Thing #17: Act in a play

I actually completed this Thing back in October, but just did not get myself together to post it. Better late than never.

I was attending a class when we were asked to prepare a short play and then act to illustrate the theories discussed. I was in a team of 4-5 people which meant not everyone was going to play. Needless to say I jumped to the opportunity. It's not always been easy to volunteer and we all have our reservations. At the end of the day though we need to make our choices. Stay at the side or lead the play?

I may not be at the Academy Awards this year.. but at least Thing #17 is now completed!

Thing #86: Sing in front of an audience

I like singing (whether that applies to those around me, that's a different question) which is handy, because this is what I had to do to complete Thing #86. Today's performance in front of a loyal audience is put forward as evidence for the completion of this Thing.

PS: If you are a world-wide known band and you are looking for a lead singer, then drop me a line.

Babel: random purposefulness

I watched Babel yesterday. I don't want to go into whether it was a good film or not, trying to explain every scene pretending I got the deeper message and have a clear insight into it (which is of course the case). However, I could not help thinking that the 'random purposefulness' I mentioned in a previous post happens more often that we (want to) think or even (want to) admit it does. We want to always feel in control of things, but then suddently something happens and changes everything.

So, the message of the day: go and find your 101 things to do before you are old and boring.

Thing #12: Paint a picture good enough to hang on the wall

When I read this Thing my initial reaction was that the 101 Things had just become 100. Ironically, not only I can not use a map to get from A to B (see my previous post my fellow good reader), I can not even draw a straight line from A to B. So, what were there chances I would manage to paint something good enough to hang on the wall.

I started thinking I could use one of the 'Learn how to draw in 17 steps' kind of self-taught courses that they advertise on TV, or I could even go to a drawing class for real. Nah, that's too artistic for me. Then it stroke me (ironically ironic!) that I could use the PC to draw something. I validated by decision by thinking that I have replaced pencils and pens with the keyboard and the mouse for many years now, so that should be fine.

Having overcome this initial hurdle, I started thinking about what to draw. I decided to draw something that was based on simple geometrical figures, but encapsulated something complex. For a long time I have been thinking that random events in our lives often dictate our future. Have you ever wondered for example when you meet someone how many times you may have previously passed by them without even thinking about it? Why would you anyway? You don't know him or her, do you?. And then you get to know them and your whole life changes. I am fascinated by this 'random purposefulness'. I guess this sounds like the butterfly effect to some extent.

The image below is what I came up with. I call it 'City Life', because the two main lines reminded me of the city's skyline. I gave it to a friend who promised to have it hanged, so not only have I drawn something, but convinced someone else that it does not look tooo bad.