#ThinkKit11 Day 30: Looking for the full set ...

Here we are, 28 hours from 2012, and two blog entries remain in SmallBox's #ThinkKit11 project. Time's fun when you're having flies, right? It's been challenging to keep up-to-date, doing a blog entry every day, but in retrospect, it's been rather fun. Let's look at today's topic:

Friday, Dec 30: Removing Obstacles
If money, time or other commitments were no obstacle in 2012, what would you do?

Hmmmm ... this one is kinda strange to me, to be honest. Outside of a 7-week stint up in Chicago this year, I've been unemployed for almost three years. Not necessarily by choice, mind you - but if you think about it for a minute or two, outside of school work, I've had many opportunities to do things I've wanted to do, even while on a budget and not having to ask my boss for a day or week off.

So ... as we enter 2012, I am fully expecting some significant changes to life. Surely, full-time employment is around the corner, somehow, someway. I am now starting to look at rental places in the Indianapolis-metro area, something that will be large enough for myself and my dog. I am also connecting / reconnecting with as many contacts I can regarding employment opportunities to spread my wings in HCI & usability. I am ready for change and adventures.

Now, with that out of the way ... there are plenty of things I would really like to do in 2012 (or any year, for that matter). So, if I were to take money, time, and all other commitments away, and just go do something I want to do, what would it be? I don't think it's really time to be putting things on a "bucket list" is it?  So, I go with something relatively safe ... I'd like to complete my list to have visited all 50 U.S. States.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I've been fortunate to have traveled a good piece in our country, but there are many unseen areas I would love the opportunity to visit, perhaps even take my golf clubs to. Here's the list of the twelve states I have yet to visit:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Deleware, Hawai'i, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina.

As you can see, there'd have to be a number of different and specific trips necessary. A flight to Hawai'i. A flight to (*gulp*) North Dakota, since I have the surrounding states covered. A trip to Maine (perhaps through Boston - which I like better than NYC). A trip to South Carolina via Charlotte, NC. Might be able to hit Dover via Washington or Baltimore. Perhaps an Alaskan cruise would be in order. Arizona & New Mexico would have to be another trip. Oklahoma & Arkansas would have to be one trip. Alabama & Mississippi would have to be a trip as well. So you can see - in order for me to finish my "journey of 50 states", I'd have several trips to plan out.  Who knows - I might be able to knock out one of those trips anyway this year, as I'm kicking around going to the IndyCar race in Birmingham, AL, but I'll have to see about that first.

I know that's kind of a cop-out answer, but I don't know how to really answer it. Let me put it to you this way ... when I was a senior in HS, my Advanced Sr. English teacher asked the class to write a descriptive narrative on where we would go on our summer break if given $500 dollars and a new professional-grade bicycle. I wrote a detailed adventure from Southern Illinois to the Grand Canyon, up to the state of Washington, and then back. I got it returned with a "REDO" grade, stating I needed a healthy dose of realism. I wasn't the only one in my class - over 2/3 of us had REDO's. It was humiliating, but it also made me think. Yes, it is wonderful to dream big, but it will take a dedicated effort over a great period, in order to achieve.  That's why I didn't mention "I'd like to travel in space", or "I'd like to climb one of the world's highest mountains." Both of which I would love to be able to do have the opportunity to do so, but I have to be realistic.

You know ... perhaps that 2-seater ride in an IndyCar for a few laps around IMS should go higher up on my list. That should be my motivation for losing weight this year - get down to 200 lbs., and I'm out $500 for a 2-seater ride, followed by a few laps of my own in my own IndyCar. Some people want to run away to the circus - I want to run away with IndyCar. :)