Ian Usher - 100goals100weeks.com

Two years exactly - final 100goals blog post.

2010-08-03T12:55:00.001+08:00

At around 10pm on 3rd August 2008 I flew out of Perth, heading for Dubai, and the first goal on my list of 100 challenges. I set myself a target time period of 100 weeks, and by 4th July 2010, exactly 100 weeks later, I had achieved 93 of the 100 goals.

It is now exactly two years since I set off on my adventure, and this morning I have sat and looked through all of the pictures that have appeared on the blog over that time. I am amazed that there are over 2,400 pictures that I have selected for the website, out of thousands more that didn't appear there. I made a slideshow of the photos, and even at a setting of just one second per picture, it takes over 40 minutes to look through them all.

Seeing many of these pictures gives me that wierd dual sense of time. Some of the earlier goals feel like they happened only yesterday, but at the same time, other photos from the same period feel like they were taken a lifetime ago.

I have crammed so much into two years, and as I look over the photos, I am reminded of so many incredible experiences, wonderful places and fantastic adventures.

But as the pictures scroll by, it is the people that continue to stand out as the high points of the journey. I have tried to include photos of most of the people I have met along the way, but have inevitably missed a few.

I see pictures of friends old and new all around the world, and I feel incredibly grateful to all who have been a part of my journey over these years. I have been honoured to be welcomed by people on all continents, from all walks of life, and have been given unique insights into places that I could never have hoped to gain as a traveller with no local contacts.

To everyone who has been part of this journey, whether in person, or online, I will be forever grateful for the opportunities and experiences you have offered. This truly has been the adventure of a lifetime, and it wouldn't have been half the experience without the people who have been a part of the story.

As I have quoted so many times now, from the movie "Into The Wild":-

HAPPINESS ISN'T REAL UNLESS SHARED
Thank you all for sharing this journey with me.

Ian Usher
3rd August 2010
Whitehorse, Canada

PLEASE NOTE:
There will be no further blog posts on the 100goals website.
There are a few more videos to be posted when I get around to editing them, including the jet fighter flight, the weightlessness flight, the final day in New York, and an edited highlights of the whole two years. These will be posted to YouTube as usual, and inserted into the blog at the appropriate places. I will let you know when this happens on the new blog on my new website at:-
www.IanUsher.com/blog.php

You can follow further travels and adventures there, and keep updated about the progress of the book, "A LIFE SOLD", which I hope to have in print by around mid-October 2010.

BlindsidedNetwork.com forum page complete.

2010-08-02T11:59:00.004+08:00

The final goal of the 93 that I completed was signed off as achieved on 3rd July, just one day before the end of my 100 weeks.

I am very proud that this is the last of the goals that I achieved, as I feel this brings the whole journey full circle. It all started when I was blindsided back in November 2005, and ends almost five years later with a forum to support others who get blindsided by life's surprises.

On 3rd July the forum was up and working, and already had a few submissions, but I still had a couple of issues to solve that were merely to do with the look of the whole website. I am now pleased to have resolved these at last.

I managed to finally figure out why I couldn't embed the blog in the blog page - it was as simple as one tick-box in the Blogger settings that I had missed. But I couldn't sort out the colour scheme of the forum page itself without the assistance of a professional.

This is where Simon from "oolybooly" stepped in and offered to help. Debbie originally helped me get the forum working, and Simon completed the process by sorting out the colour scheme, so that it looks like it is an integral part of the site.

Thanks to Debbie and Simon, and to all others who have helped along the way, and a big "thank you" too to those who have contributed so far. The site has had around 1,500 visits so far. Please feel free to take a look at the forum, and make a contribution if you like too.

Click on the image below to visit the BlindsidedNetwork.com forum

Alaska road trip.

2010-08-01T22:08:00.001+08:00

It's been an easy week since my last blog, but I wonder where the time seems to go, as I haven't got as much of my book done as I would have liked to. Time seems to disappear easily when sorting out the chickens, setting up the solar panel, hanging an outdoor shower, filling the water barrels, or any of the other things that so easily distract me here. I am thoroughly enjoying myself though.

This weekend I jumped at the chance of getting out and about when Moe suggested we go to Alaska to visit the Southeast Alaska State Fair in Haines. Her daughter Maible is away at camp, so it was just Finn with us this weekend.

It is about five hours in the car from Whitehorse. The drive is spectacular, and the weather was beautiful. We stopped for lunch at Haines Junction, a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, and we crossed the border into the States without any problems, and more surprisingly, without any paperwork! Our tent was set up in the campground well before dinner time, so we went for a look around.

Haines is situated on the coast on a large sheltered inlet surrounded by mountains, and is very scenic. The Chilkoot River flows into the sea from Chilkoot Lake just nearby, and we watched salmon in the river, and eagles glide overhead. I was hoping to see a bear, apparently there are quite a few around here, but unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to spot one.

In town in the evening we were extremely disappointed to have missed the opening hours for the intriguing Hammer Museum, but consoled ourselves with beer and pool in the pub next door.

The fair the next day was great. As I had hoped, there were all sorts of lumberjack competitions, including axe-throwing, running over logs dragging heavy cables, and sawing through huge trees with chainsaws! Brilliant.

Groups played on stage all afternoon and evening, and there was some great music. One of the highlights was the amazing "Nanda" - an all-action ninja juggling combat extravaganza.

The journey back was just as spectacular, and we stopped off for a snowball fight on the way. There is still plenty of snow around here, even in the middle of summer! Crossing back into Canada was just as easy as the border crossing on the way out, with a surprisingly minimal amount of questioning.

What a great weekend. It has been nice to do a little travelling again! Hopefully that will soothe my itchy feet enough to be able to sit down and get the next couple of chapters done!

Birthday blog.

2010-07-25T22:43:00.005+08:00

Goodness, it's two weeks since I last wrote a blog. The time seems to have flown by. I have enjoyed the past two years of travel, and have enjoyed writing a regular blog about what I have been up to and where I have been. But it can be very time-consuming, and it has been quite a relief not to feel like I have to write an update every day or so. But I do miss the interaction that the blog offered, the comments and questions from people.

I have been using the saved time wisely though, and am progressing well with the first draft of the book. I hope to have it all written by around mid-August, spend a month or so editing and polishing, and hopefully be in print sometime around October. I will keep you updated on the new blog, which will be a little less frequent than the 100goals blog. See the new website and blog here:
www.IanUsher.com blog page

Since the last blog a couple of weeks ago life has been busy and fun. I am now pretty-much settled in to log cabin lifestyle. I remember to turn the inverter off when I am finished on the internet, and I am much more water-wise now. A bath in a shallow tub of luke-warm water is just the norm now, but I do look forward to a once-a-week shower at the swimming pool in town.

It was Moe's son Finn's 11th birthday a week before mine, and he had a few friends round for a party, which involved egg tossing, water ballon fights, food fights, races, and a big bonfire. My present for him was board game The Settlers of Catan, which is a great game, and we have played several times already. I was introduced to it last year in Colorado by Eric, Jackie and Dylan.

One of the presents Moe got for him was four chickens. They are doing very well, and have been producing plenty of delicious eggs. I am in charge of them throughout the day, and have to feed and water them. They are very entertaining creatures.

I had my first experience of being a couchsurfing host, as we had Italian motorcycle nomad Dany pass through here and stay with us for a couple of nights. He is on his own incredible journey, and regularly blogs about his travels too. It was very interesting to compare notes with someone else on an extended voyage.

Check out Dany's site here. He has some great photos and video:
Long Way Dany

There is an open invite to anyone who wants to come and visit, see my couchsurfing profile here for more info:
Couchsurfing profile

And today it's my birthday. We had a small party last night, and I met a few of Moe's friends. Egg-tossing was involved again, as was a fire and hotdogs, but the bottle of tequila was an extra that hadn't been included at Finn's party. I've had an easy day today, as it was after 3am before I got to bed, and I've been nursing a dull headache all day today!

Northern exposure.

2010-07-11T16:33:00.005+08:00

After the last few days of my 100 weeks journey, I finally headed for my new home. On 6th July I flew from New York up into Ontario in Canada. The flight was delayed a little, and I just made my onward connection. From Ontario I flew west across Canada to Vancouver, and then finally north from there to Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon Territory.

The journey was over 12 hours, and for me it was the equivalent of 3am the next morning, but it was only midnight in Whitehorse when Moe picked me up at the airport. She lives about 50 kilometres out of town, and I was surprised to see how light it still was when we drove out of town.

I have been here almost five days now, and have been trying to settle into a completely new lifestyle. Many things a are a little different here! Because we are so far north, in summer the daylight seems endless. Today, for example, 11th July 2010, sunrise was at 4.50am, and tonight sunset is at 11.21pm. That's an eighteen and-a-half-hour day! And it is still light for a while at either side of those times, and isn't ever really fully dark.

However, the winter, of course, is the opposite way around, and when I was here in December 2008, the days were only about four or five hours long.

Moe's cabin is off the grid, and the only connection she has is a phone line. Propane gas bottles provide fuel for the cooker, and run the gas fridge too. There is a generator to provide power, and it can be run for an hour or two at a time. This is used to charge a couple of large 12 volt batteries, which then provide power via an inverter. This can last for two or three hours, depending on how many things are running off the batteries. The internet connection runs off this system, so is only available when the generator is on, or the batteries have charge.

There is no running water, and all water supplies have to be brought in in plastic tubs on the back of the pickup truck. I have had to learn to be very careful with water use. Showers are available at the swimming pool in town 50 km away, so a "bath" involves sitting in a small bowl of water on the kitchen floor!

It's a bit of a chellenge, but I am slowly adapting to Moe's lifestyle. She seems to have endless energy for all the work involved, and as well as the normal day-to-day chores, she also manages to feed and water her twenty sled-dogs, and fit in three days of work a week in town too.

On the days she isn't at work, her kids Finn and Maible stay with her, and this weekend we went camping in the wilderness. This involved taking a quad with us in the back of the pick-up, and an incredible amount of gear. I was happy to take the fully loaded quad up a rough track into the hills and set up camp overlooking a beautiful valley.

Moe's neighbour Deb, and her son Chris came along too, and the family dog Zoli made up the numbers.

It is very much like Colorado, but a little cooler, and instead of the mountains and trails being busy, we hardly see anouther soul out here.

I have only had a little time to myself in the cabin over the past few days, and have managed to catch up on the last few 100goals tasks. I have now managed to clear the decks, and Moe is back to work tomorrow, so it's full steam ahead with the book now!

IanUsher.com - new website.

2010-07-09T09:40:00.004+08:00

I have been working on my new website for the past week or two, and it is in pretty good shape now, I think.

I will continue to put blogs on the 100goals site until the 3rd August, which is exactly 2 years to the day since I set off on the first leg of my journey. This will complete the "Epilogue" section of the story, and then that's it.

Any new information, and the occasional blog posting will then be available on the new website:-

www.IanUsher.com

There I will keep anyone interested updated about the progress of the book, let you know if anything comes from the Walt Disney deal, and where I end up and what I end up doing.

The main focus for me for the next few months is completing the book, which is going to be called "A LIFE SOLD". Although there will be some details about the goals achieved, the book will be very different from the blog. I very consciously made the blog almost exclusively a travelogue - a diary of where I had been and what I had seen. I kept much of the personal stuff out of the blog. The book will be much more about the personal journey.

Once again, thanks to all for your interest in the whole story. What an adventure it has all been. But it certainly wouldn't have been the same without all the people I have met along the way, those who helped out, and those who joined in to share the experience too.

I have made many wonderful new friends along the way.

As I have so often quoted, from "Into The Wild":-

"Happiness isn't real unless shared."
Thanks to all who shared the past couple of years with me, whether in person, or online.

Goals still to be achieved.

2010-07-06T09:27:00.008+08:00

Well, 100 goals in 100 weeks was always going to be a huge challenge, and of course, the perfect ending to the story would be the achievement of the complete list.

When I started writing the list out in 2008, before the ALife4Sale auction had even started, I didn't censor myself in any way, whether the goals were scary, difficult, or expensive. Everything I wanted to do went on the list, regardless of how tricky it may prove to achieve.

I could have been a little more selective, chose some easier goals, and have a much better chance of achieving them all. But that is not what I wanted this to be about. Think big and achieve big. And in a way, the goals were always just a framework around which to build a bigger adventure of a lifetime.

Over the whole two years I only changed two of the original list of 100, one before the start of the journey, as the company that operated the thrill ride I wanted to experience had gone out of business, and another late in the journey, as dates conflicted, and two big events occured on the same day.

But out of the list of 100 goals, I am incredibly proud to have achieved a total of 93 of them. The seven remaining unachieved goals are as follows:-

Drive a car into water off a jetty

I have tried to arrange this goal on several occasions, in several locations. In Salt Lake City my buddy Clay has a few TV program pals, and thought he might be able to get something arranged for this goal. The biggest problem that he ran into was finding a suitable body of water to put a car into, due to pretty strict environmental regulations.

When I found myself with a few spare days in Kathmandu, heading next for England, I started putting some postings on UK diver forums, looking for suggestions for locations, and offers of assistance for safety cover. I didn't quite expect the level of controversy that my posting would receive. Check out the most active forum for responses here at Yorkshire Divers - very polarised opinions. After much discussion, I pretty-much wrote off the UK as a venue.

Finally, back in the States again, a friend of a Hollywood stuntman contacted me on Facebook, but unfortunately I never heard from the daredevil himself!

At times I have considerd simply buying a car, and driving it off a pier somewhere, but have always been keen to avoid two potentially undesirable consequences - being arrested and ending up with a hefty fine, or worse, or getting trapped in the car with nobody there to assist! Common sense has prevailed here, and unable to do this safely, I have decided to wait until such a time as I can do this in the way I would like. I am sure I will get around to doing it one day.

Gather 5 Ian Ushers together in one place

I came so close with this one, managing to gather four Ian Ushers in a pub in London. I have tried on several occasions since then to achieve this goal, and just the other day arranged a Skype call, hoping to at least be able to gather five of us together on an internet call. The three other Ians from the original gathering all agreed to be part of the final attampt, but despite many emails to many other Ians, I couldn't get one more involved.

I had thought this might be a reasonably easy goal to achieve - I mean, how hard can it be to get five guys together for a beer? But despite my best efforts, it would seem that most Ian Ushers are not the slightest bit interested in meeting any of their namesakes.

Thanks to the Ians who did take part though, sorry we couldn't make it happen.

Dive to the Titanic in a submersible

As far as I know, and I have done quite a bit of research, there is only one company that offers deep-dive sumbersible tours down to the Titanic, where it lies on the sea-bed, at a depth of over 12,000 feet. That's over two miles down, and is an extremely dangerous trip.

Unfortunately, there is no expedition in 2010, the next one being palnned for 2011. I am on the mailing list for information, but another factor which makes this a particularly difficult goal is that the cost is expected to be around $55,000 per person. Unless my forthcoming book is a runaway bestseller, this one may not happen for a while yet.

Learn how to lucid dream

This is another goal upon which I have been working on and off over the course of the 100 weeks. Lucid dreaming is when, in a dream, you realise that you are dreaming. Apparently it is then possible to control the direction of the dream, and make it about whatever you want.

I have had this happen only twice, once long ago, and once during the course of the 100 weeks, but want to be able to do this somewhat regularly to count it as an achieved goal.

It is something I intend to keep working on in the future.

Raise $50000 for Bowel Cancer Research

I perhaps think I put off beginning my fundraising efforts for too long, concentrating on other goals instead. I have managed to raise over $7,000 for my chosen cause, which I am proud of, but it is still a long way from my original target of $50,000.

I can't make any excuses, but perhaps the world economic climate over the past year or two has made this particular goal a bigger challenge. I received many emails from people who would have liked to help out on this one, but unfortunately were not in a postion to do so.

Many thanks to all of you who did help, or would have liked to. Your support is greatly appreciated, both by myself, by the Australian Bowel Cancer Association, and I am sure by the people whose lives may well be saved by earlier recognition of the onset of symptoms, and more effective treatment that ongoing research facilitates.

Watch a baby being born

I have always imagined that one day I might see my own child being born, and this was a goal on a list from long ago. maybe this will never happen for me, I don't know, but I left this goal on the list regardless. I think this must still be an incredibly moving experience, obviously more so if you have a connection to the parents, rather than it just being a random stranger.

Maybe I will still be lucky enough to experience this one day.

Secure a book deal for 100goals

Part of the original overall plan for the 100 goals journey was to write a book about the whole adventure, hoping to fund much of the journey with the proceeds of such a deal. For a while I did have an agent in London, but despite his enthusiasm and optimism he did not come up with any concret offers. he cited economic conditions as one possible factor for the reluctance of publishers to take on new, unproven subjects and writers.

I also had someone in Los Angeles hoping to represent me, but again, nothing has come from that arrangement either.

On my travels I have met a couple of self-published authors, and have been doing alot of reading on self-publishing. I have actually come to believe that in my case this may actually prove to be a better option in the short term. If I manage to write a good book, and manage to market it successfully, it may actually help in picking up a much better publishing contract at a later date.

From what I have read, the publishing world is very much like the movie industry these days, with the six big players only keen to put backing behind sure-fire winners which will make the biggest money. Quality or originality counts for little when the ultimate measure of a book's potential is measured in dollars and cents.

Authors lucky enough to be picked up often get very little in the way of publicity and promotion, having to much of this for themselves, unless they are in the John grisham-type big league. And so self-publishing, much like independent film production, is becoming much more mainstream these days.

I am hoping to have my book completed over the next three months or so, and published sometime in October. There will be regular blog updates, and more details from time to time on my new website:-
www.IanUsher.com

And finally....

2010-07-05T08:19:00.001+08:00

And finally....

I must finish with a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been a part of this whole adventure.

To all of the people I have met on my journey, to those who have helped out or joined me on some of the goals and adventures. To those who have offered accomodation, or food, beer or coffee. To those who have supported and encouraged, whether in person, by email, in comments on the blog or on the forum. And to those who I have not heard from but have been interested enough to just read some of the stuff I have written.

Thank you all. You have all helped to make this the most incredible two years of my life, and I couldn't have done it without you. I will be forever grateful to you all for being a part of this wonderful experience.

May all your goals be achieved.

Ian Usher.
New York.
5th July 2010.

Final day in New York.

2010-07-04T23:59:00.007+08:00

Lilly, Nicole, Chris and Leo Jr. joined me this morning for the journey into the city, and from Penn Station we took the Subway south, and made our way to Battery Park. They had been with me when I achieved my first US-based goal, visiting the Statue of Liberty back in October 2008

It was a beautiful hot day, and the ferry to Liberty Island was packed. On the island we made our way to the base of the flagpole again, and waited for Linda and her mum Nancy to join us from the New Jersey side of the river. Linda had taken me to ride Kingda Ka rollercoaster, again back in October 2008.

At the statue once again, almost two years since I was last here, it seemed that the time had passed so quickly. And yet at that time I was less than ten weeks into my 100-week adventure, and I have packed so much into the ninety weeks since then.

At that time, it was only possible to go up to the base of the statue, but today the statue is open again, and we had tickets to get up into the crown. Unfortunately, the ones I had given to Lilly and family had different names on, and could not be transferred, and ultimately, only Linda and I reached the crown, Lilly and family heading for home again after going up as far as the pedestal.

Gazing out over the magnificent view from the crown, I enjoyed a quiet, reflective moment, and thought about all of the amazing things I have done over the past two years, and the wonderful people I have met. I don't think that it has quite sunk in yet that the journey is finished.

Coming back down to the pedestal, I was surprised and pleased to be met by Essi, who had shared the amazing experience of the Festival of the Dead with me in Mexico.

In the afternoon, having said goodbye to Linda and Nancy, Essi and I headed for Central Park, arriving an hour late at the location I had picked for any final people to meet us. The "Sheep Meadow" was huge, and packed. Even meeting up with Essi's friend Malick took some co-ordination!

Thanks to a vendor selling under-cover beer in the park, I finally got to enjoy a Heineken in the sun. The park was such fun, with roller skaters, drumming groups and buskers all adding to the holiday atmosphere. One guy had a sign offering "Free debate about whether we have freedom of choice!" I was tempted to have a chat with him, but decided against it! Haha!

After dinner the three of us battled throught 4th July crowds, and watched the fireworks over the Hudson River. We had left it a little late, and couldn't get too close - the crowds were amazing, and most approaches to the waterfront were closed off by the police, but we managed a reasonable view.

The walk back to Penn Station was fun in the huge, friendly crowd, and saying farewell to Malick and Essi, I caught the train back to Long Island.

So, that's it! The journey is over. It is exactly 100 weeks since I got on the plane from Perth to Dubai on Sunday 3rd August 2008.

And what a journey it has been. I have made many fantastic new friends, seen some incredible things, and enjoyed more than my fair share of experiences of a lifetime.

I have felt the amazing highs of achievement, happiness and love, and the lows of disappointment, lonliness and despair, and every emotion in between. I have often told people that a journey such as this feels like living life with the volume turned up to eleven! The highs are higher, but the lows are lower too. This is something I want to explore much more in the book I have started about this whole adventure. More details to follow on my new website, www.IanUsher.com, which is still a bit of a work in progress.

As the final day of my long journey, I could not have asked for a better day than today. Lilly, and her kids Nicole, Chris and Leo Jr. were wonderful companions to spend another day in New York with, and it was great to see a few more familiar faces from my journey too. Thanks to Linda and Nancy, and Essi and Malick, who all helped make the day very special.

What a wonderful end to an amazing journey.

Goal 93 - BlindsidedNetwork.com

2010-07-03T12:15:00.001+08:00

I think that it is particularly fitting that this looks like being the last goal from my list of 100 that I will achieve within the 100 week period, which comes to an end tomorrow.

My whole journey started when life blindsided me back in November of 2005, and that event eventually led to me listing my "life" for sale on eBay. See the ALife4Sale website for fuller details:-
www.ALife4Sale.com

During the run up to the auction, after the huge amount of publicity that my sale received internationally, I received many emails of support from people all over the world. Many had gone through similar experiences. Some people had had to deal with much worse than events that I was trying to come to terms with.

But one thing in common with many of the emails that I received was that people knew what it was like to be blindsided by life.

On the forum pages someone mentioned that people like us should start the Blindsided Network. I can't remember who this was, and the forums have now been buried under an avalanche of spam postings, which is a shame, as there was some interesting and entertaining material in those forums. If I ever get the time, and can find my passwords I might go back and dig the forums out from under the avalanche, and delete all the spam one day.

Anyway, I really liked the phrase Blindsided Network, and went and registered the website www.BlindsidedNetwork.com, unsure of what I might do with it. Once I started to create the list of 100 goals, I decided that one of those goals should be to set up a support forum for others who had been "blindsided".

And so here it is. There are still a couple of things that need a little polishing yet, but I hope to have these resolved soon. I need to sort out the blog page, and the colours on the forum page too, as well as embed the forum page into the website properly.

A few people have found the forum without me even mentioning it, so ther are already a few postings. So, I invite you to join in if you have ever been "blindsided" by life - and let's face it, who hasn't?

I have more to write on there too, some thoughts on the positive outcomes from my experience, and the journey that followed.

I used the phrase "blindsided", quoting from Baz Luhrmann's "The Sunscreen Song", which offers the following thought: "The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday."

Thanks to everyone who emailed me messages of support and encouragement during my eBay auction, and to all who have continued to follow my adventures since then. I hope that life only ever blindsides you in the nicest possible ways.

Return to New York.

2010-07-02T19:39:00.000+08:00

Val dropped me at the airport in Colorado Springs early in the morning, and my first flight took me to Dallas. On the flight they read out boarding gates for connecting flights, gate B24 for my flight to Newark, New Jersey. At Dallas I made my way to the gate, and with time to spare, bought a coffee and did some writing on the computer.

About twenty minutes before departure time I realised that there had been no boarding calls for my flight. I looked at the gate, and there was nothing happening. I went and re-checked the departures info, and was horrified to realise that my gate was A24, not B24. Like I had in May a year earlier, I found myself sprinting through the airport, and once again was lucky enough to make it with seconds to spare. I was the last person aboard.

In New Jersey, Linda and Brian collected me at the airport, and took me to their house. I stayed with them when Linda took me to Six Flags New Jersey to ride Kingda Ka, and Moe and I met up with them again more recently in Florida to see the space shuttle launch.

We went out to dinner to a wonderful Italian restaurant, where Linda and Brian were very well known as popular regulars. The first bottle of wine went down very easily, and we ordered a second. That also disappeared easily. Brian then insisted on a whiskey or two at the bar before we left. Four large whiskeys later we headed for home.

Now, bear in mind that over the last five weeks I have drunk a grand total of four pints of beer, so am very much out of practice! Apparently we had more whiskey when we got back home, but my memory of this is very vague!

Now all of this would be fine, if I hadn't had an interview with BBC radio in England. Just after midnight my phone rang, and I do have a hazy memory of an almost incoherent interview. I must have sounded terrible. It was being recorded for later transmission, and I have no idea if it was used or not - I really hope not!

The next day I took it easy, recovering slowly, and declaring miserably, "I am never drinking again!"

In the afternoon I took the train to Penn Station in New York, and from there another train out to Long Island, where I am staying for the next couple of days with Lilly and her family, husband Leo, and kids Nicole, Chris and Leo.

I first stayed with them back in October 2008, and they all came along when we went to the Statue of Liberty. It feels very fitting to be back here again to complete my journey.

Thanks once again to Brian and Linda for their hospitality, and patience with my drunken state. And once more to Lilly and family, it is wonderful to see you all again.

Goal 92 - six-pack stomach.

2010-06-30T23:01:00.010+08:00

I am a little hesitant to actually sign this one off as being achieved. This goal, like several of the others, such as learning Spanish, or learning to play the harmonica, is somewhat subjective.

I will be the first to admit that I am not quite ready for the front cover of Men's Health magazine, but I am still pretty proud of what I have managed to achieve!

This goal has always gone hand-in-hand with one of my other goals, which was to get back down to a weight of 70 kilos, (11 stone, or 154 lb), and maintain that weight. I managed to reach my target weight just before Christmas 2009, and have been under that ever since. I am currently just under 150lbs.

These two goals have both been prompted by being somewhat overweight at one point, around 2005. At my worst, I was 10 kilos (or 22lb) heavier than my target weight. Not hugely overweight or anything, but bigger than I had ever been before, and I didn't particularly like it, or feel too good about it.

And so the thinking behind these two goals was to achieve a fitter, healthier, leaner lifestyle.

Over the last five weeks, while staying here with Val and Brenda in Colorado Springs, Val has been my motivator, taking me climbing up The Incline, and visiting the local gym. His buddy Tim has taken me on a few long hikes, and we have been trying to eat as healthily as possible too.

This is the sort of stuff I needed to be doing regularly for six months or more to really achieve the goal in fine style, but travel, time constraints, and the need to focus on other goals too has made this a bit of a challenge

As with any sort of development that takes place a little at a time over a long period, it is difficult to see any changes, but every now and then, as I pass the mirror in the morning, and I feel pretty pleased with the results so far!

The first picture here is from early 2005, when I was at my heaviest. I'm the one on the left - oh dear! The last two from this morning. Goal achieved, at least in spirit and intention, I think!

The video is a little tongue-in-cheek reminder of the tough regime Val has put me through for five weeks now. I certainly couldn't have done it without him.

We celebrated this goal by taking the night off, inviting all of the fantastic friends I have made here in Colorado to Red Robin, and eating burgers and fries, and drinking beer. That's the last five weeks of hard work undone!!

Thanks once again to Val and Brenda for their support and encouragement on this goal. Thanks also to Tim, and everyone else who came and climbed The Incline with me too. Also, I must mention Val's local gym, Anytime Fitness, who allowed me to use their great facilities as a visitor for a month at no charge.

Finally, thanks to Val and Brenda again for welcoming me into their home for five weeks, and to everyone who I have met in Colorado. What a beautiful place you have here. I have had a fantastic time over the last month. Hope to see you all again soon.

Seven Falls.

2010-06-29T21:47:00.004+08:00

The last couple of days have been pretty busy, both with goal-related efforts, and with the more practical matter of preparing to move on again. I have been in Colorado now for about five weeks and have really started to settle in here, enjoying the place, the people and the lifestyle.

I have had a few interviews to fit in too, as a couple of newspapers and radio shows have wanted to catch up again as I approach the end of the trip. I was interviewed live on Talk Radio Europe, recorded for the BBC in England, and both local papers from England (The Northern Echo) and Australia (West Australian) have called too.

On Sunday Val and I went to climb The Incline again, and I managed a very pleasing 37 minutes again. Later in the morning Val, Brenda and I went out for a open-top drive in the sun, and a country cafe lunch.

On Monday and today I started to get organised for the next part of my journey, doing laundry, packing bags, and working on both the book and website which are to follow at the end of this adventure.

And then last night I got to play tourist a little, as Val and Brenda, along with rebel granny Mary, took me to the scenic Seven Falls, which is lit up spectacularly at night.

Colorado really is a beautiful place, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here.

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Saturday 26th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Night skydive - GOAL ACHIEVED !!
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Sunday 27th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - The Incline - time: 37 minutes
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Monday 28th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - gym session with Val
Learn how to lucid dream - nothing
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Book deal for 100goals - started on book cover and layout

Tuesday 29th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - The Incline again! (last time I think!)
Learn how to lucid dream - a couple of dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - contacted by DrugWatch.com
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Book deal for 100goals - continued with book layout

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And that is the end of my accountability reports! Tomorrow is my last day in Colorado, and brings to an end my time for working on most of the goals. We have a last session in the gym in the morning, and that will be the closest I get to six-pack abs. I then pack my bags, flying early Thursday to New York, and am looking forward to celebrating the end of the journey.

Goal 91 - Black night.

2010-06-27T10:01:00.004+08:00

It was supposed to be a full moon, but thick clouds had darkened the horizon, and looking out of the window of the little plane, everything appeared ominously black. There was a little light left on the horizon where the sun had set behind the mountains about forty minutes earlier.

It had been an eventful and tiring day at the dropzone, and most of the staff and customers had already had a few beers. By the time 9pm came around, I was the only skydiver that hadn't been drinking, and along with Skip, the pilot, who had also remained sober, I was the only person on board the little Cessna.

Being the only jumper tonight was good, in that I didn't need to worry about other canopies in the air at the same time as me. One of the biggest dangers of jumping at night is two jumpers not seeing each other, and getting wrapped up together. But the down side of being alone in the plane was that there is nobody else to share the ride to height, to laugh and chat with, and to dispel the nerves.

But with just Skip and myself on board the plane climbed to height very quickly, and as I fiddled with my camera and gave my gear a final check-over, I was surprised to hear Skip yell "Two minutes!" over his shoulder. I looked at my altimeter. 3,500 feet.

By the time we turned on to jump run, and Skip powered off, shouting at me to open the door and take a look, we were at 4,500 feet, and I would get almost 10 seconds of freefall. Looking out of the open door I could see the runway almost directly below, and could easily pick out the green lights of the landing marker, a huge T-shaped wind indicator in the centre of a large, flat, open area.

With a nod to Skip, happy with the spot, I climbed out onto the step, and hesitated for a second, trying to enjoy the moment, and the anticipation of what I was about to do. It really was dark out there. The only light I had was a small glow-stick attached to my chest strap, a faint glow from the luminous alti that I had borrowed, and a tiny red light on my helmet that told me my video camera was recording.

One second, and then I jumped into the darkness, accelerating downwards quickly, past the point of no return now. It is quite an extraordinary feeling to be falling in the dark. I watched the alti, and as it hit 3,500, and my audible warning went off in my helmet I reached behind me and threw the pilot chute.

I could just see the outline of my parachute as it started to open above me, and as far as I could tell all was looking good. I had a small head torch on my wrist and switched it on briefly to check that all was as it should be above me, pleased as ever to see a fully open canopy there. All I had to do now was get onto the ground without hurting myself.

I could clearly see my landing area marker, which showed wind direction too, and set up pretty well, making sure that I was going to land with the marker ahead of me to give me a decent height reference. I went a little too far downwind on the approach, and when I turned into wind for landing the marker was a little further away than I would have liked, but at least gave some indication of how far I still was above the ground.

As the very dimly visible ground came up to meet me, I flared the parachute at what looked like the right height, losing forward speed and lift, hoping to stall to a stop at ground level. But in the dark I had mis-judged slightly, and flared too high, stalling the parachuter while still three or four feet above the ground. As the parachute stopped, I knew I would drop quickly, and made the decision to roll when I hit the ground instead of trying to stay on my feet, which would have more potential to end in injury.

My roll was good, and I was laughing before I was even back on my feet. I gathered my gear, and was met by Val and the others from the dropzone, laughing at my dusty condition, but offering congratulations for a successful, and injury-free night jump.

I felt absolutely elated. I had been more nervous beforehand than I had cared to admit, and the landing area was darker than I had ever expected, but all had gone very well.

Thanks once again to Val for helping out, driving, and offering support and encouragement on yet another goal. Thanks also to Skip for being kind enough to run the plane for a single jumper. And also to everyone else at Skydive Colorado for being there to offer advice, encouragement, good-natured mockery and hearty congratulations.

In this picture, from left to right:-
Allan, Chang, Emily, Me, Tammy, Skip, Brian, Darlene. Kneeling: John and Nick.
This jump and blog dedicated to Bill. Thanks to you all, what a fantastic experience.

There is video to follow, but I currently don't have any way to get it from my skydive video camera onto my computer, but will put something up as soon as I can borrow a computer with a FireWire port.

Bad weather foils night skydives again!

2010-06-26T11:43:00.005+08:00

There's good news and bad news. Which do you want first? In slightly less tan traditional form, I'll start with the good news. ebay refunded the last of my listing fees, and my outstanding bill with them has been reduced to 35 cents. I'm not sure where that comes from, but I'm not going to argue about it! They have been very supportive and helpful throughout, and I have no complaints. I still think it's a shame however, that they don't facilitate listing 1005 charity auctions without cost or risk to the seller. I think they are in a position to do so.

Further good news. Val and I are both doing well in terms of maintaining our fit and healthy regime of plenty of excercise and no beer. We faced the biggest challenge so far on Thursday evening, when we wnet to meet Val's buddies Clint, Larry and Doug in "Benny's" pub. Both Val and I opted for iced water rather than beer, but our will failed us slightly when the bar owner brought us all shots of Jägermeister. I don't think there are too many calories in a small shot, are there?

We managed to go and do The Incline again straight afterwards, and both managed respectable times, Val at 32 minutes, and me just short of 39 minutes.

Unfortunately things did not work out quite so well yesterday, when Val, his friend Mary, and I headed down to Canon City, hoping to do a night jump. Mary has just did her first tandem jump last week in San Diego, and I hope doesn't mind me mentioning that she is a grandmother of 72 years old. Fantastic! Go on, Rebel Grandma!

But the further south we headed, the gloomier the skies became, and at the dropzone the winds were howling, and the planes were chained to the ground! We hung around for a while in Canon City, and watched a raft race come down the river, but at around 8pm, Skip called any further possibility of jumping off, and the night was a bust.

Tonight is probably my last chance, as it full moon this evening. Sunday will be too late, as most skydivers and dropzone operators will be heading home, and the moon will be rising too late. I'm heading down again tonight, and the forecast is a little better, so am still hopeful of success.

Fingers crossed!

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Thursday 24th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - The Incline - 39 mintes
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - $400+ recouped from eBay!
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - started to set up new website

Friday 25th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - gym session with Val
Learn how to lucid dream - one vivid dream remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - sold 1 photo
Night skydive - went to jump, bad weather stopped play!
Book deal for 100goals - more website work done

eBay issues! Always read the fine print!!

2010-06-24T11:43:00.001+08:00

Unfortunately the $50,000 charity fundraising goal has had a bit of a setback, and I have had to withdraw the sales of the fundraising pictures from eBay!

eBay's Giving Works offers to refund eBay listing fees in the same proportion as the amount of the final sale that is donated to the chosen charity. In my case with the photos I am offering in return for a charitable donation, I obviously chose to donate 100% of the final sale to the charity.

I assumed that this would then mean that all of my listings would be free. Ahh, but be careful what you assume!

I listed all 50 of the photos as Buy-It-Now offerings in my eBay Store, with 40 of each picture being available, for a donation of $20. I then listed each of the pictures as an individual item too, each individual listing linking back to my eBay Store, where all of the other photos are available too.

I planned to keep listing individual items on short term sales, hoping to entice interested parties to the store to donate.

But when I checked my eBay bill, I found out that my outstanding balance was over $1,100. I sort of assumed (again!) that this would be refunded, but just to be on the safe side I emailed the eBay rep who had been helping me, and asked when these fees get re-credited.

I was alarmed by the response, to say the least! The listing fees only get re-credited if the item sells. I had already listed 50 pics as 1-day sales, and not one had been bought. I also had another 50 listings in my store. I am still unsure as to how this works out to be over $1,100 in listing fees.

If the photos are bought in similar numbers to sales from my website, I will soon have lost all of the money that I have raised so far, and then some!

I emailed my eBay rep, who has been very helpful, and all of my shop listings have now been cancelled. When I looked earlier this morning, my bill now stands at a slightly less worrying $410. This is for the 50 x 1-day auction sales already finished and unsold.

I am hoping I can get this money refunded too, but I don't really have a leg to stand on if eBay decides to keep this money, as it is my own fault. I should have read the small print. It does quite clearly state in their "How to sell on eBay Giving Works" info :-

Turn your eBay listings into a force for good with eBay Giving Works. With each listing you can pledge to donate from 10% to 100% of an item's final sale price to your favorite nonprofit and get a pro-rated fee credit on your Insertion fee and Final Value fees when your listing sells.

I guess I should have spotted that! But I think it is a bit of a shame that when trying to raise money for charity, especially when donating 100% of the sale price, that the seller has to take a gamble on the item selling.

If eBay really wanted to help charities maybe they could offer free listings for 100% donations? After all, their sales process is completely automated, and they seem to be doing pretty-well financially from all of the other non-charitable auctions. Their 2009 Balance Sheet shows a net income of over $2.3 billion!

I have already invested quite a sum of money into getting all of the pictures printed, and alot of time numbering and signing them, and then more time in trying to publicize my fundraising efforts. It took a long day of effort to get the 100 listings arranged! I will bear the cost of the $410 if I have to, it was my mistake after all, but I am hoping eBay will do the right thing here!

I will let you know the outcome.

If you would like to help with a donation, please don't go to eBay, all of my sales there have been withdrawn. My own fundraising page can be found here:-
http://www.100goals100weeks.com/getInvolved_Fundraising.php

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Wednesday 23rd June
Develop a six-pack stomach - gym session with Val
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - nothing, and possibly $410 lost to eBay!!!
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - further reading, and started to set up book templates

Goal 90 - "On top of Old Princeton."

2010-06-23T10:34:00.007+08:00

I have been struggling with the harmonica, and feel that my progress has been rather slow, but just the other day found a posting on the forum offering some support and encouragement from regular forum contributor "tacobet". He suggests that old favourite "On Top Of Old Smokey" would be a suitable one to learn as part of my harmonica-playing goal.

And yesterday I had the opportunity to achieve the goal in unusually fine style. Tim was helping his buddy Cliff and daughter Claudia again, by backing them up as they walked another section of the Colorado trail, and suggested we could climb another of Colorado's 14ers. The summit of Mount Princeton is 14,197', one of Colorado's 54 summits higher than 14,000 feet. It is relatively easy to get to, giving us time to climb up and down and still meet Cliff and Claudia at the end of their trek.

Tim picked me up at 4am, and by the time we had collected Cliff and Claudia, driven a couple of hours and dropped them off at their start point, unloaded Tim's ATV from the truck and driven up the track to our start point it was almost 9am. We were on the summit just over a couple of hours later, and found a patch of snow in which to tackle goal #90.

We took some video of the musical event, but my camera seems to be failing again. After it's dunking in the swimming pool in Costa Rica, and it's miraculous return to life, it has all sorts of auto-exposure problems, and the video is just bright-white, and the audio is almost all wind-blasted!

So unfortunately, there is no video of the wonderful rendition of "On top of Old Princeton, all covered in snow," but there is a photo.

However, this morning I have made a video of bit of my harmonica playing, and you can view that below. It makes somewhat painful listening, I'm afraid!! I am nowhere near the standard I would like to get to, and still struggle with trickier tunes, and keeping up the right pace, but I am on my way.

"Don't give up the day job!" I hear you suggest.
Haha. What day job?

On top of Old Princeton,
All covered with snow,
I lost my true lover,
For courting too slow.

For courting's a pleasure,
But parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover,
Is worse than a thief.

After the climb Tim and I did a bit of exploring on the ATV, visiting a tiny town called St Elmo high in the mountains, and riding up into the forests. It is so beautiful on a sunny day up among these amazing peaks.

What a long and tiring day though. We finished with a soak in pool at Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort, and eventually headed for home, arriving back at 10.30pm. I was asleep within minutes.

Thanks again to Tim for accompanying me on my 9th 14er, and being there for the achievement of goal #90. Thanks again also to Mel, who bought me my first harmonica back in 2008, and to Brad Capper of Harp Attack in Western Australia for his fantastic intro course. Also thanks to Tony Eyers, and his wonderful, easy-to-follow online course at Harmonica Academy. And finally, a big thank you to all I have met on my travels who have had to put up with my practice sessions - you were all very tolerant and patient!

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Saturday 19th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 15 mins practice, plus GOAL ACHIEVED!
Develop a six-pack stomach - nothing
Learn the harmonica - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - no progress
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Night skydive - called in to Skydive Colorado and arranged to jump on Sunday
Book deal for 100goals - nothing done today

Sunday 20th June
Develop a six-pack stomach - The Incline (40 mins)
Learn the harmonica - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing done
Raise $50,000 for charity - nothing
Night skydive - 2 jumps at Skydive Colorado
Book deal for 100goals - nothing today

Monday 21st June
Develop a six-pack stomach - no excercise, but ate well all day
Learn the harmonica - 10 mins practice
Learn how to lucid dream - remembered a very vivid dream
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - sold 3 pix, but some eBay issues encountered
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - some reading, and a long talk with Kris Harty

Tuesday 22nd June
Develop a six-pack stomach - climbed 14er Princeton with Tim
Learn the harmonica - 10 mins playing on top of Princeton, including goal achievement
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered - slept like a log!
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - nothing
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Wobbly Goal 89 achieved at the BBQ.

2010-06-20T20:30:00.006+08:00

Goal #89 has been a long time in the making, going back more than a year, when Mel in Perth bought herself a unicycle, and I had a few goes at trying to ride it during the months I spent there after my first 7 months of travel.

In December last year, when it became obvious that I was never going to get to play in the Sedgefield Ball Game, as it took place on the same day as the culmination of Carnivale in Rio, learning to ride a unicycle was added as a late substitute goal.

At the time I could only get about 10 yards at best, but I have been doing quite alot of practice over the past few weeks here in Colorado, and last night was a chance to demonstrate my newly acquired skills.

And so at the BBQ that Val and Brenda had arranged, I had an audience of 11 when I made my attempt on wobbly goal #89.

I haven't yet mastered the art of getting on without a wall or step-ladder to help, but I had set myself a target of at least 50 yards without falling off to achieve the goal.

I made it about halfway on the first attempt, but on the second go, made it confidently past the 200 feet mark that Val and I had measured earlier in the week. I also impressed myself by managing my first full figure-of-8 too!

Thanks to Mel, who got me started with this goal, to Val and his work colleague Laura, who arranged a unicycle for me to practice on here, and to all who cheered me on last night too. After my success, I treated myself to a couple of celebratory pints of beer from John's wonderful homebrew IPA.

Some video of my wobbly ride here:-

We were up early in the morning, and at 6.30am seven of us met to tackle The Incline again. It was already getting hot at that time, and hindered slightly by the previous nights beer and BBQ food, I managed a respectable 40 minutes. I was very proud to beat Val for what I imagine will be the one and only time. He was even more hindered by many more beers, and plenty of cheesecake from the previous evening!

I set off immediately afterwards for the Skydive Colorado dropzone, and within ten minutes of arriving, once my gear and licence had been checked-out, I was on my first load of the day. Conditions were wonderfully clear, and it was a great jump, the first since leaving Australia in April. The view of the Royal Gorge Bridge was spectacular.

Wind stopped jumping for much of the afternoon, but I managed to squeeze one more jump in, with a bit of a telling-off afterwards from the chief instructor about going too far downwind in blustery conditions.

Hopefully I am now ready for a night jump next weekend when it is full moon once again. I just hope the weather conditions are favourable! Thanks to all at the dropzone who were so welcoming.

Getting fitter!

2010-06-19T23:31:00.004+08:00

On Wednesday evening, as soon as Val got back from work we headed out to The Incline again. I have set myself a personal challenge of beating 40 minutes before I leave Colorado. Feeling good, we started our climb at around 5.30pm, and both did very well. Val almost made it in less than 30 minutes, his personal target for this summer, and I was very proud to gain the top in less than 37 minutes. I think we are both getting alot fitter!

After two long days on Wednesday and Thursday preparing all of the things that needed to be ready to list fifty different pix on eBay, and preparing a press release too, I was ready for a bit of a break.

Val had taken Friday off work, and we headed south to Royal Gorge, site of the amazing Royal Gorge Bridge, the highest bridge in the world from 1929 to 2001. China now has a higher bridge.

It is an incredible 1000 feet above the Arkansas River far below, and I saw the bridge from below as we whitewater rafted below it last year. I also saw it from the air at that time, when the skydive plane flew us over it.

But walking across is quite an experience. After a short hike through some rough desert to the south rim of the gorge, we returned and took the cable car across the gorge, and the cliff railway down to the river, all very impressive.

In the afternoon we went to try out some rock climbing at Shelf Road Rocks. It is a long time since I last did any serious climbing, and we started with a reasonably easy climb for me to lead, appropriately called Ian's Climb.

We tried a few others, and had a great afternoon, but I was a little frustrated with the lack of strength in my arms. I used to have much better climbing strength when I climbed alot more regularly during my college years.

Last night we met up with Eric, who was one of our companions on the "7 Peaks in 7 Days" challenge last year, as well as Eric's wife Jackie, and their son Dylan. They were staying with friends Kevin and Delena. Val insisted that I get my harmonica out as we sat around the small backyard bonfire, but I'm still not quite ready to claim that goal as achieved. The four guys slept in Eric and Jackie's pop-up caravan. Somehow, everybody but me had heated mattresses, and I had a pretty chilly night!

After a leisurely breakfast in the morning, we made our way into Salida, where there was a big river festival, with all sorts of kayak races happening. Eventually we had to say our goodbyes though, and Val and I headed home, where a BBQ and goal attempt is planned for the evening!

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Wednesday 16th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 15 mins practice
Develop a six-pack stomach - The Incline - 37 mins (personal best), plus gym
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - a couple of dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - no progress
Raise $50,000 for charity - eBay going ahead, prepared for auction listings all day
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - more self-publishing research, reading excellent guide book

Thursday 17th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 15 minutes practice, almost got figure-of-8s
Develop a six-pack stomach - workout with Val at gym
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - several entries, even though it's not yet finished
Raise $50,000 for charity - sold 3 pix, prepared eBay press release most of the day
Night skydive - no progress
Book deal for 100goals - no time today

Friday 18th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - nothing today, but reasonably confident for tomorrow night
Develop a six-pack stomach - short hike near royal Gorge, some rock climbing
Learn the harmonica - played at bonfire Friday night
Learn how to lucid dream - don't remember any dreams from last night
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - sold 1 pic
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Return to eBay for final fundraising effort!

2010-06-17T07:21:00.001+08:00

The end of my journey is now less than three weeks away, and to be quite honest, I am really looking forward to this all coming to an end, and taking a bit of a break. But in the meantime, here is my final push at fundraising.

This whole journey started on eBay two years ago, when in June 2008 I put my whole "life" up for sale there. And so, thanks to a suggestion from Linda in New Jersey, what more appropriate way to end the journey than with another eBay auction?

I have been trying to raise funds for an Australian-based colon cancer research organisation, and you can click on either of these links to see more details about the why? and how?

My fundraising has only been moderately successful, my total raised currently being $4,000, with a further $2,000 promised from Richard Branson. I am now hoping to raise some extra funds by offering my photos on eBay too.

But to join the eBay Giving Works project, I have had to choose a US-based charity. My chosen organisation is "The Colon Club"
(Certified for eBay Giving Works since 2006. MissionFish nonprofit ID 13174.)

Their mission startement reads:-

The Colon Club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about colorectal cancer in out-of-the-box ways. Our goals are to educate as many people as possible, as early as possible, about the risk factors and symptoms of colorectal cancer, and for people to get screened when it's appropriate for them. Please check out our website at www.colonclub.com

Somewhat appropriate, I think, considering the "out-of-the-box" way I have arrived at this point in my life! I particularly like their "Collosal Colon" project - brilliant!

So, if you haven't yet supported my fundraising goal, and still wish to do so, it would be alot easier for me if you did so on my website at this page:-
http://www.100goals100weeks.com/getInvolved_Fundraising.php

However, please feel free to donate via eBay, and any of my auctions there. My eBay user ID is ian-usher, and you can find further info on my eBay "About Me" page.

You can find any of the individually listed photos by searching for "100goals" or "ALife4Sale", and you can take a look at my eBay Store, where all 50 photos are listed.

eBay Giving Works has facilitated raising over $166million for U.S. nonprofits by the eBay Community since eBay Giving Works began in 2003. I am hoping to get featured as one of the "What's Hot" on the eBay Giving Works home page.

Thanks to eBay for their help and support with this. I like the idea of this whole adventure now coming full circle, and having all began with an auction on eBay, now ending there too.

Once again, pictures available are shown below, click on any one to be taken to my fundraising page. Thank you again for your interest and support.

Batter up!

2010-06-16T10:14:00.003+08:00

The unicycling is progressing nicely! On my return to Colorado Srings on Sunday afternoon I managed to ride what must have been more than 100 yards, plus starting to get to grips with turning left and right, almost managing a full figure-of-8 at one point. I think this one is almost in the bag!

Other goals are proving to be much more challenging, and fundraising progress is slow. I do realise that financially, it probably couldn't be a worse time to be trying to get people to donate, but it's still frustrating.

Exercise continues, and slow progress is being made, and I try to practice the harmonica regularly, but can't find too much enthusiasm for it at the moment, as again I seem to have plateaued.

But life in Colorado Springs continues to be interesting and fun. Yesterday Tim picked me up early, and we started at the foot of The Incline, which took 53 minutes at a steady pace. From the top we continued for another four miles or so up the Barr Trail to Barr Camp.

Barr Camp is a wonderful place in the forest halfway up Pikes Peak. It is staffed by Neal and Teresa, a very welcoming and friendly couple who live there all year round. Inside it is very reminicient of one of the Nepali tea-houses that I so enjoyed on my Everest Base Camp trek. There is a stove in the centre of the room, and it is all very homely. Fresh coffee and pancakes and herb bread were very welcome after the hike up there.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and the exterior of the cabin felt like something out of a Disney cartoon! Gold-mantled ground squirrels ran around our feet, and ate from an almost empty peanut-butter jar on a tree stump. Tiny humming birds dipped their beaks into a sugar-water feeder. Forest chickadees would land on an outstretched hand holding seeds.

I konw that I will get grief from one or two sources in particular, but I have to come clean! I did hand-feed the squirrels, the chickadees, and most amazing of all, had tiny hummingbirds land on my fingers to feed from the sugar-water dispenser. I have no excuse, other than that this has been going on from way before I ever arrived here! As always, comments welcomed!

After a quick, well-deserved nap mid-afternoon, we headed out for another first for me - a baseball game. A big group of us gathered at Tim's house, and headed off to the game. I received all sorts of information on what was going on and why, as baseball has always been somewhat of a mystery to me.

The SkySox were badly beaten 7-0 by the visiting team from Tacoma, but I didn't mind too much either way. I had enjoyed the game, and despite the current six-pack goal, and much to Val's disgust, I had enjoyed the experience of having the almost-obligatory hotdog at a baseball game!

Thanks to all who came along and made my first experience of baseball so much fun:-
In the crowd photo, top row left to right: Val, Brenda, Judy, Mary, Diane and Bob
and bottom row: Beth, Durwin, Cailee (sp?) and Tim.

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Sunday 13th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - half-hour practice with some great progress turning
Develop a six-pack stomach - gym session at local gym
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - no dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - tried for some time with Yvette to sort out blog issues
Raise $50,000 for charity - sold 3 pix
Night skydive - rain stopped play again!
Book deal for 100goals - spoke again with Yvette about writing, etc.

Monday 14th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 2 x 15 minutes practice, frustrating today
Develop a six-pack stomach - good workout with Val at gym
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - nothing, only vague pieces of dreams remembered
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Night skydive - rain stopped play again!
Book deal for 100goals - alot of self-publishing research

Tuesday 15th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - nothing today, but reasonably confident now
Develop a six-pack stomach - 11 mile hike with Tim to Barr Camp
Learn the harmonica - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - don't remember any dreams from last night
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - scheduled a call with eBay for tomorrow
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Self-publishing workshop.

2010-06-13T11:39:00.004+08:00

Tim was one of the three guys who kept me company on all of the "7 Peaks in 7 Days" last year, and had asked if I wanted to come and walk a section of the Colorado Trail with him. He was helping out a friend, Cliff, who is trying to do the whole trail in stages.

Tim picked me up just before 6am in Cliff's car, and we drove a couple of hours into the spectacular mountains to the west of Colorado Springs, parking the car at a trailhead at the end of a long gravel road.

Our walk for the day was around 16 miles, through some beautiful forest and open valley, and at the halfway point we met Cliff and daughter Claudia, and swapped car keys.

It was a beautiful day, and the highlight for me was the spectacular open valley we climbed steadily up on the second half of our route. The stream in the middle of the valley had been dammed by beavers in many places, making many pools and lakes, some with a beaver house in the middle. What fascinatingly industrious creatures.

On Friday morning I started packing some stuff for a weekend trip up to Boulder. It's funny how soon I can become settled in a new "home", and the idea of going somewhere seemed a little tiresome, but on I-25, with the top down on Brenda's car, and country music blasting out of the radio, I was happy to be on the road again. Yee-har!

But as I turned off I-25 and headed west, the skies darkened, and by the time I arrived at Boulder Municipal Airport, it was clear there would be no skydiving today. Randy, Chief Instructor at Colorado Skysports, had no hopes for jumping all weekend, but was encouraging about the possibility of night jumps in two weeks time.

So instead I made my way to Yvette's house, not far from the airport. Yvette is now a self-published author, and I am very proud to be featured as one of the characters in her book "The Laptop Dancer Diaries - a mostly true story about finding love again".

The book tells of Yvette's search for love through a series of entertaining dates throughout 2008, and I am proud to be in there as Mr. November, as Yvette and I went on a date when we met in LA, and ended skinny-dipping in a very chilly ocean!! My take on the story can be read here, but Yvette's book is much more detailed! You can buy a copy here. Yvette has offered a special $2 discount too, simply use this discount code: 3QVEUS6G

In terms of skydiving, the weekend was a complete washout, but Yvette gave me loads of good information on writing, and self-publishing, and I am now very inspired to focus on completing my book, which I have tentatively titled "A Life Sold".

I was nice to catch up again, and chat with a fellow author (if I am allowed to call myself an author at this point?) Thanks for the inspiration Yvette.

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Accountability Progress Report:-

Thursday 10th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 20 mins practice - great progress!
Develop a six-pack stomach - 16 mile hike
Learn the harmonica - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - prepared to log dreams
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - no progress
Night skydive - planning some jumps for the weekend, heard back from one club
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Friday 11th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 20 minute practice - think I've cracked it!
Develop a six-pack stomach - workout in the home gym
Learn the harmonica - oops, forgot!
Learn how to lucid dream - woke from a dream within a dream - good step forward
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - heard back from eBay re:charity auctions
Night skydive - visited Skydive Colorado in Boulder
Book deal for 100goals - spoke for several hours with Yvette about self-publishing

Saturday 12th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - nothing, it poured down all day!
Develop a six-pack stomach - no excercise, but ate well
Learn the harmonica - nothing
Learn how to lucid dream - remembered a couple of dreams
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - arranged to speak to eBay rep next week
Night skydive - ready, willing and able to go jumping - rain stopped play!
Book deal for 100goals - spoke more with Yvette, and read alot from self-publishing guide "Guerrilla Marketing for Writers"

Accountability.

2010-06-09T19:36:00.003+08:00

The goals that I am currently working on all require some form of daily input, and I have always struggled with routine and to some extent, self-discipline. I always find it easier to tinker around with something inconsequential on the computer than get up and head for the gym, for example.

So for the next three weeks, until 1st July, when I fly to New York, I am going to try to be accountable to both myself, and any blog readers still bothering to follow my ramblings. I plan to maintain a daily list of what I have done towards each of the eight goals I am working towards. These are:-

Learn to ride a unicycle
Develop a six-pack stomach
Learn the harmonica
Learn how to lucid dream
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum
Raise $50,000 for charity
Night skydive
Book deal for 100goals

I will keep this updated at the bottom of any blog that I write. See below for progress to date.

Over the past few days I have been doing pretty well, but have still managed to fit a few other activities in too. On Sunday, with both Val and Brenda off work we decided to go to see the "Cave of the Winds" not far from here. It was high up in a spectacular valley, and was an interesting show cave, with plenty of narrow passageways. Unfortunately, in it's early days as a showcave when first discovered, alot of damage was done to many of the formations.

On Tuesday evening Val and I went on a local pub run, which involved a run of around four miles, finishing at Jack Quinn's Irish Pub in the city centre. Val and I are turning out to be ideal training partners, as Val is more enthusiastic about excercise than I am, so he can and does push me a bit. However, he also seems to be more enthusiastic about beer too, and I have to hold him back a bit there. At the end of the run, at the pub, we drank only water, despite Val's loud protests!

When we got back Val insisted I try out the unicycle that we had borrowed from his work colleague Laura. I'm progressing well on it so far.

Brenda headed off on Monday morning, working away for the week, and has been kind enough (and trusting enough!) to lend me here lovely Toyota convertable. So this morning Buddy and I set of for Val's mum and dad's house.

Dick had offered to take me out shooting, and we drove out into the countryside to his buddy Ed's place, where we could shoot all we liked. Dick had brought along a veritable arsenal, and we fired three different .22 rifles, two .22 pistols, and two larger bore rifles too.

For those interested, and for my own future reference, the guns fired were:
.22 Ruger 1022 semi automatic
.22 Remington 552 semi auto
.22 Remington 512 bolt action (no scope)
.22 Ruger Single Six - western-style pistol
.22 Ruger Mk I semi automatic pistol
.303 British #1 Mk3 Lee Enfield rifle (sporterized stock and scope)
.243 Swedish Mauser - a high powered hunting rifle

All were great fun, but my favourites were the western pistol, particularly with the quick-draw holster (I couldn't help playing the cowboy a bit!), and the Mauser, which was very accurate. The tin cans didn't stand a chance! I also liked firing the .303, which has a big kick-back, and reminded me of firing the same guns when in the cadets at school. Many thanks to Dick for a fantastic afternoon out.

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Progress Report:-

Monday 7th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - collected 2 unicycles from Laura
Develop a six-pack stomach - 1km swim, plus abs workout in gym
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - no progress
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - two photos sold
Night skydive - confirmed full moon dates for June
Book deal for 100goals - wrote a small piece for Chapter 10

Tuesday 8th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 2 x 20 minute practices, good progress
Develop a six-pack stomach - 4 mile run, plus gym workout
Learn the harmonica - 10 minutes practice
Learn how to lucid dream - remembered a couple of bits from a dream
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - wrote to Richard Branson, eBay and Expedia. RB promised $2,000
Night skydive - eamiled al four local clubs
Book deal for 100goals - nothing done

Wednesday 9th June
Learn to ride a unicycle - 15 minutes practice
Develop a six-pack stomach - nothing, taking a bit of a rest today
Learn the harmonica - nothing yet, but 10 minutes planned after blog is written
Learn how to lucid dream - nothing
Set up the "BlindsidedNetwork" support forum - nothing
Raise $50,000 for charity - nothing
Night skydive - nothing
Book deal for 100goals - nothing

Other Aussies raising funds for bowel cancer research.

2010-06-07T16:40:00.002+08:00

How come I didn't know about this?

It would appear that I missed out on saying hello to a group of fellow Aussies also raising funds for Bowel Cancer Australia. I was checking out my link on their website here, and was pleased to find that I have raised $1,800 through their link, as well as the 2,100 from photo sales.

And I found a link to their adventures on the Bowel Cancer and Digestive Research Institute "Do Your Own Thing" fundraising page. The 2010 Australian Everest Expedition would have been at Everest Base Camp when I passed through there.

It would have been great to meet up with some fellow fundraisers!

Anyway, they did an awesome job on the mountain, and all those planning to reach the summit managed to do so. They have also managed to raise over $60,000 so far. Fantastic job! I have a bit of catching up to do, I think!!

News articles on the climb here (click each one for a larger version):-

Congratulations to all on the Australian Everest Expedition 2010 team, for both the results on the mountain, and the fundraising efforts too.

Two of the pictures available as part of my charity fundraising goal are from my Everest trek. To donate and receive a signed copy of one of those pictures, or any of the other 48 pictures, take a look here:-
Charity Fundraising Photos

More on my reasons for this cause being of particular relevance to me here.

An uphill struggle.

2010-06-05T09:23:00.002+08:00

I am settling in nicely to the spare room at Val and Brenda's house, and am trying to develop some sort of routine that involves some excercise (for the six-pack abs), some harmonica playing, and hopefully when we collect them, some unicycling too. I am also wanting to get on with writing the book, and have to make progress with fundraising and website development.

But find that it is rather too easy to get distracted by other activities that seem a little less like "work". Yesterday's trip in Brenda's car to get some groceries turned into a lovely drive around the local area. Poor Buddy got bitten by a rattlesnake, and had to be rescued. We went out to Val's cousin Diane's house for a BBQ last night. And this morning Val asked what I fancied doing today - sending fundraising emails wasn't high on my wish-list for the day, so we're off to see his dad, and hopefully arrange some target shooting!

But we have been doing some excercise too. Val and I went down to his local gym the other night, and yesterday I made the first use of Val and Brenda's little home gym, which is right next to my bedroom.

And this morning, I am proud to say, we were all up before 6am, and along with Val's climbing buddy John, we headed out to tackle "The Incline". I did this once last year after we had completed our "7 Peaks in 7 Days" challenge. At the time I was pretty fit, having spent the previous week climbing 14,000ft peaks, and was acclimatised to the altitude.

However, I have only been in Colorado Springs for a couple of days, and the previous month has all been at sea level, with the toughest training I have done being sitting by a swimming pool sipping a frosty beer! So the climb this morning, from around 6,600ft to 8,600ft over a distance of a mile was a bit of a killer. The average gradient is 41%, and 68% at the steepest section! More info on The Incline here.

Last time I did this my time was a fantastic first effort of 43 minutes. This morning I was proud to achieve a respectable 47 minutes. I think I still have a reasonable level of fitness remaining after the Everest Base Camp trek. I think if I had been able to come directly to Colorado straight after two tough weeks in Nepal, I could have produced a fantastic time on the incline!

And so the rest of this month looks like it is going to be physically challenging. Val is as focussed on the six-pack goal as I am, maybe even more so, and he was already talking about another trip to the gym tonight or tomorrow, a run on Monday evening, and a mountain climb later in the week.

It certainly looks like I face an uphill struggle for the rest of the month!

Oh, and finally....
My camera is working again! I can't believe it! It has been drying out for the past few days, and when I half-heartedly tried it again yesterday, it seemed to work fine. The battery in it is fried, and won't hold any charge, but I have a spare, and am back in business. The photos above are from the rejuvenated Canon. I imagine I will be able to hear Moe's sigh of relief from here! She was feeling very guilty.