By: Lydia Crow

It’s been quite some time since I reviewed my List of 21. I was just as thrilled to see how many of the things on my list I still wanted to do (all of them), as surprised I was about the things that weren’t on there.

I’m training (in the loosest sense of the word) to be able to run 10k. I don’t know if I’ll enter any running events to do it or not (I suspect I will), but I still want to be able to run a 10k in one go. In fact there have been discussions this year about undertaking a half marathon next year, and there were already discussions about me and a friend undertaking the Original Mountain Marathon. I was discussing with a close friend recently about why I wanted to try long distance running and my main reason is that I’ve never managed to properly run since I was a child. My asthma kicks in far too quickly and I can’t keep it up. This alone, the challenge of managing to succeed at something which no longer comes naturally, is enough of a reason for me still to want to pursue it.

Ah, yes, Bellydancing and Salsa. Do I still want to do these? Of course! Along with pole-dancing (very good for fitness and core strength and undoubtedly packed with comedy moments) and quite a few other types of more formal dancing. I’d love to be able to dance properly as and when I feel like it, gliding effortlessly across the floor or shaking my ass in a slightly less terrifying manner than I do now. Likewise with the martial art: at present it’s possible there may be a move on the cards. A change of scene, a new city (or a city at all seeing as I currently live in a village). Once I move and get settled (if that is what I do) then I intend to be rather prompt about researching which martial art I wish to take up and finding out where I can do it. I can’t wait.

Learning the guitar is definitely still on my to-do list, though may well come after learning the mandolin (I play the fiddle already, after all, and the strings are the same). There are other instruments I wish to learn to play too, as well as improving the ones I already play, but I’m trying not to get ahead of myself. One thing at a time…

Africa. Venice. Meet a gorilla. I’m going to do them all, I’m just trying to be good with my finances at the moment. Likewise travelling in a hot air balloon: this was the last to be added to my list. I thought for so long about what else I wanted to add to the list way back in the misty realms of 2009, and this was a last minute thought. I’m glad it made the cut as I think, when I finally get round to it, it will be exhilarating and, quite possibly, slightly scary.

Gain a TEFL qualification. That makes me smile now. I still want to do this (at present, teaching English abroad is something I may well consider doing for a period of time in the future) but, having completed a Masters in 2010, I’ve now just started a PhD. That’s not to say that I won’t be undertaking a TEFL qualification any time soon, but I’d rather concentrate on catching up with the languages I haven’t managed to learn yet (‘learn a language for every decade of my life’). I hit thirty next month and so far I have learnt English, GCSE German and one year of French. The last two don’t count, so I recently took advantage of an Audible offer and downloaded a series of French lessons. Who knows, if I’m not sitting down and learning a language, maybe listening to language lessons on the way to work is the answer? I’m also going to dust off and improve my German. My fourth language (which I have ten years to learn) may well be Gaelic or Italian. Possibly Spanish. Though Russian  interests me too, as do many other non-European languages.

I am actually very close to completing a book or novel. A book I’m writing for children is, at present, in the editing stages (though letting go will be hard). After that there are several other more adult synopses I have drafted and for which I have sketched down a few ideas: I’m trying to resist delving too deeply into these until I have finished ‘Ghosts’ (working title). I have two ideas sketched out for stage plays but, again, I’m not working on these at present. I am, however, currently working on a self-publishing venture with some other individuals. Inevitably there will be more information posted on ShiverWriggle as and when that is complete.

The artwork and the evening dress I am currently waiting to work on. I have various ideas and rough scribbles for both of these, but these are projects for a little bit further down the line when certain circumstances change. Extreme budgeting and being incommunicado, again, will only work when certain things have changed in my current life. I’m actually rather excited about both of these. They’re odd challenges whereby I’m changing what I do rather than doing something extra, so they intrigue me somewhat. And, finally, passing my car or bike test. Well, that will happen when I have the funds. At present it’s looking like a bike, and it may be as soon as next year. I just don’t know yet.

Like I said at the beginning of this missive, it’s quite interesting what didn’t make it to the list: my PhD for one, for which I have now registered; photography, which I’ve taken up (still very much as an amateur); and other smaller ventures which I’ve created and launched in the last three years. I also completed the Moonwalk last year and have recorded more music (though not original: folk music, arranged by myself). I’m working on more original material which I’ll record just as soon as I let it go and feel like I can share it with others. There are also other writing challenges I’ve set myself and succeeded at completing.

All in all, as a retrospect of the last three years, I’m quite pleased with my progress. Here’s to further challenges!

Lydia x

By: Lydia Crow

How rude of me, it’s been over a year (eek!) since I shared my List of 21 with you and I haven’t once updated you on how I’m actually getting on with it all.

I promise I will write again soon and elaborate on a few of the aims on this list as there are a couple which need some explanation, perhaps. But, to get the ball rolling, I can confirm that I have actually made some progress: wahey!

Last July, I completed a 5k. Most people these days are going for a several-mile run before breakfast, so this won’t seem like any big deal to a lot of you; but to me, an asthmatic who has only ever shown a natural aptitude for throwing things and climbing things when it came to physical exercise, it was a big deal. As a bonus, my friends and family helped me raise over £100 for charity.

I had planned to undertake a 10k within a few months afterwards and, after that fell through due to timing and illness, I thought I would run one in May 2011. However, I have now registered with some friends to undertake the Moon Walk so the 10k will have to wait a little longer. I think walking a marathon and running a 10k in the same month might be a bit too much for me at the moment.

There’s only one other item to fill you in on for now, until my next update, and that’s ‘record some original music’. Since sharing my List of 21, I’ve actually been in the studio on two occasions: firstly to record some original music with a friend, and secondly to record some folk music which I had arranged with three of my sisters. I’m hoping to record some more original music in the next few months as I am currently working on material for what I envisage will end up as a four-track EP.

So there you go friends, a brief update on my progress! If you’ve got any comments, or have your own list to share, please do feel free to drop ShiverWriggle an email, or find us on facebook or Twitter.

Exciting times!

Lydia x

By: Vague

11th May 2010

Today is my birthday. Another year has passed, a rather traumatic and life changing year in many ways. This time in 2009 I was in Madrid with some friends for a long weekend, where does the time go? I have been trying to complete this list for many months now, but I was determined to only record things I truly and honestly want to do; there is no filler here.

It seemed fitting to endeavour to complete it by this day, another symbolic year begins and I can start to work towards my goals. The poor list sat for the last two months with a solitary space left (turned into number 3 in the end, in case you were wondering), but she is now unleashed into the webosphere.

It is also interesting that the date Lydia put her 21 things list up here, by pure coincidence, is exactly six months from my birthday. The following aren’t in any particular order of importance at all, some follow on naturally from each other, but otherwise they should all be taken as they are, in any order.

1.  Stop smoking. Period.
2.  Get a driving licence – both car and bike.
3.  Successfully light a fire with a hand drill (this was a difficult one, since there are so many bushcraft related goals I have. Another is to head into the wilderness with what is in my pockets and on my belt [no pack], and live [not ‘survive’ – any fool can survive] for two weeks – difficult in this country without breaking the law, in various ways).
4.  Become comfortable in water – able to swim and dive, so I can…
5.  …get a scuba licence and…
6.  …complete a triathlon before the age of 40.
7.  Words – return to the pen and the paper, stop keeping my journal in digital form.  Despite it being faster to type than handwrite, there is something so special about a traditional well-kept journal.  Ancient fountain pen at the ready.
8.  Visit 50 countries by the time I am 50 (4/50).  Some way to go yet.
9.  Live in another country for at least a year.
10. Images – take more photos, organise those I already have and unforgivably neglect.  Put in frames, print some out, make books on themes.  I have a Flickr Pro account – why am I not using it properly?
11. Send more letters, cards, physical things – surprise someone.  Maybe thank the dentist, for example… Perhaps one a month minimum?  Who doesn’t like a surprise?
12. Downsize, declutter, rid self of consumer goods wherever possible.
13. Get a tattoo or two of something that has meaning to me and no one else; that is me (but only if I can get something rather special).
14. Words – complete my first collection of my short stories and poetry by (at the latest) my next birthday – 11/05/11
15. Return to university for my Ph. D.
16. Images – return to art; rediscover the pencil, the brush, the knife and even the chisel.
17. Learn a new language every five years (determined to outdo Lydia).
18. Take up canoeing, and make my own canoe from traditional materials.
19. Words – combine into the perfect novel…  Finish first novel (at the latest) by 11/11/11 – 18 months from today, and an interesting date, don’t you think?
20. Start building the body I want, finally (functional strength, power, speed, not poser looks, that’s not me) – halfway there already; fat is lost; I’m thinking David Belle, Parkour God….   Difficult to decide when this goal is complete, however.
21. Avoid bitterness, avoid darkness, avoid cynicism.  Believe in love, believe in life, find a woman I love, who loves me for me.  Live happily ever after.  The End.

Postscript: I do note how Patrick and Lydia’s lists are both far more concise and clearer to read. Perhaps this is indicative of my mind… Apologies.

By: Dr E.W. Gordon

1.  I want to be the person who, seeing a dusty piano in the corner of a bar, can comfortably take the stool and tinkle those ivories with a choice tune for any occasion.
2.  Join the Scouts. I was never allowed to as a child, but what’s stopping me now?
3.  I love to be outside, climbing mountains and generally exploring those remote high places: so why am I not out there more?
4.  Dust off the skills so important to survival in the wilds. If you’re out there you should know how to look after yourself. Once you can do that it’s far easier to enjoy yourself; after all, getting lost is a serious pain in the arse
5.  With a career so hilariously pathetic, and with a growing feeling it’s all too late, it would be nice to rescue something phoenix-like from the ashes. I am making progress though; I’m no longer in a dead end job, I’m just waiting to be published. (See points 6 and 12.)
6.  I have material for three rip-snorting yarns in varying percentages: one at 100%, one at 40% (and literally growing everyday), and one which is more of an all-consuming idea which will eventually hit paper as soon as it makes some semblance of sense in my head. Whilst I’m pondering writing, one day soon and other than this list and all associated pieces, I will contribute something that does not invariably end up with me ambling through nature. But that said, it is the best place to put your head.
7.  Make a point of being a better friend to people. What the hell did we do with time before Little Legs was born?
8.  Stop swearing.
9.  Bring my fitness back up to a level I’m comfortable with. There are many and varied goals for this one, which will no doubt be the heart of a separate article, so I’ll leave it at that for now.
10. Be a better family man. I suspect my expectations are too high, but is that actually possible?
11. Continue my education, the lords of academia need me, I must answer their call. Otherwise I’ll never be allowed leather arm patches on tweed!
12. Set up my own business, no matter how small scale. I have some niche ideas and one very big feasible one, but I know that in my heart it would only ever be a cash facilitation machine for things I’d actually care about.
13. Use my hands more and develop the skills that firstly excite me and secondly make interesting conversation pieces.
“Doc what a beautiful cabin; where ever did you buy it?”
“ I didn’t; I made it with my own fair hands.”
14. Become the quintessential modern gentleman. It’s not about laying your coat in puddles anymore (they’re expensive, don’t you know) but true gents should have, amongst other things, good manners, a dash of timeless fashion savvy and a cocktail to drag any party out of the dead horse latitudes.
15. I want, probably more than anything, to like myself. I have an un-matched ability for self-loathing, which probably stems from some childhood trauma (or so the books will say). It would be nice to view this list as instructions in a positive light, not a revelation as to my shocking waste of life. It’s funny how arrogance, bravado, sarcasm, piss and vinegar – call it what you will – can hide so much guilt, pain, anxiety and fear. I sometimes think I’m being too hard on myself but then fundamentally I am a horrible person… and so the cycle repeats!
16. I really ought to learn to cook more. If I had to create a month’s menu for people, they’d be eating a lot of rice and something.
17. Travelling seems such a nice idea. I’ve not been out and about much except in my head and via a mountain of literature, which is a shame. The reality is, presently, I’ve not got the means (hence point 12) but I am determined that Little Legs will be well travelled by the time she decides to become Doc Little Legs. Machu Picchu and the Himalaya are must sees; after that, let’s just get out and see the world.
18. They say travel broadens the mind and it would be nice to find some kind of enlightenment. I feel I have some wayward lost and wandering spiritual side (it came as a shock to me, too) and that I’m wrestling to find some kind of peace. Perhaps a bathe in the Ganges will give me something more than epic diarrhoea. Or could Uluru be my salvation? If nothing else, I’d get some nice nik-naks for the mantelpiece along the way.
19. Travelling would be so much nicer by yacht, although I obviously need to learn to sail… acquire a boat… (see point 12)… etc.
20. Design and build (within certain preset safety parameters) my own dream house. I have many building related projects, probably too many to list but to name two, aside from the dream home, I’d quite like to build a log cabin (see point 13) and renovate a wee cottage in a remote little bay somewhere in Scotland.
21. Speaking of point 19 and acquiring a boat, it would be quite nice to build a boat. I fear that a blue water yacht for dueling on the seven seas Sinbad-style may be a little out of my depth (boom boom). Mrs Doc may have something to say about it too, but the rowing boat for getting in and out of the harbour is within my grasp.

I feel this list should be a guiding light. I intend to remove each item from this list as I attain my level and replace it with a new challenge, and I urge my fellow SW contributors to do likewise. When my dusty age-addled body parts company with my soul way down the road let the whole world know I still had 21 things to go!

By: Patrick

1.  Learn to use computer software to make electronic music
2.  Take up the classical guitar again
3.  Fully appreciate an opera
4.  Go to a meditation retreat at least once a year
5.  Join a running club so that I can develop my running to its full potential
6.  Travel to south america
7.  Study in the US for a bit
8.  Develop a more coherent moral system to guide myself through life
9.  Restart my argentine tango classes
10. Spend a week blindfolded to explore sensory deprivation
11. Develop a complete knowledge of brain anatomy
12. Write more challenging fiction that involves greater use of my slightly atrophied imagination
13. Do some form of acting
14. Become more involved in community life
15. Learn to get my semi-fluent czech and french fluent
16. Play at least one show with a band (I almost managed it with my last one…)
17. Learn to use sign language
18. Have all my body hair waxed
19. Start listening to Bob Dylan and understanding what all the fuss is about
20. Read more poetry to balance out my usual reading of books about the brain
21. Read all the great works of 19th and 20th century Russian literature

By: Lydia Crow

1.  Complete a 5k (Completed: see Update #1)
2.  Complete a 10k
3.  Learn to bellydance
4.  Learn to salsa
5.  Take up a martial art
6.  Learn to play the guitar
7.  Record some original music (Completed: see Update #1)
8.  Visit Africa
9.  Visit Venice
10. Meet a gorilla
11. Travel in a hot air balloon
12. Gain a TEFL qualification
13. Learn a language for every decade of my life
14. Complete a book or a novel
15. Write a stage play
16. Self-publish a literary work
17. Design and create a piece of artwork I’m happy with
18. Design and make an evening dress
19. Be incommunicado for a weekend
20. Extreme budgeting for one month
21. Pass my bike or car driving test