11 months into Chapter 30 challenge…440 completed and 25 to go

Here’s my status report for October/November (11 month report)

Highlights:

Sunrise in Maseru, Lesotho (southern Africa)

Providing governance training program

Music New Brunswick Festival

Natural History Museum in London, UK

Lebanese cooking lessons

“Not that kind of girl” book by Lena Dunham

My progress:

Study 1 language everyday: 0/1 (French in progress…test says I can understand 49% of all written French)

Take 2 courses: 2/2

Give up 3 things: 3/3

Visit 4 new places: 4/4

Undertake 5 feats of the mind: 4/5

Try 6 new physical experiences: 6/6

Take on 7 acts of self-expression: 6/7

Do 8 outdoor excursions: 8/8

Sing in public 9 times: 9/9

Experience 10 sunrises: 9/10

Experience 11 sunsets: 11/11

Learn 12 party tricks: 9/12

Have 13 people in my life take on challenges: 12/13

Take part in 14 celebrations: 14/14

Visit 15 museums: 15/15

Engage in 16 acts of pure joy: 16/16

Learn 17 chords on guitar: 3/17 (I thought this would be an easy one but now I’ve gotta get down to it. Since we’ll be in a van  road-tripping around the US for the final month of my Chapter 30 year, playing a guitar daily just feels right….like I’m touring.)

Connect with 18 new people: 18/18

Take on 19 acts of gratitude: 19/19

Try 20 new foods: 20/20

Run 21 kilometers: 21/21

Do 22 acts of kindness to others: 22/22

Try 23 new recipes: 23/23

Take 24 naps: 24/24

Learn a phrase in 25 languages: 22/25

Have tea with friends 26 times: 26/26

Try 27 new restaurants: 27/27

Read 28 books: 28/28

Watch 29 films: 29/29

Go vegan for 30 days: 30/30

I’ve done 27 challenges this month for a total of 440/465 in 11 months. 25 to go…that’s almost one per day before I turn 31.

Lena Dunham book

Challenge: Read 28 books (28 of 28)

Date: November 8, 2014.

Location: London, UK

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (2014)

I heard that the writer and producer of HBO’s “Girls” was contracted by Random House Publishers to write a book a couple years ago. At the time, I wondered why they were so sure she would produce a good book. However, last year I saw a bunch of the episodes and thought her humour was off-beat, sometimes dark and completely captivating. When I saw the book was out, I knew I had to check it out. It so happened that I was travelling too, so I took this as my book for my week in London. I stopped at cafes and parks to read a bit here and there. I laughed to myself as I read.

The book is a series of essays on everything from wisdom she’s gleaned from her parents to discovering herself and her sexuality to having lazy jobs. It was absolutely a random mix of topics, but all so very entertaining to read about. She is incredibly articulate and not afraid to be vulnerable in her writing. She just puts it all out there. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good laugh.

The author did a series of webcasts to promote the book, so see the first here: