Sundries - Part 1

There are a lot of these goals, so I'm breaking them down into three parts of relatively equal size, for my manageability and yours.

3. Be able to do all three splits.
10. Run a real world mile in less than ten minutes.
11. Buy $10 of stock during the first week and do NOT look at its earnings (or losses) until Day 1001.
14. Turn off the internet for a week [in preparation for...]
15. Turn off the computer for a week.
21. Replace every lightbulb in my living space with an energy-saving equivalent.
46. Serve on a grand jury.
47. Fast - 3 days
48. Fast- 5 days
49. Fast - 7 days

Sundry Items 52-80 may be found in Part 2, while 81-101 are located in Part 3.

Details

3. Be able to do all three splits.

In my youth, I did gymnastics and dance. While I wasn't particularly graceful or strong or dedicated, and wasn't able to get very far in either, I did have a lot of fun at it and I enjoyed all the flexibility it yielded me. I've kept up with a stretching routine over the years, but I still feel like I'm old and creaky sometimes. Ergo, I want to reclaim the ability to do left leg, right leg, and center splits. Whenever I make some sort of progress on this goal, it will be posted with an additional tag of "Physical Health."

10. Run a real world mile in less than ten minutes.

I can run a mile on an elliptical in a gym in just over ten minutes with the incline set at 12 and the resistance fluctuating between 6 and 9. For the life of me, I cannot run on a street or outdoor track or through the woods or anything for more than a few minutes, let alone an entire mile or ten minutes. I have never really worked at it, though, except for training two days a week at the gym on the elliptical - if you could call it training. I don't think so, since there was no end point in mind. It was just exercise. And gyms are expensive, and they play loud, bad music, and... so many things. So I want to train up and be able to run a full mile in the real world in under ten minutes. Progress on this goal (including a baseline post) will carry the additional tag of "Physical Health" as well.

11. Buy $10 of stock during the first week and do NOT look at its earnings (or losses) until Day 1001.

This is one of those more ridiculous sorts of goals, but it's one that I think will be very entertaining at the end. As I wrote in the last weekly update post, the stock I chose will probably be on my radar for the first six months or so, but I'll try my hardest to avoid it and my dad promised he would make an effort to keep it off his monitor in the office. Again, I have 8.5 shares in Hyperdynamic Systems (NYSE: HDY(?)) and it will be interesting to see where this baby company goes in the next three years.

14. Turn off the internet for a week.

This goal partially comes out of a hypothetical bet, which in turn came out of a South Park episode in which America loses the internet. The question was whether you would rather go one year without TV or one year without internet. Everyone else said they could just watch TV on the internet, but I felt that was against the spirit of the question and claimed I not only could go one year without the internet, but that I would. For about two weeks at the beginning of the last school year, I firmly believed that my post-collegiate job would be documenting my decision to live in New York City without the internet. That didn't pan out, but I still think it's an interesting experiment since we're the first generation of adults that has been online for all or most of our conscious memory. This goal is also training for...

15. Turn off the computer for a week.

This is obviously in the same vein as the previous goal, but MOAR XTREEEEEME. Nothing else to really say about these two, except that 1) vacations/moving will not count and 2) exceptions will have to be made for work if required. My computer and I are literally attached at the hip for more than half of my leisure time. This will be very, very difficult.

21. Replace every lightbulb in my living space with an energy-saving equivalent.

One year for Christmas, everyone in my family got compact fluorescents because the school was giving them out to us to change out bulbs in our dorm rooms. Changing one bulb doesn't make a big difference, but changing the bulbs of 2000 students... then you're starting to get somewhere. Anyway, they left boxes of bulbs in the vacuum/free box closet of every dorm in case someone had missed the door-to-door exchange, and... well, yeah. Everyone in my family ended up getting some for Christmas. Call it taking full advantage of my student activity fee.

Anyway. These bulbs produce a perfectly fine light when covered with a shade, and save power, and are a bit less expensive than they were two years ago. I know there's this whole contingent of people who think they cause cancer... but what doesn't, anymore?. Some say that the mercury in them seeps into landfills... but if the alternative is continuing to use tungsten bulbs, I can't really see that being an improvement, on balance. And there are ways to properly dispose of them, so... unless LED lights make some major progress in the mass consumer market, CFLs will be it. For this goal to be fulfilled, I need to have my own living space; living at home and replacing the three bulbs in my bedroom will not count.

46. Serve on a grand jury.

First off, I know you don't request jury duty. You do, however, request GRAND jury duty. The difference is that jury duty lasts for one case, and you make the final determination of guilt or innocence, while grand jurors handle hundreds of cases a week and preliminarily determine whether there should even be a trial. A term also lasts three months. For most people, three months of jury duty sounds excruciating. I know it won't be, mostly because I've sort of already done it. While interning at the District Attorney's Office in Dallas, the "learning" portion of the day was spent down in the grand jury room. Maybe it's because I wasn't allowed to actively participate in the proceedings, but, aside from the daily slew of drug cases, it was fairly interesting to hear everything. And there were moments when I really wanted to speak up, because there was something I thought the grand jurors were misunderstanding, but I wasn't allowed. That's probably why I want to do it so badly. Anyway, I don't think I'll say this for any other goal, but if I haven't completed it and I end up leaving the country to work in an Embassy (or for some other yet unforeseen reason), I will use an as-yet-undisclosed backup goal instead. I'm fairly certain it's illegal to serve on a grand jury in a country of which you are not a citizen.

47, 48, and 49. Daylight Fasts - 3, 5, and 7 days.

Before I added the word "daylight" to this goal (the actual writing of it, not the spirit - that was always intentional), everyone told me this was a very bad idea and some, I think, were concerned that I was trying to sneak in some sort of anorexia into my Mission 101. Let me be clear: that is not the case. Plus, many of you have eaten meals with me; you know that I eat. Quite healthily. Well, a decent amount, anyway, and there are sometimes vegetables involved.

Anyway. Sometimes I do think I eat too much, in that way that I think everyone in America can eat too much, and there is something to be said for the willpower it takes to not consume anything during the daylight hours. This is not a religious project, although I am hoping to sneak some meditation into these fasts, but I basically want to prove that I can. I will probably not eat anything for breakfast, drink water during the day, and eat a very light dinner of rice or peanut butter and crackers (alternating days, perhaps) after dark before bed. Each length of fast is a separate goal because these will be very, very difficult. I'm fasting from the internet and the computer during this mission. I should probably do a fast from something that reminds me what it's like to not have your basic needs met, too. Posts about all three goals will also be tagged with "Physical Health."

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Reading Goals

19. Read at least 3 articles in each of these weekly: The Economist, New Scientist, and the New Yorker. Bonus points for taking out a subscription.
54. Finish the Discworld series.
55. (re)Read the complete works of Tennessee Williams.
56. Read 25 "Classics."
57. Read 3 "Russian Classics."
58. Read the complete works of Salman Rushdie.
59. Read every book on the shelf that has not yet been so.
85. Read ten books that are recommended to me.

Details

Each of these goals has its own tag (although 57 will assume the tag of 56, "Classics") and I will post a short summary/review/announcement within two days of finishing any book or article.

19. Read at least 3 articles in each of these weekly: The Economist, New Scientist, and the New Yorker. Bonus points for taking out a subscription.

I really love these magazines but I sometimes... forget about them. Especially with The Economist, I find it a lot easier to read the articles in the physical magazines (well, hell, I usually read them cover to cover if I have an actual copy) than reading on the internet. I also felt this goal would be good because, now that I'm not in college, I've found myself doing a much poorer job of keeping up with the goings-on in the world, and I'm upset about that. With this goal as an active reminder, I won't be able to slack off anymore and let the days pile on into weeks without reading a single article.

54. Finish the Discworld series.

At the end of my freshman writing class at Vassar, a course in the Cog Sci department called "The Science and Fiction of the Mind" (yes, Vassar is awesome like that), my professor gave each of us a sci-fi or fantasy novel that he thought would inspire us to continue writing. Shamefully, I did not pick up the book he gave to me, The Color of Magic, the first in the Discworld series, until the day after graduation. I immediately purchased the second book, and placed a hold at the library on the third, which turned into holds on the fourth, fifth, and sixth - well, by the time I left Portland, I had about 100 pages left in Sourcery, the fifth book (in order of publication, not by story line).

I don't consider it cheating to have a goal to finish a series of which I have already read five books, because THERE ARE 36 OF THEM AND COUNTING, in addition to short stories, graphic novels, and official reference volumes. According to that first link, two more are scheduled for release this year and next. This is a project, but a fun, minimal effort sort of project that I am glad to take on. And though I doubt he'll ever see this, I owe an enormous debt of repentant gratitude to Professor Livingston for introducing me to this wonderful alternate universe.

Books read: 5

55. (re)Read the complete works of Tennessee Williams.

I don't think this goal needs any justification at all, but here it is: Tennessee Williams is the man, and his plays are the bomb-diggity, and if you disagree, you should try reading something other than The Glass Menagerie.

Plays read: 0.66

56. Read 25 "Classics."

Sort of in line with my need to see 25 new great and classic movies, I need to read 25 new great and classic books. I tried a few times to read Jane Austen, and in school, we only read abridged versions of Dickens. My brother sent me Atlas Shrugged for Christmas last year because I never thought it would be my kind of book and he insisted that I had to read it anyway. I havne't yet. Like the movies list, the 50 or so books that make it onto this list will be posted in a separate entry which I will update whenever I complete one of the books on it.

57. Read 3 "Russian Classics."

These are long and epic and have funny-sounding names, so they get their own post. Tentatively, I'm putting War and Peace, The Idiot, and either The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, The Master and Margarita, or the Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol on this list. The Master and Margarita is (relatively) short, so it might sneak up onto the regular classics list to make space for something else.

58. Read the complete works of Salman Rushdie.

Midnight's Children was one of my very favorite books I got to read for class last year. It was my very first experience reading Rushdie, although I was aware of the controversy with The Satanic Verses and everything, I was unaware that he is actually a genius with the English language. Although I will read them loosely in order of publication, the first one up (ie the one that I already own) is East, West, almost the exact median publication. Let the Rushdie love commence!

Rushdies read: 1

59. Read every book on the shelf that has not yet been so.

The is more a target than a definite goal. I'm one of those people who buys books because I like to have them around me, not necessarily because I'm looking for something new to read at the moment. More precisely, I almost never buy just one book. There is, then, quite the backlog on my shelves of books I meant to read but never got around to because of classes, or other books, or whatever. Some of then will fall under the "Classics" reading goal; others I will just read whenever I get need a break from the structured, specific reading goals. Obviously, because I do not intend to stop buying books in the next 2.75 years, this will be a fluid goal, and new books will be incorporated into it.

Backlog finished: 3

85. Read ten books that are recommended to me.

As if I needed more reading on my plate, this is an open call for recommendations for books that I absolutely need to read, right now. Every suggestion, no matter how ridiculous, will be considered. And hey - if only ten books are recommended, the ridiculous one is a shoe-in!

Recommended reading completed: 2

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Top 50 Movies of All Time Ever

(that I've never before seen.)

Here's the list of Great, Classic Movies I came up with based on the IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and the AFI 100 Years/100 Movies lists. If you would like to argue that something should not be on this list, feel free to! If you think I've made an egregious error leaving something out, you should also feel free to recommend a film, with the caveat that it may have been left off because I've seen it already. As I watch these movies, I will make posts about them, but I will come back to this post and create links on the list to those posts, turning them blue a la goal completion on The Master List.

1. Godfather
2. Citizen Cain
3. Casablanca
4. Raging Bull
5. Singin’ in the Rain
6. Gone with the Wind
7. Lawrence of Arabia
8. Schindler’s List
9. The Wizard of Oz
10. City Lights
11. 2001: A Space Odyssey
12. All About Eve
13. Seven Samurai
14. The Graduate
15. On the Waterfront
16. Chinatown
17. Grapes of Wrath
18. High Noon
19. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
20. Apocalypse Now
21. The Maltese Falcon
22. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
23. Annie Hall
24. The Best Years of Our Lives
25. Dr. Strangelove
26. King Kong
27. Bonnie and Clyde
28. The Philadelphia Story
29. A Streetcar Named Desire
30. North by Northwest
31. Rocky
32. Taxi Driver
33. Schindler’s List
34. The African Queen
35. All the President’s Men
36. The Terminator
37. Fargo
38. Rosemary’s Baby
39. The Wages of Fear
40. Fanny and Alexander
41. Sunday’s Children
42. Yojimbo
43. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
44. The Usual Suspects
45. Forrest Gump
46. Pan’s Labyrinth
47. Hotel Rwanda
48. Requiem for a Dream
49/50. Alien(s)
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Start Date: 8.28.09

The first day of my Mission 101 has officially ended, and here's what I've accomplished so far:

• Sleeping until 11:37am. To be fair, I also was up until nearly 4 because I was not only on west coast time, but also slept about four hours on the plane, and I only had about three hours of sleep the night before, what with all the packing.



• "First day" of work. Considering I arrived at the office at 1:30, and didn't do a whole lot but fill out my W-4 and label a few folders before leaving for a bank deposit run at 4, I don't really think it counts.



• Grocery shopping. Time: 1.15 hours. Stores visited: 2. Money spent: $140. Number of boxes of artichoke and mozzarella ravioli purchased: 0. PUBLIX FAIL. Now I have to learn how to make it myself. Ohhhhhhhhh well.



• Unpacking. This is an extraordinarily daunting task, mostly because in the last four years, I have accumulated a LOT of stuff. Boxed up, it is more than can reasonably fit in my room, so I have absolutely no idea how I'll fit it all in here out of the boxes. I probably won't even try to.



• Shuttle launch. At 11:59pm, the shuttle Discovery lifted off to deliver supplies, a new scientist, and the Colbert exercise(?) module to the space station. I was at the beach (along with a hundred other people and my family) watching. It was a very fitting way to, erm, celebrate being back in Florida.

So... those aren't at all things that count as progress towards my goals. Oh well. Here's what I do have:

• The list of Top 50 Greatest Movies of All Time Ever. It will be in its own post, momentarily. Apocalypse Now is on TMC on demand right now, though, so I'll probably be watching it in the next week. Progress yay!



• The novel that I'm going to adapt into my screenplay. I will begin reading it with a hefty stack of post-its in hand tomorrow or Sunday, depending on scheduling.



• Ten dollars worth of stock. It turns out that buying stock is more complicated than I thought, and that broker's commission is generally ten dollars, so I'm sort of informally purchasing 8.5 shares of stock in my uncle's new company, Hyperdynamics Corporation, from my dad. It will be slightly more difficult to uphold the "not looking at it" portion of this goal for the duration of my employment in Florida, but that's (hopefully) only going to last six months, tops. This goal is now currently "In Progress!"



• Books. Books books books books books. I have a lot of them. I have to sort them, and I have to make lists of them, but I hope to read Streetcar and East, West to begin my Tennessee Williams and Salman Rushdie oeuvre goals in the next two weeks as well as getting started on the screenplay novel.

So that's where I am right now. Like I said, I'll post the list of movies to watch in its own post in a second. You may have also noticed that the detail posts for my Reading Goals and Sundry Goals have not yet been posted; I will have those done by Sunday night.

I'm just beginning to get a feel for the magnitude of this project. It's alternately very scary, very exciting, and very ridiculous. I'll say more on this in my next weekly update, after I've been at it a little longer.

One final note - a few people have mentioned that they weren't sure if they could comment without a blogger/google account, or that they tried to but the site ate their comment without posting it. To the first group, yes, I have enabled anonymous posting, though it would be nice if you wanted to sign your name and let me know who you are, if I know you. To the second group, I was unable to reproduce this error in three independent tests, so I can't test for myself if the solution I am trying has worked. I did change the comments to being on a completely separate page from the post instead of being embedded in it, so hopefully that will help. Thanks for reading, regardless!
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Music Goals

4. Discover AND LIKE 101 new bands or solo artists.
28. Find out with certainty why "A Save Situation" is named after a baseball thing.
29. Visit an old house on the Danforth.
34. Clean out itunes ratings; begin anew with Standards. Have more than half the library genuinely rated by the end of the 1001.
51. Make a real green dress.
62. Stand on a cliff and throw little things off.
75. Begin and maintain a mixtape-exchange between friends for one year.
76. Listen to "Goodbye Sky Harbor" as I'm leaving Sky Harbor.
77. Follow at least 10 pieces of advice from Everybody's Free.
92. Stand on a frozen lake.
99. Drink a Soco Amaretto Lime.
100. Remember a pretty good year.

Details

A lot of these goals might appear to be miscategorized. They are not. I promise.

4. Discover AND LIKE 101 new bands, solo artists, or albums.

Straightforward enough for a normal person, but I specifically added "albums" to this goal because I have a terrible problem where I grow accustomed to hearing a particular singer's voice singing the songs I have by them, and then have an extraordinarily difficult time with anything they put out after that point. I know, it's really weird and strange and probably annoying as well, but that's just the way I am. It doesn't matter whether the next album I hear is an artist's second or twelfth, if it's new, I probably won't like it. So I'm going to accumulate new music on a fairly regular basis (feel free to recommend something on this or any "Music"-tagged post!), listen to it a few times through , and begin to integrate it into my library, if I like one or two songs. Most updates to this tally will simply occur in the weekly round-up post, but I am sure that if I find something particularly awesome that I can't wait to share about, it will get its own post.


New artists approved of: 7

28. Find out with certainty why "A Save Situation" is named after a baseball thing.

Feels like I've been asleep for days...

29. Visit an old house on the Danforth.

She loves me and her body keeps me warm...

34. Clean out itunes ratings; begin anew with Standards. Have more than half the library genuinely rated by the end of the 1001.

I have about 6000 songs in my itunes library. I listen, on a regular basis, to about 1600 of them. This is mostly a product of the ratings system, which I started when I got my first ipod in high school. While these ratings have obviously not been completely static, I... well, basically, I got into a rut and stopped listening (mostly) to anything not rated four or five stars. It's time to start over and it's time to give all my music an equal opportunity to make it into what will (I'm sure) be the new rut.

51. Make a real green dress.

Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman...

62. Stand on a cliff and throw little things off.

I go through all this before you wake up...

75. Begin and maintain a mixtape-exchange between friends for one year.

Everybody likes mixtapes. Everybody likes to talk about sending mixtapes to each other. I will be an organizer and, like, secret-santa-y, or something, and everyone will make and send mixtapes and be happy! This "one year" thing is totally arbitrary and will be open to changing based on interest. Everyone will make and send at least one mixtape and receive at least one in return. Sign up on this post if you're interested!

76. Listen to "Goodbye Sky Harbor" as I'm leaving Sky Harbor.

He said, "I am but one small instrument."

77. Follow at least 10 pieces of advice from Everybody's Free.

List of which ten will be posted at a later date.

92. Stand on a frozen lake.

Let's get together and talk about the modern age...

99. Drink a Soco Amaretto Lime.

Everybody wake up (wake up!) everybody wake up it's time to get down...

100. Remember a pretty good year.

They say you were something, in those formative years...

Actually, this one gets a real description of what it means. On one (or all) of the December 31sts that occur during the next 1001 days (ie, 2009, 2010, and 2011), while everyone else is setting down their New Year's resolutions, I'll be writing down everything I remember happening to me in the prior year - all the good things. For a fleeting moment, I had an idea about making separate lists for good and bad things and, as an act of catharsis, burning the "bad" list. Then I remembered that I'm not fifteen. So instead, I'll just make a list of all the good things and squirrel it away somewhere to find the next time I go through all my things.

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Travel Goals

5. Go to the Continent.
6. Go to Alaska.
7. Go to Indonesia.
23. Visit at least 25 cathedrals.
24. Swing on 101 unique swing sets.
26. Spend at least 24 consecutive hours on an Amtrak train.
27. Go to Antigua.
30. Go to Islands of Adventure.
32. Go to Big Sur.
60. Stand at the foot of a mountain. Possibly climb up it a little bit.

Details

Posts detailing my progress on any goal in this category will receive the "Travel" tag. Only goals 23 and 24, cathedrals and swingsets, will have their own additional tags.

5. Go to the Continent.

Aside from the Caribbean and the Gulf coast of Mexico, the only place outside the US that I've been to is London. Seriously, not even anywhere else in England. I first spent three weeks on vacation there during the (epic heat wave) summer of 2006, and later returned to study for the fall semester of 2007 at Queen Mary University in the East End. While most of my fellow students were flying off on Ryanair every weekend to spend 36 hours in some other European city, I decided that I was in London to be in London. While I don't regret that decision at all, I do still want to get to continental Europe sometime in the next two-point-seven-five years. This goal will be fulfilled if I am able to spend at least 72 consecutive hours somewhere between Portugal and the Ukraine, though preferably I would like to do this for longer, or more than once.

6. Go to Alaska.

My idea of a dream vacation is a week-long stay in any city with a history that reaches back to ancient times. If that includes a daytrip out to the surrounding countryside, awesome, but if not (as happened in London), no biggie. I'll entertain myself either way. Alaska is on my list because I want to make nature the primary destination of my trip. Whether I fulfill this goal by taking a cruise, flying directly there to visit extended family, or get kidnapped by Todd Palin and a band of Alaskan Independence Party freedom fighter/snowmobilers, as long as I spend at least 72 hours there and am able to see a glacier, it's all good.

7. Go to Indonesia.

Not only is Indonesia probably the diametric opposite of both Alaska and Rome, it is also not a destination that was on my radar a year or two ago. After reading Cradle of Flavor, a combination cookbook and travelogue about Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, I've been completely fascinated by the fusion of cultures there. Yes, I would like to visit India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka... all of those places are on my lifelong travel wishlist. But right now, Indonesia is the most compelling nation on my list.

23. Visit at least 25 cathedrals.

When I took Art History in my freshman year of college, 90% of the reason why was because I wanted to take the 200 level course on the history of architecture which required it as a prerequisite. I didn't end up taking the class, due to scheduling issues sophomore year, but about one fifth of the introductory class was devoted to the great works of architecture in the ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and modern eras. It made me happy. Instead of just vaguely enjoying or disapproving of a building that I see now, I take notice of the form and structure of it, and consciously note the way the component parts fit together to make an elegant or awkward building.

In particular, I love to be inside of cathedrals. I think they're wonderful. I fell in love with Vassar because its library reminded me of a cathedral. I've been inside the National Cathedral in Washington, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, and Southwark Cathedral in London, and I yearn to see more. While 25 is a tall order, especially because there are very few cathedrals of note in the United States, I hope that if I can spend at least a week in Europe, I will be able to almost fulfill this goal. I will also count trips to mosques, synagogues, and Asian temples of any sort to this goal because discrimination is bad for your health, and also, I love mosaic tiles, menorahs, and bells.

Cathedrals admired: 1

24. Swing on 101 unique swing sets.

I'm not a religious person. My undying love for cathedrals is purely architectural. The closest I ever come to what might be described as a "spiritual experience" happens when I'm on the swings. Ridiculous though that may sound, it's true. Point is, I want to seek out 101 new "spiritual experiences" and swing on 101 unique swingsets anywhere in the world. I'll post pictures and a short blurb about the location of each venture under the "Swingsets" tag.

Swingsets swung: 8

26. Spend at least 24 consecutive hours on an Amtrak train.

Manifest destiny.

27. Go to Antigua.

Perhaps it's just the postcolonial scholar in me, but I really want to visit Antigua. I've been to the Bahamas, and I want to go to Martinique, eventually, but since reading two of Jamaica Kindcaid's books, I have felt drawn to explore the streets of St. Johns and the beaches and just. Be there. As with Alaska, I will consider a cruise stop on Antigua fulfillment of this goal, but I would prefer to fly and stay a few nights, something I think will be much easier to do in the next six months as I'll already be in Florida.

30. Go to Islands of Adventure.

Again, something to do while I'm in Florida. I grew up an hour from the Orlando theme parks, and three hours from Busch Gardens in Tampa. I have been to Disney World more times than I can count, and for two years my family had season passes to Sea World and Busch Gardens. I have never been to Universal Studios, nor to its sister park, Islands of Adventure. I'm not entirely sure why, but since they have a fine array of roller coasters and other Fun Things To Do, I'm sure it won't be that hard to make it over.

32. Go to Big Sur.

A Confederate General from Big Sur. Read it; love it.

60. Stand at the foot of a mountain. Possibly climb up it a little bit.

I think there is something uniquely powerful about standing at the bottom of a mountain and looking up, rather than the other way around. I'm sure it feels perfectly wonderful to feel as though you've conquered the entire world, but I'm being realistic here. I don't think I have the constitution for mountain climbing, and I think that's okay. I still want to visit a mountain (with a prominence of at least 2000 meters) and stand next to it and feel very small and human.

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Charity Goals

16. Donate at least $500.50 on Donors Choose.
17. Volunteer in a battered woman's shelter.
38. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for at least 101 hours.
44. Raise $500.50 by doing Walks for the Cure. As many as it takes to reach this goal.
65. Volunteer in a public library (or more than one) for at least 101 hours.
68. Loan $101 on Kiva; recycle all repayments.
69. Perform community awareness to raise an additional $500.50 for Kiva loan seekers.
70. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice on Free Rice for Spanish vocabulary.
71. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice in all other subjects.
94. Donate at least two articles of clothing at the end of every season.

Details

Giving back has always come slightly less than naturally to me. I like to help others, but I don't always know the best way to do it, and I've never really made a concerted effort at community service. I have participated in Feed the Children's back-to-school backpack donation drive for the past three years, which is why continuing to do so isn't on the list - this is about doing new things to connect me to our planet and the people on it. I tried to strike what I feel is an achievable balance between donating time and money, and if anyone has any suggestions on how best to achieve the volunteering goals, I would be eternally grateful for them.

16. Donate at least $500.50 on Donors Choose.

Some of you may be aware that I once thought I could hack it in a classroom, and tried to join up with Teach for America. Luckily, although I was "qualified" on paper, they could tell during the phone interview that I probably don't have the right disposition to handle a classroom of thirty inner-city kids. While I was researching TFA, though, I discovered their unofficial official blog site, where corps members are encouraged to write what's really going on in their heads through this experience, and not just the glowing, this-is-so-fulfilling! posts hosted on their actual website.

In any case, it was while reading one such Real Blog that I encountered a link to Donors Choose, where teachers write their own mini-grant requests for classroom materials that they need, and donors choose (har) to give part or all of the money needed for the project of their choice in order to help kids (presumably those attending lower-income schools that have far fewer resources readily available). I think it's an excellent idea, and so I hope to contribute at least $500.50 to the education of the next generation in the next 1001 days. Although this goal will (probably) not have its own tag, any time I donate to a project, I will post a link and description in this blog to track my total.

Current total: $100.00

17. Volunteer in a battered woman's shelter.

Let me begin by explaining why this goal, among every other goal on the list, is the most indefinite. Simply put, I'm not sure I'm strong enough to handle it. I will complete whatever the minimum number of shifts/hours/whatever the shelter I volunteer at requires, because I'm not a quitter, but I really don't want to commit myself to something that is going to wear me down too much, too fast, and ultimately be counterproductive to the people I mean to be assisting.

That said, this issue is very important to me because so many American women continue to be abused and disempowered by the men in their lives. It happens in secret, but it also happens with the knowledge of the neighbors, other family members, and sometimes even the police. I have a very nice theoretical knowledge of the problem of domestic violence because of my very nice liberal arts education. I want to change that theory into practice, and I want to learn from women who have removed themselves from bad situations and help find ways to end physical and psychological abuse.

38. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for at least 101 hours.

I have always respected the work of Habitat for Humanity, and have always wanted to try it out. I am pretty good with a hammer and certain power tools (thank you, high school drama club!), and I like to paint, so I won't be a completely unskilled worker. Assuming I work eight-hour Saturdays (a big assumption, I admit), this goal will be complete after 12.65 shifts. It may take a while, or no time at all, to get started on this goal, considering I have no idea how the recession (and, duh, the housing/construction bust) is affecting Habitat's agenda. We'll see; each day that I volunteer, I will post at least one picture of me on a jobsite and update a running log of my hours with the additional "Habitat" tag.

Hours completed: 4

44. Raise $500.50 by doing Walks for the Cure. As many as it takes to reach this goal.

I've never done a Walk for the Cure before, but I assume the way it works is that you get people to sponsor you for each mile you walk/run/crawl across the finish line. This is a great goal for me, because it allows me to donate my time and other people's money, both of which, as a recent college graduate, there is plenty.

Current total: $23

65. Volunteer in a public library (or more than one) for at least 101 hours.

I love libraries. I love the idea of them, I love going into them and browsing, I love that the internet has simplified interlibrary loans and I can now get pretty much any book I'd ever want to read, even through the Volusia County Library system. I remember going to the library every other week or so during the summer as a kid to get fresh reading material, and I regularly checked out extra books from the library at Vassar just because there were SO MANY there, it seemed like it would be a giant waste to only read books I needed for class. As if I needed more of a reason to have this goal, my grandmother was a professional librarian for about thirty years. We go way back, libraries and me.

68. Loan $101 on Kiva; recycle all repayments.

Kiva is something I either originally heard about in the New York Times, on a Hulu ad, or in the blog from which I discovered Mission 101. Like Donors Choose, it is a website that allows you to join others in donating small (or large) amounts of money to small business entrepreneurs in developing countries, most of whom are women who find it more difficult to get loans from banks or their governments than do men. For a very informative article about why microloaning is such a super idea for foreign aid, I direct you to this article in the NYT.

The idea on Kiva, specifically, is that you loan out however much money, and, after a time, your loanee begins to pay you back out of their newfound profits. I intend to recycle all the repayments I receive back into Kiva, that is, to continually be lending my initial $101. Recycled repayments received before I've loaned $101 will not count towards that total; as with Donors Choose, I will make a post each time I extend a loan. Because I anticipate that there will be many more such posts than with Donors Choose, this goal will have its own tag, "Kiva."

Loaned out: $25

69. Perform community awareness to raise an additional $500.50 for Kiva loan seekers.

Obviously, I think Kiva is a good idea. I want other people to think so, too, and to that end, I hope to do whatever it takes - meeting up with local business people, canvassing my neighborhood door to door, or setting up a table at a farmer's market or outside Wal-Mart - to get people to pledge $500.50 for Kiva loans. After I have done it myself a few times, I will know better how to achieve this goal, I think. Updates will also be under the "Kiva" tag.

70. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice on Free Rice for Spanish vocabulary.

If you don't have a Facebook account, you may have missed the 2007 launch of Free Rice - a website that gives you a vocabulary word and four choices of its definition. For each correct definition, Free Rice pledges to donate ten grains of rice to the UN World Food Program, and when you get one wrong, it tells you the correct answer and then repeats the word a bit later. In the last two years, they've expanded beyond English vocab to include foreign languages and other subjects, such as geography and chemistry symbols. Because I want to keep practicing Spanish as much as possible, even when I'm not doing Rosetta Stone, I want to get half of my goal of a million grains of rice doing solely Spanish vocab. Other charities allow you to donate your time and money; free rice allows you to donate your daily farting-around-on-the-internet time, too. I will post my weekly tally of grains donated in my weekly roundup posts.

Current total: 2500

71. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice in all other subjects.

English vocab, famous paintings, hell - I'll even take a crack at the German vocab - to get the second half of my million-grain goal.

Current total: 14790

94. Donate at least two articles of clothing at the end of every season.

If you've ever met me in real life, you probably are aware that I don't own very many clothes. I wear pretty much the same ten outfits every ten days... not on a fixed schedule or anything; that's just how it works out. I really only like that many clothes at a time. Fully one third of my wardrobe (that is, one dress, two shirts, and a few bras) are clothes I purchased in high school. Clothes have never been hugely important to me. However, I have, on occasion, tried to alter my fashion sense and purchased clothes that, although perfectly fine for some people, did not ever quite make it into regular rotation. And it's probably time to admit that I'm never going to be on What Not to Wear, so it's up to me to realize I'm a grownup and that some of my clothes are getting old, and that I need to start dressing a little better. As such, I plan on donating at least two articles of clothing four times a year. Any more than that actually seems really excessive to me, considering the small pool I have to pull from already, but obviously, I am never limited to just two. When these donations occur, you'll find out about it in its appropriate weekly update.

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Educational Goals

2. Score ≥167 on the LSAT.
12. Rosetta Stone: Spanish
13. Rosetta Stone: Arabic
31. Take an oral history.
33. Learn to be good at chess.
39. Learn to build my own desktop. Do so.
41. Learn the constellations. And how to tell the damn planets apart from the stars on a consistent basis.
42. Learn how to program a website.
43. Learn the Kiddish, the Kaddish, and the prayer for breaking bread.
45. Learn to snorkel.
53. Learn to tell the difference between wines.
84. Go to ten special exhibitions at museums.
86. Watch 25 of the Greatest Movies of All Time Ever that I've never before seen.
89. Keep detailed accounting data for one month.
93. Learn to identify at least ten things under the hood of a car and how you can tell when they break.
95. Write a full page with my right hand.

Details

Note - you can keep up with my progress on all Educational goals by clicking the "Educational" tag. Very few in this category will have specialized tags; those will be noted below.

2. Score ≥167 on the LSAT.

I'm not actually certain that I want to go to law school; in fact, I'm moving more and more in the direction away from it. However, one never can be too sure, and it's better to do standardized tests sooner rather than later after college. And here's a little secret about me: I actually just love taking standardized tests. I think 167 is a realistic goal, but one that I think is high enough that I will still feel compelled to study beforehand. I really just want to know my score, so I could see where I could go if I actually wanted to learn the law.

12. Rosetta Stone: Spanish

I took four years of Spanish in high school, and while I was never particularly good at it, I was certainly not particularly bad at it, either. Or:
Yo tome cuatro años de español en la escuela secondaría, y (though) yo no (past progressive of ser?) muy bueno con lo, ni yo (again with ser) muy mal, tampoco. So, I will complete the second and third levels of Rosetta Stone in order to regain and learn new vocabulary and grammatical fluency, and, after completing the course, testing myself by reading a Spanish-language novel that I purchased a few years ago.

Complete through: Level 2, Unit 1, Lesson 3

13. Rosetta Stone: Arabic

If you've already read the entire master list, then you're aware that joining the Foreign Service is on it. The reasons for that will be more fully explained in the Sundries - Part 1 post, but it is a major contributing factor to me wanting to learn Arabic. English, Spanish, and Arabic are three of the most spoken languages on the planet, and between them, they cover just about every country whose American embassy I would love to work in. And written Arabic is probably the most beautiful script I've ever seen, and I really want to be able to understand it and produce it myself, at least rudimentarily. This goal will be finished after I complete all three levels of Rosetta Stone's Arabic program and I have read an Arabic-language newspaper front to back.

31. Take an oral history.

My paternal great-grandparents were all immigrants who came to America sometime between 1900 and 1920 from Eastern Europe. I know that my grandmother's family came from a tiny village in Poland, because one of my uncles researched and visited it a few years ago and there's a photo album of the trip on her shelf. My grandfather's family... I don't even really know. I have heard variously that we were expelled Russian Jews, Ukrainian, Latvian, and Polish. Suffice it to say that both sets of great-grandparents did a very good job of assimilating themselves and their children to American culture, and my father and his brothers seem not to have thought much about where the family came from in their youth, apart from the vague notion of "over there." At least, that's my impression as a member of the third generation born here.

So, my goal is to sit down with my grandmother, whom, conveniently enough, I will be living just upstairs from through the winter, and, once and for all, find out who we Leonard-Moverman-Abramsons are and just where exactly it is that we came from.

33. Learn to be good at chess.

I know the rules of chess. I understand which way the pieces are supposed to move and that the queen is always supposed to start on her own color and all the technical stuff like that. I just have no eye for the strategy of it. I can't see five moves ahead for myself, let alone the other guy (who always seems to know what I'm going to do anyway). It's like I have a giant neon sign flashing above my head proclaiming my epically noob status. My goal is to practice until I get to the point where, even if I can't beat my dad at chess, I can at least give a decent show of trying.

39. Learn to build my own desktop. Do so.

I am pretty good at computers, at least from the software end. I can diagnose problems with my own computer; perform basic maintenance myself, and can convince it that it has extra CD-ROM drives for my own non-nefarious purposes. What I do not know is what goes on inside: how the drives and cards and cords fit together to make the magic happen. I only have a basic understanding of what most of the things in there are even called.

My laptop is also getting on in. It will be three around Thanksgiving, which is practically ancient in technology years. It had its mid-life crisis last September, and, luckily, since the warranty was still good, Sony sent a technician TO MY HOUSE to replace the motherboard and a lot of little things for free. It was awesome. But still, the poor little thing barely has enough hard drive memory anymore, and its non-video card pitches fits every few weeks (and here I am, not running anything strenuous on it so as not to piss it off more). It's time for something new. It's time for something powerful and amenable to staying in one place, and it's time for me to learn how to do it. Ergo, desktop. Lots of space to mess around in, lots of interchangeable, fully-customizable parts; lots, lots cheaper. I hope to get this project started sooner rather than later, obviously, and if anyone knows of any particularly rad resources about building one's own computer, I would be eternally grateful if you could point me in their direction.

41. Learn the constellations. And how to tell the damn planets apart from the stars on a consistent basis.

I already know the Big and Little Dippers; Orion; and sometimes, if I'm really lucky, I can pick out Sirius. I used to be able to find Venus, if it was around. I want to know more. I will consider this goal complete after I've learned 15 constellations and basic facts about them, and memorized when which planets are within our view and how I can identify them with the naked eye (when possible).

42. Learn how to program a website.

I know basic html, and in the last week, I've picked up a bit of CSS tweaking this blog's template to my personal taste. It's been a lot of fun, and it's a lot harder than I thought. I will consider this goal complete after I have completely scripted this blog myself, from scratch.

43. Learn the Kiddish, the Kaddish, and the prayer for breaking bread.

I'm a really bad Jew. In that I'm not actually Jewish at all, but half my family is by heritage, and we all eat pork and forget when it's time to celebrate Hanukkah. Bacon is tasty. Anyway, this isn't about being more religious so much as just learning something that can connect me to that part of me. When my grandfather died two years ago, I felt completely inadequate because I couldn't say the Kaddish for him, even though I watch Angels in America every three months and I really should have picked it up by now. So now I'm going to. End of story.

45. Learn to snorkel.

Properly, this goal in its complete form is "Learn to snorkel without getting water down the tube and in my goggles," but that doesn't look very elegant. I've really only been snorkeling once, on a cruise my family took when I was in high school that stopped in Key West. It was beautiful in the reef, and I would really love to go back and do it again, sans the salt water in my mouth and eyes. I'll probably practice in a pool, and if I really just can't make it down to a beach in the summertime, then that will be sufficient fulfillment of this goal. Ideally, though, a real world test will mark the end of it.

53. Learn to tell the difference between wines.

This, too, deserves a little clarification. I know that a Pinot Grigio is different from a Sauvignon Blanc and both are completely different from a Riesling. I like reds, now, too, but the only one I think I could semi-reliably identify in a blind taste test is Shiraz. So, this goal has two sub-goals: the first, to branch out and try new types and regions of wine, and the second, to keep a record of the wines I drink and identify their distinguishing characteristics. I will consider this goal complete after I successfully identify nine out of ten wines in a blind taste test.

84. Go to ten special exhibitions at museums.

Unless they're free, I very rarely go to special exhibitions. And while I love the permanent collections of the museums I "frequent," I really am missing out when I neglect to see the new and different pieces and perspectives offered by special exhibits. Therefore, I plan to see ten different paid exhibits in the next 1001 days to which I would not otherwise have gone. An example: when I was in London a few years ago, the Tate Modern was doing a Kandinsky retrospective. They could have charged £20 for it, and I still would have gone and spent all day in it. Such an exhibit would not count towards this goal. This project is about discovery, after all.

Exhibitions visited: 1

86. Watch 25 of the Greatest Movies of All Time Ever that I've never before seen.

I have never seen Casablanca. I think I fell asleep during the Wizard of Oz. I definitely fell asleep during all three Godfathers. I'm in the process of compiling a list that draws from the IMDB's Top 250, Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100, and AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies lists, in order to make a list of about fifty movies, of which I will have to watch at least 25 by May 25, 2012, so that I can actually contribute to conversations people have about these epically famous films. Posts relating to this goal will be tagged "Movies."

Movies Consumed: 1

89. Keep detailed accounting data for one month.

I did this when I first lived in London, in order to keep track of how badly the exchange rate was screwing me over, and, though it got to be very tedious towards the end, it was extremely helpful in that I knew exactly where my money was going, in what forms I was spending it, and, most importantly, knowing that I would have to account for something after I got home really helped me cut back on truly ridiculous impulse spending. Let me be clear: by "detailed accounting data," I don't just mean writing down the amount of each receipt and keeping a running total. I mean EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM. gets logged. It's effective, and I think it's time for a refresher course in curbing impromptu purchases.

93. Learn to identify at least ten things under the hood of a car and how you can tell when they break.

Enough said.

Car parts learned: .2

95. Write a full page with my right hand.

I was beginning to think that all my goals were leaning more towards being Epic and Serious Projects, so the the last ten or so are lighthearted, so that I remember to schedule time for out-and-out silliness. So: because I am left-handed and, when I have tried to write with my right hand, it has been a garbled mess, I would like to improve my opposite-handwriting. After this goal is complete, I will post a scan of the finished page, whatever it is.

Again, any suggestions on ways I can better meet these goals, or improve upon them, will be greatly welcome.


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Creativity Goals

1. Participate in NaNoWriMo.
8. Plant things. Make them grow and stuff.
9. Learn to properly knit a human-sized sweater.
18. Write at least one quality drabble weekly.
20. Learn at least thirty ethnic food recipes. Prepare each satisfactorily.
22. Learn to play June on the West Coast on guitar.
25. Adapt a favorite novel into a screenplay.
35. Participate in the 24 pictures/24 hours at least 3 times.
36. Reupholster something successfully.
37. Selfportrait Thursday.
40. Create an entire outfit by hand.
50. Sell baked goods at a farmer's market.
66. Collect 101 new characters.
67. Fill a watercolor journal.
79. Write a children's story and find someone to illustrate it.
83. Handmake and send 10 no-occasion cards to friends and family.
97. Make a baby onesie out of a Stewart/Colbert '08 shirt.

Details

1. Participate in NaNoWriMo

My reason for wanting to do NaNoWriMo is simple: ever since I learned of it six (seven? eight?) years ago, I've never been able to work up the nerve to actually do it.

One of my major problems when it comes to writing fiction is that I get so paralyzed that I'm going to do a bad job that I don't even start. The point of NaNoWriMo is not to produce the next great American novel (or that of whatever nationality/ethnicity you may be). It is to produce, plain and simple. The point is to spit words out.

I don't anticipate being able to participate in NaNoWriMo 2009, for the simple fact that I'll be too wrapped up in adapting a screenplay at the time. But I hope that by November 2010 I'll finally be able to join in contribute my word vomit to the pile. I'll go sci-fi/fantasy on this if I need to.

8. Plant things. Make them grow and stuff.

Another rather self-explanatory goal; I've always thought it would be neat to have a proper garden instead of an aging bamboo plant on my bathroom windowsill. The closest I've yet come is the plant I (with a lot of help from my grandmother, I'll be the first to admit) kept alive in the dorms all through college (except for junior year when I wasn't there; see above).

This summer, I witnessed the amazing effect a city-wide effort to plant beautiful and useful flora can have on a population. Portland is full of roses, sure, but many, many people grows herbs and spices themselves, and almost as many have at least tried to cultivate their own fruits and veggies with varying degrees of success. I want to be a part of that, even if it isn't in Portland.

I foresee this goal being somewhat difficult to quantify as finished, owing to the fact that I may be moving around a lot, at least in the next year. Therefore, if I cannot obtain a personal gardening space, if I will consider this completed if I participate in every stage of a community gardening effort, from tilling to harvest. And if I can sneak a few jasmine plants in, all the better :)

9. Learn to properly knit a human-sized sweater.

Since learning to knit in high school, I have produced yards and yards of scarves. I am an excellent knitter - of straight lines. My non-scarf projects to date have included:

• Winter cap - Begun on five double-pointed bamboo needles; abandoned shortly after it came time to begin decreasing stitches to finish.


• Patterned Scarf - I wasn't really sure what I was thinking when I began this project, adapted from an afghan pattern, except that I was really excited to try my first Complicated Lace Pattern. I only had four skeins of dollar store baby-soft yarn, but by God, I was going to get somewhere with it, two feet wide or not. It turns out that I really don't understand certain stitch notations, as I began to add stitches when I mistakenly thought that I had inadvertently been decreasing by - get this - not understanding certain stitch notations. Turns out I've been knitting by luck this whole time, I guess. Anyways, this semi-cape-like object has become a very useful winter blanket for one of my stuffed animals. There are pictures; it is adorable.


• Bear Sweater - What originally started as another attempt to knit with circular needles and following (though reducing) a pattern ended up being me devising my own pattern for straight needles. It's a hoodie, and right now I have 90% of the pieces knitted. I'll let you know how it turns out after I get someone to teach me to knit itty-bitty in-the-round (anyone know how to do glove fingers?) for the sleeves.

So, as you can see, my knitting history has been a somewhat sordid one. Essentially, this goal is the culmination of two knitting mini-goals: to be able to knit to a pattern, and to be able to knit in the round. As such, I will occasionally be making posts related to this goal in those veins - I imagine I'll probably try knitting a sort of hobo-bag on big rounds, and give another straight pattern a go before I attempt The Latvian Sweater, or, as I call it, The Mother of All Knitting Projects. It's going to be intense. There will be pictures; you may feel free to point and laugh at any time.

18. Write at least one quality drabble weekly.

This goal is fairly straightforward as well: once a week, to keep my creative juices flowing, I will write at least 100 words in response to one of the many, many prompts I see on my dreamwidth journal. All drabbles will be cross-posted here and tagged both "Creativity" and "Drabble" - I figure that since there are going to be (if all goes well) 156 of them, they deserve to have their own tag. In order to be lenient with myself, in case I forget, or am busy traveling, once a month I may take a week off, though the next week I must make up the missed drabble as well as complete the current one.

20. Learn at least thirty ethnic food recipes. Prepare each satisfactorily.

Exactly what it sounds like. Americanized versions of anything will not count - screw you, lasagna, I already know how to make you, anyway. First up on the list is Beef Rendang, followed by Bengali Payesh (the only rice pudding I've ever liked!), followed by... who knows what. Suggestions are welcome in the comment thread. Obviously, each stage of progress for this goal will be tagged both with "Creativity" and "Adventures in Cookery," a tag which will also come into play for goals #50, 53, and 63 (Sell baked goods at a farmer's market, and learn about wine and cheese).

22. Learn to play June on the West Coast on guitar.

This is one of my all-time favorite Bright Eyes songs, which I "tried" to learn to play in high school. No more fooling around. It's a four(ish?) chord song and I WILL learn how to play it. While this is primarily a creativity goal, any posts relating to its progress will also receive a "Music" tag, for obvious reasons.

25. Adapt a favorite novel into a screenplay.

As I said above, this is my One Big First Project of this entire mission. This is a goal I am extremely excited about tackling, especially because it will force me to reverse my standard style of writing. I'm a narration girl at heart, and a screenplay will (duh) necessarily force me to shift the focus to dialogue to convey the story. Because I think that in 95% of movies it is a cop-out, I will not be using voice-over in this effort. Seriously. That's cheating. I won't say any more on this right now, because I anticipate that the bulk of my posts for the next few months will be about my progress on this goal, and more detailed reflections on the reasons for it and How I am Growing as a Writer and all that. Its secondary tag will be "Adaptation." With the period.

35. Participate in the 24 pictures/24 hours thing at least 3 times.

On days 93, 307, and 986 (Nov. 29, 2009, July 1, 2010, and May 10, 2012) of the mission, I will take one picture of myself/my surroundings/my actions/my whatever to illustrate Where I Am In Life. I think it's like doing a 24 hour comic, but with less effort and a lot less pressure to be funny. For those who are into that sort of thing, it may have started here, but unless you can read Swedish, it probably won't be very useful for you to click that. Anyway. I will post these when I do them.... Probably sometime the days after, because I will be AWAKE FOR 24 HOURS (although I suppose power-napping in between hours is allowed). They will be tagged "Creativity" as well as "pix or it didn't happen." I'm betting that will still be funny in three years. But not money.

36. Reupholster something successfully.

This goal is very near and dear to me for two reasons. First, I began a reupholstering project last fall and was heavily discouraged from getting beyond the first seat cushion due to insinuations that I would not actually be able to keep the couch I was so lovingly restoring. I have about 10 yards of very good quality, very pretty, sage-striped fabric left, and I'm aching to not let that money go to waste.

Secondly, when I was very young, my family had one of those floral living room sets. Very comfy seating, very dated fabric. My mom has had them slip-covered for years. Luckily, last year or so, our dog sort of tore open the back cushion of the armchair, which was, by all accounts, my chair from about the age of two and a half upwards. Memories. So, since I'm moving home, and I have all this fabric, and my favorite piece of childhood furniture is in desperate need of some attention, everything is coming together like Stillwater and Sabbath. It's all happening!

37. Selfportrait Thursday

If you haven't heard of this, the best and most well-known example is here. Except that he did it everyday. For six years. And I'm going to smile. These posts will also receive the "pix" tag in addition to, like every other goal on this page, "Creativity."

40. Create an entire outfit by hand.

Again with the sewing, I know. I've always been fascinated by the pattern books at the fabric stores, though, and I feel like I'm pretty handy with pins and lining things up and my sewing machine, so I'm looking forward to this one. It will probably happen a bit later on, because I want to do the reupholstering while I'm still at home. There are only two more things to add about this goal right now: Halloween costumes do not count, and this goal and #51, Make a real green dress, cannot be combined.

50. Sell baked goods at a farmer's market.

I like to bake. From scratch. I like to tweak recipes. I especially like to add peanut butter or Nutella whenever possible. I think I'm pretty good at it. Other people sell things at farmer's markets; other bakers have gained their local following at them and earned enough to open a proper shop for their delicious baked wares. I have no such ambitions at this time, but this is definitely something I would like to try at least once. After I do a bit more research and find out about any licenses or fees or anything I might need, I might decide to do this for a while. We'll see where it goes. It is definitely NOT going to go off the list, and any updates will be under both the standard "Creativity" tag as well as "Adventures in Cookery." Without a period.

66. Collect 101 new characters.

This might sound a little odd, but I swear it isn't anything serial-killery. As almost everyone in the universe knows, people-watching is an excellent pastime. If you have your computer or a notepad with you, it's even better. And remember, kids, it doesn't count as stalking if they're talking loud enough for everyone to hear ;) These posts will have an additional tag of "Characters," and the first two will be posted shortly.

67. Fill a watercolor journal.

I am atrocious at the visual arts. I can't draw anything but abstract models for clothing, architectural perspective pencil drawings with a ruler, and... well, no, those two are pretty much it. I can't even draw a circle without erasing at least half of it first and my smiley faces have never been as bouncy and happy-looking as the other girls'. But in high school art class, I really loved doing watercolors, and a wash is pretty easy. I want to work my way up into loose watercolor landscapes (think Lilo and Stitch) and a representation of The Galaxy. Every ten pages I will post scans of what I've done, tagged "Art Journal." Please note that if the mood overtakes me to use some medium other than watercolor, I will be most pleased at this willingness to experiment and take full advantage of it. You have been warned.

79. Write a children's story and find someone to illustrate it.

Every once in a while, I get an idea for a modern children's book, but I never actually sit down and do anything about it. Since all my attention as a writer is on material for people my age or older, I feel like it will be very refreshing to completely shift gears and write for a younger audience. My influences are Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, and Leo Lionni, and if this watercoloring thing works out, I may even do the illustrations myself. Woo!

83. Handmake and send 10 no-occasion cards to friends and family.

Because everybody likes construction paper and glue. And everybody likes to get stuff in the mail. And... do I really need to keep explaining this one?

97. Make a baby onesie out of a Stewart/Colbert '08 shirt.

Not gonna lie, a little inspired by the Gilmore Girls on this one. I figure it's better to do this sooner rather than later, though, as by the time I actually have a kid these shirts should probably be pretty hard to come by. I have already started collecting weird, quirky early childhood books that I'm going to want my future offspring to be able to read, in case they're out of print, so this is not totally out of character for me, either. Jon Stewart for President!

So there you have it, folks, my Creativity goals for this mission. It's one of the most populous categories so far, although I do have about 35 more goals I need to add between now and next week. I don't think I can handle any more huge projects like these, though, without marrying rich and giving up all my, you know, career goals (see #61). We'll see.

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Okay, so what are you going to do?

Here is the master list, in numerical order, which only loosely signifies the order in which I thought things up. It should be noted that all reading goals were originally goal #3 but have since been broken down for manageability reasons.

For quick, skimmable, status-reporting purposes, I will be implementing a color coding system on this list, as well as the subsequent category breakdown lists. Standard font color will signify that a goal is neither completed nor even begun. Terra cotta will signify goals upon which I am currently making headway, while blue will be the color of completion. Additionally, completed goals will be turned into links to their corresponding write-up posts. Handy, no?


1. Participate in NaNoWriMo.
2. Score ≥167 on the LSAT.
3. Be able to do all three splits.
4. Discover AND LIKE 101 new bands or solo artists.
5. Go to the Continent.
6. Go to Alaska.
7. Go to Indonesia.
8. Plant things. Make them grow and stuff.
9. Learn to properly knit a human-sized sweater.
10. Run a real world mile in less than ten minutes.
11. Buy $10 of stock during the first week and do NOT look at its earnings (or losses) until Day 1001.
12. Rosetta Stone: Spanish
13. Rosetta Stone: Arabic
14. Turn off the internet for a week [in preparation for...]
15. Turn off the computer for a week.
16. Donate at least $500.50 on Donors Choose.
17. Volunteer in a battered woman's shelter.
18. Write at least one quality drabble weekly.
19. Read at least 3 articles in each of these weekly: The Economist, New Scientist, and the New Yorker. Bonus points for taking out a subscription.
20. Learn at least thirty ethnic food recipes. Prepare each satisfactorily.
21. Replace every lightbulb in my living space with an energy-saving equivalent.
22. Learn to play June on the West Coast on guitar.
23. Visit at least 25 cathedrals.
24. Swing on 101 unique swingsets.
25. Adapt a favorite novel into a screenplay.
26. Spend at least 24 consecutive hours on an Amtrak train.
27. Go to Antigua.
28. Find out with certainty why "A Save Situation" is named after a baseball thing.
29. Visit an old house on the Danforth.
30. Go to Islands of Adventure.
31. Take an oral history.
32. Go to Big Sur.
33. Learn to be good at chess.
34. Clean out iTunes ratings; begin anew with Standards. Have more than half the library genuinely rated by the end of the 1001.
35. Participate in the 24 pictures/24 hours thing at least 3 times.
36. Reupholster something successfully.
37. Selfportrait Thursday
38. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for at least 101 hours.
39. Learn to build my own desktop. Do so.
40. Create an entire outfit by hand.
41. Learn the constellations. And how to tell the damn planets apart from the stars on a consistent basis.
42. Learn how to program a website.
43. Learn the Kiddish, the Kaddish, and the prayer for breaking bread.
44. Raise $500.50 by doing Walks for the Cure.
45. Learn to snorkel.
46. Serve on a grand jury.
47. Perform a daylight fast - 3 days
48. Perform a daylight fast- 5 days
49. Perform a daylight fast - 7 days
50. Sell baked goods at a farmer's market.
51. Make a real green dress.
52. See a staged version of Angels in America.
53. Learn to tell the difference between wines.
54. Finish the Discworld series.
55. (re)Read the complete works of Tennessee Williams.
56. Read 25 "Classics."
57. Read 3 "Russian Classics."
58. Read the complete works of Salman Rushdie.
59. Read every book on the shelf that has not yet been so.
60. Stand at the foot of a mountain. Possibly climb up it a little bit.
61. Join the Foreign Service OR be taking significant educational steps (ie be in grad school) to do so.
62. Stand on a cliff and throw little things off.
63. Become a faux-expert in the tasting of cheese.
64. Visit Atlantis.
65. Volunteer in a public library (or more than one) for at least 101 hours.
66. Collect 101 new characters.
67. Fill a watercolor journal.
68. Loan $101 on Kiva; recycle all repayments.
69. Perform community awareness to raise an additional $500.50 for Kiva loan seekers.
70. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice on Free Rice for Spanish vocabulary.
71. Achieve 500,000 grains of rice in all other subjects.
72. Learn the dance from Dirty Dancing.
73. Write 101 letters to Washington.
74. Be a member of the live! studio audience of The Daily Show.
75. Begin and maintain a mixtape-exchange between friends for one year.
76. Listen to "Goodbye Sky Harbor" as I'm leaving Sky Harbor.
77. Follow at least ten pieces of advice from Everybody's Free.
78. Accumulate 101 postcards.
79. Write a children's story and find someone to illustrate it.
80. Bake my own bread for a month.
81. Buy something from a local artist.
82. Have a picnic in a park with a bottle of wine and at least one good friend.
83. Handmake and send ten no-occasion cards to friends and family.
84. Go to ten special exhibitions at museums.
85. Read ten books that are recommended to me.
86. Watch 25 of the Greatest Movies of All Time Ever that I've never before seen.
87. Complete my 1000 piece Kandinsky puzzle and frame it.
88. Throw a dinner party for at least six people (myself included).
89. Keep detailed accounting data for one month.
90. Intentionally go out in the pouring rain and soak through.
91. Write down dreams first thing in the morning for two weeks.
92. Stand on a frozen lake.
93. Learn to identify at least ten things under the hood of a car and how you can tell when they break.
94. Donate at least two articles of clothing at the end of every season.
95. Write a full page with my right hand.
96. Go to bed before midnight for one full week.
97. Make a baby onesie out of a Stewart/Colbert '08 shirt.
98. Have at least five indoor plants alive for at least three months all at once.
99. Drink a Soco Amaretto Lime.
100. Remember a pretty good year.
101. Accumulate $5005 in the Imaginary Fund.
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What is going on?

Three months ago, I graduated from college.

Three months ago, I moved across the country in search of Adventure and Manifest Destiny.

Three months ago, I didn't know I would be moving back in with my parents.

Home for me happens to be a little town north of Daytona Beach, Florida - but really, that's saying too much. Home happens to be (not Miami) Florida, a place from which I and most of my friends spent our entire adolescence cooking up plans to escape. Florida, for those unfamiliar with anything but the tourist literature, is a cultural vacuum of the worst kind. Between the tourists who demand Mickey Mouse merchandise and the tourists who demand to eat at the Olive Garden, there's not much of a market for the weird, the quirky, or the unique north of South Beach and south of North Georgia.

I need to go home out of economic necessity, but I need to want to go home for the sake of my mental health.

Ergo, I need to look forward to keeping myself occupied while passing the winter months at home.

Luckily, one month ago, I encountered by chance this blog, and the world of Mission 101: set 101 goals for yourself to complete in 1001 days. Sounds easy enough, right? One hundred and one little goals spread out over 2.75 years? Not if you don't do it right.

The trick to actually completing this mission (which I personally define both as making it to the end while still actively trying to accomplish things, and as ticking off all the goals, or as many as I feel is reasonable to feel accomplished by the 1001st day) is to balance long and short-term goals with one-time things (like climb the Statue of Liberty, or something) so that I neither get too bored or overwhelmed trying to manage a lot of "good habits" daily/weekly/monthly quota things, nor too bored or too overwhelmed waiting for and trying to pay for expensive travel opportunities or adventures or whatever.

So, in the next few posts, I will put up my master list, and then detailed breakdowns by goal categories which will more thoroughly explain each goal and provide an easy way, later on, to track my progress on each. In one week, on Friday, August 28, 2009, I will begin my Mission 101. Feel free to follow this blog, add it to your RSS feed, or just plain old bookmark it if you'd like to follow my journey. On the sidebar up at the top, you can sign up to receive email updates, if that's more your style. I plan on making at least weekly progress posts, as well as updates whenever something Big and Important happens for a particular goal. Thanks for reading, and I hope we enjoy the ride!
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