1. Swing-dancing.- I said last term I was planning to try to go swing dancing this term, and there is a place here that has swing nights every week, yet I haven't made it there yet. I even somewhat have a potential dancing partner, though I'd have to be pretty crazy to assume he really ever planned to actually go dancing with me just from agreeing to "maybe go sometime." Still, it's better than "no", and in any case, I can't dance with anyone unless I actually leave the house to go dancing.
2. Get a bike and a helmet. Ride around Fort Collins trails a while to get used to being on a bike again. - It's been almost two decades since I last rode a bike, and when I was riding back then it was just in my own neighborhood, on sidewalks and in schoolyards, so it'll take a bit of riding to get to where I am as comfortable biking as I am walking.
3. Get a sewing machine. - Oh the things I could make! Actually, I'd love to be able to hem shortened pants and sleeves faster, and find a good pattern for tailored vests and jackets. I'll never find suits that fit my torso, with pants that fit and a well-proportioned skirt, AND a jacket whose sleeves are short enough, but I could make such an ensemble.
4. Assemble a short-list of PhD programs in political theory, rural studies, environmental science and ecology. - Realistically I ought to be hunting a school where I can combine landscape ecology and political theory if I wish, and in a place with good public transit. I still really like Aberystwyth, but I have to be able to bring the Cat.
5. Try climbing.- Every time this makes it onto my list, I think that maybe it will result in my actually climbing something. So far I have looked at climbing gear at a store, with a nice, attractive young man explaining to me the merits of different climbing shoes, and way back in 1999 I made it to the foot of what my friend Jackie thought was to be my first climb. However, something that would be fairly easy for a 5' tall person in general is much more difficult for me, with my much shorter arms and less functional hands. On a climbing wall, connected to a safety rope, and staying fairly low, I think I'd make better progress. I still have to be cautious on this one; My spine is irregular, missing a bit of bone in the vertebra in my neck, so the kind of jerk that could result from being caught from a fall by a rope might snap my neck with less force than would otherwise be required.
6. Urban ecology research.- All one needs in order to do urban ecology is an inquiring mind, knowledge of statistical analysis and ecology, and some data, which can be collected by observation or all sorts of other ways. I still have my square, with which to do plot census counts, too.
7. Walk to Horsetooth Reservoir and back- this is roughly a 4+ mile walk/hike each way from my place, so definitely a day-hike, and best done earlier in the summer when it's not as hot.
8. Make art.- I have a set of wood chisels, still, and a stack of linoleum for linocuts, so I've no real excuse not to do more printmaking. And if I need more chisels, the Harbor Freight Tools store where mine came from is just down the street.
9. Find someplace less reclusive to hang out.- It's nice and quiet at my place, but that's not always so great. I don't live close to the bars, and don't really want to, but being away from those parts of town I also don't have a natural hang-out location at my place. I'll probably never find a place quite like Whizzers, but life would be better with a hangout like that. Alternatively, I suppose having people over more would help.
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