Perpetual Reading

While editing my myspace profile today (don't even get me started) I was looking at my "book" section. At the moment I have the two books that I'm currently reading, which is different from most pages that have a long list of favorite books. I was thinking if I should list my favorites instead, and when doing so came to the realization that a few of my favorite books are not just ones that I read and put away, but continuously read over and over again.

Looking back over the years and what I've kept in my laptop bag I've come up with a list of these perpetually read books:

• 1984 by George Orwell
• Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• Constitution of the United States of America
• Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
• Lost Horizon by James Hilton

I could list these as "favorite" books, but at the same time I'm always at some point in reading them, constantly learning and understanding more about them, hence perpetual.

Ways to get my Life in Shape

I spent a lot of time thinking this past week on ways to whip my life into shape. Not that I see anything fundamentally wrong with it, there's just a few things that I'd like to change I feel would overall be an improvement. This list is more for my benefit than anyone elses', but I thought I'd share so when people ask me about why I'm doing certain things I can point them here instead of explaining myself again.

1. Only 1 hour of entertainment TV a night, with not watching any the nights the following shows aren't on: BSG, Heroes, Lost, The Office, and My Name is Earl. See 6 for information programming.
   
2. I will limit myself, regardless of weeknight or weekend, to two drinks.
3. On work nights I will go to sleep by 11pm and wake up at 6am.
   
4. When commuting on the bus to work, I will listen to news/podcasts in the morning and read the paper or a book in the evening.
5. I will walk the 10 blocks home from the Mission bus stop.
6. Each weeknight I will do a regiment of weights while watching Countdown and then run at least 10 blocks.
7. All meals will be home made or store bought, fast food will only be allowed once a month.
8. Everyday I will review my bank accounts online.
9. No soda. Period.
10. I will clean my room the first of each month.

There we have it, not very strict or demanding, but I actually want to enjoy living my life. These I feel will cap some of the bad habits I have (ie listening to all my podcasts the beginning of the week and then getting bored at the end) and focus myself on moderation. I should probably add in to read at least one Buddhist proverb a day to keep myself focused to, as well as review this list daily. If you have any suggestions that you feel will help me stick to these or any I should add, please let me know.