Annual Birthday Projects

40 Things

My first annual Birthday Project started the day I turned 40 (March 12, 2012).  I spent the year trying 40 Things I've never done before.
  1. Have a 40 Mile Adventure.  3/12/12
  2. Eat at Thomas Keller's famous restaurant.  3/12/12
  3. Try a macaroon.  3/12/12
  4. Visit the Grapecrusher Statue.  3/12/12
  5. Eat at an Afghan restaurant.  3/12/12
  6. Make homemade tortillas.  3/14/12
  7. Try a Shamrock Shake.  3/15/12
  8. Try spirelli.  3/15/12
  9. Make cottage cheese.  3/18/12
  10. Make ricotta cheese.  3/18/12
  11. Try an Egg Cream.  3/21/12
  12. Cook from a mystery basket.  3/24/12
  13. Eat at the Oak Cafe.  3/30/12
  14. Try cacao nibs.  3/30/12
  15. Make risotto.  3/31/12
  16. Poach an egg and make hollandaise sauce.  4/2/12
  17. Visit the Conservatory of Flowers.  4/3/12
  18. Go to the San Francisco Flower Mart.  4/3/12
  19. Flambe something.  4/13/12
  20. Try a craft I've never heard of.  4/25/12
  21. Try glasswork.  4/26/12
  22. Be a Mythbusters volunteer.  5/2/12
  23. Do a Planet Walk. 5/13/12
  24. Try absinthe.  5/27/12
  25. Make squeaky cheese.  6/23/12
  26. Take a Jewelry 101 class.  7/24/12
  27. Try Miracle Berries.  8/9/12
  28. Make popovers.  8/22/12
  29. Have a Cupcake Wars competition.  Part 1  Part 2  9/9/12
  30. Go to a drive-in movie.  11/3/12
  31. Make fortune cookies.  11/5/12
  32. Tackle the World's Largest Maze.  11/17/12
  33. Eat the top 10 Jewish foods.  12/5/12
  34. Try chess pie.  12/6/12
  35. Library Roulette.  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  1/19/13  Junior Edition  Part 2  Part 3
  36. See the Harlem Globetrotters live.  1/21/13
  37. Try lapidary.  2/2/13
  38. Do metal stamping.  2/26/13
  39. Teach a Scrapbook 101 class.  3/3/13
  40. Hide a geocache.  3/5/13

Project 41

My second annual Birthday Project, called Project 41, started on March 12, 2013. Each month, I treated a different friend to the Baskin-Robbins Flavor-of-the-Month.

Discover 42

During my year of being 42, I learned as much about the number 42 as I could. I read books and watched movies with 42 in the title, researched 42-related trivia, and learned more about our 42nd state. I gave myself some 42-themed challenges.

43 New-to-Me

To celebrate 43, I tried 43 new-to-me foods over the course of the year. In every case, I tried the food with at least one friend or family member.

40-4-Steve
My birthday project for age 44, called 40-4-Steve, started on January 26, 2016, Steve's 40th birthday. Instead of "forty-four", it's "forty for" Steve.

  1. Surprise Party 1/25/16
  2. Eat at Bottega 1/26/16
  3. Visit the Charles Schulz Museum 2/13/16
  4. Make gnocchi. 2/14/16
  5. Make caramel sauce. 2/14/16
  6. Visit the Walt Disney Museum. 3/12/16
  7. Take ice skating lessons. 3/17/16
  8. Cook from a grilling mystery basket. 4/3/16
  9. Experience the San Francisco Movie Sites Tour. 5/1/16
  10. Visit the SoMa StrEat Food Park. 5/1/16
  11. Eat at the Claremont. 5/28/16
  12. Ride a Segway. 5/29/16
  13. Visit the House Rabbit Society headquarters. 6/18/16
  14. Tour Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historic Park. 6/18/16
  15. Go to the LLNL Discovery Center. 6/24/16
  16. Eat at the Crown Grill 7/15/16
  17. Eat at Dave's Giant Burger. 7/29/16
  18. Visit the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. 7/30/16
  19. Try Ethiopian food. 7/30/16
  20. Eat at Gunrock Pub. 8/3/16
  21. Go to the Pacific Pinball Museum. 8/7/16
  22. Watch 'Gone with the Wind.' 8/13/16
  23. Enter homebrew in a competition 8/24/16
  24. Visit the US Biking Hall of Fame. 8/31/16
  25. Go to Musee Mecanique. 9/3/16
  26. Read the Newbery, Caldecott and Hugo winners from 1976. 9/4/16
  27. Start Wood Badge Training 9/9/16
  28. See a new-to-you musical. 9/25/16
  29. Get 40 donations to the Food Bank 9/30/16
  30. Visit the Pez Museum 10/22/16
  31. Try Brazilian rodizio 10/22/16
  32. Add a family vacation to a business trip 11/2/16
  33. Eat at Morimoto 11/11/16
  34. Visit the Computer History Museum 11/19/16
  35. Ride a horse 1/16/17