# 8 - Name a Star (& other unrelated ramblings)

So I've been staring at the screen of my laptop for days (or what feels like days) wondering what I'm going to blog about. To be honest, I'm doing a bunch of stuff on the list at the same time, but not finishing much of anything... and it's giving me anxiety! I alternate between studying my photography course material (#5); knitting that damned scarf (#10); reading a book a month (#24) - which by the way I'm still on book 1 in month 2 - not good; starting to learn Italian (#15) and I haven't crossed anything off my list for a while. Then again, it's about the "experience" and not just checking things off the list, right?

So I thought I'd give myself some instant statisfaction and knock one out right now... # 8 - Name a Star. Found a place online http://www.nameastarlive.com/ (free advertising - I should get my star on the house!), and for only $19.95 I get to name a star in the constellation of my choosing and I get a personalized certificate. I cannot buy the star, however, which is a good thing on many levels...

First off, what would I do with a star? It's not like I can actually put it in my pocket and save it for a rainy day. Then there's the fact that I already have a shopping "problem" - I don't need to elaborate on this one since I'll eventually get to # 38 (No shopping for 2 months! Ya, that'll be interesting - I should pre-order the valium now). Lastly, there's the fact that you really shouldn't  be allowed to buy a star. They kind of belong to everybody, and kind of to nobody at the same time. And this last point is what brings me to my dilemma of naming a star... why the hell did I put this on the list? What did I think I was going to gain from this? It's not like I'll live forever through the star - is that what I thought? Does the symbol of naming a star make people feel eternal, like even after they leave this earth, when people look up at the sky, that somehow they'll be there in that moment too? Is that ridiculous? I don't know.

To be honest, it sounded like such an easy thing to do... But, reading further into the website, they explained that they will "launch my star name into space" - What?!? What does that even mean? Like how do you launch something so intangible as a name into space? Well, they save the data ("celestial archive" as they call it) onto a computer chip and then when they're launching either a commercial or scientific rocket or satellite or whatever, they basically just put the computer chip on board. LOL! Now THIS is ridiculous. It's kind of a turn off how cheesy and pointless it is. So really, the $19.95 I'm paying is in some way funding their space missions - and I'm not OK with that. I kind of feel like it's drug money or something equally unethical. I have no idea what their space missions are all about, why would I give them money? For all I know, they're plotting something evil or spying on us from outer-space. Maybe they're in cahoots with hostile extra-terrestrials and planning to blow up the world and are just practicing their escape route and I'm supporting them by naming a star for $19.95. That's it, I will have no part in the end of the world, I'm looking up another company.

(Time Elapsed: Like 5 minutes)

Oooh! I like this one... http://www.starregistry.ca/ It's Canadian which is always a good thing, but it's way more expensive (further leading me to believe that the previous website was up to no-good shenanigans), $100 for the basic package! Same sort of thing, certificate, sky chart and an astronomy book. These people seem way more "legit" though... as in they're not in cahoots with evil ET. But do I really want to spend $100 on a piece of paper? I mean I know that this is a symbol, just a novelty item even. No scientist will ever refer to the star as "Lise's star" or whatever clever name I come up with, they have all these alpha-numeric codenames that are no fun. It won't actually be officially recognized by anyone other than myself. And there are thousands of name-a-star companies out there probably renaming the same stars over and over. It's such a load of crap, but what a money-maker! Ahhh, I'm so torn on the matter.

So - now here's the important question - however I do it, what do I name my star?

Busy Hands are Happy Hands!

Oh my... It's been 2 weeks since I last posted any progress! So tonight you get a double update.

Let's start with the easy stuff, #46 - Paint a painting. I've been toiling away, getting my hands dirty and ruining more canvases (please refer to post of Sept 9th for examples of how exactly to ruin a canvas in the first place). But! In my quest for the Picasso in me, I actually painted something I'm proud of. And I think I can officially cross this one off the list... Drum roll please... ... ... I said drum roll please! (Seriously, do it. Out loud. Give me a drum roll)... Paint a painting

Plus I've got this work in progress on the go...

So while I may not be the next Monet, I definitely accomplished what I set out to do. And in the spirit of this blog, what did I gain from this experience?

1. I actually really enjoy painting and I don't have to be good at it to enjoy it. It helps me relax and "check out" for a little while.
2. Do not pour dirty paint water down the bathroom sink. It WILL filthy-up the prestine white ceramic and WILL require scrubbing and more effort than I care to invest.
3. I have to be the messiest painter in the world.
4. I like painting clouds.

Alright folks, onto update number two, # 10 - Knit a scarf. Now I definitely thought this was going to be easier than it is. I watched a few You Tube videos (One of them I literally watched 70 times. Play. Pause. Rewind. Wait - How did she make that knot? Play. Which string? What hoop? Pause. Rewind. And so it went on for hours.) Eventually I made 2 little practice patches...

 

And so, in my head these 2 little trial runs make me ready for the big leagues. The pattern I posted 2 weeks ago really was too complicated. So I figured I would go straight knit stitch, 40 stitches across, however many rows was long enough. And this is what I came up with...



Take 1

A little crooked... Had I continued it would've been some crazy cyclone scarf by the end. So onto to take 2...

Take 2

Take 2 just kept getting wider and wider and wider. What started off as 40 stiches wide, got to about 51 and probably would've eventually been as wide as I am tall at that rate. It'd be some mutated blanket. Take 3.

Take 3

Looks good right? Well it was looking good until I stopped mid-row to go pee... it was urgent, I'd been putting it off for like 10 rows. I just kept saying "Your bladder won't explode, just 1 more row" x 10 consective rows. So when I came back from a much needed break I wasn't paying attention and started stitching it the wrong way, backwards in fact... and ruined it. So, I'm onto take 4 now, so far so good. It's thinner (cuz I think the 40 stitches was confusing me), but I haven't made a single mistake yet!

Current - Take 4

So, I really need to finish this scarf soon. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies that I knit while I watch TV or before I go to bed. It makes me feel like I need cats, lots of cats. On that note, I will not subject my loyal fans to anymore knitting talk. Next time I mention it will be to tell/show you it's done and to cross it off the list.

That's it. Stay out of trouble, until next time.

#10 - Knit a Scarf!

So... today I went shopping on my lunch break (surprise, surprise) to get knitting supplies (real surprise!). I picked out a nice dark grey yarn and some needles and some other weird tool that I have no idea how to use. Anyways, while there I picked out a pattern for a simple scarf... And these are the instructions:

Is this a joke? What frickin language is this? Oh boy, this is going to be fun- I can tell already... I think my neck is going to be cold this winter!

# 7 - Mexican Feast, Olé!

It's official... #7 can be scratched off the list! Cook an ethnic meal from scratch (oooh, that felt good) I am so proud of our meal and every bit of it was so good. And for future reference, I will now only answer to the Flan Queen. Not Lise. Not Clarice. Just Flan Queen, OK?

Were Vanessa and I the only people that didn't know that coriander and cilantro are the same thing? Ya, so we scrapped it out at Loblaw's with the produce kid who actually ended up going into the back and bringing out a box of cilantro/coriander to prove both his point and the fact that we're idiots. Awesome feeling let me tell you.

So, as planned, we started off with some Fierce Mexican Mojitos. I honestly have no idea how many of those we ended up drinking, but let me tell you, they were Mmm Mmm Good. We had a whole Mojito station going and had the process down to a science.  

These Mexican mojitos were serious business (Tequila is what makes them Mexican by the way), and that's all I have to sat about that.

Next to tackle was the main dish, Fish Tacos. Three words for you... Oh my God. I'd never had a fish taco before, but now I think I'm in love. Cod battered to perfection, fresh Pico de Gallo, the spiciest chipotle sauce, and warm tacos/tortillas.



My own Chipotle, Jalapeno, Adobo creation...

Fresh Pico de Gallo

Beer Battered Cod

The Finished Product Part 1

The Finished Product Part 2

Dinner for Two


And then came dessert. I had no idea that these hands of mine could actually make something so devine. I think maybe I invented flan in a past life or something, because this was the most perfect flan ever, and I really really really didn't have a clue what I was doing. So this goes back to why I will only respond to "Flan Queen" from here on out.



It make not look so pretty, but it was the BEST FLAN EVER!!


I've really hoped that as I make my way through the list that I learn something new, that I make memories that will last and that I live life intentionally. So, what am I taking away from this experience, this Mexican Feast? Several things:

1. Cilantro and coriander are the same thing.
2. Just because the recipe says so, doesn't mean it is so.
3. If it's that spicy going in, it's going to be that spicy going out. : )
4. A raw avocado does NOT ripen if you put it in the toaster oven.
5. If you actually clean while you cook (as opposed to just saying you will), the kitchen doesn't look like a disaster zone for the next 3 days.
6. I truly have the best best-friend in the whole world. One who supports me, who trusts me and is trust-worthy, who laughs at all my jokes, and with who I can have an awesome time just talking, cooking and drinking the night away. I love her to bits and pieces.

Super-cute Vanessa gettin down with fish

Kind of suprisingly, it was an all-around successful night, no casualties and the kitchen didn't burn down. The food was amazing, the company was perfect, the drinks were flowing, what more could we have asked for?

# 7 - Cook an ethnic meal from scratch

As you may have now guessed, the plan is... Mexico. I'm aware that doesn't sound so complicated, but I'm 100% sure I'll attempt #7 several times this year, so you will certainly get something more exotic next time. I'm easing into things here... I'm also 100% sure that the process of making this meal with my best friend will serve for hours of entertainment (both ours and yours) - keep in mind, I'm doing this with the same girl that fell in the fountain at Louvre this summer, and the same girl with whom I blew out the rear window of a BMW X5 with a beer keg of all things 2 weeks ago*. Trust me, my follow-up post of the meal and how we got to it will surely keep your attention.

Menu:

Fierce Mexican Mojitos (a different twist on the traditional Cuban fare)

Fish Tacos w/ Pico de Gallo & Chipotle Dressing

Flan

If all goes as planned, the table should look something like...

Appetizer, Side Dish and Dessert - Mojito

Main Dish - Fish Taco's

Taco Topping - Pico de Gallo



Dessert - Flan



But then again, if I've learned anything thus far, it's that nothing ever goes according to plan... Will keep you posted. Wish me luck!

* I've come to the conclusion that God made her and I friends for a reason... he was bored with the mundane happenings and interactions on earth and thought it would serve a lifetime of joy and entertainment to watch the shenanigans her and I would come up with. For pure recreational purposes and to really show you what I mean, I'm including a photo of our Saturday morning 2 weeks ago when 1 of our beer kegs blew out the rear window.

Give the people what they want! (#s 46 & 10)

Well, despite the fact that I only have 9 "official" followers on this blog, a lot of people have been asking me to post more regularly. So, I figure... give the people what they want! My original intention was to only blog about the actual process of completing my list and so I didn't want to bombard anyone with my mundane thoughts, but the truth is... nothing about me or my thinking is mundane ; )

So today we'll start right back where I left off. #46 - Paint a painting. Yup, good ol' #46, which I now know also includes buying out the art supply store, turning my office into a studio, ruining 2 t-shirts, 2 tank tops, 2 pairs of leggings, 1 towel and a pair of shorts. Why I don't just keep wearing the same thing whenever I paint? I don't know.

Anyways, I did start to paint something... and I can't believe I actually have to post it, it's so embarassing; but it is part of the process and part of this wacky commitment I made, so here it goes. Just keep in mind, that it's not finished. IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS. I don't know how to paint eyeballs. In fact I've TRIED to paint her eyeballs like 4 times, and have to keep painting over it in white and trying again. So, for now I'm putting the eyeballs on hold until I can get them right. Have you noticed I'm stalling? Babbling on and on and on when all you want to do is see the damn picture... Lol... don't judge me because I'm a terrible painter, love me because I tried.

I can't really explain the subject of the picture, to be honest. It's just what came to mind when I was sketching, so it's what I painted. I'm going to keep plugging away at her eyeballs (and hopefully she won't look so f-ing scary). I'll keep you posted!

Tonight you get 2 (count 'em 2) posts in 1.

My next # to tackle is #10 - Knit a Scarf... You know, it's starting to get brisk outside, and soon it'll be a necessity in my wardrobe. Now, in an ideal world, I'll be able to do something really cool. I'm thinking something a la Marc Jacobs...





Marc by Marc Jacobs Valley Sweater Scarf

But that looks long and may take too much time, so it'll probably be more like this...



Courtesy of millionlooks.com



But then again, I've never knitted, and truly have no idea what I'm doing, so it'll probably look more like this...

Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas? Lol...

# 46 - Paint a Painting

Ha! Well, talk about taking it too far... I impress myself sometimes with my ability to take a little seed of nothing and blow completely out of proportion. So #46 - Paint a Painting... I figured, it'll get my creative juices flowing, it sounded like a relatively easy thing to accomplish on the list, it's something I've always said I would like to do... So last week I decide it's my next project on the list. I call up my mom and ask her to put together some paint for me from the factory (it's part of the family business)... I get the paint and then obviously realize I need to get canvases to paint on. Get those and then realize I obviously need brushes... and who paints without an easel? Need one of those too! Oh! And I want one of those fancy-shmancy paint palettes! Anyways, as you can see, one thing EASILY leads to another and before you know it my office now looks like I think I'm Van Gogh or something... Don't forget, I've never painted outside of my high school art class 13 years ago. All I wanted to do was "paint a painting"!

Lol... it's OK, you can laugh. Anyways, so it took me almost 3 hours to set up "Chez Lise" paint-shop... First of all, that shelf was in the laundry room, being very useful where it was. But no, I needed it in the office because it matched the easel I just purchased. It took FORTY-FIVE minutes to get it out of the laundry room - it was like a university-level math/geometry exam question. I practically needed a PhD to get it out of there! I had the measuring tape out, the level, I even almost unhinged the door with the power tools I bought because of my last great idea. Ahhhh.... so I finally get the shelf out, and now I have to put the easel together. First of all, the instructions only tell you about 4 pieces of wood and 15 screws/nuts/whatever, when in reality, there are 12 pieces of wood and 20 screws/nuts/whatever... What did I expect from an easel made in China... the tagline didn't even make sense! I had to take a picture (below) and see if anybody out there a) thinks it's proper english and can explain it to me or b) understands how the Chinese got the french tagline right after butchering the english one. In case the font is too small in the picture, it says "Made of Fir wood, natural look of nuts give is beauty to this easel"... Really?

Another hour or so later that was taken care of. Then of course, everything had to be placed just so on the shelf, then re-placed so it was more convenient, then re-placed a last time so that it combined convenience and aesthetic appeal...

Then came the painting... 2 hours, and what did I do? Crap. So, I did the smartest thing I could think of and painted over it in white. But at least the canvas now has great texture! (Actually laughing out loud at myself now).

Oh well, I'm going to try to create a masterpiece tonight... The physical part of painting is actually very relaxing, the mental part not so much when you have no idea what you're trying to paint.

Anyways, that's it for #46 for now. Clearly, cannot check it off my list. Hopefully I'll have something better to show for it soon. In the meantime, I'll leave you with the art of Irene Morgis. My beloved grandmother who was a beautifully talented artist (and one heck of a woman, grandmother, fighter- you name it). This was a college project. She called it... "Screaming Vagina"... and yes, this is what you're staring at when you're eating at my dining room table ; )

#44 - Bodies

I've been saying I wanted to go see this exhibition for just over a year now - and FINALLY, now that it's on my list, I went...

So, was it everything I'd expected? Yes, and no. It was fascinating, seeing every tendon, every muscle, every blood vessel and every bone in this amazing machine of ours. It made me feel that my body was even more precious and more magnificent that I'd ever imagined. And further, I had a sort of out of mind/out of body experience when I started realizing how much goes on in my body without second thought, without me having to actually tell it to do something. Isn't that scary? We think ourselves so powerful, so "in control", and yet things that make us so, are completely out of our control, even out of our conscious thought process. Creepy.

And so the exhibits went on: Muscles, Blood Vessels, Resperatory System, Digestive System, The Fetus, Reproductive System, the Brain...

As the exhibition came to an end, they had a booth where you could actually touch and pick up some organs. The girl stationed there was nice enough, and well enough informed. She first showed us the brain and let us handle it for a bit, and then a liver. This liver was heavy! So I say, "Holy shit! Forget this crazy diet, all I need to lose 10 pounds is to get rid of my liver!" Well, of course, everyone on my side of the booth got the humour in it and laughed heartily... but the girl stationed there was almost insulted. I couldn't get if she thought I was being serious, and was therefore a complete moron (but even that would've been funny) or if she was genuinly affronted by my silliness. To try and mend the situation, I got all serious again, and started asking more intelligent questions. So I asked, more just to confirm what I'd already thought, if all the bodies had been donated by the people themselves or by their families for the greater good of science. And here is where my day at the museum went south... These bodies were all unclaimed bodies and all donated by the Chinese Governement for the project. I highly doubt anyone would've minded if scientists were deep in research using their bodies in a lab even without their consent. But to have them publicly displayed, so de-humanized without their permission? It's an abomination. Where before I thought that them leaving the lips and eyebrows and nails on the bodies as the only remanants of what the person must've looked like was interesting, now I found it insulting. Where before I thought seeing a woman's breast ravaged by cancer an homage to her battle, now I felt it was a perfect invasion of her privacy, her life and everything she must have suffered though. I think that had I know this prior to going, maybe I wouldn't have gone. Or maybe I just would've looked at everything differently, perhaps somehow in a way trying to imagine the life that those muscles and heart and brain had seen. I think, at the very least, I would've cared more. 

Is this allowed?

So I've been thinking, and thinking, and thinking... and there are more things I want to put on the list. There are some things that I always say I'm going to do... and then never do. I have no idea why, maybe's it's forgetfulness, or laziness, or good old-fashioned procrastination. Who knows? But the point is, I figure if I added them to the list then I would have to do them. All of that to present to you #s 40 through 50 of this year's "To Do" list.

#40 - See Cirque du Soleil (because if have to hear myself say "I want to go see Cirque du Soleil" 1 more time, I may jump off a bridge)
#41 - Express my creativity in the most possible ways (super vague I know, but I have lots of ideas for this one)
#42 - Fly a plane (again)
#43 - Go skinny dipping
#44 - Go to all those art shows/exhibitions that I always say I'm going to go to but never do
#45 - Have a slumber party like in the old days (including pillow fights, gossipping about boys, junk food, movies - and this time we don't have to sneak the booze)
#46 - Paint a painting
#47 - Get my big tattoo finished
#48 - Renovate my bedroom closet myself (OK, OK, maybe I'll enlist a little help from Rosie and Luis)
#49 - Visit a province I've never been to before
#50 - Ride in a hot air balloon

OK - Now that's it, no more additions to the list. Now I gotta get on it!

OK... so it's out there

Now what? I don't even know where to begin... I'm kind of thinking I should learn how to tie those scout knots pretty quick because it's going to take me all year to figure out how/when to put them to practical use. I don't even know what they look like. Pause. I'm googling it - let's see what I got myself into here...
Hmmm... OK - watching the guy do the monkey knot actually made me dizzy.
Wikipedia says I can either use it as a weapon or give it to a friend to ward off evil. Well, of course they can ward off evil with it, they just need to use it as a weapon to beat evil down, so it's really like 2 gifts in 1. That's it, everyone's getting monkey fists for Christmas.

Let the Journey Begin

It's only been 1 week from the time this idea was conceived to now, the time it's hatched. 1 week has not been enough time for the impact of what I'm planning to do to sink in... which means I haven't been struck by the fear yet.
Here's the deal. I've compiled a list, ideas I've collected from family and friends, and my own imagination. Some are completely random and maybe meaningless today, some are much more profound, some are quick things to check off the list, and others might take the next year to complete. My goal is to complete all the items on this list before I turn 30... so that gives me 347 days. The purpose of the blog is to document the adventure and bring you guys along.
Don't get me wrong, I am not scared to turn 30. I by no means think that life ends once the 20's are over. Nor do I think my ovaries are going to shrivel up and fall out or my skin's going to fall off and that I'd never be able to do any of these things later in life. I just think that there are so many things we need to experience in life and so many moments we need to cram into our short time on this earth that I need to make sure I wade through it bit by bit. I do not want to ever look back on my life and say "I wish I would've..." I don't want to live unintentionally or to just let life happen and then see it pass me by. My goal over the next 347 days (but who's counting) is to grow, and to learn more about myself in the process, I want to have a blast and make memories, but above all else, I want to have no regrets.

So... Here's the list in no particular order:
#1 - Plant a tree (starting easy)
#2 - Go sailing (still not too nuts)
#3 - Give a lottery ticket to a complete stranger (and never check the numbers)
#4 - Scuba Dive (ahhh, I have fish-in-the-wild phobia)
#5 - Finish my photography course and get my diploma (when will I have the time to blog?)
#6 - Grow a plant from seed to full bloom (this could take a while, me and plant-life don't normally get along)  
#7 - Cook an ethnic meal from scratch (and feed it to someone - ha! conch penis anyone?)
#8 - Name a star
#9 - Be fully marathon trained
#10 - Knit a scarf (I guess "learn to knit" should preceed this)
#11 - Milk a cow
#12 - Reduce my carbon footprint - Park my car for 1 week (Boss, I'm going to be late for work)
#13 - Go back to Paris and at least 1 other European city I've never been to
#14 - Double my income
#15 - Learn a new language
#16 - Volunteer at a soup kitchen
#17 - Reconnect with (name withheld)
#18 - Brew my own beer (and then get smashed!)
#19 - Drive a convertible with the top down and music blaring (sounds like fun to me!)
#20 - Go fishing and eat my catch
#21 - Take a vow of silence for 2 days (as if the voices in my head aren't loud enough as it is)
#22 - Take a dance lesson ("a" because I'll be too mortified to go back after the first one)
#23 - Sleep under the stars
#24 - Read at least a book a month
#25 - Sell one of my pictures
#26 - Do a Stanley Kubrick marathon (60's +)
#27 - Test myself: parasail, bungee jump, i don't know, something along those lines (have already done the sky-dive)
#28 - Hula Hoop for 30 minutes consecutively (thank God I have the Wii to practise on)
#29 - Learn to tie the diamond knot and monkey's fist (and find some occasion to use that knowledge)
#30 - Go on an orienteering run (and really just use a map and compass)
#31 - Start a charity
#32 - Sing in public... sober
#33 - Stay up all night and watch the sun rise
#34 - Build a snowman
#35 - Make special brownies and forget to tell the person eating them that they're special
#36 - Try out vegetarianism for 40 days
#37 - Go out to dinner alone (and turn off the blackberry)
#38 - No shopping for 2 months (no clothes, shoes, make-up, bags, scarves, jewelery or anything else that my wardrobe pines for)
#39 - Throw a huge bash for my 30th

P.S. I mentioned earlier that the fear hadn't sunk in yet, but the reality is that I've re-read this 100 times and am now just staring at the screen wondering if I should publish this post. Wondering if anyone will ever read this and hold me accountable to everything I've committed to do. Well, here goes... who cares I guess, it's just the world wide web, there's a lot stupider things floating around out there than my blog.