is a wonderful local independent newspaper which advertises all of this stuff, so it is not beyond the realm of expectation that I should at least be informed of what is going on in this city. We will work as a family to attend as many cultural events as feasible, with an emphasis on Saturday afternoons. Besides, it's cooler outside. Much, much cooler. It's hard to get things done when one feels like they're standing on the sun.

I'll post the list of movies in the near future. Books, I think, will have to be done more by personal preference, as I am someone who tends to read according to my mood: I've never been one to sit down and force myself to read something, but if I enjoy reading something, you can't take me away from the book (just ask my poor wife).

I feel good about this. So good, in fact, that I can make the commitment to post a little blurb about the book, with insights and what have you, upon completion. I will do my best to refrain from reading others' reviews or "why I should read this book"s, so I can form my own independent judgment and see if I can make this a part of my own personal literacy.