Commonplace Book

*Updated 03 March 2009*

I started a commonplace book a while back. I write miscellaneous things in it: quotes I like, a list of books I intend to read, things I want to accomplish, recipes I want to try, various tidbits of information to remember, etc. It's a way to track and organize the hodgepodge of stuff that endlessly swirls around in my head.

Since this blog is also a sort of commonplace book, I figure it makes sense to keep some of that stuff here. So that's what I'm going to do. I've created a permanent link to this post in the "More About Me" section to the right, so I'll update it periodically to add new things and note which items have been completed.

THINGS TO DO:

• Go SCUBA diving
• Be an extra in a movie
• Sing the national anthem at a sporting event
• Run a 5k
• See the sun rise at West Quoddy Head, Maine
• Write a musical
• Visit the Louvre
• Take ballroom dancing lessons
• Put a toe in the Mediterranean
• See the Himalaya
• Go on an Alaskan cruise
• Go on safari (DONE! August 2007)
• Ride an elephant (DONE! May 2006)
• Visit the World War II Memorial (DONE! April 2006)
• Tour the National Holocaust Museum (DONE! April 2006)

PLACES TO VISIT:

• All 50 states (To do: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawai'i, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin)
• Chichén Itzá, Mexico
• Cairo, Egypt
• Angkor, Cambodia
• Rome and Florence, Italy
• Paris and Provence, France
• Chiang Mai, Thailand (DONE! May 2006)
• London, England (DONE! May 2005)

READING LIST:

• Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII by David Starkey
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• STET, Damnit! by Florence King
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (DONE!)
• Thomas Jefferson: A Life by Willard Sterne Randall
• Cosmos by Carl Sagan (DONE!)
• Night by Elie Wiesel (DONE!)
• The Future and Its Enemies: The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise, and Progress by Virginia Postrel (DONE!)
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (DONE!)
• Reflections in a Jaundiced Eye by Florence King (DONE!)
• With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy by Florence King (DONE!)

WISHLIST:

• Build a Bridge - Audra McDonald
• The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection
• Coach Legacy Stripe Tote (Got it! Thanks, Mom!)
• Polar F4 Heart Rate Monitor Watch (Ice Blue) (Got it!)
• Made with Molecules - Serotonin Necklace (Got it! Thanks, Santa!)
• Stephen Sondheim's Passion DVD (Got it! Thanks, JD!)
• The Lark in the Clear Air (Got it! Thanks, Santa!)
• Eileen Farrell Sings Torch Songs (Got it! Thanks, JD!)
• L.L. Bean Mission Corner Desk, light stain (Got it!)
• Red - John Stevens (Got it!)
• Fodor's Thailand, 9th Edition (Got it! Thanks, Lee!)
• Bangkok Inside Out (Got it! Thanks, Mom!)
• Cuisinart Chef's Classic Non-Stick Hard Anodized 10-Piece Cookware Set and Open Stock (Got it! Thanks, Mom and Dad!)
• STET, Damnit! (Got it! Thanks, Mom!)