31 by 32: WRAP UP!

I'm 32! Time to review my 31st year. Let's see how I did!


1) Make at least one MAJOR change in my life.

31 was the year of major changes. I uprooted my life in Milwaukee and set forth to my dream city of San Francisco. To do this I started a new job, changed living situations, changed EVERYTHING. 

2) Visit one of my five remaining states - Alaska, Arkansas, Mississipi, North Dakota, or Oklahoma.
 
FAIL.

3) Get something published.

On a technicality, you could count my professional blog posts as "published." So I pass. But I'll amend this one for a future goal.

4) Do 31 non-girl pushups in a row.

FAIL. I really got off track with strength training this year. Something I need to carry forward.

5) Change someone's life for the better (other than my own).

Apparently I inspired a lot of people this year. Glad to give back to all those who inspired me! I'll stick with my original check off of this goal, which was encouraging Mary Ann to complete her first half marathon in March.

6) Work my way through the entire "Take Off In Italian" CD set I bought in 2003.

FAIL. But to be fair, I didn't get it back until July.

7) Digitize my CD collection.

Necessity.

8) Visit one or more family members apart from Christmas.

Went home in July AND for Thanksgiving this year.

9) Take advantage of a crazy spontaneous opportunity.

This has pretty much been my whole year as well. My favorite was probably booking an Alcatraz tour with a Canadian while at Toronado. Showing a Portuguese tourist I met on the N-Judah around town is a close second. This paid forward when I traveled to Europe and was taken under the wing of locals. Here's the official complete though.

 10) Attempt another recipe out of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

BARELY made it, but I'm pleased to report that on Sunday I made Julia's Quiche w/ Leeks to take to The Stranger Dinner (which I still need to post on). It was a hit. I made an amended version, with spinach and onion for dinner tonight.

11) See six different local bands live.

COMPLETE. WAY more than this, but the ones that got me there by early August were Colossal Yes, Dominant Legs, Planet Booty, The Dwarves, Wallpaper., and Kelly Stoltz.

12) Read and review one non-fiction & one fiction book a month.
Failed at reviewing and getting 12 non-fictions (will amend this next year). But here's my reading list for 31 (* indicates I highly recommend):

FICTION

• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• An Object of Beauty* by Steve Martin
• Clara & Mr. Tiffany  by  Susan Vreeland
• Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor (Short Stories)
• Hunger Games, Mockingjay and Catching Fire***  by  Suzanne Collins
• Modern Home by  Eric Puelcher
• Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry by Christine Sneed (Short Stories)
• Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
• Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal 
• The False Friend by Myla Goldberg 
• The Fates will Find their Way* by  Hannah Pittard 
• The Marriage Plot* by Jeffrey Eugenides 
• The Tiger's Wife* by Téa Obreht 
• Tinkers*  by  Paul Harding 
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

NON-FICTION (to be fair, I think I'm missing some):

• East of New York, West of Kabul* by Tamim Ansary
• Farm City* by Novella Carpenter
• Fortune Cookie Chronicles*  by Jennifer 8. Lee
• Zeitoun*  by Dave Eggers (One of the best books I've EVER read)

13) Contact an elected official, at some level, once a month about an issue that is important to me.

Passed by signing petitions mostly. Need to specify this for 32, if I do it again.

14) See and review at least one film per month.
Again with the review failure. Here's what I mentioned I saw during 31:

• Rabbit Hole, The Social Network, Carlos
• San Francisco International Film Festival
• Midnight In Paris and Kuroneko
• Bridesmaids, Circo, God Grew Tired of Us, Grow! 
• Labyrinth, Edgar Wright Triple Feature, Hitchcock Double Feature
• Beyond This Place, Drive, Malls R Us, Milwaukee Film Festival, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

And for Nov 11-Dec 11, I saw The Muppets. In my last month I saw Shame & Weekend (new 35mm print)

15) Try one new recipe a month.
Even though I ate out way too much (and it's showing, yikes), I loved experimenting with so many new ingredients.

16) Try a new locally-owned restaurant each month.
Again,  my new life! Here's my mentions:

• RN74, Gracias Madre, Maxie's Southern Comfort
• Isobune, Rosamunde, Wexler's
• Easy Creole, Little Baobab, Dynamo Donut
• Millennium, Little Chihuahua, The Pork Store Cafe, Mission Chinese & Radius Cafe
• 25 Lusk
• The Beast and the Hare

For 11/11-12/11, would probably be Nihon and for 12/11-1/11 Sous Buerre

17) Go to an art show or gallery once a month.

Did a fairly good job of this. Helps that SF is constantly having art happen.

18) Dedicate one blog post a month to promoting a local business.

Not dedicated, but oft mentioned.

19) Dedicate one blog post a month to promoting a local non-profit.

Not dedicated, but oft mentioned.

20) Leave the county I live in at least once per month.

Success! And amazing where you can go with better regional transit connections.

21) Write one album and one concert review a month.

Fail at reviewing, but loads of new music for me during 31.

22) Applaud bipartisan efforts in my social media forums at least four times.

Took a break from politics after the disastrous start to the year.

23) Attend games of at least four different sports. 

On a technicality, I should be able to count half marathons, those aren't games, but... I did solidly get Roller Derby, Men's College Hoops & MLB.

 24) Go to at least four theatre performances. 

39 Steps, Genesis, Killing My Lobster: Technology, The Edenites

 25) Go vegetarian for 31 days. 

Success, horrid success.

 26) Go for 31 days without consuming any soda. 

Also in August.

 27) Bike to / from work every single day for 31 days. 

Success!

 28) Go for one full week without consuming any alcohol. 

Success, thanks to antibiotics

 29) Go for one full week without consuming any processed foods. 

FAIL. Did not put in the effort, though I've significantly reduced.

 30) Have one week where I only consume foods made with locally-sourced ingredients.

FAIL. Did not put in the effort, though I've significantly increased.

 31) Spend one-on-one time with a friend at least once a week.


Overwhelming success!

In conclusion, even though I did not meet ALL of my goals, I'm pretty proud of what I accomplished in a year that completely turned me upside down. I look forward to posting new goals on Brew to Bay. I'll likely be hanging up my Accidental Wisconsinite hat for a good while, so follow me over there.