UPDATE: TRYING TO STAY FOCUSED ON 101 LIST

I thought it was about time for an update on my 101 list.

RECENTLY COMPLETED TASKS (view photos)

8. Use my passport

Used it crossing Canadian border on March 11, 2009. No documentation (photos, video, etc.) – blog explanation to follow. (Teaser: I was detained)

45. Participate in regular Bible Study
Completed 16-week men's fellowship at McKinney Bible Church; Focus of class: "Winning at Work and Home."

52. Go to a rodeo
Went to Stockyards Championship Rodeo on Feb. 1, 2009

73. Ride on a train
Rode Amtrak Train from Denver to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in route to ski trip in Vail. (blog here)

COMING SOON

10. Go to a Texas Rangers game at a visitors’ ballpark

Going to try and slide this in on one of my business trips OR one of TK's over-nights.

53. Post a video on You Tube

Going to post reenactment of No. 8 (see above) 

41. Break 4-hour mark in a marathon

I have put a lot of focus on this – next week, I will log 31 miles of training. Reminder: I am raising funds and awareness for Back on My Feet (more info here)

74. Start customer service blog

I'm so close to having this ready to roll. To put some added pressure on my self...launch date: April 1st.

76. Play paintball OR
79. Play a round of indoor (simulated) golf
For cost-cutting measures, Anthony and I haven't done anything crazy fun in a while. I think my Little Brother deserves to join me on one of these adventures.

86. Ride on a motorcycle

I have already planted the seed with my brother. I'm hoping we can get a ride in before summer rolls around.

A LITTLE BEHIND

81. Take a self portrait in every National Park

I knew this was one of my biggest/most difficult endeavors out of the gate – since I have ZERO under my belt after 222 days, you can multiply that degree of difficulty by 63.

93. Read 200 books

By no means am I giving up on this task, either, but I'm only at 11. I wish I had read my own tips before putting this one in ink. (read tips here for creating a list here)

BELIEVE IT: 5-Day Adventure for Under $200

With my ski trip in my rearview mirror, I’ve had 

a couple of questions creep into my subconscious.

Reminder: I wanted to prove that I could go to Vail, Colorado, for five days on the cheap – and run my company at the same time.

Here are the haunting questions:

• Was I cheapskate?

• Was I a freeloader?

In regards to finances, I’ve started to play back my whole trip in my mind … and I think the answer is a solid "I don't think so" to both questions. I firmly believe that the terms “smart,” “frugal,” and “tight” are a little more fitting.

Here are the final numbers from my adventurous experiment (If I didn’t have to eat anything OR drink a couple pints – I could have crushed this experiment):

GOAL: $130

AMOUNT SPENT: $198

TRANSPORTATION: $102 total

– Airplane Flight:     $0 

(spouse benefits through Southwest Airlines)

– Train/Bus Ride to Vail:     $45

– Shuttle from Vail:     $57

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LODGING: $0 total

– Cousin’s house in Denver:     $0 

(thanks a million, Brent and Rita)

– Condo in East Vail:     $0 

(thanks two million, Mark)
_________________________________________

SKIING: $0 total

– Lift Tickets:     $0 

(used credit card points)

– Ski Rentals:     $0 

(used credit card points)

___________________________________________

FOOD: $96 total

– Meal/coffee on train:     $12

– Pint of stout & app in Glenwood Springs:      $18

(NOTE: Thanks to Chris P. for volunteering to pick up the other round  or my budget would have been shattered – photo above)

– Lunch/snacks at ski lodge:     $17

– Grocery shopping in Vail:      $35

– Breakfast at Denver Airport:     $14

(ANOTHER NOTE: If weren’t for the generosity of all the guys who stayed in the condo, who did more than their fair share of grocery shopping, and my cousin’s hospitality – my food expenses would have throttled my budget.)

________________________________________

OVERVIEW (more like my point): It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to go on a weeklong adventure. All you have to do is plan ahead a little – especially in regards to food – cut out the fluff, and know some friends with transportation benefits and/or vacation houses.

(LAST NOTE: I also encourage everyone to look at your points system with your credit cards – without American Express and its Membership Rewards Points, this trip would have never happened. I always just ignored those offers in the past – there are some pretty great deals, though.)

Does anyone have a time-share near a beach?

EXPERIMENT 2: Adventure Rides 'Stinky Train'

The experiment continued today – it wasn’t the perfect scenario from a business perspective, but it was a fun, interesting and inexpensive adventure.

We took the Amtrak train from Denver to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. From Glenwood Springs we took a Greyhound bus to Vail.

The train ride was a unique experience – one that deserves its own blog post – I will say this, though … the beautiful Colorado scenery barely overshadowed the pungent aroma of body odor that occupied our train car.

I sent the following message via Facebook to my buddy Matt, who was traveling with me and sitting across the aisle ... the message was entitled "Stinky Train":  

"This train smells like a large sweaty man wearing a dirty diaper! WHEN IS IT GOING TO END? (BTW: Johnny Snorealot behind me has gas like a mule deer that got into some wild onions!)"

We opted for this planes, trains, and automobiles adventure as a costing-cutting measure. (On the same trip last year, we spent almost $400 on a rental car.) What we DIDN'T realize until after the 7-hour ride on "Stinky Train" – we could have taken a bus from Denver to Vail, been there 8 hours earlier, and saved $17.

FINANCIAL (Goal: $130 – Amount Spent: $67)

• TRANSPORTATION: $45 total to Vail (included the train and bus fare)

• MEALS: $4

– We were going to jump all over the Denny’s free Grand Slam Breakfast, but my cousin’s wife made us a hot breakfast instead. It turned out to be the best decision of the trip so far. When we drove past a Denny’s on the way to the train station, the parking lot was a zoo and the TV crew outside confirmed that we made the right call.

NOTE: Brilliant marketing campaign by Denny’s. I thought it was a solid commercial, a terrific offer, and a great branding tactic – "Isn't it time for a serious breakfast?" What I loved the most ... EVERYBODY was talking about it. (FYI: Normally, a Grand Slam Breakfast is $5.99.)

– Bottled water on the train (I left my Nalgene bottle on my cousin’s kitchen table in Denver) – $2

– Cup of coffee on the train – $2

• SPLURGES: $18

We had a brief layover in Glennwood Springs, so I drank a couple pints of the local stout and had an appetizer.

BUSINESS

– The train had electrical power to keep my laptop juiced, but I was disappointed there was no WiFi available. I was able to stay “connected” through my Blackberry – when we weren't buried in some remote Colorado canyon – and our Director of Giving was on call to update the site if necessary.

– Typed up an e-mail proposal/quote request for our web developer and saved it in my Draft Folder so I could send it later in the day.

– Modified my publication proposal (Thanks, Mr. Bloomberg for your advice/guidance.)

– Played around with Photobooth on my MacBook – I tried practicing a new smile for a little while, but then I reverted back to my old standby. (see below)