Thing #89: Learn to stick up for yourself

OK, I am not Chuck Norris, but there is no point trying your luck, right?

Thing #49: Read These Books

I used to read many books when I was a kid. I still do, even though lately I don't invest as much time as I would have liked to. Other committments take their toll, and consequently it's not easy. So, it was rather convenient as far as this Thing is concerned that I was asked to write a book review, which I have now completed.


I guess this is a good starting point to get back into reading. In fact, I now know how many of my 212 books I have not read. The 212 number is not random. I found an excellent Android app called... 'Book Catalogue' and added all my book in it! Highly recommended!

Thing #84: Lobby Your Local Congressman

If you want something done, just get elected. What's the point in just lobbying? So in April, I decided to put myself forward and see if I can get elected. After a long, but exciting campaign, I was elected a few days ago... albeit not as a congressman. Perhaps next time!

Alice Bucket List

Most certainty a more interesting list compared to mine: http://alicepyne.blogspot.com/

"life is what we make of it and so I'm going to make the best of what I have"

Thing #46: go as fast as you can by train

As I was going to travel from Osaka to Tokyo by train I decided to measure its speed using my GPS for Thing #46: go as fast as you can.

My first impression was that of a deja vu! I have been on a train like this before, I thought to myself. Indeed, it turns out Taiwan's High Speed Rail and more specifically the THSR 700T train series is a variant of the 700 Series Shinkansen, built by a consortium of Japanese rolling stock manufacturers. So no surprise that they looked very similar.

GPS recorded about 265 km/h which is not really that fast for high speed rails. What is probably more interesting is the reliability of the the Shinkansen. In 2003, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within six seconds of the scheduled time. This includes all natural and human accidents and errors and is calculated over roughly 160,000 Shinkansen trips completed.

Thing #92: Have your own plot in the garden & Thing#57: Plant a tree

One of the benefits of doing the 101 Things when are you older (but not boring), is that you probably live by yourself and have a house that YOU call home. This house may come with a garden, even if it's a small one. Now I am useless when it comes to gardening and my garden looks like a 'plot' rather than a garden. Still, there are some green plants that grow there every year by themselves (I have tried many times to prevent them, but so far have failed miserably). As I think this is as close as I will ever get at completing this Thing I will just consider it completed.

On a more positive note when it comes plants there is another Thing, #57, that is similar to #92. For this one I was supposed to plan a tree and climb it when I was to be older. We used to have a tree and I used to climb it until we had to cut it. Then my parents planted a few more trees but I don't think I can wait for them to grow for me to climb them. You've probably started wondering how I can claim this Thing completed. Well the answer it that planting alone is not enough and that watering is equally important. So, I spent a whole day digging a trench to install an automated watering system. Believe me.. digging that trench under the sun is enough to claim more than 10 Things done! Anyway these two are enough, as the watering system not only waters the trees but all the garden!

Thing #76: Learn to Say Useful Phrases in Other Languages

I take it computer languages don't count for this one, so lets focus on what most people would consider a 'language'.

I can handle more than a few useful phrases in English (in case you did not notice), which is a good start for this thing. I can order ice cream in German apart from some other equally useful stuff. I even had a complete dialogue in French once, which went something like:

Airline staff: Bonjour!
Me: Bonjour!
Airline staff: Asks for my destination (I could recognise that much!)
Me: Oui
Airline staff: hands me the boarding pass etc
Me: Merci beaucoup!

The above should have been more than enough to claim this Thing completed. However, I thought I will try something a bit more special for this one. I've known I was coming to Japan for 10 months now, so I though to wait and claim it done when I arrive by trying my Japanese survival vocabulary.

Thing #76: done! Arigatōgozaimasu!