I felt like I was struggling to make a start on the triathlon I am doing in August, so I have done two things recently.

1. I did a full-day triathlon training course last Sunday, getting tips and whatnot from some elite British athletes (including the head swim coach of the British Olympic team, no less!) – I realised during the day that I have a lot of work to do on my swimming if I think I am going to cover 1,500 metres (with minimal use of doggy paddle)

2. I have joined a gym near work, which has both a swimming pool and bikes, so I can get in lots of training in the next four months.

If you have any tips on how to prepare for a triathlon, I would love to hear them.

I have a good friend called Ronald, who I have grown up with since I was young.

Ronald is someone who, although I enjoy the company of, is definitely a bad influence on me.

Whenever I visit Ronald, I always regret it a little bit later, even though while I am hanging out with him, I have a great time.

Ronald is well known – in fact, you probably know him as well. And he is probably a bad influence on you too.

Given I am now starting to train for the London triathalon in August, I have told Ronald that I can not see him for six months (which started on March 1).

Doing this will also help me to complete goal 8.

Despite being separated for half a year, I am sure our reunion will be great fun. Because even though he is a bad influence, there is nothing wrong with bad things every now and then.

A lot has changed since I started my list (living in London, having a British driver’s license and being engaged to the long-suffering Nat are just a few of them).

I wrote my list back in 2007, which seems like a lifetime ago.

And looking at the list now, some of the goals that I wanted to achieve back then, no longer hold an interest for me now.

So with spring just around the corner, I felt it was time for a bit of a Project 183 Spring Clean.

Here is what I have decided to remove:

- Goal 5: Get into the ‘excellent’ fitness range at the gym (I am not longer obsessed with being extremely fit – a healthy level of fitness will suffice)

- Goal 40: See the new seven wonders of the world (Right now, my interest is more in the delights that Europe has to offer than places like Jordan)

- Goal 51: Go to at least 20 bars from the Melbourne Bar Secrets card pack (Being in London, this one is now a bit un-realistic, plus I am someone who is happier in pubs than bars anyway)

- Goal 52: See 50 of the bottom 100 IMDB movies (Why would I want to waste my time watching bad movies!)

- Goal 53: Read every Jeffrey Deaver novel (As much as I love Deaver, I want to find new authors that might be just as terrific)

- Goal 59: Stay at a B&B in Daylesford (Bit out of reach given my current location, and there are plenty of great B&Bs that Nat and I have been to in Aus and England already, so it wouldn’t be anything very new)

- Goal 77: Win a hand of poker at the Crown Casino in Melbourne (I already have the same goal, at Las Vegas, so no point doubling up)

- Goal 83: Take more photos and store them online (Since setting this goal, the invent of Facebook has made this goal redundant. Certainly Nat and I have taken many photos of our trips so far though, but I won’t count it)

- Goal 91: Go to the Yarra Glen races (I did do this many years ago, and wanted to go again, but I figure that I should remove this goal in place of something that I haven’t done before)

- Goal 111: Dye my hair for World’s Greatest Shave (This doesn’t seem to be done in London)

- Goal 124: Go to 30 Melbourne restaurants I have never been to before (Could change Melbourne to London, and Nat and I are trying new restaurants here each month, but I am not keeping a tally)

- Goal 152: Do a short course in Latin (Why did I put this on the list? I am not going to Latinia!)

- Goal 173: Watch every Rocky movie (I will still do this at some stage, but there are much better things to have on the list)

So that is 13 goals struck off the list, and I needed 13 new goals to replace them with. Based on suggestions that readers of this blog have suggested, and taking a few more of my own, here are 12 replacements:

- Do a bike maintenance course (I am having really problems changing my Brompton’s tyre)

- Fly in a jet fighter

- Successfully land a backflip

- Go to Iceland and soak in the thermal springs

- See the Northern Lights

- Play in a tennis tournament

- Get dirty at La Tomatina

- Read books by five authors I have never read before

- Complete a marathon

- Go to the London Olympics

- Learn how to use Photoshop properly

- Go bungee jumping

The last one is not yet decided – if you have a suggestion, let me know.

Last weekend I kickstarted two new goals.

1. I bought a violin for Goal 15 (Play violin at least twice a month for six consecutive months). My one from Australia is still in Australia, and so I decided to splash out on a nice new one for while I am in the UK.

2. I signed up for the London Triathalon for Goal 146 (Complete a triathalon). It is a 1,500m swim, 40km bike ride, and 10km run, and right now I have no idea how I am going to do it! If it was easy though, it wouldn’t be a challenge.

Good luck to everyone who has made a 2010 resolution.

Despite not many goals being crossed off at the moment, there are a few that are progressing.

- For goal 1 (take a meditation class), I have found the place that I am going to do the class

- For goal 21 (learn to play bridge), I have signed up to do a weekend course at the start of February

- For goal 26 (start a business), I am currently reaching the end of an 8-week entrepreneurial course

- For goal 31 (learn the flag of every country), I have bought a book called ‘The Complete Flags of the World’

- For goal 39 (get a meaningful tattoo), I am regularly seeking the permission of my better half, Nat (so far to no avail!)

- For goal 54 (do a wine appreciation course), Nat and I are signed up to do a course in January

- For goal 56 (play in a Scrabble tournament), I have now signed up as a member of the Association of British Scrabble Players

- For goal 62 (take Nat out to dinner six months in a row), this started officially last month

- For goal 101 (volunteer for five charities), I am about to register as a volunteer for Food Chain, as well as Cats Protection

- For goal 136 (busk as a human statue), I have an idea for how I am going to tackle this one (and there are some good tips here)

- For goal 151 (do a short course in French), there is a 10-week Thursday night course that Nat and I will start in January

- For goal 180 (do 10 things from the Change the World book), I have finally bought the book!

Sometimes, even when I am not knocking goals off the list, it is nice to take a step back and realise that I am still making good progress. This is meant to be about the journey, not the destination, so right now, I am happy with where the Project is at.

Plus, I am now officially one-third of the way through the list. Here’s to the next two-thirds!

With the latest technology available to the youth of today, from Xbox, to all the latest apps on the iPhone, to the millions and millions of pages of the Internet to surf, I have always been interested in how the Harry Potter series cut through all that, and got billions of young people to read.

What is so magical about it?

Why is it so popular?

And how I am going to possibly read all 7 books, totalling 3,500 pages (see my stack of books and the first five movies on DVD to the right), when my books tend to be short, sharp 300 page things?

It didn’t take long to answer these questions, and by the end of the first book, I was hooked.

The benefit of starting late was that I didn’t have to wait for the next book to come out – it was there waiting for me. So as soon as one book was done, I was immediately on to the next one. They are very addictive.

The characters are all classic (my favourites are Dobby, Hagrid and Lupin), the stories have many up and downs, when I finally finished the last book, the Deathly Hallows, I was left with a feeling of closure that was definitely worth the time and effort invested.

I have also now seen the first five movies, which I must say are great, but not a lick on the greatness of the books. With the last movie split into two parts, and the second part not coming out until July 2011, I now have a long time to wait to finish this goal off.

Until then, I will work on my Patronus Charm – just in case

You may have noticed to the right of the website there is now a new feature. This is my donation collector for a half-marathon I will be doing on September 27 in London.

This will complete goal 6, which is to complete a half-marathon.

However, doing this will also hopefully tick off a second goal – goal 98.

Goal 98 is to be part of a world record.

How will running a half marathon break a world record, you ask?

Well, I (and 249 others) will be running the race dressed as a banana!

We are attempting to break the world record for the most people dressed as fruit in one place.

All money raised goes to a very worthy cause, Leukaemia Research. I am trying to raise £1,000.01 (because it is a palindrome) – about AUD $2,000.00.

To donate, you can go here or click on the orange donate button on the widget at the right.

SPECIAL OFFER – Bonus good karma with every donation – ends tomorrow!

Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday with a dinner out followed by the theatre.

Turning 26 means that I now have only four years left to complete the remaining 135 goals on my list.

When I started Project 183 I needed to average a goal every 11.8 days. That is now down to 10.8 days per goal, so I am a little behind schedule, but am confident I will catch up again.

Here is me yesterday at dinner – as well as seeing how many goals I will get done in the next four years, I am also looking forward to seeing how different I look on March 10, 2013.

I am now booked in for acupuncture, for this weekend. All the gory pictures coming soon!

While settling in London, looking for a place to live, a place to work, planning mini-holidays, and generally getting used to a new way of life, Project 183 has been put on the backburner a little.

Today, I am kick-starting it again.

And I will be doing that by achieving goal 114, by going to a public place in the middle of the day in my pyjamas. Stay tuned for all the embarassing photos shortly. UPDATE – check out the photos.