New Thing 59, New Thing Every Day: Write Our Mail Carrier a Thank-You Note

The idea for this came from the Internet and I really like it. I like the idea of taking just a little time to say thank you to someone who does work that benefits us, usually without any expression of gratitude from anyone. The job has particular value in my case, since I would never be able to do it myself, with my mobility issues. I hope my note makes him smile.

New Thing 58, New Thing Every Day: Try to do a Sudoku

Ugh. I tried for, like, 20 minutes and that was more than enough. In that time, I had very little success with what is supposed to be an easy example of a sudoku puzzle. The fact is that this kind of activity is difficult for me, and I do not have the patience to stay focused on it when I have a million other things to do tonight. So I am as done with the puzzle as I am going to be, and I have done my New Thing for the day.

New Thing 57, New Thing Every Day: Read The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho

I had never heard of The Alchemist, but in the last year or so I saw a 60 Minutes report about it being one of the best selling books of all time. I had never heard of it, or the author, so it intrigued me. I added it to my New Thing list without knowing very much about it, and it turns out to be an allegory about the meaning of life. I do not read a lot of books like that, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Below are several lessons I gleaned from the book. I really do not think reading them spoils the book at all, but if you are worried about that happening, definitely read further at your own risk.

Anyone who knows me will understand why the lessons of the book appeal to me.

10+ Lessons from The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho.

1. We all have a personal legend, the thing we are supposed to do with our lives.
2. Every child knows his personal legend, but forgets it as he gets older.
3. If you know your personal legend, the entire universe conspires to help you live it.
4. People see the world in terms of what they would like to happen, not what actually happens.
5. You can be the poor victim of a thief or an adventurer in search of treasure. Your choice.
6. There is a language without words. Learn to understand it and you will understand the world.
7. All things are one.
8. Pay attention to omens.
9. Beginner’s luck is real.
10. Always know what you want.
11. A blessing ignored becomes a curse.
12. Courage is the quality most essential for understanding The Language of the World.
13. One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.
14. Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.
15. Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way.
16. When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.

New Thing 56, New Thing Every Day: Visit Boone Olive Oil Company

Boone Olive Oil Co. variety pack ($36)

Before Boone Olive Oil Company, I never even knew there was such a thing as an olive oil store. Did you? It was pretty cool.

Here are 10+ things about my visit.

1. An extremely nice young woman was staffing the store. She was really great about  show me everything and explaining everything.
2. Many, many olive oils and kinds of balsamic vinegar are available for tasting.
3. For the tastings, you can either use a little piece of bread or what amounts to a shot glass. I am hard core; I used the shot glasses.  
4. Vinegar is balsamic because of the process of creating it from grape juice.
5. There is dark and light balsamic vinegar; the longer it takes to make a specific kind of vinegar, the darker it gets.
6. The very first thing I tasted was a dark chocolate balsamic vinegar. It was probably my favorite.
7. The jalapeno balsamic vinegar tastes like pickle juice. No heat at all. I do not recommend it.
8. The sherry balsamic vinegar was yucky.
9. The olive oils really taste mostly the same to me, but good.
10. In the end, I bought a sample pack of six olive oils and types of vinegar: blood orange olive oil, Persian lime olive oil, cranberry pear white balsamic vinegar, garlic olive oil, blackberry ginger balsamic vinegar, and Neapolitan herb balsamic vinegar.
11. Dangit. I really wish I had made sure we got some dark chocolate balsamic vinegar.

New Thing 55, New Thing Every Day: Take Someone New to Lunch

Okay, so maybe this is cheating a bit, but it was awfully fun, and I am only going to do it once.

I took my friend Kathleen Bruegenhemke to lunch at Addison's. I have never taken her to lunch so it was a legitimate first, and I will not use "take someone to lunch" again.

It was such a nice time. Kathleen is an incredible woman, and I am proud to call her a friend.

Unfortunately -- because I am lame -- I forgot to get a picture of the two of us, so I used one I found on the Web,

New Thing 54, New Thing Every Day: Leave Change in a Vending Machine for Someone to Find

This was kinda cool because I like the idea of doing some small thing for someone, with them having no idea who did it. There is not a whole lot to say about the experience, though. I found a vending machine and put four quarters in the change drop. I hope someone who needs it, finds it.

New Thing 53, New Thing Every Day: Watch "The Godfather" on the Big Screen

The Godfather came out in 1972, when I was two-years-old, so I have never seen it on anything except a television screen (something North of 20 times). Forum 8 shows classic movies on Wednesday and Sunday, and tonight was The Godfather. My original plan was to have a guy's night, watching the movie and maybe getting dinner before it, but that was going to be Sunday and Leigh and I ended up being out of town. So tonight was on my own, and it was so awesome. Everything about it was better than it ever had been, seeing it on the big screen with a bunch of other people sharing the experience. I am a happy man.

New Thing 52, New Thing Every Day: Go to Craft Beer Cellar (Columbia, MO)

Tonight, with the Columbia Chamber Ambassadors, I went to Craft Ber Cellar for the first time.

Here are 10+ things about the experience.

1. Craft Beer Cellar is a pretty new chain. As you might guess, they serve craft beers.
2. It is extremely not accessible.
3. Jan Beckett talked me into getting the chocolate creme' brule' stout.
4. Drinking chocolate creme' brule' stout, by the way, is another first.
5. It seems that cheeto puffs and peanuts are the only food they serve.
6. They do, however, allow people to bring in their own food.
7. They seem to have some sort of relationship with Harold's donuts that involves pairing special beers with specific donuts.
8. There are a lot of people who seem to really like Harold's. I am not one of them.
9. The best thing about Craft Beer Cellar is that it used to be Shattered. 
10. I miss Shattered.

New Thing 51, New Thing Every Day: Try Virtual Reality Technology

There was a time in my life when I would have been one of the first people to try virtual reality technology, pretty much the second it became relatively easy to access. These days, though, I am not quite so motivated to try the newest tech toy, and it has taken a while for me to make the time for virtual reality.

Just in the last week, though, I learned that Best Buy provides free demos of the new Oculus Rift VR system and, as my father often said, "If it's free, it's for me!"

So I headed over to the Best Buy and gave it a try.

It really is pretty cool. I watched a couple of different demos -- one where I was in the ocean with great white sharks, and one where I was flying on Pete's Dragon's back. Both were kind of amazing, and I can think of about a million different applications, both for entertainment and for all kinds of real life situations.

One way or another, virtual reality technology is here to stay.

New Thing 50, New Thing Every Day: Visit the World's Largest Fork

There is not a whole lot to say about this. The fact is that the World's Largest Fork is in Springfield, MO. It is 35 feet tall, stuck in the ground outside a marketing company, Noble (which also works with The Food Channel). Stopping by and checking it out, on our way home from a road trip, was a fun diversion for Leigh and me. Check it off the list!

New Thing 49, New Thing Every Day: Visit the Clinton Presidential Library

There are 13 Presidential Libraries and I have now been to five of them (Clinton, Johnson, Lincoln, Truman, and Carter). Later in the year, as one of my New Things, we are going to the Eisenhower, and I am really looking forward to it. I will eventually make it to all of them.

Here are 10+ things about my trip to the Clinton Library.

1. Having been to five of the Presidential Libraries now, I can tell you that it is pretty much impossible to not gain a new appreciation for a President, after visiting his library. I think everyone should visit all the libraries from the last 75 years or so, just for a little perspective.
2. Ellie ate the hat I bought at the LBJ Library and I am still a little bitter about it. That was a great hat.
3. The building was beautiful, built on a reclaimed toxic dump site.
4. It is the first federal building to have received platinum certification for green building.
5. Clinton's restaurant was the best of the one's I have tried. Go, and get the brisket sandwich.
6. There were two big video displays of what Bill and Chelsea are doing now, but not one for Hillary. That was a little weird.
7. My favorite part was the pictures from the 1992 campaign.
8. Not a lot of attention given to Monica.
9. There are thousands and thousands of boxes filled with letters and documents related to requests for help, from when Bill was President. Apparently, these represent 2-3% of his Presidential archives.
10. There was a special exhibit about the Beatles, which I enjoyed as much as I did the rest of the library/museum.

Walking Abbey Road, as part of the temporary Beatles exhibit at the Clinton Library.

New Thing 48, New Thing Every Day: Road Trip to Arkansas

After driving for most of the day, Leigh and I are in Little Rick, AR. I have never set foot in the state before and am excited to try out a new state.

Here are 10 things about the trip (so far).

1. Wish we could have brought Ellie, but she gets to play with her friends all weekend at South Paw Acres, so it is a pretty good deal for her. She loves it there.
2. We really need to revisit the route for the trip back. We spent an awful lot of time on two-lane roads and I feel like maybe we did something wrong.
3. Yes, we took Leigh's new car. Yes, she was very excited.
4. We stopped for lunch in Springfield, where I Googled and found what turned out to be an incredibly tasty Peruvian restaurant. I definitely recommend Cafe Cusco.
5. For my lunch, I had some traditional Incan dish, dating back to before the Spanish occupation -- pork, potatoes, spinach, in some sort of beet sauce (in a lot of Peruvian dishes). It was totally freaking awesome.
6. Leigh was tired and I drove from Springfield to the hotel in Little Rock. If we did anything wrong with the route, this would definitely be the root of the problem.
7. We were under serious pressure to get settled into the hotel by 6:00 so Leigh could buy our True/False tickets. She ended up having to do it in the lobby, before we actually checked in. You really have to be like that if you want to see everything you want, and we are kind of hard core about that.
8. Leigh got in a pretty god nap between Springfield and Little Rock.
9. One of the best things about the new car is the Bluetooth that lets us listen to things on our phones, because we really like podcasts. That definitely helped pass the six hours.
10. The best thing about any road trip is just spending the time with Leigh, just us.

New Thing 47, New Thing Every Day: Open an Account for Extra Personal Retirement Investing

Leigh and I are preparing for retirement in a normal way, but several months ago, I decided to supplement that a tiny bit by contributing at least one dollar per day from my personal spending money to a little, extra retirement fund. Every day, I put at least the one dollar into an envelope, and often I put more.

My goal was to open a more formal account when I hit $500 in the envelope, which I did a couple of days ago. At first, I was just going to open a regular bank account, to start, and then maybe do something else. Instead, I decided to open an eTrade account and play the stock market a little bit, and that is what I did.

It will be fun to see how much is in the account at the end of the year.

New Thing 46, New Thing Every Day: Help Leigh Buy a New Car

Well, friends, Leigh and I have been married for going on nine years and she has not had a new car in all that time. By end of day tomorrow, that will change. After work today, Leigh invited me to go with her to see a 2016 Toyota RAV4 with just 3000 miles. It was the dealership model, used only when people needed rides, and was absolutely perfect. We bought it, and tomorrow she will pick it up. Yay, new car!

New Thing 45, New Thing Every Day: Prepare a Meal of Marcus Samuelsson Recipes

For Valentine's Day, what could be better than preparing Leigh a dinner of her favorite chef's recipes?

Here is what we had -- miso/honey/roasted garlic glazed tilapia; warm potato/apple salad; heirloom tomato/watermelon salad.

Here are 10+ things about our experience.

1. Everything worked out surprisingly well and the dinner was absolutely delicious.
2. We skipped dessert because we are watching our figures.
3. Marcus Samuelsson's s Leigh's favorite chef and his restaurant, Red Rooster in Harlem, is her favorite restaurant. We have been there several times.
4. We have also seen and met Marcus a few times, during visits to his restaurant. He is incredibly nice.
5. My favorite dish there might be the shrimp and grits, but there are just so many delicious menu items.
6. Leigh and I have both read his biography, a great read.
7. He did basically abandoned his daughter until she was a teenager, the one major red mark I can see in his personal history. He seems to have made up for it.
8. Marcus one Top Chef Masters.
9. He also won Chopped Masters.
10. He is also a James Beard winner, among many other awards.
11. Last year, for my birthday, Leigh bought tickets to see Marcus speak in Kansas City. It was very cool.
12. Over the course of the day, I tweeted him several times. Later, we were able to meet him and he called me by name. Incessant tweeting works!

New Thing 44, New Thing Every Day: Watch Raging Bull

SPOILERS! Read at your own risk!

I was mostly working at home today, mostly working, and Raging Bull was on HBO on Demand, so I took the opportunity to watch it. For years, I have meant to watch it, and now I have.

Here is my list of 10+ things about watching Raging Bull.

1. The way DeNiro got in shape and then gained so much weight was amazing commitment.
2. DeNiro actually fought in three professional fights to get ready for the role, winning two.
3. Joe Pesci was so perfect to play LaMotta’s brother.
4. Jake LaMotta really was a jerk. Apparently seeing the movie convinced him of that.
5. Scorsese sure loves the mafia.
6. Another American tragedy, showing that, so often, our greatness is matched by or weakness.
7. Jealousy seems like I really pointless emotion to me.
8. Everybody wants to be a comedian.
9. So glad Vicki finally left him.
10. Also glad that he and his brother made up.
11. Joe Pesci is so awesome.

New Thing 43, New Thing Every Day: Make a list of 10 Businesses I Want to Start

As most folks who know me are aware, I like to start businesses. I have started a few that have done well, and a few that have really not. I have one right now, EveryEventGives, that is doing well and that I think will be a big success for me (we'll see!).

I like to think of myself as a serial entrepreneur and, over the course of my life, I suspect I will start at least a few more (again, under the assumption that they could just as easily succeed or fail).

Today, I made a list of 10 businesses I would like to start, something I have never done before. One is actually moving forward a bit, a few have been knocking around in my brain for a while, and the rest are totally new to me. We'll see how it all goes!

Here is my list.

1. Brainstorming software
2. Processor for non-profit contributions
3. For-profit business incubator
4. For-profit angel investment fund
5. Restaurant
6. Printed publication
7. Facebook/LinkedIn for business women
8. Crowdsourced copy editing
9. Happiness consulting/content company.
10. Incubator for writers.
    

New Thing 42, New Thing Every Day: Attend a Jewish Service

Me, with the students, with the Torah on the table.

My stepfather and his side of the family are Jewish, so you would think I would have been to a Saturday service by now, but it just hasn't happened. (In all fairness to me, he has only been my stepfather for four years or so.)

When my friend Greg Soden heard I wanted to do this, he made me a great offer. He is a Battle High School teacher and has a world cultures class that takes a group to a Jewish service each year (optional), and he offered to let me tag along, which I did. Thanks, Greg!

Here are my 10+ things about the experience.
1.    My little Saturday adventure took me to Congregation Beth Shalom on Green Meadows. They are extremely welcoming to guests of any faith.
2.    They told me that a yamaka is not required, but wearing one is a sign of respect, so I wore one that was midnight blue.
3.    Another guy had an MU Tigers yamaka.
4.    The service did not start promptly, which was a little weird for this small town protestant.
5.    Also, a little odd for me was that the dress was very casual. I realize that pretty much all church-type places have gone this way, but it still feels not quite right to me. I am a fuddy-duddy.
6.    Prayers are sung in Jewish services. Very cool.
7.    Religious texts are read right to left.
8.    They had a US flag on the left and an Israel flag on the right.
9.    Don't put your prayer book or Torah on the floor. Seriously.
10.  Their prayer books have both English and Hebrew.
11.  This weekend is Sukkot, a Jewish holiday, "New Year of the Trees". After the service, we celebrated with sanctified bread and fruit.
12.  The Rabbi was from Israel and could be hard for me to understand.
13.  He used a tambourine during the service (kind of for emphasis, not ala Bob Dylan).
14.  There were 32 attendees, plus the rabbi. Seven were from our group.
15.  The second part of the service included reading from an actual, giant, scrolled Torah. This part of the program started with someone carrying the Torah around the room. Everyone touched their individual Torah to it and then kissed theirs.
16.  There was a religious Q&A where members of the congregation raised issues and asked things of the rabbi. That was my favorite part.

New Thing 41, New Thing Every Day: Order from the Panera Secret Menu

Did you know that all kinds of popular chain restaurants have "secret" menus? Apparently, they are just for the cool kids, and those of us who stumble across them on Google.

Leigh and I really like Panera, so theirs is the first secret menu I tried. Tonight, I ordered a Power Steak Lettuce Wrap. There was a little confusion at first, but within just a few minutes, the counter guy figured it out and I got exactly what I wanted. He had to charge me for a tuna sandwich because what I ordered was not programmed into his cash register, but apparently that was not  big deal.

Here is what is on the Power Steak Lettuce Wrap -- seared top sirloin, lettuce for making the wraps, sliced cucumbers (they forgot these), diced onions & tomatoes (they sliced them, which I think was not the better way to go), and then it's all topped with both lemon juice and basil pesto.

Very tasty!

- sean

New Thing 40, New Thing Every Day: Read Parts of the Torah

I grew up in rural Kentucky and knew just one Jewish kid (Alexis, super cute). As a teenager, I had many Jewish friends at a camp I attended in New York, and that gave me my first glimpses of some level of contemporary Jewish culture. Today, my mom is married to a pretty devout Jewish man, but they live far away, so that has not done much to expand my Jewish horizons. In all that time, I had never read even a word of the Torah, except to the extent that it includes parts of the Old Testament, which I have read in its entirety.

Today was my first time reading parts of the Torah, specifically as the Torah, and not the Biblical Old Testament. I read several passages and then a list of quotes. As with pretty much any religion, I see a lot there that can teach me something, and I am glad to have had at least this limited exposure. This weekend, I will go to a Jewish service for the very first time, as my New Thing, and I am pretty excited about it. I do not see myself converting, but there is much to learn from any religion, and I am also looking forward to this opportunity to think about things bigger than myself.

As a little addendum, here is a list of quotes from the Torah that you might like.

1) If I am not for myself who will be for me? Yet, if I am for myself only, what am I? And if not now, when?

2) Say little and do much, and receive all men with a cheerful face.

3) Initiate a greeting to everyone, and it is better to be a tail to a lion than a head of a fox.

4) Don’t try to appease your friend when he is angry, or try to comfort him when the dead lie before him. Do not try to see your friend in the time of his disgrace.

5) We can not explain either the suffering of the righteous or the happiness of the wicked.

6) Be careful of politicians. They are your friends when it is to their advantage, but abandon you in your time of need.

7) The more flesh you have, the more the worms will eat. Let the honor of your friend be as important to you as your own. Don’t get angry easily, and repent one day before you die.

8) The day is short, the job hard, and the workers lazy. You don’t have to finish your tasks on Earth, but you can’t abandon them, either.

9) What is wealth? Being happy with what you have.

10) “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, or let your heart feel joy when they stumble, lest the Lord see and turn His displeasure to you.”

11) Do not look at the flask, but what is inside it. There is a fancy bottle with bad wine in it.

12) According to the effort is the reward.

13) Do not be scornful of anyone, or doubt that anything can happen, for there is no person without his hour, no thing without its place.

14) When you pray, don’t follow a set routine or text, but rather beseech for mercy and pity, as it is written, “For the Lord is gracious merciful, slow to anger, and great in love.”

15) I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, yet they are all the same when a time of disaster falls upon them.

16) Like birds caught in the snare, like fish in a trap, are we when bad luck falls upon us.

17) Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will not fear evil for You are with me.

New Thing 39, New Thing Every Day -- Visit an Asian Grocery

For today's New Thing, I visited Lee's Market at 700 Cherry Street, Columbia.

Here are 10+ things about my first visit to an Asian grocery.

1. Lee's Market really is kind of a hole in the wall location, but that is part of their charm. Lee's isn't fancy; they just get the job done.
2. Inside, it looked pretty much the way I thought it would -- dark, cramped, with food crammed everywhere.
3. There were several families shopping there, all Asian, speaking in languages other than English.
4. There were so many foods I had never seen before, almost entirely imported from other countries, and from all over Asia.
5. Definitely, I should have gotten the sliced octopus tentacle. Big mistake.
6. My first choice was the gochujang, a "a savory, spicy, and pungent fermented Korean condiment made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, and salt." I have started seeing it on a lot of cooking shows and am excited to try it.
7. From the refrigerated section, I got a little bottle of sake, because it was really cute and, well, sake.
8. Leigh will like the bag of frozen potstickers I found; we get them in restaurants all the time.
9. My friend Brian Clark, gone way too young, introduced me to roasted seaweed when we were living together at the Dumas building, across the street from the MU campus. No clue what I will do with it, but it makes me think of Brian and that makes me happy.   
10. The checkout kid was so incredibly nice. 

New Thing 38, New Thing Every Day -- Learn to Write My Name in Chinese

Okay, so this was a really easy one, but it is still new to me, and I learned something.  Now, maybe I should get this as a tattoo?

New Thing 37, New Thing Every Day -- Write a Note to a Company I Like

What I tried to do for this New Thing was identify a company that make a major impact on my life. Facebook certainly would have qualified, but I felt like they are so big that it would not have mattered. I chose Schnucks, and they still may be too big, but it felt closer to home, and they definitely make a huge impact on my life. It felt good to thank the CEO for the store's role in my life.

New Thing 36, New Thing Every Day -- Use a Financial Calculator

I had something totally different planned for today -- something that now gets pushed to next week. Instead of that unnamed thing, I chose to make using a financial calculator my new thing because it really did happen, and it really is new for me.

My dad was an engineer and had to use everything from a slide rule to a fancy calculator, but I have never had a need for anything more than the basics, and we have our laptops and phones and whatever for that now. I am taking college-level finance, though, as part of my effort to get an MBA, and we actually need financial calculators. Would you believe it actually cost almost $70.00? I suppose that is nothing, compared to what it would have cost 30 years ago, and I am betting that not many are sold today, so surely that keeps the price a little higher than the technology is actually worth.

So now I have my financial calculator, and I used it to do today's homework, and hopefully I will need it off and on, over the next three years of my MBA.

New Thing 35, New Thing Every Day -- Write a Letter to Myself, 30 Years in the Future

Here are 10+ things about Writing a Letter to Myself, 30 Years in the future.

1. The letter was written over three days. 
2. The letter is written to myself in 30 years because that is the day I have decided to officially retire. Yes, writing the letter made me think that through and make that decision.
3. By retirement, I mean retirement from any title -- regional director, CEO, etc. -- I will still lots of projects, though.
4. Sometimes I confused myself as I wrote, thinking of my self writing today, and reading in 30 years.
5. My MS is not mentioned in the letter. I decided that it is just not important enough in my life.
6. Should I share it with people? It could have gone either way, but I finally decided yes. As we know, I am a sharer.
7. Writing the letter was totally fun and I think you should do it. The process really made me give some serious, structured thought to who I try to be.
8. At one point, I considered writing about a bunch of the things I will have done by the time I hit 76 -- specific travel, business things, etc. -- but I decided against it. In a way, doing that felt liiting; my plan is for the next 30 years to exceed my wildest expectations.
9. Of course, Leigh would have to figure prominently in a letter like this.
10. When I read this letter in 30 years, I hope I smile and I hope it helps me keep moving forward and accomplishing things.

Here is the letter. What kinds of things would you want to say to yourself in 30 years?

Saturday, February 4, 2017

To be read Tuesday, November 27, 2046

Dear Future Sean,

Today, you are 76 years old. Good job! My hope is that you are planning a day surrounded by family and friends. It is also your retirement day, and the next day of the rest of your life. Do your best to make the most of it.

When you finish reading this letter, be sure to go give Leigh a hug and a kiss. Nothing you have done, nothing you have accomplished, would have been possible without her. However much time the two of you have – as you head toward your 40^th anniversary, next year – recommit today to making the most of it. For the over 40 years that you have known her, she has made every day better. She is the best thing that has ever happened to you.

Part of me really wants to just ask you a bunch of questions, but you can’t answer, and I wouldn’t really want the answers, anyway. I would not want you to tell me the mistakes I am going to make, because then I would avoid them and not get the lessons.

So I guess what I will do is make some predictions and we will se how they turn out. Worst case scenario, making the predictions will help clarify where I want to be in 30 years, give me some things to shoot for, and maybe make it more likely that reality will meet ambition.

In 30 years, here are the things I want people to say about me.

·               Sean was awfully nice to me.

·               Sean made me feel valued.

·               Sean made me laugh.

·               Sean made the world a better place.

·               Sean failed plenty, but he always got back up.

·               I am really glad I invested in Sean’s projects. He made me a lot of money.

·               Sean really made a splash in this life.

Today, I look back over 46 years of life and there is very little that I miss. For good or bad, I just do not hold on to things. I move on, focusing on today and tomorrow, leaving yesterday behind. In 30 years, I think the short list of things I miss will include my dad (Mom will just be 108, so she will still be around); my grandmothers (never really knew my grandfathers); and a handful of family and friends who have passed. Really, that’s about it. There is not a single possession or job or anything else that I miss. I want to just keep moving forward.

You know this, but as a reminder, I would like to mention some of the key things that have gotten you through 76 years as one of the happiest people I know.

·               Nothing was ever as bad or as good as a lot of folks thought it would be.

·               Dating is the best way to move forward from a broken heart. Everything is like that. Always force yourself to move forward.

·               Every day, just do your best. Give it your all. That's plenty.

·               It is my responsibility to make myself happy.

·               More "we" and "ours"; less "I" and "Mine".

·               Set high goals and take happiness from the striving, regardless of result.

·               Time and experience have shaped how we emotionally respond; so we have the power to shape ourselves for good.

·               To accomplish big things, figure out the little steps and get started.

·               As long as I am alive, I am winning.

·               I don’t do regret.

With that, I think I am going to leave it. You have a big day ahead of you, and a big rest of your life. You got to where you are by keeping the looking back to a minimum, so this is enough for today. Enjoy your party. Enjoy what’s next. Be nice. Make the world better.

Sincerely,

Sean C. Spence (46 Years Old)

P.S.            Tell Leigh I said hi. I feel sure you will agree that she is the best thing that ever happened to us.

New Thing 34, New Thing Every Day -- Look Up 10 Things Using Wikipedia's Random Article Function

Did you even know that Wikipedia has a "Random Article" function? That is one of the great things about my New Thing Every Day project; it is the only reason I know about Random Article. So, for my project, I looked up 10 articles and read about them. Honestly, I did not learn very much that will ever be useful to me, but it was still fun. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the randomness actually shared the names of two soccer players with me. Weird.

Check it out when you have some time to kill.

1. Birdbrook Road Nature Reserve
2. Suffosion
3. Karyoklepty
4. Pak Sadat Colony
5. Paisley (design)
6. Drill Shed, Fortitude Valley
7. Serginho (footballer, born 1984)
8. Sinornithosaurus
9. Teridian Semiconductor
10. Ayo Saka

New Thing 33, New Thing Every Day -- Attend a Columbia Chamber Government Affairs Committee Meeting

I have attended an awfil lot of Columbia Chamber meetings over the the course of my life, dating back to about 1994, but today was my very first Government Affairs meeting. It was co-chaired by Heather Hargrove and Jerry Dowell and I thought they did a really good job.

I like the mission of the committee, which is basically to educate chamber members about issues that are important to them. For several years, they endorsed candidates, but it turned out they were pretty bad at that, and endorsed lots and lots of people who lost. So they angered huge portions of chamber membership -- those who did not agree with the endorsements -- and got basically nothing back to show for it. The education mission is definitely serving them better, and I think it will continue to.

My guess is that I will not be going to many future meetings because I have plenty of things to do, but I may go back from time to time, if something interesting is going on.

New Thing 32, New Thing Every Day -- Watch One of the "Real Housewives" Shows

I feel very sheltered. Somehow, I have managed to live 46 years without seeing any more than about a minute of any of the "Real Housewives" shows. Today, I have remedied this deficit in my life. Here are the thoughts that went through my mind, watching the show, as I had them.

1. The women I know do not dress like this.
2. Many of the men I know do dress like this.
3. So much cleavage.
4. These people sure have a lot of money.
5. I like the word "frenemy".
6. Sex toy business?!?
7. The way the people in this show talk is very different than the way I talk (the sound and nuance of the language).
8. Okay, we are moving into a scene where these people are totally going to have sex. This is an example of why I will never get a reality TV show.
9. Are there really business people who dress like this in the office? I like it!
10. I want to start waving my finger in people's faces when I talk.
11. This one woman is definitely an attorney like I have never seen before.
12. Hammer pants!
13. Goodness! That one guy hit that other guy,
14. "How do you keep it lit in the bedroom?" Really, I don't know.
15. So much boy-girl drama.