What was the point?

Hello, Kittens and Kits, another update, so near to the last one.
Be still your hearts, lest they seize up in shock!

I recently dug the Art of Nonconformity out of my closet. I do not recommend the book. It's a self-aggrandizing piece of schlock. the sort of self-help book that shows how bad ass the author can be.  It's terribly uninspiring. Or maybe I am difficult to inspire.

But it does have ONE important part. That is the "Cheaper grad degree."

As posted here, this was what started my adventure. I wanted to get the education of a graduate degree without actually paying an egregious price for a grad degree. Well, as you can see, that post is from nearly a year ago. Seems longer to me. Of course, on the Internet, a year might as well be one thousand.

So I had big ambitions. Too big, I am afraid.

So let's take a look at what we've done so far:

For those keeping track, here is a link to the list.

You clicked on the link, didn't you, you silly goose! I list it her as well!

• Subscribe to the Economist and read every issue religiously. Cost: $97 + 60 minutes each week.
• Well, I lived for 2-3 months after this with a gentleman who actually received the economist, so I would score his copies. Now I don't. Unfortunately my current employment situation doesn't allow me to order it. Anybody want to mail me copies? 
• Memorize the names of every country, world capital, and current president or prime minister in the world. Cost: $0 + 3-4 hours once.
• Uh... Gurahnakakiztan?  I suspect you should sense a theme here. This one is particularly shameful. It would take a little longer than 3-4 hours, but not much more. 
• Buy a round-the-world plane ticket or use frequent flyer miles to travel to several major world regions, including somewhere in Africa and somewhere in Asia. Cost: variable, but plan on $4,000.=
• The point of this blog was to do this on the cheap. I still haven't saved up enough for my grand adventure. To be honest, my retirement plan is pretty bad. Have you guessed the theme yet?
• Read the basic texts of the major world religions: the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and the teachings of Buddha. Visit a church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a temple. Cost: materials can be obtained free online or in the mail (or for less than $50) + 20 hours.
• I forgot about this one. I'll get on it. 
• Subscribe to a language-learning podcast and listen to each 20-minute episode, five times a week, for the entire year. Attend a local language club once a week to practice. Cost: $0 + 87 hours.
• Well, assuming I stay where I am (and I hope I do) I live very close to the Serb hall. I suspect that Serbian, whilst difficult to learn, would be made easier when playing lawn bowling with old men. This appeals to me, as I am a very old man at heart. 
• Loan money to an entrepreneur through Kiva.org and arrange to visit him or her while you’re abroad on your big trip. Cost: likely $0 in the end, since 98% of loans are repaid.
• Well, I am too broke to do this, but I know of a very deserving entrepreneur you can donate to 
• Acquire at least three new skills during your year. Suggestion: photography, skydiving, computer programming, martial arts. The key is not to become an expert in any of them, but to become functionally proficient. Cost: variable, but each skill is probably less than three credits of tuition would be a university.
• Again, I failed at this. Seems I am very terrible at keeping up on tasks. But We shall reorient and retry, I suppose 
• Read at least 30 nonfiction books and 20 classic novels. Cost: approximately $750 (can be reduced or eliminated by using the library).
• I've read, I think, 3 nonfiction books to date. So 10% done! Woo hoo, time for a break!
• Join a gym or health club to keep fit during your rigorous independent studies. Cost: $25-$75 a month.
• I one0upped Mr. Guillebeau. I got myself a "ghetto gym." All the work out equipment I need, and it cost about 70 bucks so far. It's missing a few things, but even with those it will come in under $125. That's less than 6 months a gym I'd never go to anyway. 
• Become comfortable with basic presentation and public speaking skills. Join your local Toastmasters club to get constructive, structured help that is beginner-friendly. Cost: $25 once + 2 hours a week for 10 weeks.
• Well, Toastmasters costs 52 dollars for 2 weeks. I set out to join when I lived in Florida. had a blast, loved it. it was too far to walk but by bike it wasn't bad. Then a car had the misfortune of hitting me. Then I was relieved of my status as a roommate.  It occurs to me that this happens a lot. 
• Start a blog, create a basic posting schedule, and stick with it for the entire year. You can get a free blog at WordPress.org. One tip: don’t try to write every day. Set a weekly or biweekly schedule for a while, and if you’re still enjoying it after three months, pick up the pace. Cost: $0. 
• DONE and DONE! 
• Set your home page to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Randompage. Over the next year, every time you open your browser, you’ll see a different, random Wikipedia page. Read it. Cost: $0.
• I really don't open my browser that much. Does reddit count? 
• Learn to write by listening to the Grammar Girl podcast on iTunes and buying Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Cost: $0 for Grammar Girl, $14 for Anne Lamott.
• I believe I am signed up for this. I haven't checked in a while
• Instead of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, read The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs, a good summary. Cost: $15.
• Another one I forgot. See, this is why it's good to go back and check one's goals. I suppose I could argue that I spent a good long time moving and getting back on my feet (which, honestly, I am still not actually on).

There we go kiddies. an update as to what was supposed to be done this year. Instead there was a lot of screaming, crying, and crap-your-pants terror. May have been some thumb sucking in the corner. Six months were spent recovering from disaster. Seriously, it's one after another around here. 

This wasn't meant to be particularly profound, just reminding myself what the point of these shenanigans were.

Until next time, my kitlin's! 


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