The 40 x 40 List

It’s time I organize and manage my attention. For me, the best way to do that is to have a list. So I have one. It’s an idea I stole from my wife, who will probably tell me I’m doing it wrong—I say #0 doesn’t count. The idea behind the 40×40 list is simple: I created a list of 40 things I want to do before I turn 40 years old, which is March 30, 2016. That doesn’t seem so far off. This is scary.

Oh, if I die before I’m 40, feel free to retroactively call this a “Bucket List”.

So here it is, mostly complete, categorized, and in no particular order.

 

General Geekery

  1. Put 40 items on my 40×40 list CompleteCOMPLETE
  2. Re-launch my personal website CompleteCOMPLETE
  3. Own a 1931 Ford pickup or a Volkswagen Beetle (old or new?)
  4. Own a Mac (iPod/iPhone/AppleTV doesn’t count)
  5. Write an iPhone or XNA game
  6. Have a chat (face to face) with a “famous person” (Jonathan Coulton or Merlin Mann would be quite awesome. Leo Laporte would also be pretty cool.) CLOSE!

Creativity

  1. Write & record a singer songwriter concept album IN PROGRESS
  2. Write & record a stoner rock album
  3. Get paid to do a show at a bar/coffee shop, etc.
  4. Self-publish a non-fiction book (joint effort with Heather)
  5. Self-publish a fiction book (novel/novella)
  6. Write/draw/ink a comic book
  7. Draw an online comic series on a fixed schedule (interval and duration)
  8. Paint something interesting on a large acrylic canvas
  9. Do something interesting with a stupid domain name

Hobbies

  1. Learn to skateboard IN PROGRESS

    • Drop-in CompleteCOMPLETE
    • Pump/kick-turn a mini-ramp or bowl
    • 50×50 stall
    • Pivot on coping
    • Ollie flatground at speed
    • Ollie up a curb
    • Ollie off an incline
    • Pop shove-it
    • Fakie big spin
    • Kickflip

  2. Play strong amateur level chess (I’m not entirely sure what this means.)
  3. Play shodan level Go (Perhaps as “simple” as 1d on KGS)
  4. Finish all of the Zelda games I own (Essentially, this is every one after Ocarnia of Time)

Self-Improvement

  1. Get down to the top end of my ideal weight, 185lbs
  2. Live greener (This doesn’t have to go as far as off the grid, but that would be quite awesome.)
  3. Get a masters degree (Philosophy? Astronomy? Physics? Mathematics?)
  4. Take a writing course
  5. Take a photography course
  6. Take a cooking course
  7. Learn to play the drums
  8. Learn Japanese (I don’t know that I necessarily have to be fluent, but stringing together a few coherent sentences would be grand.)
  9. Financial Improvement

    1. Become solely family employed
    2. Get out of debt
    3. Plan inheritance for the family
    4. Plan college savings for the girls
    5. Plan our retirement
    6. Plan my funeral

    Travel & Entertainment

    1. Complete “Alphabet Dating” IN PROGRESS
    2. Take a cruise with Heather
    3. Ride in a limo with Heather
    4. Visit Las Vegas with Heather

      • Get (re)married by Elvis in a drive-thru (the drive-thru part was nixed by Heather)
      • Ride that roller-coaster (this is not a euphemism)

    5. Visit New York for non-business purposes
    6. Attend a comic book/video game/tech convention of some sort (MaxFunCon?)
    7. Attend SXSW
    8. Visit japan



Spencer Sokol

Hello. My name is Spencer.

I’m trying to do things.

I am many things to not so many people and there are many things I would like to do. I have a list. This is the story of my attempt at completing said list.

Right now, I’m trying to write music. Often times, I do other things.

There are reasons why I do things the way I do. There are also reasons why I am who I am. This is me sharing a small part of me.