Thing #1: Harry Who?

In June of 1997 I had just graduated from high school, and was preparing to start college in the fall. Meanwhile, across the pond in the good 'ol U. of K., a little book by the name of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was being published by Bloomsbury.

For nearly ten years now I've encountered Master Potter everywhere I've turned. Everything from fiery, anti-Potter sermons to college friends completely absorbed in the tales and raving about them with child-like glee. I've bumped into Harry everywhere except my own library.

This July, a decade and a month since the release of book one, the seventh and final Harry Potter novel hits shelves. Harry turns 18 and hordes of salivating teens and 30-year-old pimpled men in capes are sure to descend on every bookstore in the world.

I hope to be one of them.

Thing #1: read all seven Harry Potter novels, and figure out what the hell I've been missing for 10 years.

I started today. (And already like Dumbledore a whole lot...)

My First Five Things

The first five things on my whim-list are as follows:

1. Read all 7 Harry Potter novels.
2. Translate a poem from the Tao Te Ching.
3. Design a card game.
4. Learn to make a killer omelet.
5. Memorize the words to Weezer's blue album.

In the future I'll be adding things one at a time, as I finish whims already on the list. I'll also keep a sidebar of my current Five Things.

And I'll be keep this site updated on my progress!

My Next Five Things

I had a very big realization the other day.

For most of my life I've operated under the assumption that, if I wanted to be Happy-with-a-capital-H, I had to be something. I had to have an occupation or a hobby that defined who I was. (I am an actor, I am a carpenter, I am a hopeless sci-fi geek.)

Looking back over my life, I realized that the things that had brought me the most long-term fulfillment were not the big, goal-oriented, ego-driven things, but rather the small things. The chance encounter, the unexpected relationship, the time I locked myself in my room and didn't come out until I knew how to juggle.

So I've decided to run a little experiment on myself. What if, for the next little while, I stopped putting pressure on myself to achieve "big things", to "be somebody" and instead concentrated on following my little impulses. What if I chased down my whims and found out what was on the other side of them?

What if I stopped trying to "be somebody" and instead started fully being what I already am, right this minute?

So here it is. For the next few months, I'm going to pick five of my current whims and follow them through. Each time I'm done with one, I'll replace it with another.

These won't be the big things in my life, like "build an eco-friendly home" or "travel around the world", at least not right away. Instead these will just be the next things in my life.

My Next Five Things, if you will.

I hope you enjoy!