Week #52 12/23/12-12/30/12

The capital of Oklahoma is Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city in Oklahoma.  It was the site of the devasting "Oklahoma City Bombing" in April of 1995.

Physical: 25 Shoulder Presses

Personal: Take the ferry to Southport and buy something

Result:  My final challenge was quite fun.  I mean who doesn't like boating?  It was kind of symbolic too...a journey to end my journey.  Anyways, enough rambling and more reporting.  There is a ferry that runs off the south end of the island that I live on right past Fort Fisher.  It goes to the tiny town of Southport.  I checked the ferry times and decided I would go in the morning at 9:15.  I paid the toll of $5.00 and waited for the ferry to arrive.  I was actually the first car in line at 8:45.  I drove my car on the ferry and was off at exactly 9:15.  I arrived in Southport at roughly 9:40.  The distance is only a couple of miles, but about a 30 minute trip.

When I arrived in Southport, I drove to the historic downtown district and bought some breakfast at a coffee shop.  I bought a "red eye" coffee and a breakfast sandwich (this met the requirement of buying something).  I had some time to burn before I had to catch the return ferry at 10:45.  I went down to the water front and discovered a waterfront park.  As I ventured around, I discovered some really cool things about the history of Southport.  It had been around since before the American Revolutionary War, which ironically, I had just finished teaching before Christmas Break.  It had started as Fort Johnston.  Southport was the place where the last Royal Governor had fled to after the Whigs (Patriots) had chased him off.  The town itself was built around the fort after the Revolutionary War.  It was also involved in the Civil War.  It switched hands numerous times between the Union and Confederate forces.  I also found out the historic "Old Baldy" lighthouse had once stood there.  There was even a tribute to an early female meteorologist.

I made it back just in time to catch the 10:45 ferry back to Ft. Fisher.  Overall, it was a nice way to end my challenge.  I will post one more final write up to summarize the 2012 Challenge in it's entirety.

Week #51 12/16/12-12/23/12

The capital of Alabama is Montgomery

Montgomery is the capital and second largest city in Alabama.  It was the first capital of the Confederate States of America (later became Richmond, Va) during the Civil War time period.

Physical:  10 pop-ups

Personal:  Clean out my closet and give clothes to charity.


Result:  My next to last challenge of 2012 saw another act directed towards charity.  I have always been sort of a pack rat when it came to clothes.  A lot of people observe the "If I haven't worn it in a year" rule and get rid of old clothes annually.  I however, observe the "Cram it in your closet, you might need at some future point in your life" rule.  That being said, I had quite a few clothes that I could give to charity.  I went through old sweaters, shirts, ties, and suits and piled them on my bed.  There were many that I hadn't worn in a long time, but there were others that I probably would have worn if they hadn't been buried under the ones I wouldn't.  Needless to say, I filled a large trash bag and made ample room on the hanging pole.  I took the clothes to a resale shop that gives the majority of it's profits to helping the victims of domestic violence.  It felt good to clean out my closet, but it felt even better to donate them to a cause.

Week #50 12/9/12-12/16/12

The capital of Alaska is Juneau.

Alaska or "Seward's Folly" was the 49th state admitted to the union in 1959.  Juneau was named for a gold prospector named Joe Juneau.

Physical: 15 Pop Ups

Challenge: Watch the sun set everyday.

Result:  This was a beautiful challenge.  Sunsets are beautiful and I really got a chance to explore the island that I live on.  Weather also played a role in this challenge as it was cloudy on Tuesday, cloudy and raining on Wednesday, and cloudy again on Friday.  On Monday I went down to the ocean to watch.  I saw the sun "setting," but there were houses that blocked the view of it sinking beneath the horizon.  On Thursday, I decided to explore to get a better view.  I picked up a couple of friends and headed to the southern part of the island at Ft. Fisher.  I was rewarded with a straight on view of the sunset.  It was beautiful.  I went there again on Friday.  Friday was an emotional day because of the school shooting in Connecticut.  The sunset that day was beautiful.  I sent my sister a text of it and told her to share the picture with my niece and nephew and tell them that God had painted that sunset for all the world's children.  Sometimes we forget the little things in the hustle and bustle of today's world.  Watch a sunset and you will quickly remember that there is beauty all around you.

Pics Top to Bottom: Monday, Thursday, and Friday:

Week #49 12/2/12-12/9/12

The capital of New Jersey is Trenton.

Trenton was the sight of George Washington's first military victory in the American Revolution.  Today it is the tenth largest city in New Jersey.

Physical: 25 push ups

Personal: Give a homeless person some money.

Result:  This was an interesting card to draw during the season of giving.  It turned out to be a little different then I envisioned.  When I drew the card, my first thoughts were where would I find a homeless person?  Friends weighed in and suggested I give the money to an organization that helps the homeless.  They thought simply giving a homeless person money might lead the person to continue a viscous cycle of drug or alcohol abuse.  Another friend of mine suggested simply talking to a homeless person.  She said that in her experience simply taking the time to talk to someone who is down our their luck does wonders.

Conflicted as I was, I got a Christmas card and enclosed a $20 dollar bill.  I headed to downtown Wilmington.  Didn't have any particular goal other than to find a homeless person and give them the card.  But as I drove through the downtown area, I didn't see a plethora of homeless people.  I saw a couple of people who might of been, but there was no way to know.  It was at that point that I realized maybe this challenge was elitist.  I mean who was I?  Some rich person who was going to rectify the wrongs of the world with a card and some money?  More importantly, did I think I was better than someone else?  If anything, this challenge made me think a lot about things that are wrong with the world.  Realizing, that it probably wasn't fair to bring some unsuspecting person into my challenge, I decided to open the card and give the money to one of the Salvation Army money collectors.  I didn't go up smacking the $20 dollar bill trying to get a hero's welcome either.  I discreetly placed the bill in the pot.  The attendee thanked me for my contribution (he didn't know if it was $20 or 20 cents) and wished me a Merry Christmas.

Regardless of the philosophical debate I had in my own mind, it felt good to give.  I pray that everyone on this Earth finds peace and solitude.  I hope those who have are thankful for having.  I hope those who don't have as much are content with what they have.  I hope for those that have little or nothing at all, at least have peace.  Happy Holidays to all.

Week #48 11/25/12-12/2/12

The capital of Washington is Olympia.

You might have been thinking Seattle...I was, but it is Olympia.  It is named for the nearby Olympic Mountains.

Physical: 20 push ups

Personal: Watch "Gone with the Wind"

Result: I'm guessing the reason I made this as part of my challenge is that this movie is usually called the "greatest movie ever made."  I personally had never seen it.  I mean sure, through pop culture I knew about Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.  I knew the quote "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."  I also knew that it was set during the Civil War.  I knew it was a book written by Margaret Mitchell.  Finally, I knew the black female lead of Mammy was the first African American woman to receive an Oscar (I believe she might have been the first male or female).  So it's amazing to me that I knew so much about a movie I had never seen.  But...

I didn't know a lot about this film either.  First of all, I didn't know the movie was nearly 4 hours long.  I watched it in three different settings.  I won't spoil it, but I will say that the love affair I had anticipated between Scarlett and Rhett was actually one of the most dysfunctional movie relationships I have ever witnessed.  The movie has a ton of written scripts to the audience to explain going-ons.  Only the first half of the movie is during the actual Civil War (1861-1865).  The second half (and yes, there is an intermission) goes well beyond the conclusion of the war.  It actually to me played out more like a Greek tragedy than a romance.  I really did enjoy it.  It was very well put together considering the time when it was made.  If you haven't watched it, I would recommend it.