Agenda

Now that I'm on a blogroll, I should probably make some sort of indication that I'm still alive before I make my next real post. Not only alive, but accomplishing things left and right! Or at least up and down the east coast.

So things to post about:
1) Taking the LSAT and Why I Consider this Goal Fulfilled
2) Postcards out the wazoo. Like seriously, tomorrow I hope to scan the 20ish postcards I've been sitting on for a while. UPDATE 7/30: All on photobucket... just sorta waiting for time to narrate a proper post.
3) Special exhibits descriptions - just came back from a NY trip, and went to the Met and MOMA and saw probably eight different specials? But only two or three significant ones, so those are the only ones I'll be counting.
4) Cathedrals! Visited two more on my trip, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside and Grace Church in Union Square. Gorgeous, plenty of pictures to crop and upload... eventually.
5) Swingsets! Swung on two more swingsets as well in New York... I have one really bad picture of the one in Central Park to post, and Chelsea should sometime soon be getting her film developed of the second, which was in Riverside Park on the UWS.
6) Books. Like whoa.
7) General update on the state of my craftiness
8) Goal revisions, due upon the one-year mark (August 28th)

Having an agenda is great. It's structure; I thrive on structure. Now it's OUT THERE. Now I have to get those postcards scanned tomorrow, and I have to actually lay out which goals are being changed out for which other things.

And finally, Angels in America tickets go on sale in twelve days. Time to start planning another trip north...
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Artful things

Last night, I was cleaning out my dropbox and realized I never posted the two Jesus postcards I bought two years ago at St Paul's in London, two of the founding members of my collection. For shame!

Also below the cut - an ad for an exhibition on now at the Met. It's about time I kick off goal number 84, and I absolutely adore simple sketch drawings like this. Something about them seems more... personal, more individual... closer to the artist, and therefore more remarkable that they have survived through the centuries. I suppose they're the visual arts equivalent of acoustic songs. Anyway, I'm going to be in New York in less than a month for Spring Break (Daily Show should be completed then, too!) and I am really excited about loading up my ipod with quiet music and going to go absorb the pretty :)



These are apparently part of a larger series called "The Way: The Truth: The Life," by Sergei Chepik, and were completed in 2005. They are the second and third pieces, "The Public Ministry" and "The Crucifixion," respectively. I love how forlorn they are, especially when compared with the rest of the St Paul's decor, which is much brighter and more traditionally "wondrous." (For reference, see #6 and #8 on this post.) It's good to be reminded by these darker works that St Paul's is one of the largest public mausoleums in the world, in addition to a place of worship.

And! Here's the exhibition's ad:

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But trust me, on the sunscreen.

It occurs to me that I have another goal in progress that I have not yet addressed explicitly. One of the most enduring favorite things in my life is "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)," the Baz Luhrmann "graduation song," and, as such, it is the basis for goal 77. The true intention behind this goal is to "try ten different ways to be a Good Human Being." This goes above and beyond simply being nice or pleasant to be around or ambiguously believing that there are Serious Global Problems that Someone Somewhere Should Address - this song tells you how to live, how to be humble and embrace your flaws without getting mired in them. Anyway. Here goes:

1) I'm wearing sunscreen. Really. My moisturizer is SPF 15, and I'm about to put a bottle of sunblock in my car as the serious beaching is about to commence. No lines and wrinkles and skin cancer for me, thanks.

2) Dance - even if you have nowhere else to do than in your own living room. Aside from dance recitals in my youth, I tried very very hard to avoid dancing in public all my life. Despite years of training, I'm moderately ungraceful and - perhaps because of those years of training - I really don't know how to dance, like, at all, without choreography and a few weeks of practice. Luckily, the world contains this magical substance, "al-co-hol," which enables those such as myself to set aside all feelings of shame and uncoordinatedness and get down with our bad selves. I have therefore now danced TWICE in front of other human beings, and, let me tell you, it is very liberating. I greatly desire to try it again very very soon.

3) Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. I'm... trying. And generally succeeding. Take my word for it. These are goals in progress, right? Right.

4) Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few, you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, for as the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Enough said.

So that's four bits in progress. Arguably, I am also doing well with another, Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're forty, it will look eighty-five. It's hard for me to judge... I mean, I feel like I abuse the crap out of it, but the reality is that I only dye it every two or three months, my straightener is still wrapped up in its cord from moving this summer, and I don't even own a blowdryer. We'll see in twenty years, I guess. Also, technically, I am also following a sixth piece of advice, but... I never read Cosmo in the first place and even when I do glance at the ladies' mags, they certainly don't make me feel ugly. Like, maybe I could lose three pounds and tone my upper arms, but. Definitely by no means ugly. Gosh. Anyway. Progress.

Side note: Angels in America is coming to New York's Signature Theatre for the 2010-2011 season, along with a whole mess of other Tony Kushner plays, and I am so so so excited about it. I swore I posted about it already, because I found out about it at least two months ago, but... apparently not, according to the search I just ran. The Signature says it will be the first large-scale revival of both parts EVER in New York City - I have full faith that it will be the most magical experience of my life.
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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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