Well, I’ve done some research and I’ve learned that lawn bowling is similar to bocce ball (and here I thought they were the same thing!). I’m thinking of taking lessons in Santa Monica’s Douglas Park, with the Santa Monica Lawn Bowls Club. They’re free, and they’re held at noon on a few weekdays or on Sunday mornings. I may not be able to go in the next few weeks, because of my work schedule, but it’s definitely on the list of upcoming things to tackle.

…annoying to the people who read this, I mean. I have nothing to say right now. I just wanted to make sure I got my blogging done for “Thursday” (I just got home from work). When I wake up this afternoon, I’m sure I’ll have something to say.

So, sorry.

As I see it, I only missed one day (Saturday), since I have yet to go to sleep after Sunday. I’m not going to let one little day ruin my quest for a month of blogging daily, so I’ll just pretend it didn’t happen.

What did I do this weekend that kept me away from the computer?

I slept. And slept. I read Angelina Jolie’s Notes From My Travels, Why People Buy Things They Don’t Need by Pamela Danziger, and Goal-Free Living by Stephen M. Shapiro. I ignored the laundry piling up in my bedroom. I didn’t clean the shower. On Saturday I went out for drinks to celebrate my friend Hollie’s birthday, and I met several interesting people (and didn’t pay for a thing all night). On Sunday, I had lunch with my friend Maurissa and watched Blade Runner with my friends at our Movie Night. I also listened to the tape of my astrology session in January and realized that he was right about almost everything (I still don’t have a lot of female friends or an affinity for small animals)… even though I refused to believe it back then.

And that big, run-on paragraph was why I feel completely justified in not blogging on Saturday.

My NetNewsWire feed reader has over 1000 unread posts.

When I start working, I tear through all of my unheard podcasts, since I spend more time in the car. When I take a break from work, I clear out my unread RSS feeds. I haven’t figured out how to balance it all, though.

If I haven’t commented on something recent in your life. Or, say, noticed that YOU GOT ENGAGED (congrats, guys)… I’m sorry. I’m in podcast territory right now.

Well, this “blogging every day” thing sucks. It’s still my “Wednesday,” since I started the new job last night and I just got home. No Blackberry service at work: phone or email. I feel so out of touch… and I can’t even do a quick blog post while I’m there. I’ll write more when I wake up in the “morning.” Now I’m gonna try to get some sleep.

Wow! It’s already Wednesday morning! I still don’t quite feel like I had a weekend, and I’m already almost half way through the week. I’m enjoying the current work project, but the 10-11 hour days of extremely detail-oriented work are grueling. So, I’ve been slacking off on my side projects.

I recorded another interview for Uncommon Path on Sunday and, despite my goal of editing it on Monday evening, I have yet to even listen to the whole thing. Not that I don’t want to… it was a pretty fun interview… but I’m just not ready to tackle another edit session with the open source program I’m using (Audacity). It seems like a bigger task than it probably is.

This past weekend, I also bought a crockpot. I’ve been wanting one for a while, and I saw that my first pick was on sale for $18 at Target this weekend. Tonight I fired it up - well, plugged it in - and set it cooking some pork loin chops. If it’s any good, I’ll share the recipe. I guess we’ll see in the morning!

Oh, and despite the lack of progress on the 101 things, I’ll be crossing off 2 things in the coming week. One on Saturday and one next Wednesday. I’m looking forward to both.

I’ve been sick for the past few days and feeling rundown for the past several weeks. Obviously, I’m way too stressed out, so some changes are going to be made.

The biggest drain on my energy has been my slow progress toward finishing my degree (through Indiana University’s distance degree program). At this point, I’m on the 20-year plan, since I haven’t made a ton of progress, and it’s not even something I feel I need to achieve. Dropping that will ease some of the pressure and allow me to spend my time on things that I’m really excited about, like making eggs benedict and finishing the book I’m writing. So, #7 on my list - “Finish my IU Programming Class” - is the first replacement. Here’s a rundown of everything that’s shifting:

• #7. “IU Programming Class” will become “Take a violin lesson.” I used to play as a kid, and I’d love to pick up the violin just one more time. If I can play a scale by the end of the hour, I’d consider that an accomplishment.
• #36. “Visit Jake when he’s in San Diego” will become “Visit Jake (in NY?).” He’s living in NYC now, and I hope to see him when I’m out there later this month.
• #86. “Audition for Mortified” is turning into a Freebie. I don’t really feel like I have much material to work with, so I’m not planning on auditioning. Since the show is a performance of people reading excerpts from their childhood diaries, journals, poetry, and songs, if I don’t already have any good material, I can’t go back in time and write some.
• #98. Freebie is turning into “Watch all of the films Woody Allen wrote or directed.” Many of my friends absolutely hate his films, and there’s not much I can do about that, aside from not inviting them over when I watch these movies. I think he’s a genius, but I’ve only seen about 10 of his films. That leaves about 30 or so, according to IMDB. I’m starting today with Manhattan Murder Mystery.

This week feels like quicksand. Things are moving along much slower than I’d hoped with all of my projects. I may be working this weekend, too, so that’s going to put a damper on my progress. Here are a few quick updates:

#16. PHP:
I’m still not actually starting on this one, but I’ve learned a lot about PHP this week while working on the WordPress theme for my new site. When I actually sit down to learn it, I’ll already have at least *some* familiarity with the syntax. That’s something!

#53. Temple:
I spoke with the rabbi’s assistant at Sinai Temple, and she was very helpful, but in the end I still don’t feel comfortable going to services alone. I’m asking around, and I hope to find someone to go with me before next weekend. (In related news, I’m back on JDate for a month…)

#72. Did I mention that I’m on JDate?:
Working on that “man that makes me swoon” thing. I’ve got a JDate tomorrow night.

#79. The Gym:
When I sat down to write this evening, I was thinking of tackling the “gym twice a week” thing this month. Then I realized that I’ll be traveling later this month, and it might be a bit difficult. I’ll be staying at the Affinia Manhattan in NY, and they’ve got a great fitness center (I’ve heard), but I don’t want to lug my gym shoes and clothes across the country.

Today I bought a new gym bag, since my old one was too small to fit everything I need. I plan on going to the gym tomorrow, and we’ll see about the rest of the month. It should get me in the swing of things so that I can complete a full month in March.

#84. Uncommon Path:
I hired Brian Groce from Watershed Studio off the wp-pro list to help me finish my WordPress theme, and it’s almost ready! Once I tweak a few things on the site, I’ve got to start lining up interviews, and this project will be underway.

I haven’t really done much in the last few days that contributes to the list, except for the hours that I’ve spent trying to adapt my site layout to a WordPress template, so that I can finally launch Uncommon Path in the next week or so. At this point, I’ve just about given up on coding it myself. Today I sent an email to the wp-pro list, seeking to hire a coder to get the dang thing up and running. Of course, if anyone’s got suggestions or experience building WP themes, I’d love to hear from you! I just want to make some progress!

Here’s a bunch of stuff that has very little to do with my 101 Things:

• I installed BAStats for WordPress, so that I can get stats from within my blogging dashboard. I also took Hilary’s advice and looked “behind-the-scenes” at my control panel. All kinds of fun stuff there. For instance, some of the searches that landed people here:
  - mini cooper meatball event ikea
  - melanie salmon art
  - make a desk out of a old piano
  - time killers
  - using stud undies
  - guilt piano
• For those who haven’t yet seen the West Coast response to SNL and Lonely Island’s Lazy Sunday, check it out already!
• Tonight was the US-wide release of my friends’ movie, Coachella. I guess it’s too late to tell you to go see it, but I hope you enjoyed it if you did.
• H&M is coming to LA. Finally.
• A few days ago, Jill posted a great quote about what women want. Absolutely right.
• Cute! And more cuteness! Cute Overload!