Summer 2005

While I was at school, there were a lot of things I wanted to learn but I just didn’t have the time to commit to anything. Before I left Iowa, I set some goals for the summer so that I could accomplish something other than getting a really good tan. Here they are as I set them out at school, untouched as of 26 April, 2005:

Read eight nonfiction books
Memorize one or two chapters of the Bible
Read through the curriculum for the group I will lead next year if I come back
Improve my cooking skills
Learn to make good hot chocolate
Work hard and save money
Learn CSS
Become more proficient at Photoshop

Not unlike so many New Year’s resolutions, these goals have already changed. I thought I would have plenty of time to read, but I really haven’t gotten much done so far. I’ve read about half a book in the ten days I have been home. I think I’m only going to shoot for three books this summer, sad to say.

As for the other goals…
I’ve memorized half of Psalm 139.
I’ve completed about 10% of the curriculum.
I just made rice two hours ago, though I would hardly say measuring out rice into a steamer counts for honing my cooking skills. I don’t think I’m going to accomplish much as far as this goal goes.
I like hot chocolate...
I’ve made $150 since I have been back. I’m working full time at Target and helping my dad get some stuff done a few evenings a week. I got to put valve seals, springs, and bolts on a motor last night. It was great.
I learned CSS in one full day last week. I’m amazing at it too.
I’m about fifty pages into a book I checked out at the library on Photoshop CS. I’ve learned some highly cool things in the past few days, and I will continue to learn more for the rest of the summer. We’ll mark that book under the nonfiction reading category. Maybe I’ll count it as two books considering it is nearly seven hundred pages long.

Overall I am doing alright, minus the cooking and reading (both of which are highly overrated). In addition to the goals I set in April I have added learning JavaScript to my list. I’m familiar with some of the very basics so far, and I hope to have it down by the end of the summer. It’s more difficult than HTML or CSS, but I think I can handle it.

I’ll post an update on my progress toward completing these goals every few weeks. We’ll see if I can check them off at the end of the summer, or if they will be no more than your stereotypical New Year’s resolutions (made in May).

That was very official. I think I need a little Jack Handey to lighten the mood. Here is a favorite:

I can still recall old Mister Barnslow getting out every morning and nailing a fresh load of tadpoles to the old board of his. Then he'd spin it round and round, like a wheel of fortune, and no matter where it stopped he'd yell out, "Tadpoles! Tadpoles is a winner!" We all thought he was crazy. But then we had some growing up to do.