#77 - Two Metroparks in One Weekend

I plan to see all 10 of the area Metroparks in the 1001 days time limit and I knocked 1/5th of them off my list this weekend. I assumed these would be the 1st two as they were the once I was the most familiar with. 1st was Wildwood where I ran the Metroparks Happy Trails 5K this weekend. The race goes all through the park, from the east side by the Oak Grove Schoolhouse built in 1897 to the newer Manor House built for the Stranahan family in 1938 and to the west side near the playground where this kids like to play and climb the huge oak.

For Father's Day we spent the evening out at Swan Creek Preserve. We'd been before to the playground on the south side, but this was the first time we'd come in the north entrance and it was very nice. They have a Yager Center which has a room with a big window facing a pool with a fountain and feeders that attract a lot of birds, and today, two groundhogs. We picnicked by a fountain and the kids played on the playground equipment and swings. They kicked around a soccer ball and my oldest let me help him try out his first non-training wheels bike.

#20 - Back Again to Happy Trails

Last year I started training for the Susan G Komen Race For The Cure 5K held every year in September. I started in March and saw that the local Metroparks system was holding a 5K to help support the trails called the Happy Trails 5K in June, which was about halfway between the beginning and the Komen race. It took me over 47 minutes then. When I did it today, I had another year's worth of training under my belt (OK, there was a 4 month hiatus after the Komen race), but I finished this one in just over 42 minutes. I plan on doing the Komen race this fall and the Happy Trails race next spring. I may do some more besides these two, but these two each year will let me complete my 6 races in the 1001 days I have to complete the list.

#9 - Cutting It Short

I have had the same hairstyle for as long as I can remember - all about the same length and combed from left to right on the top. A hairstylist once told me that my natural part goes from right to left, but I find it easier to style my hair the other way with my right hand. Inspired by my childrens' summer haircuts, I opted for a drastic change. I had the barber use the "#4" guard on the trimmers to take most of it off around the back and sides, then trimmed short on top with scissors. I can still comb it over for work, but I can also throw in a little mousse and spike it up on top. I think it makes my gray temples stand out more, but my wife says less.

#1 - Meditation

I picked this as a goal because my mind is always going a mile a minute. I often find myself with too much to do, sometimes leaving me too distracted to complete or finish projects. I wanted a way to learn to quiet and focus my mind. I picked up a book at the library that offered me the basics and I have been trying to meditate for 10 minutes a day. Most of the time I just try to quiet my mind, but I have used this to focus about upcoming events and to keep me moving forward with fewer distractions. Meditation is supposed to be good for you physically as well, because it can be used to reduce stress and the harmful hormones that the body generates under stress.

#96 - Sanger Library

Sanger Library is the closest library to our house and we go there often. It has a great kids section, comfy chairs for reading to your kids, a kids area made up to look like the storybook world of Denise Fleming, a local author. They have a nice selection of audiobooks and CDs that we sometimes pick from. Their computers are used frequently for free internet service and they have private reading rooms if you need to study. We went to sign the kids up for the Summer Reading Club where they get prizes for logging reading hours (or being read to) this summer. My 7-year-old is going to rack up a lot of hours, as much as he is soaking up books lately.

#50 - Crucial Conversations

For my first book outside my safety zone I read Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joesph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. I was introduced to this book by a 90 minute conference on this subject, which I felt only grazed the surface. Using this book, I learned more about how I tend to argue and confront people when the topic turns to rough material. This comes up in my professional life - both with patients and staff - and at home. The book teaches you to try to move a conversation out of the realm of silence (withdrawing, giving in and regretting it, etc) and violence (attacking the other person, snide remarks, etc.) and instead toward a pool of shared meaning where you can truly dialogue in a way that moves the conversation forward. I find myself using these techniques already, and I hope to incorporate more in the future.

#65 - Sauder Village

We've lived here for 10 years and for the first time, we visited nearby Sauder Village today. Sauder Village was founded by Erie Sauder, of Sauder Furniture fame. It transports you back over 100 years ago to life in the swamps of Northwestern Ohio. There are a few original buildings and several replicas on the site of old family farmhouses, barns, shopkeepers, doctors, and schools among others. They have animals on the farm and the kids got to crank a device that pulled dried corn off the cob for animal feed, then grabbed the nearly spent cobs and tossed them into a nearby pig sty. In one of the historic farmhouse, a volunteer showed us how they prepared food in their log cabins. This one had a firepit with a hole in the roof for the smoke and she was using the set up to prepare the fixings for a dandelion green salad with bacon dressing. It was good to know that in desperate times we can turn to dandelion greens for nutrition, though I think we were all happy to wait for desperate times. They had a little kids area with a replica farmhouse (and butter churn) and a fake cow to milk. They enjoyed the play break, but quickly wanted to get back to seeing more of the village. We found a replica of a schoolhouse, where a volunteer told us about how school was different back then, but they learned some of the same things that our oldest is learning in school now. The "water fountain" was a bucket and ladle by the door and light came in through paper covered windows and little oil lamps. One of our favorite parts was a relatively new addition to the property that dealt with the original inhabitants of this area. Our oldest got to help put together a wigwam that the Native Americans would have used for traveling. He also told us about the more durable longhouses that they framed in wood and covered in bark that they had there. We finished the day with sweet treats from an ice cream parlor and vowed to return to see the parts we missed today.

#92 - Pod People

To improve communication and efficiency in the office, we organized our office into pods of two physicians and support staff that all work in one unit at each corner of the office. We each have a phone person and a medical assistant that we work with - including our office manager we need to have meetings regularly of the 7-8 of us in our pod. Our pod meeting today introduced our new phone staff to the rest of the pod and went through some housekeeping details. We'll need to meet quarterly or so to keep the pace up to meet my goal of 10 meetings before the 1001 days is up.

#18 - One Unit At A Time

I donated my 1st of 5 units of blood today. I found my donor card that I had received in 2005 and then subsequently filed it away into one of my many piles of papers that I maintain. Of course by "maintain", I mean "ignore". I used to donate regularly in college, but 2 events turned me off for a while. In college, I passed out once while donating blood for a lab experiment I was doing in a hematology lab. Then in medical school I attempted donating, but I filled the bag too slowly. I was more than 3/4 done when they told me that it had taken too long and the anticoagulants that are in the bag already would be at the wrong concentration if they continued. When I inquired as to what would happen to the blood, they told me it would be discarded. I honestly wanted them to give it back. I find blood donation to be one of the most personal acts of charity I do - literally giving of myself. I have no problem doing it when I think it will help someone, but this devastated me. It wasn't until 2005 - almost 10 years later that I tried again. There are so many exclusions nowadays that prevent people from donating, that I believe it is up to the rest of us who still can donate, to do so. In theory I can donate every 8 weeks, so the soonest I can go back is 6/9/07. However, I know things can come up due to illness or scheduling problems. I could donate 17 times in 1001 days, if I pushed it to the wire, but I set a more realistic goal of 5. If I meet it easily, I'll plan more for the next 101 in 1001 list.

If you want to donate blood, contact the Red Cross.

#17 - Saying Goodbye to the Old HP

The old HP Pavilion desktop computer we've had for years had become obsolete in our home. We've trimmed our computer needs to a laptop for portability around the house and on trips, and a more powerful desktop computer for heavy data storage (pictures, music, video, etc), powerful applications, and general family use. The HP had served my wife and I for years before Alex was born. He took over my old study when Aaron was born, but we left the HP in there to be an educational tool for him. He took to it like a duck to water. As he's gotten older, we've realized the need to take appropriate safety precautions about the computer to keep him from exploring parts of the Internet that we feel he's not ready for (and won't be for a long time). One of the main keys to that is to supervise his use by putting it in a central location. Now the new family PC (a Gateway) sits in the living room and the HP needs to go. The local Goodwill isn't equipped to take it, so we turned to the National Christina Foundation. They provide computers to people and organizations that need them. They connected us to a Senior Center here in Ohio that needed a computer. We shipped it today after digitally scrambling (not just deleting) the hard drive. It's nice to get the first thing done on my list. 100 more to go!

#10 - Barriers to Scouts

Alex, my 7 year old, was excited to hear that they would be offering Cub Scouts through school this year. They tried to get organized in February, but between some miscommunication and two snow days, they couldn't make that happen. The week before Spring Break, they were able to meet the parents and get started. Alex paid the $15 registration fee from his own allowance savings. They day before Spring Break, he got his Bobcat scout award, which he gets for learning the Cub Scout Promise, Motto, Law of the Pack, Salute, Handshake, Principles and the like. Now he is working to complete the requirements for his Tiger Cub badge. My concern is that now in April, they won't have enough time to complete all of the requirements. Several of the items are family experiences. Some are field trips which will take some planning. Some are den activities. Becky and I are dedicated to helping this work however we can. Alex and I have a Dad and Lad Campout at the local Boy Scout campground coming up in a few weeks. That should be a fun introduction for him.

I chose this as one of my 101 items because helping him acheive Wolf Scout (the step after this one) will be good for him. Also, it will be good for me. I have been anti-Scouts for several years and I need to get over it. Overall I believe it is a good organization with good goals that helps boys grow in many different directions. Two things soured me against it. I am opposed to violations of civil rights, and as an organization, they are discriminatory against gay people. It comes from a foundation in religious principles (though Scouts are not primarily a religious organization) and a conservative reaction against pedophiles. Pedophilia is not about sex or sexuality any more than rape is. Both are about abuses of power and control and both are done by people from both sexual orientations. Though as a father, I understand the impulse to protect your children from threats, real and perceived. I believe I can participate in Scouts without condoning civil rights abuses by the organization.

The other reason was much more personal. As a kid, I went through the Cub Scout program and graduated to the Boy Scouts with dreams of making Eagle Scout. I was in a program through my church, but for reasons I still don't understand, they had to disband. I had made Second Class rank by then and was working toward my First Class badge. There were other Scout troops in our town and I visited one at a nearby school (not my own). I didn't know any of the kids there, but I shared Scouts in common with them and thought that would help me fit in. I was wrong. I went on a weekend camping trip with them, but the patrol leader (one of the older boys) needed to make sure the new kid knew where he was in the pecking order. I had been one of the older kids in my old troop and I was the oldest brother at home. I guess I didn't understand my place and it led to what I thought was an otherwise harmless water fight using water buckets. I outsmarted the older kid and soaked him right in the face, which must have been humiliating. He got the other kids to help him tie me upside-down in a tree at the edge of camp by my feet. My head touched the ground and they came by every few minutes and poured water on it. This was all with the troop leader, the adult in camp, sitting nearby and watching. When they finally let me down after what felt like a couple of hours, I had been broken. I didn't cause any more trouble. When I got home I told my parents I wasn't going back and that I didn't want to look for a new troop. I felt betrayed, not just by the punk, but also by the troop leader - who in my eyes represented the entire organization. If this organization could foster leaders who would let that happen to me, then I completely misunderstood the principles upon which it was based.

Of course, I didn't misunderstand the Scout prinicples; they did. Now I know that these people were the problem, not the organization. I will strive to make sure that this doesn't happen to Alex (or Aaron if he decides to join Scouts someday). Scouts are a good way for Alex to channel his energies, so I won't let my bad experience get in his way.

The Working List

I imported my list into Google Docs which is an online word processor. It is ideal for collaborating on documents, but I'm trying it out so that I can have access to an updated copy from any computer with interent access and a web browser. I am using it to add details to my list including next actions ("find a book of yoga exercizes") or resource materials (lists of libraries and Metroparks, websites that may be helpful, etc.).

The List

Start Date: March 30, 2007
End Date: December 25, 2009
Personal
1) Learn to meditate - done 6/8/07
2) Fast for 24 hours
3) Write 10 letters - 2 of 10 as of 7/15/08
4) Go (at least) 2 weeks without raising my voice
5) Cultivate 5 old friendships
6) Make 3 new friends
7) Write Christmas letters 3 years in a row - 1 of 3 as of 1/18/08
8) Get a new suit
9) Try a new hairstyle - done 6/15/07
Parenting
10) Help Alex make Wolf Scout - done as of 4/15/08
11) Help potty-train Aaron - done 8/15/07
12) Teach my children 15 fables/parables/morality tales
13) Teach Alex to ride a bike
14) Teach Aaron to ride a bike
15) Have “the talk” with Alex
Charity
16) Complete a family community service project
17) Donate the old desktop computer - done 4/6/07
18) Donate 5 units of blood - done as of 10/24/08
19) Raise $1000 to support breast cancer research - done 10/2/07
Health & Fitness
20) Complete 6 5K runs - 3/6 as of 9/28/08
21) Stretch 3 times/week for 1 month
22) Do 10 pull-ups
23) Weigh 180 lbs (or less)
24) Get a massage
25) Eat vegetarian for a week
26) Bench press my body weight
27) Get my cholesterol to goal without drugs
Creativity
28) Write a book
29) Write a song
30) Write a poem
31) Assemble a collection of post-Katrina photos and writings
32) Sing in public again
33) Design a T-shirt - done 9/14/08
34) Take a nature photo worth framing and hanging
Home
35) Declutter and organize attic
36) Declutter and organize basement
37) Declutter and organize kitchen
38) Prepare emergency supplies and plan
39) Repaint the interior of the house
40) Resurface the front porch
41) Plant a garden
42) Landscape front yard
43) Preserve old notes and letters
44) Box file all photographs
45) File all old papers & keep caught up for 3 months
46) Organize computer accessories
47) Set up a tool recharging station
48) Complete household inventory.
Education
49) Complete a wilderness medicine CME course - done as of 8/10/08
50) Read 10 books on topics I know nothing/very little about - 3/10 as of 9/15/08
51) Learn to play the clarinet
52) Take 3 cooking classes
53) Learn to recognize 10 constellations
54) Regain proficiency in Spanish
55) Learn to recognize 10 NW Ohio birds
56) Learn to play a new sport
57) Learn 100 words in American Sign Language
Hobbies
58) Collect all 50 State quarters and President dollar coins through 2009
59) Build a computer
60) Assemble a Jedi Knight Halloween costume - done as of 10/31/07
Travel - DONE
61) Revisit the mountains - done 8/1/08
62) Revisit the beach - done 8/4/07
63) Take family to Walt Disney World -done as of 4/5/08
64) Visit a National Park - done 8/2/08
65) Visit Sauder Village - done 5/12/07
Cooking & Dining
66) Find a wine I like
67) Find coffee I like
68) Find a new tea I like
69) Fix a dish from 5 new cuisines - 2 of 5 as of 3/14/08
70) Dine at a 5-star restaurant - done as of 4/1/08
71) Shop at 5 farms or farmer’s markets - 1of 5 as of 10/6/07
72) Prepare a 5 course meal
73) Grill meat on a rotisserie
Recreation
74) Take a family canoe trip
75) Cabin camp at Hocking Hills, OH
76) Go on a ½ day hike
77) Visit all of the Toledo area Metroparks - 5/10 as of 7/20/08
Computer
78) Complete rebeccasradiance.com v1.0
79) Digitize all home videos
80) Digitize all the music we own
81) Digitize all old photos
82) Get caught up on Quicken
83) Blog 3 days/week for 3 months straight
Financial
84) Payoff all credit cards
85) Set aside $60,000 for a down payment on a new home
86) Develop a plan to fund the boys’ MVCDS tuition
87) Help Becky formally launch her home business
88) Save up a 3 month emergency fund
Work
89) Pass my Family Practice Boards - done 9/15/07
90) Reorganize my office
91) Implement an electronic medical record
92) Hold 10 pod meetings - 1/10 as of 4/23/07
Fun
93) Take family to a college sporting event
94) Take family to a pro sporting event
95) Enter a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament
96) Explore all the Toledo/Lucas County public libraries - 2/18 as of 9/7/07
97) Take Becky dancing at the Quarry
98) Rent DVDs of 3 TV shows I’ve never seen - done as of 1/18/08
99) See Amy Grant in concert - done as of 5/8/08

100) See Buffy the Musical stage show
101) Complete another 101 in 1001 list during the final 30 days

101 Things To Do In 1001 Days

I found a blog post suggesting a way to lay out several large projects in a manageable timeframe. I had several things that were in my someday/maybe pile that I wasn't getting any traction on. I also had several lynch pin items that would open new doors for me if I could just get the ball rolling on those key items (I think I just mixed 3 metaphors). The post suggested laying out 101 things you wanted to get done within 1001 days. If I get my list done by Friday, then I will have until Christmas Day 2009 to complete it. The poster suggested the following guidelines:

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:
1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay Focussed. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

These seem like reasonable guidelines. I plan to post my list here and use this blog to update my progress on it. I welcome your comments and suggestions.