101 Things/1001 Days

You would have thought that this is something I could have done months ago and I suppose you would be right. Never easy to know what fruits I have never tried, as I tend to eat a lot of mixed fruit but I after months of looking at exotic type fruits I decided to sample the “Sharon Fruit” which is persimmon variety and a good source of Vitamin A. To me looking at this fruit it looks like a tomato and after learning that it could be eaten as an apple I decided to try it. The first thing I should say is that the skin is very hard but edible. As I bit into it I did expect to either instantly love or hate it but to be honest I found it rather bland. Maybe because I was expecting it be just as juicy as a tomato in fact to describe the taste and texture I would have to say it reminded me of eating a pear (same texture to the fruit) but a pear is a lot more refreshing. So no more Sharon Fruits for me!

Another year has gone and that means I am getting closer to the deadline for my 101 things to achieve within 1001 days. When I started this project I expected it to be easy but then again if something is worth doing it should not be easy.

So with just over a year to go what have I done over the past few twelve months, to be honest it does not feel like a great deal but I have now crossed off seven things off my list -

54. Upgrade/change my computer
35. Visit the National Botanical Gardens of Wales
46. A night out in Cardiff/Swansea
70. Complete EDCL Level 3 Powerpoint
85. Complete my Quantum Leap dvd collection
34. Visit Dublin
25. Go out to Worms Head off Rhosilli

But I am well on my way to completing the following –

1. To watch all of the AFI top 100 films.
2. To watch all of the BFI top 100 films.
3. To watch all of the IMDB top 250 films.
(Out of the 367 films that I need to watch to be in a position to complete the above three tasks I have currently watched only 90.)
91. Visit at least five National Trust properties[1/5]

Another item to be crossed off my list, I actually went out and got a new computer back in November but have only now found the time to write this message. My computer has been out of action for sometime now when I switch it on after a few minutes it just shuts down and at first I thought this could be a virus but believe it is something to do with the memory (thats what happens when you get it repaired in the wrong place) As the computer was a fair few years old and because I don’t have Internet access at home I decided that it would be a waste of money to get it upgraded so got myself a laptop instead. With the laptop it is portable so I can take it to my mothers to connect to the Internet and update things and it does not take up a great deal of space at home. I will still need to get rid of the old computer not that it really has any value.

I only live a few miles down the road from the National Botanic Gardens of Wales and yet had never been there. I have always thought that sometimes we forget what we actually have on our own doorsteps, which was one of the main reasons I added a visit to the gardens to my list of things to do and it has taken me until now to actually fit in a visit to these gardens. I went there on August Bank Holiday and was glad that my student card still allows me discount as I did not think a lot of the actual attraction, in fact at times it felt as if a visit to a local garden centre would have been cheaper and just as interesting. Okay I did get to take some good photos but felt that the people running this attraction could have done a lot more to make the day enjoyable for all. As a garden they grow a lot of produce, which they mention can be sampled at the various restaurants/cafes what would have been nice is for some of the local produce to be available for free, even if this was only at selected times of the day. In fact I think this venue is best for people with an interest in plants or people who just want to pay to get close to nature.

Well another item crossed off my list, as last night I went out for the night to Swansea. It was with friends from work and it was a great laugh.

At the start of May I decided to sit the presentation section of the ECDL and have been waiting since that time for confirmation that I had actually passed. I knew I had passed from how well the exam had gone and the tutor had already told me but you know what its like you don’t want to believe it until the certificate arrives though the post. It did yesterday so another goal crossed off my list.

I have been a fan of Quantum Leap since I caught the first episode on BBC2 over here and always thought it was a great idea for a television show. At school on a Wednesday all my friends would be talking about the episode on the night before. Like all good programmes they have to end at some point and the final episode was quite a talking point and still is today to be honest. Back in those days they started to release the episodes on video and I have a grand plan to collect them all, in fact I only ever managed to buy the pilot episode and never seemed to have the money to buy the other releases. It seems that others couldn’t either as they never released the complete series, and only a few videos were released so when I saw that the dvd was being released with all the first seasons episodes I had to have it and when it came to compiling this list I knew that I just had to complete the collection. The final box set to complete my collection arrived yesterday.

Guinness Storehouse - Dublin

After visiting Dublin for the day a few years ago I always said that if I went back it would have to be for more than a day visit, so it ended up on my list and I am happy to finally be able to cross it off my 101 things list. Only went for a few days and still not really enough time to do everything that you could possibly want to do but saying that there is so much you can do that I don’t think you could ever do everything. One place I did visit was the Guinness Storehouse, where the photo was taken (would you believe I could not find many signs which actually said Dublin)

Anyone who is planning to visit Dublin should invest in one of the open topped bus tours and if you have a student card be sure to use it for some great discounts.

Me on the worm

I used the fantastic weather yesterday to re visit Rhosilli and was finally able to make the trip to “Worms Head” On my two previous visits I have been unable to get across to the actual worm as the tide had been in. I was lucky yesterday as the tide was out and the causeway was still passable so I set off and have to admit that it was a lot further than I originally thought. In the past I have looked from the hill side when the tide is in the gap looks very small but it is a fair trek just to get to the first island and then you I discovered that there is another causeway to climb over to get to the second island. Unfortunately it was not as clear as I would have hoped and a lot of the photos I took of the coastline are very hazy. Apart from that it was a good day and I must have walked miles and burnt up loads of energy with all the climbing that needed to be done to get across the causeway. So been a while but I finally get to cross something else off my list

It was the 1st April 2006 when I started this project and to be honest I thought I had gotten off to a good start but when I look at what I have achieved and what I have actually crossed off my list in the last nine months it does not seem that much. To me it seems that I have neglected this site for most of the year so maybe that is why I decided to do an update at the end of the year.

In fact I have only crossed off five items from my list –

58. Complete EDCL Level 3 Word course
63. Create a sub site for this project.
69. Complete EDCL Level 3 Access course
77. Visit a continental market
79. Visit Llyn Llech Owain country park

But I am well on my way to completing the following –

1. To watch all of the AFI top 100 films.
2. To watch all of the BFI top 100 films.
3. To watch all of the IMDB top 250 films.
(Out of the 367 films that I need to watch to be in a position to complete the above three tasks I have currently watched only 42.)
41. Create at least 50 handmade cards [16/50]
(I set myself the task of creating 50 handmade cards and I am pretty sure when I finalise all the cards I made and sent out for Christmas I should be able to cross this off)

So I still have another 728 days left to complete the remaining tasks I set myself.