Wood Working

Haiku of the Day:

On our building's roof

we cut wood for a pine shelf

Sawdust in the wind

Garfield

Haiku of the Day:
After birthday bliss
riddled by the terrible
scourge that is Monday 

Midsummer Nights

Haiku of the Day:

Some drunken Shakespeare

livens up the night and we

stay up past bedtime

Escape from the Island!

Haiku of the Day:

Escaping the rain

we flee north on a ferry

to the warmth of home

Island Living

Haiku of the Day:

On bumpkin island

we marvel at the soft peace

of isolation

Welcome to Round Two...

So I've completed my project...now what?

On to the next thing!

So I already posted this a week ago, but I'm going to reiterate it here because I still like it and want to try it out:

All of the goals will be based on 50. I will post them as I finish them (either in photo or written form.) This gives me a "once a week" sort of requirement with a bit more flexibility than the "everyday" requirements of last year. I may call these goals "The Big Ten".

I have 5 Lifestyle Goals (with potential peak goals):

-50 instances of 50 consecutive push-ups Peak goal: 100 consecutive
-50 runs over 5 miles in length  Peak goal: Run a half-marathon at a 8:00 min/mile pace. 
-50 days of rest (Where the only thing I do that is blog related is post a haiku)  Peak goal: Learn how to nap effectively
-50 day streak of Duolingo in Spanish. This was something I put on for last year's goals and it fell off the wagon on day 15 or so.  Peak goal: Complete the all the Spanish lessons they provide
-50 dates (Go on 50 dates with my wife for being so wonderful and patient during the whole process) Peak Goal: Go on a date in another country

And 5 Creative Goals:

-50 drawn comics (for the segment I'm calling "The Vagus Strip")
-50 "revised" works from last year's project (either a written, draw or crafted project. Basically make whatever it is better in some way.)
-50 pieces of poetry or free writing (can be revised from above goal)
-50 collaborative works (can be anything as simple as cooking a large meal or as complex as a full production of a play. Most probably won't be easily represented here, but I'll at least provide some pictures or something)
-50 homemade constructions (They can range from simple to complex)

I also have a few of annual goals:

-Quit one thing every year indefinitely. Here's the list so far:

Age 25: Cigarettes

Age 26: Energy Drinks

Age 27: Ground Beef

And this year is:

Potato Chips

 (As with my ground beef abstinence, the only exception is when I make it myself. Tortilla Chips are exempt if used as a vessel for other foods.)

-Read a number of books equal to my age (This year it's 28. Obviously what constitutes a "book" is crazy all over the place, but I'm going with anything over 100 pages.)

-Write a haiku a day until the end of time

Update days will probably be Thursdays now because that's when it began!

So without further ado, I'll post my haiku to start this sucker rolling! I will be camping for the next three days so the first few posts will be sparse.

Haiku of the Day:

28 years old

I revel in the deluge

of birthday wishes

ONE YEAR DONE!!

IT'S OVER!!

And there it is. An entire year of weird drawings, of quippy haikus, of crafty projects and faces in food. A year of reading and running and writing.  It's the year I got married, the year I lost a grandfather, the year I played a silent Russian clown and a contorted, slimy Leech. This year I've visited Maine, Hawaii, North Carolina, Baltimore and Michigan.  It was the year of The Horrible Winter, the year we moved to the third floor of the Jewish community center and had to dissemble our bed spring at midnight. A year of new and old friends coming together, a year of board games and plants, of crying in the kitchen. It's been a long hard wonderful year. And I would do it all again.

But not quite yet because I need to rest a bit.

So here are a few acknowledgments:

Thank you to all the friends who sent in guest posts and continue to read and give me feedback and support. And thank you for the miles! Especially those few who gave so much...both in effort and in shear numbers. You inspire me.

A special shout-out and thank you to my old friend, flatmate and abroad companion Gavin, who has his own blog here and was kind enough to feature my blog on his sidebar. Gavin is one of the smartest, most thoughtful and globally conscious individuals I have had the pleasure of knowing.

Thank you to my family, for your constant support with all the crazy things I've done over the years. It's been so nice to learn you've been following and reading throughout the process; it's a huge help in making this feel a little less like screaming into a void.

And of course, a massive thank you to my wife Emily. Your patience, love and understanding know no limits. I'm so glad to have you along for this crazy ride.

All that being said, tune in tomorrow for the rules for next year's adventure!!

FINAL SCORE WITH ALL GOALS COMPLETED!! (52 Weeks)

Stats:
Running Mileage: 750.12/750
Running Mileage (With Friends): 1,089.76/1,000
Push-ups: 10,000/10,000
Sit-ups: 10,000/10,000
Pages Read: 10,128/10,000
Books Read: 29/25
Words Written: 100,150/100,000

Fasts (Days without) 
Internet: 101/100
TV: 146/100
Gaming: 261/100
Meat: 109/100
Junk Food: 104/100
Booze: 102/100

Haiku of the Day:

Gazing distantly
a fondness softens my face
as the year flies by

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Success" spoken by Emily Kuehn!)

Today's "365" Project (Do something loud and make sure everyone knows it's your last day! WOOO!)

Today's Runners

THE UNSTOPPABLE JOE COOK

And here are the kick-ass runners who joined me for the final run (1.63 miles):

THE DYNAMIC MICHAEL UNDERHILL
THE VIGOROUS KIKI SAMKO
THE INEXORABLE WILLIAM SCHULLER

TOTAL DAY'S MILES: 10

FINAL FRIEND MILE TOTAL (Since May 17th): 339.64 !!!

Take a bow guys. This is amazing!!!

For those interested, here are the books I read this year. I've bolded a few of my favorites. (I counted a third of the pages for the graphic novels. Also please understand I wasn't aware of Orson Scott Card's homophobic views until halfway through his fourth book):

The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
The Locke and Key Series (Graphic Novel) by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Datacylsm by Christian Rudder
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K Dick
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks
The Graveyard Book (Graphic Novel) by Neil Gaimen
Black Hole (Graphic Novel) by Charles Burns
The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick
Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
An Artist in a Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
No Mud No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh
How to Build Self-Discipline: Resist Temptations and Reach Your Long-Term Goals by Martin Meadows
The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
The Collected Works of Lydia Davis by Lydia Davis (Duh)
The Martian by Andy Weir