4. Talk to a mentor or expert about a specific topic and learn something new

In this exercise, I talked to my father about his job, and learned some surprising new things about the aspects of his profession.

He is a front-end website design and development specialist for R&A Strategic Communications stationed in Johannesburg, South Africa. Their clients include mainly national mining companies inside of South Africa, and some international mining companies.
He designs websites using mainly the Adobe Creative Suite.

Firstly, he receives the brief form the client and does some research on the type of company and specialization it is, then he sits down and  researches their corporate identity branding, finding out if it's suitable. He then starts thinking of and conceptualizing visual ideas of how to design the website.
He plans the user experience navigational site map for the website. He then draws out schematics where all the elements will be. then creates the page layout in layers in Photoshop, for example the top banner with the menu system where the branding will be, main information etc. These banners can rotate.
The rest of the website layout, including news, info about the investors, download documents etc. are broken up into compartments that make up the website's layout. Different pages can be shown with more information. The homepage has to be dynamic, as it constantly changes with new imported information, news and the look of the banners. The updates are done with different people in the office. The page is then pdf'd and sent to the client for feedback and possible changes. He does the changes, and once the client is happy, it's approved and development starts.
The development process works as follows: he builds two different templates, one for the homepage and one for the content page. He does it with a basic html page linked to style sheets that determine the look of the pages. The content sections has to be taken note of, increasing the technicality of the endeavour. He converts the html page into CMS (Content Management System) templates. He mainly uses the software Joomla or Wordpress. He installs the Joomla system to a database, installs the templates and it then results with the look of the site.
It is eventually uploaded to a client server where the client can view it and finalize changes. Once approved, the website is uploaded to a public server, and the job's done.

I learned the many technicalities of my father's work, and learned most of the things he does in his time at work. Mission accomplished!

The next TO DO includes try out a new hobby, but I shall do it while sitting down, because I sat down to interview my father for the exercise above. It will be exceedingly relaxing, I imagine XD.

Thanks for reading! Cheers.

3. Take an Extended Walk in Your Neighborhood

Me and my mother took a walk in the neighborhood and talked on various subjects.

The point of this exercise was to listen. She has told me great things which I had not known before.

The first thing my mother taught me was that, in the Bible, the two greatly close friends David and Jonathan were actually family. David's wife Michal was the son of king Saul, and the brother of Jonathan. Therefore the two were actually brothers-in-law. This I did not know. My mother is very well-versed in Scripture, and I give her great credit for that. Many times have I read about the two friends, but never have I read that passage of scripture before.

We walked on, and we discovered a new street we hand't known was even in the neighborhood. Very interesting. The street lead to a cul-de-sac and a drive-in estate. Now I know.

A second significant point was given by my mother: the next Star Wars movie, a franchise of which I am deeply fond, will feature the famous composer John Williams for the last time before he retires of his duties of composing. I was in shock for a moment, and was in pure disbelief. A staggering 66-year long career in music is finally brought to a close. Incredible. He has brought me many moments of awe and memories to cherish.

I have learned an excellent few things during the process of listening to my mother. Therefore my next exercise will be combined with the act of learning.

Next exercise: Talk to a mentor or expert about a specific topic and learn something new