Updates to 40 before 40

I have made some progress on the 40 before 40 list, so before my 36th birthday, I wanted to post my progress and note some revisions:

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TRAVEL

1. Scuba dive in the ocean (Panama? Hawaii? Both?)
2. Stand in Red Square in Moscow
3. Travel to Turkey
4. Visit the Taj Mahal
5. Tour the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, IL (2017)

(My travel plans are being somewhat derailed by the state of the world...)

FOOD

6. Get drinks at the Aviary
7. Make chiboust
8. Eat at Calumet Fisheries
9. Eat at every Chicago restaurant on this list
10. Visit Al Bawadi Grill and The Halal Guys

(#6 was a taco list, but I revised. I don't think I have two huge food lists in me.)

HOBBIES

11. Read War and Peace (2017)
12. Crochet or knit a sweater I actually like and wear (2017)
13. Practice flute and perform someplace publicly (2017 & 2018)
14. Finish the Time-Life World War II series
15. Participate again in NaNoWriMo (2017)
16. Complete wine cork tray craft project with saved up corks

(This one is going along swimmingly.)

HEALTH

17. Complete an Olympic distance triathlon (2017)
18. Complete a half marathon (2017) 
19. Complete a 5k in under 30 minutes
20. Develop a meditation habit (at least 15 min. / day) (2017-)
21. Get back to Salzburg weight range

(I did get below a major milestone in weight in February and hope to get to Salzburg weight range in 2018. I do NOT think I will ever complete a half marathon at a 10-minute mile pace, so I revised down just to do a half marathon.)

CHICAGO SIGHTS

22. See a Bears game, Bulls game, and Blackhawks game (2017)
23. Visit historic Pullman neighborhood
24. Kayak in the Chicago River
25. Take another Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise
26. Tour new yarn shops of Chicago, like Knit 1 LLC, Nina (2017), and Sister-Arts Studio

(I need to bang out a few of these this summer; I am sad not to have made more progress here!)

CHARITABLE

27. Remain annual fund donor at alma mater institutions (Illinois State and DePaul Law), as well as employer (Northwestern University) (2015-)
28. Complete a blanket for Project Linus
29. Serve on a charity's board (2017)
30. Earn a volunteer award somewhere
31. Do one race via Team in Training

(I don't know if giving $100 to a homeless person is the best use of my charitable dollars, so I revised to completing a blanket for Project Linus.)

PROFESSIONAL

32. Participate in a staff mentor program (2017)
33. Author an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy
34. Speak at DePaul Law about nontraditional legal careers (2017 & 2018)
35. Figure out my next career step

(I revised the development symposium / conference item to the mentor program item because it was something I've wanted to do for a while, and it was actually more time and effort than I expected.)

MISCELLANEOUS

36. Start a weight loss diary and keep it every day afterward (2017-)
37. Watch Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove back to back
38. Watch Seven Samurai and eat sushi (2017)
39. Get another tattoo to expand one of my existing ones

40. At least once per month, see a member of my family (2017-)

(I revised the diary item to be a weight loss / fitness diary because I tried to do a regular diary again - I really did - but it wasn't focused and I didn't get much out of it, so I stopped doing it. The weight loss thing has been focused and helped by daily weigh-ins.)

* * *

I think revising these goals slightly (after creating them months and months ago) has helped me focus them more on what I'm trying to do now. Things change in even a few months and I shouldn't hold myself to the whim of a few moments over a year ago, if that is no longer my goal.

I'll keep updating as I make more progress. That's 11 goals down, with progress on more. See you at 40!