Can you believe it is almost time for me to start making a 32 Things list?  Neither can I!  So here is my last update to 31 Things, and then next month I will give you all a year-end summary before I move on to my 32 Things.

1. Run a race here, either in Hamburg or some other cool place.

If you’ll remember, I ran the Hannover Half-Marathon on May 3, 2009 and had a fabulous time.   And coincidentally, it was also the thirty-first race I have ever ran.  Perfect!

2. Travel to a country I have not visited before.

How about two countries I have never been to before?  Scotland and Belgium were both amazing!

16. Keep in touch with friends all over the world with Skype.

Yep, Skype has been my primary means of communication with friends and family, it being free and all.  While we were in Scotland with David & Debi (uniting the European contingent of PopFam together), we had a major group Skype session with Suzanne & Dave in Boston.  I miss all of them desperately, but Skype can help alleviate that sometimes.

19. Master the use of the word Doch!

Doch is one of those German words without a direct translation into English, but it is so wonderfully useful that I find myself wanting to use it in English conversations. Here’s a great explanation from About.com:

When you answer a question negatively or positively, you use nein/no or ja/yes, whether in Deutsch or English. But German adds a third one-word option, doch (“on the contrary”), that English does not have. For instance, someone asks you in English, “Don’t you have any money?” … Only two responses are possible in English: “No, I don’t.” (agreeing with the negative question) or “Yes, I do.” (disagreeing with the negative question). German, however, offers a third alternative, which in some cases is required instead of ja or nein. The same money question in German would be: Hast du kein Geld? If you answer with ja, the questioner may think you are agreeing to the negative, that yes, you do not have any money. But by answering with doch, you are making it clear: “On the contrary, yes, I do have money.” This also applies to statements that you want to contradict. If someone says, “That’s not right,” but it is, the German statement Das stimmt nicht would be contradicted with: Doch! Das stimmt. (“On the contrary, it is right.”) In this case, a response with ja (es stimmt) would sound wrong to German ears. A doch response clearly means you disagree with the statement.

You can convey so much in one simple word, I love it! Here’s a funny short clip from a movie which shows you how it can be used: Nein! Doch! Ohh!

21. Replace my foam roller (which sadly didn’t fit in my luggage).

Done.

22. Pay off one of my credit cards.

Two down and one that will be finished next month, leaving one more for me to accomplish on my 32 Things list.  Woohoo!