The Final Countdown

Previously on 40 by Forty...

(Neer-ner-nerrr, ner-ne-ne-ner-neerrrr! NEER-ner-nerr, ner-ne-ne-nernerrrr...!)

Renae and I were away in Perth last Sunday and Monday taking a very early opportunity to celebrate our anniversary. Plus, at least one (count 'em, one) person has asked how I'm doing on my goal of ticking off 40 arbitrary and slightly random challenges before my forthcoming birthday, so I'm going to jump on this chance to declare this week a holiday week and churn out one final checklist on what's been accomplished so far. Brace yourselves, people, it's going to be...


Pretty.  Fucking.  Mundane.

Long-term challenges

New year, new spirit of long-term challenges?  Well, sort of.  I've got back into the saddle for most of these at least, if not quite with the burning fire that I started the year. As before, each one is linked to its respective blog entry.
  1. Learn French (me) - Still going. Still not sure anything is sinking in. Certainly sure I couldn't hold a conversation yet!
  2. Learn to draw (me) - Christmas resulted in a bit of a lull on this one, but I've picked it back up a bit since the new year. I'm not anywhere near where I'd like to be in the end, but I didn't expect to get there in a single year. I'm a lot more willing to give drawing a go, now, though.
  3. Finish a writing project (me) - Probably one of the two long-term challenges I've kept up the most reliably (apart from the odd late entry like this one).
  4. Design a board game for grown ups (me - has to get to playable prototype by 31 March 2019) - Of all my long-term challenges, this one is the most risky to not get done. It's languished, untouched since the first playtest in 2018. I'll have to get to it this month.
  5. Learn swordfighting (Andy Leask) - Well, this one took a beating over the Christmas period.  We've been back now that we're in the new year, but it's had keeping up a regular commitment when old age and family lurk around every corner.
  6. Do 10 pull ups (Andy Law - yes, this is a long-term goal for me!) - Challenge complete!
  7. Eat healthily and take 30+ minutes exercise a day (many people in concert) - The eating better I've done pretty well on, the exercise not so much.  Still, I'm pleased with my weight now, but I could still do with more fitness.
  8. Write a thank you letter (emails and phone calls do not count) for every gift received over the year (Tatty) - Well, we're past Christmas and I've managed to write my thank you cards. Hopefully that's me free and clear of this one!
  9. Take and share a photo a day each day for a year (Laura) - Ten months without a missed day so far!
  10. Read only women authors for the year (Juliet) - My reading habits tend to go in peaks and troughs and I've been not reading as much of late.  I'm going to make a concerted effort to read some more out of character books in the last couple of months, though.
Combining daily photo taking and gaming. Win!  (Also, literally winning.)

One-off challenges

One-off challenges are either done or they're not. This is the real nub of the challenge list. We need thirty ticked off from this list and the backup challenges, below.
  1. Kayak to somewhere I've never been (Magnus)
  2. Learn a song on the guitar (Andy Leask)
  3. Learn to pick a lock (me)
  4. Learn to tango (Lindsay)
  5. Perform poetry, written by me, in public (Magnus)
  6. Milk a thing (Magnus)
  7. Paddle out to neck deep in freezing water and stay there for 40 seconds (Andy Law)
  8. Dye my hair a bright colour (Andy Law)
  9. Hold a creepy-crawly type beastie (Andy Law)
  10. Volunteer for a local charity event (Andy Law)
  11. Buy 40 scratch cards (Andy Law)
  12. Invest £40 and try and make a profit (Andy Law)
  13. Climb a munroe, with the entire family, with me being the only one allowed to carry the children.  Take a photo at the top.  (Christine.)
  14. Go axe throwing (Magnus/me)
  15. Try fire spinning (Jackie - so much fun I got a set of LED poi for Christmas!)
  16. Run a mile (Shra and Neil - this remains my personal favourite blog entry so far)
  17. Learn to bake bread (Emmy)
  18. Attend one or more preview nights at the Lyceum (Juliet)
  19. March in Pride (Juliet)
  20. Waxing - crack and sack (Mike)
  21. Learn the bongos (Ben)
  22. Skinny dip (Matt)
  23. Hold a karaoke night at an actual karaoke venue (Lindsay)
  24. Whittle a thing (Jen)
  25. Drive something I've never driven before (Dougie)
  26. Make a banner for Processions (Lindsay)
  27. Moon the neighbours (*redacted!*)
  28. Brew beer (Logan)
  29. Ask a stranger what their passion is (Stephanie)
  30. Go to three local tourist attractions I've never been to (Graham)

Backup challenges 

These are one-off challenges that I can do if the opportunity arises. Any completed count towards the forty.
  1. Get a family photo taken (Andy Law)
  2. Do a turn as a Boylesque (Lindsay)
  3. House sit (Gregor)
  4. Acro (Danielle)
  5. Spend a night in one of Renae's dresses in public (Donna)
  6. Travel 100m by pogo stick (Graham)
  7. Play a game of touch rugby (Neil)
  8. Cycle to work for a week (Andy Law)

 So, how am I doing?

With two months to go, the completed challenge count is...

Drum roll please...

(drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...)

26!

Now, the observant among you will note that 26 is less than 30.  Four less, in fact.  This is true, but there are plans afoot to ensure completion of both the driving something new challenge (courtesy of Donna and Dougie's very early birthday present) and the karaoke night challenge (as a final challenge, birthday bash fantasia).

Which leaves me with two challenges as of yet unaccounted for.  Which will they be?  Will I finally find a thing to milk?  Will I crack and get my crack waxed?  Or will I have to resort to wilfully taking physical exercise?

Find out, next time, on 40 by Forty...

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