I’ve now been blogging for two years. Scary. You can read my first post (originally from The LBSC) here, and last year’s anniversary post here. Since this is a fairly significant occasion (I guess), it seems appropriate to post an update to the ‘99 things I proposed a little over a year ago…

1. Qualify as a doctor
» I’m 20% closer, but by no means there as of yet.

2. Do a parachute jump
» Not yet done, and no immediate plans

3. Go paragliding
» Also not yet done, and no immediate plans

4. Make a billion
» I’d like to say I’m close… but I’m not

5. Lose a million
» Thankfully, not too close

6. Write a textbook
» I typed my first year notes up and bound them appropriately, so that’s not a million miles away. But I don’t think it counts.

7. Write a bestselling novel
» Nope

8. Visit all seven continents
» I haven’t visited any more continents than I had this time last year. Nor, indeed, any more countries.

9. Drive / Be driven across America
» No plans

10. Drive / Be driven across Australia
» Again, no plans

11. Visit the poorest parts of Africa
» I watched Comic Relief. Not quite the same, though, methinks.

12. Visit the richest parts of America
» I watch The West Wing. Not quite the same, though, methinks.

13. Meet a US President
» I may have met a future US President… who can tell?

14. Complete a marathon
» I did the Flora Family Marathon. But it’s not quite what I envisaged when writing that aim. So it doesn’t count.

15. Give a million away
» I haven’t got a million!

16. Go in to space
» Some people say I spend most of my time on another planet…

17. Pay someone to cook and clean for me
» Not as of yet

18. Invent or discover something revolutionary
» Erm… no.

19. Be the Time ‘Person of the Year’
» I was one of ABC News World News Tonight‘s People of the Year. But not Time Person of the Year. Yet.

20. Win an Oscar / Bafta / Booker Prize / Nobel Prize or similar
» I’m not aware that I’ve done this yet.

21. Visit one / both of the Poles
» Not yet

22. Fly a plane
» Not even close.

23. Make a fire the old-fashioned way
» Haven’t tried

24. Own several houses
» Don’t even own one.

25. Make something useful
» papercdcase.com helps me do this regularly, but, again, it’s not quite what I had in mind.

26. Go on a rock star rampage
» Sadly not.

27. Get completely lost
» I did have great difficulty finding Tesco in Stockton (or more accurately, finding Durham Road). But I got there eventually. And I was never ‘completely’ lost.

28. Own a log cabin
» It’s not exactly on the to-do list.

29. Star in a wildly successful TV series
» Unless I’m the subject of some freaky reality show, then I’ve not done this.

30. Release a wildly successful single
» Nope.

31. Be a guest voice on ‘The Simpsons’
» They haven’t invited me yet.

32. Go through the ‘Basket’ till with a trolley full of goods separated into many different transactions
» I haven’t yet chosen to do this

33. Pull off a hoax that is reported as truth in a national newspaper
» No

34. Plant a tree
» Again, no

35. Live completely alone for a month or so
» Not yet

36. Stage a ‘punctuation crusade’
» I added an apostrophe to a poster that was missing one on the medicine noticeboard. But that’s about it.

37. Become a highly influential politician
» I blog about politics. But I don’t think I’m at all influential. And I’m no politician.

38. Become a regular columnist in a national newspaper
» Er – no.

39. Present a highly successful radio show
» You see, if I really wanted to do this, I could set up an internet station. But it’s not something that’s top of my list right now.

40. Find a hat that doesn’t make me look stupid
» I haven’t found a hat.

41. Own a house with an indoor swimming pool
» I don’t own a house

42. Travel in a submarine
» Again, no.

43. Go on a cruise
» Nope.

44. Live on a houseboat
» I’ve only been on one boat this year. And it wasn’t a houseboat. And I didn’t live on it.

45. Get married [provided I find the perfect partner]
» Err… No.

46. Drive / Fly around the country / world, visiting a different branch of McDonalds each day
» Nope.

47. Live in a foreign country (where English is not the predominant spoken language)
» Again – no.

48. Relearn Latin
» A medical degree is practically a Latin degree. But again, not quite what I imagined.

49. Have a home that is fitted entirely with a Home Automation System
» No

50. Help someone in desperate need
» I haven’t done this on a personal level.

51. Eliminate early mornings
» Sadly not

52. Travel first class. Everywhere.
» Again, no.

53. Achieve a world record
» Haven’t even tried.

54. Have a portfolio of highly successful businesses
» I don’t have even a single business

55. Teach
» Nope

56. Save a life (Hopefully more than one)
» Not directly

57. Read all the books I own
» I now have more unread books than I did last year!

58. Have more time to read the newspapers
» Not as much as I’d like

59. Employ a Personal Assistant
» Not as yet

60. Stage a ‘grammar crusade’
» Nope

61. See a total solar eclipse
» Again, no. Although I did see one on telly a few years back.

62. See a total lunar eclipse
» Nope

63. Visit Greece
» No

64. Take a tour of the White House
» Sadly not

65. Own the complete Oxford English Dictionary
» Not yet

66. Take part in a successful campaign to have Sport News removed from main News Bulletins, except for special events
» Haven’t tried, and haven’t even really moaned about it.

67. Appear on Newsnight in person
» I appeared on the Newsnight website… but still not quite what I was after

68. Write a Will
» No

69. Appear on Question Time in person (as part of the panel)
» Nope

70. Stage a successful series of concerts
» Strangely, no-one’s asked me to.

71. Make a difference
» Too vague to really say whether I’ve done it or not.

72. Plan my own funeral
» Nope.

73. Be transiently world famous
» No.

74. Own a Segway Human Transporter
» Not sure I really want one any more…

75. Sit on a jury
» Nah.

76. Buy an obscene number of Toasted Marshmallow Jelly Beans
» Haven’t even bought a single one.

77. Travel in a Hot Air Balloon
» No.

78. Present an award
» Nope.

79. Employ a butler
» Not yet.

80. Have a positive impact on as many lives as possible
» Again, too woolly.

81. Have a negative impact on as few lives as possible
» See 80.

82. Have a neutral impact on even fewer lives
» See 81.

83. Become transiently infamous throughout the world
» Nope.

84. Write (though not necessarily publish) an extensive autobiography
» The Learning Portfolio I did was vaguely autobiographical, though I wouldn’t call it extensive.

85. Become qualified in psychiatry
» Nope.

86. Make a historical mark on the world
» Who can say?

87. Learn how to wrap presents in a half-way decent manner
» Haven’t tried.

88. Have a piece of artwork made by me displayed in a famous gallery
» Depends what you call a famous gallery – is not the internet the most famous gallery of all?

89. Be there at a time when I’m needed
» Woolly.

90. Learn basic handywork skills
» Don’t really know what I had in mind here.

91. Learn about basic car maintenance
» Well, possibly I know the very basics. Again, not sure what I was thinking.

92. Be instrumental in ending / preventing a war in a peaceful manner
» Not that I know of.

93. Abseil down something big
» Nope.

94. Make an arch-enemy
» Haven’t really tried – possibly a good thing.

95. Visit Times Sqaure on New Year’s Eve
» No.

96. Learn to play the Harmonica
» Don’t know why I wanted to do that!

97. Stay at a Disney theme park over Christmas
» Nope.

98. Go to the Olympics
» Didn’t go, but did watch them on the box.

99. ‘Astonish the World’
» It’s not really for me to say…

So the progress so far is not exactly stunning. Will I be any further along by this time next year? Doubt it, but we’ll see.