{"id":3690,"date":"2012-08-01T22:15:25","date_gmt":"2012-08-02T03:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimmerscope.com\/Verbisaurus\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2013-03-25T07:56:48","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T12:56:48","slug":"glad-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zimmerscope.com\/Verbisaurus\/2012\/08\/glad-wish\/","title":{"rendered":"Glad-Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday, 29\u00a0July 2012<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Way back in 2006, we had a hard drive that was failing. In fact, it did fail. We tried lots of things at home to get it to work, including placing it in the freezer for an hour, and then plugging it in right away. That didn’t work. Nothing worked. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the files on the hard drive were simply back ups, so we didn’t lose as much as we could have. However, my wife had scanned in, cropped, and edited hundreds of photos from yesteryear that belonged to her grandmother. Of course, she could have scanned all of them in again, but that would involve re-acquiring them from grandma, having grandma again provide her best guess for the date and event (and people!) in the photos, and then editing and organizing them all just right again. Hours and hours of work. Jennifer never did that. And we never fixed the hard drive. It just sat around, in our closet or in our office, for years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, Jennifer took it to a local tech genius who charged a surprisingly low cost to extract all the data from the defunct drive. Jennifer, of course, was pleased to have all the photos once again accessible to her. She pointed out that the recovered files were somewhat of a time capsule: there was a file of things we wanted to buy for our house (a house we don’t even live in anymore), and old finance and budget files from bills and expenses in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was also a folder of my files; many of them were now either obsolete or outdated, so I just got rid of them. But there was one file I was happy to find because, in fact, I had just asked about it earlier this month.<\/span><\/p>\n

See, back in the 2002-2006 era, we had a different looking website with different blogs and information on it. Among other things, there was a page that listed off everything I was glad to have done in my life, and everything I wanted to to with my life. Then we transferred our site to this location, and we made some changes to it and we didn’t include that list because, well…I don’t know why. We just didn’t.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the other day, I decided I wanted to re-include it on our website. I couldn’t find the file anywhere on my computer or on our external hard drives. I asked Jennifer if it was on her computer, and she said no. Alas! It was on the inoperative hard drive! So, in scrolling through the recently recovered files, I found one titled “Glad-Wish.” Bingo! I knew that was it right away.<\/span><\/p>\n

So here’s the thing: I’m gonna add another tab to the top of this page that includes these lists. They need to be updated – some of the items need to\u00a0move from one list to\u00a0other – and expanded,\u00a0and I need to tweak the formatting, so it’ll be a few days or weeks until those tabs appear above. In the meantime, I am hereby pasting in the lists as they appeared in mid-2006, the last time I had access to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Monday, 30 July 2012<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, so here’s the first half: Things I Would Like to Do<\/strong>. Crossed out items are ones that I have, in the intervening six years, accomplished. Where appropriate, I inserted explanatory text…<\/span><\/p>\n

Attend a Star Trek Convention<\/span><\/strong>
\nMilk a cow\/goat<\/span><\/strong>
\nSurprisingly, I still haven’t done this, despite the fact that my sister owns goats. She’s got a total live-and-let-live humane society going on there, though, so I don’t think milking them is an option. I drove past some cows on my way to perform a wedding ceremony a couple of weeks ago. I was gonna stop and carpe diem<\/em>, but I was in a freshly dry-cleaned suit, and I figured I’d better show up in time for the ceremony.
\nBe a member of a TV audience<\/span><\/strong>
\nBe a tour guide<\/span><\/strong>
\nRide a unicycle<\/span><\/strong>
\nBowl higher than 150<\/span><\/strong>
\nI’ve come within 15 points of this. the thing is, I don’t care to practice. Basically, I just go bowling whenever people invite me to go and I’m steadily getting better. Maybe I’ll get that half-perfect game by the time I’m 50.
\nBrew my own beer<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nBuy something to drink from a children\u2019s stand<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nGo whale watching<\/span><\/strong>
\nHave a letter published in a magazine or newspaper<\/span><\/strong>
\nI sent a letter to The Monticello Times<\/em>, and a reporter called back and asked to interview me<\/a>. Plus, I’ve had entire articles published in newsletters, magazines, and books, so even though I don’t think I’ve accomplished this task per se, I’ve kind of trumped it.
\nGo on a hot air balloon ride<\/span><\/strong>
\nLearn German<\/span><\/strong>
\nJa, mein Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut.
\nLearn ventriloquism<\/strong>
\nHere’s a link I listed next to this entry: CLICK THIS!<\/a><\/span>
\nPlant a tree<\/span><\/strong>
\nRead 1,000 books<\/span><\/strong>
\nWell, even though I’ve since tightened my criterion for books (>40 pages instead of >32), I’m still gettin’ pretty close. I’m at 877 as of today.
\nVisit Alaska<\/span><\/strong>
\nOwn goats\/sheep<\/span><\/strong>
\nParticipate in Audobon\u2019s CBC<\/span><\/strong>
\nPerform karaoke<\/span><\/strong>
\nI had a couple of opportunities to do this, but I’ve always been too sober.
\nSee every episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine<\/span><\/strong>
\nSee every episode of Star Trek: Voyager<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nSee every episode of Northern Exposure<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nSee every episode of The Addams Family<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nSee every television show directed by Alfred Hitchcock<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nJeez, talk about low-balling my life goals. Yes, I’ve seen all of these TV shows’ episodes. And then some.
\nSee every film directed by Alfred Hitchcock<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nSee Uranus<\/span><\/strong>
\nSee Neptune<\/span><\/strong>
\nSee Pluto<\/span><\/strong>
\nTake a ballroom dance class<\/span><\/strong>
\nMake a toast<\/span><\/strong>
\nDespite being in Toastmasters, I don’t see how I’ll ever accomplish this unless I’m\u00a0the Best Man in someone’s wedding. I’ve never been a Best Man in a wedding. This is probably because I would first have to have friends. Unmarried male friends, to be exact. And anyone I have known\u00a0that fits that description\u00a0used to say, “Hey, James, why don’t you videotape the nuptuals for us?” And now they say, “Hey, James, why don’t you just officiate this thing for us?”
\nAttend a movie with only people I know in the audience<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nDone! September 14, 2005: Jennifer and I were the only two people at a theatrical showing of March of the Penguins<\/a><\/em>.
\nVisit Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/strong>
\nGo skinny-dipping<\/span><\/strong>
\nHow come no one ever invites me to do this? Oh, wait, do hot tubs count? Because, then, yes, I have done this. A few times. Anyway, please let me know if you own a swimming pool or have property that butts up to a lake.
\nVisit Angle Inlet<\/span><\/strong>
\nVisit Fort Snelling<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nVisit the Raptor Center<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nVisit Voyageur\u2019s National Park<\/span><\/strong>
\nStep foot in every state<\/span><\/strong>
\nOwn my own boat<\/span><\/strong>
\nMake something out of pottery<\/span><\/strong>
\nWait – does this even make sense? Can I make something out of pottery? Or do I make something out of clay and that thing\u00a0becomes<\/em> pottery? Does that even make sense?
\nRescue an abandoned animal <\/span><\/strong>
\nRun in a race<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nSee the Grand Canyon<\/span><\/strong>
\nAttend a drive-in movie<\/span><\/strong>
\nLearn a musical instrument<\/span><\/del><\/strong>
\nIf “limited, shitty guitar-playing ability” counts then, yes, I have accomplished this.
\nPaint a picture<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday, 31 July 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

And\u00a0here’s the\u00a0second half: Things I Am Glad I Did<\/strong>. As before, I inserted explanatory text whever I felt there was an opportunity for a witty aside…<\/p>\n

Attend a Billy Joel Concert<\/span><\/strong>
\nAttend a Mason Jennings Concert<\/span><\/strong>
\nYes, thrice.
\nAttend a Paul Simon Concert<\/span><\/strong>
\nAttend a U2 concert<\/span><\/strong>
\nI’d love to do this again, but I’d rather use the money for two weeks worth of groceries.
\nToured a vineyard<\/span><\/strong>
\nYep: On May 27th, 2002, my wife and I (along with her brother and his wife) toured Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin<\/a>.
\nToured caves<\/span><\/strong>
\nBe on a TV show<\/span><\/strong>
\nDid this on January 28, 1998 (it aired on February 2nd):
\n