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!

Happy New Year

It's customary to look forward to the New Year on a day like this, but it may be more appropriate to step back and see what took place the past 12 months. Sometimes we feel an urge to discard and forget, pretending there was this black box that can encapsulate all that we want to leave behind us. I suppose it's only to be expected. We want to forget the bad moments and look forward to the new adventures that lurk just around the corner. However, there seems to be a gap in between the two: the good moments, which as per always we don't treasure enough.

You may start thinking that I have fallen into the cliché holiday trap and that I have already started compiling lists of new year's resolutions! Actually, I have not, although ironically I am thinking of compiling such a list just now. It's just that for me it has been a good year, overall. Actually, the last couple of years have been good, very good indeed. Not everything was perfect, but they were good! Despite the difficulties there were these 'special' moments that made every struggle worthwhile. I guess without them they would not have been special. Now, what I came to realise is that during the past 24 months I more or less got closure in many challenges I had set for myself over a decade or so. It's like 10001 Things to do before the decade is over! It sounds dramatic, probably because it is. Well, for me anyway! It's a great feeling to be happy with your place under the sun, know where you are coming from and have a direction. No I have not figured everything out and neither do I know how things would turn out. I am just happy that I can shout: so far so good!

With a tabula rase as my to do list and a clean email inbox (does not happen often), I am ready for 2011 new adventures!

All the best for the New Year.

Things #13 & #77

Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!

I thought to wish everyone all the best for the festive season and the new year, by posting a video greeting card in which I am whistling. Not a bad idea given that doing so means I've just completed another 2 Things!

Thing #5: Keep a Dream Diary

Well what's the point? After all, I tend to dream what I think. Sometimes I even try to think what I will dream. The past few months though, what I came to realise is that it's the dreams that we come up with when we are awake that truly matter. Those little thoughts that occupy the back of your head and desperately want to come out (do not confuse them with the voices you may hear once in a while, those are a different thing). Given that I have a big head, and consequently ample of space at the back of my head, I can afford to have many such thoughts.

Oh.. and in case you are wondering what my thoughts are... well, actions speak much louder than words. Patience is a virtue.

Thing #52: Learn to swim - update

In my previous post I wrote that swimming from A to B, when needed, is enough. Well, the pool is not enough any more! 3 months into this Thing I have managed to go a long way (actually swim a long way), at least given my initial performance. So... if I am allowed to start making new year's resolutions early this time, then let's start with this: I will go swimming once a week.

Thing #52: Learn to swim

I share at least one common characteristic (our passion to excel) with Michael Phelps and that's not our swimming abilities. Nevertheless I can definitely float, I sort of swim and if needed I can go from A to B. That's enough for me. After all my favourite quote when it comes to the swimming is that: "I prefer seafood to the sea". If you don't believe me, then look at Thing #62!

Thing #63: Things Your Parents Say They'll Tell You When You're Older

I am trying hard to remember what they used to say, but I am failing so far. In fact, they seem to prefer the more generic but universally applicable: "You will see when you grow up". I've now grown up and I can testify for their infinite wisdom. More worryingly I have started using the very same words... Moral outcome of the story: "If you are still young and not boring, then listen to your parents!"

Thing #69: Make a scene in a public place

Second 'accident' in a few days, another thing completed. I was in a meeting when we had a break. I walked to the podium and started playing the wireless microphone. I switched it on to see if it works and said "It's great when things just work". Well it did work indeed. In fact it worked so well they listened to my short speech in the room next door. I just had not realised that the two rooms were really one big room split in two and that the microphone was actually for use when the two half rooms were joined! Well.. how would I know? No.. seriously!

Thing #6: Touch these creatures

I accidentally touched a spider so I accidentally completed this Thing! It still counts though, in case you are wondering. The other creatures to touch were:

Mice [no way!]
Butterfly [Check]
Worms [I think Check]
Birds [Check]
Spider [Check]
Snake [only when playing snakes and ladders]
Frog [I think Check]
Fish [Check]
Some sort of bug [Check]

Thing #100: Meet someone famous

I have already claimed this thing done, but why not claim again? After all last time when I met Diego Luna he did even not ask my name. Well this time I got the record straight! I recently attended one of Malcolm Gladwell's talks after which I bought two of his books. After waiting patiently in the line for a few minutes I approached him and said... "Hi!". He started signing the book only to stop and ask for my name. I knew his. He knew mine. In my books this is called an introduction and consequently justifies me claiming this Thing done properly this time!

Thing #44: Teach your grandparents something new

Teaching my grandmother to use a mobile phone may be difficult but is not difficult enough. So I thought to scale this up and teach 50 elderly people (we can debate all day who's old and who isn't, so lets not go there) how to use the Internet and various related applications, such as VOIP, social networking etc. To achieve this I had to organise a full day training event and get a few volunteers to help out. The session has not taken place yet, but the sheer organisation effort to make it happen is enough to claim this Thing done!

Thing #46: Go as fast as you can (RE-done!)

I was travelling with a 747-400 the other day and it reported a ground speed of... 1002km/h. So I officially broke the 1000km/h milestone. Then again, perhaps that was not that great after all. A bit of wind can make wonders. Still the 747-400 took me all the way to Taipei where I got a lift by (one of) the fastest lift in the world in Taipei 101! It travelled 101 floors in 45 seconds. Not bad eh!?