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Substantial, sort of-meaningful projects?
September 10, 2007 12:45 AM   RSS feed for this thread Subscribe

I have an entire year of semi-boredom ahead of me. What projects can I do in this time period, that are substantial, inexpensive, can be done on the side whilst attending college, and will help me avoid looking back and regretting a wasted youth? I've made a font, almost completed writing a book, learnt how to do the splits. What else can I do, other than churn out more fonts and books? Are there any lists of to-do things out there?

Ideally, I'd like to do things that can be completed ... as opposed to joining a book club, or doing one thing every day that scares me.
posted by Xere to sports, hobbies, & recreation (31 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
Build a web site dedicated to something you're interested in.
posted by Poolio at 12:48 AM on September 10, 2007


(Sorry guys - I may have phrased my question in a sort of chatfiltery mode. I'm looking for lists of things to tick off and do, in the vein of 100 things to do before you die, just more accessible and accomplishable ... but if anyone has extra suggestions, do tell!)

Poolio - yes, I'm currently doing that, too. ;)
posted by Xere at 1:02 AM on September 10, 2007


Learn Calligraphy. Or, learn how to write Calligraphy and master X number of scripts. Seriously, it's calming and structured and grounds you, and the results are absolutely gorgeous.

Make a booklist of books you "always meant to read but never did". Include the classics everyone's always heard of but no one really knows well.

Maybe you could make a list of agents to contact about getting your book published?

If you're interested in small projects like this, give mission101 a shot. It doesn't fit your profile exactly, but the premise is that you make a list of 101 things you want to accomplish, and give yourself a deadline of 1001 days. Actively working towards completion is always more compelling than an ongoing project, I agree.
posted by Phire at 1:05 AM on September 10, 2007


This may sound horribly lame, but I restore lamps. Not anything requiring rewiring, but maybe a new coat of paint and a new lampshade…You seem creative (as you like to write), and I paint/write/cook in my free time. Restoring lamps is something I can do quickly and well that allows me to relax. Then after, I can keep the lamp, give it away, or resell it. Plus, it gives me the excuse to research design and home décor, which kills a ton of time.
posted by missmle at 1:05 AM on September 10, 2007


I used to have a policy of each and every summer coming up with a new project to complete (preferably one that would require me to learn a new skill). I went through a bunch like learn to build a website, make some art and bolt them up in public without permission, learn to program jscript macros to play a certain video game for me yadda yadda. Some were pointless (inasmuch as they didn't produce anything useful beyond the joy of learning to do something new) some were quite productive/useful, but here is the one one I found most satisfying:

Come up with a few simple tee shirts design ideas, then get a cheap 8x10 silkscreen and teach yourself to print them.

It's a really cool satisfying thing to learn to do, and making a set of 5 shirts from scratch is cheaper then buying 5 shirts from most places, even after adding in the cost for the screen and whatnot.
posted by Jezztek at 1:10 AM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]


You could learn an impressive martial arts technique that can only be acquired with time and work, for only a few minutes per day. Such as the Iron Palm technique, which will provide you with a hand tough enough to pulverize bricks and crush coconuts in your bare hands.
posted by torpark at 1:11 AM on September 10, 2007


You're going to love this fun thread - 52 things to learn
posted by b33j at 1:13 AM on September 10, 2007


If you have the text of a book, there are a lot of skills that go into turning it into a physical object. Depending how far you want to decompose, there's papermaking, bookbinding, printing, tanning leather, casting metal, making thread, marbling, gilding...

Traditional Japanese bookbinding is pretty cool.
posted by Leon at 1:35 AM on September 10, 2007


Learn to draw well. It requires only minimal equipment, helps you to better appreciate the beauty of the world around you, is relaxing, can be done until the day you die and can even earn you a living. In a year of doing at least one drawing a day you could become pretty good.
posted by rongorongo at 1:59 AM on September 10, 2007


And of course 43 Things may provide inspiration.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 2:05 AM on September 10, 2007


Heinlein has a few suggestions for skills a human should have. ;)

Get your ham radio license.
Learn to drive stick-shift.
Take a CPR or EMT course.
Make yourself useful.

Good luck!
posted by Myself at 2:40 AM on September 10, 2007


Work up to some physical goals like a 7-minute-mile or 20 pull-ups in a stretch. The president's challenge for physical fitness should give some idea of what to aim for.
posted by 0xFCAF at 2:59 AM on September 10, 2007


help me avoid looking back and regretting a wasted youth

Sleep with a lot of girls (or boys, as you prefer).
Drink too much, take too many drugs, learn your limits and how to deal with addiction.
Talk bullshit with your friends about your dreams and aspirations.
Learn to sit quietly and not do anything and just be content.
Go out and hear live music.
Explore the area you live in, get lost and see what happens.

Later in life, you'll have entire decades of time to learn how to do neat little projects. The one thing people deeply regret about their youth is not taking advantage of their freedom. Often they're not even conscious of how few constraints they really have. People say "Youth is wasted on the young" for a reason.

Right now, you're free to fuck up and try new things without actually having to obtain a result. You're free to meet lots of different kinds of people and try to understand them. You're not trying to build a life with someone else, and so you're free to spend time going around in circles trying to figure out what really matters to you. You're free to use your body now in ways that you'll never get away with when you're older.

Don't waste that freedom checking off items on Heinlein's list.
posted by fuzz at 3:41 AM on September 10, 2007 [18 favorites has favorites]


If you don't play a musical instrument, learn to play a musical instrument.

In order to make it cheap, put a call out that you need one, and learn to play whatever is the first instrument that someone gives you.

(Could be a violin, could be the accordian. Might even be the pedal steel. Will probably be a basic guitar, but you never know.)
posted by Grangousier at 4:07 AM on September 10, 2007


I'm with fuzz. You sound a little overly structured. Now is the time to find out what you love and do it, not check off a bunch of arbitrary 'accomplishments.'

People who regret their 'wasted youth' do so because they spent their late teens and early twenties trying to live up to other people's standards or be somehow 'grown up.' Those are the people who are now, at my age, (33) unhappy, drinking too much, not sure if they're ready to settle down, or desperate to do so...

The people who spent their youth being youthful are generally content and happy to pursue their passions. Not that they all found some sort of ideal career, but they're usually not sitting around thinking "I wonder what would have happened if I...."

Because they did it.

Don't ask a bunch of people on the internet what to do. Ask yourself.
posted by miss tea at 4:36 AM on September 10, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]


Learn Mandarin Chinese in time to enjoy the Olympics.
posted by RavinDave at 4:43 AM on September 10, 2007


My answer to everything: learn to knit.
posted by Lucinda at 4:56 AM on September 10, 2007


Learn arabic, or some other valuable language.

Become an expert on something. Look into the intimate depths of some policy field.

Learn perl.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 5:12 AM on September 10, 2007


The cranky old man I live with says if you have to ask such a question, you might trade places with someone in the third world who works in a field 15 hours a day.

Being more kind and constructive than him, I would recommend volunteering. Pick a cause you can get behind and make yourself available. There's no end to the work to be done.

Good luck!
posted by Rykey at 5:24 AM on September 10, 2007


substantial, inexpensive, can be done on the side whilst attending college, and will help me avoid looking back and regretting a wasted youth?

fucking -- a lot -- is the answer, by all means.
posted by matteo at 5:38 AM on September 10, 2007


My answer to everything: learn to knit.

Learn perl.

Knit one, perl one.

(Sorry.)

Oh, and I just wanted to say that, speaking from personal experience, drink and drugs as a primary lifestyle choice is something I'm less than pleased about. Not for moral reasons, just that it cost quite a lot of money, took up a lot of time (if you factor in hangovers) and I didn't have much to show for it. Though I wasn't getting the sex, so perhaps that changes things.

Whatever you do, use it as a vehicle for joy rather than any kind of duty.
posted by Grangousier at 5:38 AM on September 10, 2007


I'm a fan of the 101 in 1001, but I am a touch older than you. Here's my list, anyway, if you want an example from someone not that much older (23). That said, I feel very happy with what I accomplished during college, though there was no such list at that time. Much of it had to do with establishing a solid group of friends that I trusted, whose company I enjoyed, and who helped me develop as a person. A good romantic relationship didn't hurt either (what with the sex and all). You sound like a very goal-driven person, so if you need a tick-list, then go ahead and set one up. But be sure to keep everything in context. "Build up a circle of friends" isn't a terribly concrete goal, but it's an important one.

Good luck.
posted by craven_morhead at 5:58 AM on September 10, 2007


Learn a skill that has showing outputs - learn how to bake or cook. It is very time consuming but will be extremely rewarding.

Watch a movie, read a book, or listen to music everyday and write a small review of it in a notebook, not just "I liked it" but really get down to the core, dissect the themes, genre, everything.

Read the encyclopedia, every single one of them, and then start going to trivia nights and impress everyone with your inane knowledge.

Start writing people letters. Real letters. Like on paper. Write one a day. If you run out of friends to mail them to, sign up for PostcardX.

Learn sign language. I started learning it one summer when I was a bored and it has benefited me far, far more than I ever though possible, including meeting one of my ex's, who is profoundly deaf, but an absolutely amazing person I would have never met had I not known sign language.

Also, n-thing, learn to knit. It is a great source of gifts for loved ones.
posted by banannafish at 7:07 AM on September 10, 2007


Learn a programming language or three. Learn to solder. Build robots and begin your campaign of world domination.
posted by polyglot at 7:17 AM on September 10, 2007


Have an acid freakout.
posted by tehloki at 7:28 AM on September 10, 2007


Seriously, learn to cook. Maybe choose one style of cooking you like and dig way, way into it. There is usually much more variation in most styles of cuisine than people are generally aware of, even styles you may think of as 'pedestrian'. Cooking will always come in handy in many more ways than you can imagine right now.

Build a boat (or a canoe, or a kayak). this one's probably pricier than you'd like, but I always have to mention it as a possibility for these kinds of questions.

When I was doing my undergrad I took up triathlon. I felt the best then that I had ever felt in my life, and it afforded me with a venue in which to meet interesting people as well. It can be cheep to get into but will assuredly take up alot of your time if you find that you like it.

Nthing the advice to allow yourself to take pleasure in your freedom. You may have it later, sure, but your youth will only ever be in your body just this once. Take advantage of that. I can't endore the "Drink! Drugs! Fuck!" adivice too much, though; if that's what you're compelled to do then fine, but don't believe anyone who tells you that those are the only things that'll keep you from regretting a 'wasted youth'. God knows I have my fair share of foul memories from just those things. Moderation; I wish I'd had a sense of it then...

And last; finish your book. That's one thing you'll always regret if you never do.
posted by Pecinpah at 9:55 AM on September 10, 2007


Here are some ideas:
Well, that's a start! Hope you're overwhelmed with motivation!
posted by iamkimiam at 11:32 AM on September 10, 2007


Spend more time on your friendships.
You're in a perfect place to try and build lasting relationships with the people around you in college. Become a real integral part of your community, and you won't ever have that feeling of 'misspent youth'.
posted by lilithim at 11:46 AM on September 10, 2007


Origami has undergone a bit of a renaissance lately. Those models on the cover of that book (the fish and frog) are composed of one single uncut piece of paper. If you've got time on your hands it might a nice indoor hobby.
posted by chairface at 12:51 PM on September 10, 2007


I'll chime in to agree that knitting is great.
posted by bilabial at 1:43 PM on September 10, 2007


2nd learn to drive stick shift. That is a skill that will serve you for the rest of your life.

Also, if you have the equipment: Learn to back up a trailer.

Write a comic book, a song, an epic poem. Participate in NaNoWriMo, learn how to speed read. Get involved in public policy: find a project, make a goal, try to get it done. Make a garden. Discover and map out all the secret places in your area.
posted by ramenopres at 3:18 PM on September 10, 2007


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