SUMMARY

1001 DAYS

78 COMPLETED
Most notable:
2) Get a job
6) Climb a mountain
12) Get fit
13) Pass driving test
18) Visit Japan
32) Get a 1st in my degree
42) Do the coast to coast walk
70) Eat blowfish

22 NOT COMPLETED = £44 TO CHARITY
Most notable:
29) Visit Rome
36) Speak fluent Cantonese

37) Eat live octopus/scorpion/both

55) Have a 'shots-only' night out

56) Play 'Doo-ble-dash' with the old crew

60) Be part of a human pyramid

71) Do 50 kickups

73) Play Smash Bros Melee as Kirby on super sudden death

FINAL UPDATE

8) Go go-karting  -  DONE (01/10/12)

25) Save £2 for every task I complete  -  DONE

48) Stay fit  -  DONE 

67) Buy 10 scratchcards  -  DONE

80) Give £2 to charity for every task I don't complete  -   In Progress

92) Watch the entire Studio Ghibli collection -  DONE

• Tales from Earthsea - 
• Howl's Moving Castle -
• Arriety -  
• Night of Taneyamagahara - 
• Spirited Away - 

99) Visit 3 people at their unis  -  DONE

Hong Kong Update

14) Get a caricature done of myself - DONE (07/09/12) 

18) Visit Japan - DONE (07/09/12 - 11/09/12)

19) Go on a random road trip - DONE (09/09/12) 

34) Visit Korea - DONE (01/09/12 - 05/09/12)

46) Go to Ocean Park - DONE (12/09/12)

58) Watch 100 films I haven't seen before -  DONE

• The Hunger Games - 
• Thermae Romae - 
• Liar Game: Reborn - 
• Snow White and the Huntsman - 

59) Gamble in Macau - DONE (14/09/12)

70) Eat blowfish - DONE (11/09/12) 

Update

40) Go to see an international football match  -  DONE (29/07/12)

45) Complete a Final Fantasy - DONE (05/08/12)

50) Finish writing HK'09 journal - DONE (07/08/12)

58) Watch 100 films I haven't seen before -  In Progress [96/100]

• Slumdog Millionaire - 
• Auschwitz - 
• Grave of the Fireflies - 
• Get Him to the Greek - 
• Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee - 
• The Cat Returns - 
• Ocean Waves - 
• Only Yesterday - 
• Whisper of the Heart - 

92) Watch the entire Studio Ghibli collection - In Progress [14/19]

• Grave of the Fireflies - 
• The Cat Returns - 
• Ocean Waves - 
• Only Yesterday - 
• Whisper of the Heart - 

95) Make a short animation  -  DONE (03/08/12)

Update

3) Donate blood 3 times - DONE


32) Get a 1st in my degree - DONE


58) Watch 100 films I haven't seen before -  In Progress [87/100]

• The Dictator - 
• Tyrannosaur -
• The Avengers - 
• Moonrise Kingdom -
• Attack of the Block - 
• Drive -  

67) Buy 10 scratchcards - In Progress [8/10]

£2 paid. £2 won.

Update

2) Get a job - DONE

Contract sent off (eventually) and certain checks are taking place. Getting a job has always been a nagging worry at the back of mind all throughout university - especially in today's climate. As soon as I mention that I'm doing a Maths degree to family/family friends, 'accountancy' or 'teaching' seems to be the only words to leave their mouths. Jobs-wise, I was always aiming towards an engineering/mechanics based role. "But you do Maths, you don't  know anything about engineering!" is a common response I get. Well, Maths is not just working with numbers. In fact, it's not working with numbers at all which is 'numeracy'. I just thought I would make this clear to the many people who look towards me when working out splitting bills etc. "You do maths though". Yes but I'm not a living calculator.

Anyways, I digress.

The next 4 years of my life is now sorted but who knows where I'll end up afterwords. In the meantime, I am very much looking forward to this opportunity and to actually apply what I've been working my arse off to learn the past few years to real-life.

30) Go hiking 5 times - DONE
See below.

38) Actually complete a whole Scrubs marathon - DONE (06/04/12)
After an exhausting 6 days (see below), I could think of nothing better to do than to stay in bed all day watching Scrubs. And what a day it was.


39) Go watch Newcastle Utd win a Premiership match - DONE (09/04/12) 

After a couple of failed attempts (0-2 Blackpool last season and 2-3 West Brom this season) I started to believe I was a bit of a bad luck charm. A coursemate from Bolton made the trip up on Easter Monday and we took our seats in the Gallowgate end. An uneventful yet tense first half continued in the same manner for the second half. That was, until Ben Arfa's moment of magic which sent the fans into raptures. Cissé's celebration in the goal was pretty magic too. A great result but we were made to wait for it!

42) Do the coast to coast walk - DONE (31/03/12 - 05/04/12)
I knew this would be one of the most challenging items on  the list and boy, did it not disappoint. It was  a close uni friend and myself embarking on the Hadrian's Wall route. There's a lot to talk about, so I'll put it in a separate post.


58) Watch 100 films I haven't seen before -  In Progress [81/100]

• The Muppets - great feel-good film with the added bonus of Jim Parsons and music by Bret McKenzie. 
• Hanna - was recommended this and it didn't disappoint. Exciting and surprisingly has a great soundtrack owing to the Chemical Brothers.

63) Figure out what I want to do with my life - DONE 
As mentioned before, I want to apply Maths to practical situations and come September I get a chance to do so!


67) Buy 10 scratchcards - In Progress [7/10]

Another pound down.

 

Update

2) Get a job -  In Progress

Design Engineer at Thales Research & Technology. After many applications and many rejections, I wasn't expecting to get even a telephone interview with one of the biggest (although also being relatively little-known) companies in the world. But luckily I did and then got put through to the assessment centre in Reading. A very long day - an hour group exercise, 90 min written exercise, 15 min presentation + 15 mins questions, hour interview and then 3 aptitude tests. Exhausting but well worth it. Received a call the following day and was offered the job! Now I'm just waiting for the contract to be sent. A massive load off my mind and I haven't been this happy in a long time.

58) Watch 100 films I haven't seen before -  In Progress [79/100]

• The Inbetweeners Movie - has taken me a long time to watch this but it didn't disappoint. Never has a series/film been so cringeworthy yet hilarious.
• The Foot Fist Way - no.1 of small film marathon. I know a lot of people are fans of Danny McBride but he's not for me. Film was nothing special and pretty yawn-worthy. 
• Machete - no. 2 definitely made up for the first. A classic Rodriguez film. 
• Grave Encounters - no.3. I'm not particularly a fan of 'horrors' or 'thrillers'. This built up very slowly, seemed like any other film in the genre and resorted to pretty standard scare tactics. They work though.
• Case Closed: The Lost Ship in the Sky - Typical Japanese anime detective story. I've been watching these since I was a kid, being brought up on  the typical Asian influences. The anime has been around since 1996 and I still can't understand how they can keep devising new plots and 'mysteries' to solve. Because of this, each film seems fresh even though this is the 14th one.
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Now to a slightly different detective. With Sherlock airing on BBC as well, detective fans were out in force, myself included. A lot more complex than the first but still compelling and exciting. A must-watch.

67) Buy 10 scratchcards - In Progress [6/10]

Another £2 down the drain.

72) Join a society and actually go  -  DONE

I was part of the Hiking Society last year but I don't feel like I made the most of that... This year, I've joined the Photographic Society to actually learn to use my camera properly...  I don't think I've learnt much new but at least I've met some cool people!

90) Read the 7 books I got from Borders 90% off sale  -  DONE (07/11/11)

• Innocent As Sin by Elizabeth Lowell

99) Visit 3 people at their unis - In Progress [2/3]
Edinburgh to visit a good friend's cousin, who is now also a good friend! It was New Year's Eve and we had tickets to the Hogmanay street party. Packed full of people as you can imagine and getting from A to B was a hassle but the live music and fireworks more than made up for that. The former were the best that I've seen, filling the sky and drawing a chorus of 'wows'. Friendly Fires then finished the night off before I headed back the next day.