Small Goals and Practical Knowledge

Since I've been back in the US, I've been finding it hard to keep myself occupied. During an open-ended "vacation", there are only so many coffees you can drink, books you can read and 1500-calories-per-serving foods you can make before you really just need to put on an outfit that doesn't include an elastic waistband or spandex and actually do something productive. So, I've set myself to task...

... to learn how to tie 10 knots. How self-inflated would you feel if, at the climax of an emergency situation, you saved the day by tying an awesome, life-saving knot? Me too. But in truth, I mostly just think they're pretty.

... to learn the metric system. I can't tell you how many moments (that probably added up to hours) I spent standing in Asian markets trying to sort out grams, kilos, liters, etc. Conversions, I've found, are mostly useless and time consuming in real life (read: supermarket) scenarios. I need some practical examples. For everything. To the person who told me that a peanut M&M is approximately 3 grams and that a Bic pen is about 15cm: please follow me everywhere.

... to learn to identify 20 constellations. Not exactly practical knowledge, but cool, right? No? A little nerdy? Okay. This one requires relearning what all of those high school astronomy terms like right ascension and declination mean.