I often make the perfect the enemy of the good; I'll procrastinate on something because I worry about not getting it just so, and I put a lot of effort into my activities rather than just letting something be "good enough." Case in point: I've been working on this list since January 1st. I had a completed list that would have had an end date as October 13, 2010 (my birthday!). Instead, I'll complete my list on Jesus' birthday. I've decided to post this list with 10 items still outstanding to give me flexibility and reduce the perfection urges.
I first saw the "101 things in 1001 days" on Zandria's blog, and I've wanted to start my own ever since. Between the stress of school and teaching, I didn't get around to this for a long time. And, obviously, it's been a long time in coming. But now it's up, and I can start working on it. If you have suggestions for the other 10 things, feel free to let me know; I intend for them to reflect "local flavor" wherever I move, but I'm totally open to other possibilities.
Start date: Saturday, March 29, 2008
End date: Saturday, December 25, 2010 (okay, more like 1366 days, but who is counting?)
Fitness (9)
1. Run a 5k race (Dexter-Ann Arbor 5k on 1 June 2008 at 35:05)
2. Beat my time on a 5k
3. Visit gym five times a week for a month March/April 2009
4. Lift weights three times a week for 3 months
5. Do the “daily 10 minute exercise routine” for two weeks
6. Buy a bike (29 May 2008)
7. Join a dance class for at least a month January 2010
8. Join a yoga class for at least a month (June 2008)
9. Do at least 10 standard pushups
Travel (5)
10. Leave the country twice Canada and
11. Begin plans for visiting Antarctica
12. Go camping (October 4-5 2008)
13. Revisit the Netherlands (once the Rijksmuseum reopens)
14. Visit 5 of my unvisited lower 48 states 4/5 completed: Kentucky, New York, West Virginia, Indiana
Michigan Local (4)
15. Visit the Detroit Zoo (28 May 2008)
16. Visit the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA) (16 May 2008)
17. Visit three museums in Ann Arbor (sort of: August 2008)
18. Visit three new cities in Michigan 3/3 completed: Ypsilanti, Hartland, and Brighton
Arts & Culture (5)
19. Attend three concerts/dance shows (3/3 completed: #1, #2, #3)
20. Attend a play (June 2008)
21. See an author read from his/her work 1/09
22. Print and frame at least one of my own photographs (June 2008)
23. Send art to three different friends 2/3 completed: heart, Dutch photo
Learning (5)
24. Read a novel or novella in Spanish
25. Take an art class fabric dying with plant dyes
26. Take a class or read a book about ASL
27. Memorize 5 new poems #1: This be the Verse
28. Learn how to identify at least 5 constellations
Technology (5)
29. Get my itunes to 13 gigs of music (currently a bit over 15.5) 25 April 2009
30. Organize photo files on laptop
31. Organize “my documents” folder in order to easily find all documents January 2010
32. Get gmail inbox under 50 messages: July 2008
33. Do 5 video posts on my blog 5/5 completed: #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5
Food (8)
34. Eat vegetarian only for two weeks
35. Eat only food cooked by people I know for one month
36. Join a CSA OR go to the farmer’s market once a week for a month (July 2008)
37. Make my own cookbook of my favorite recipes
38. Take a cooking class
39. Grow something edible and make a meal with it June 2009 (and many more now)
40. Have a culturally-themed dinner party
41. Have a picnic lunch
Benefit myself and others (8)
42. Rejoin the Nature Conservancy
43. Do a “Donors Choose” challenge here
44. Donate (or attempt to donate) blood three times #1, #2, #3
45. Send a “just because” care package to a friend to my friend April in January 2009
46. While living by myself (or if I have amenable roommates), switch to purchasing renewable power for at least three months (finished in Aug 2008)
47. One month of compacting
48. Read five books that have been sitting on my shelf unread (and then get rid of them!)
49. Implement three household changes to be more eco-friendly #1, #2
Financial and future (6)
50. Write down all my spending for one month (October 2008)
51. Develop a budget and stick to it for two months
52. Read a book about investments
53. Start a Roth IRA (or other investment fund) September 2009
54. Pay off my car/be debt free (in July 2008, three years after taking out the loan)
55. Read a book about life path and/or career goal prioritizing
General goals (16)
56. Write 5 satisfaction letters to companies/organizations I appreciate or admire
57. Live by myself for at least three months
58. Watch a sunrise on several occasions in fall 2009
59. Scrapbook New Zealand trip
60. Scrapbook semester abroad
61. Get a dog or cat summer kitty and Lucy
62. Teach someone how to kayak (June 2008)
63. Sleep under the stars
64. Bowl over 100 January 2010
65. Buy something from etsy
66. Find a geocache (September 2008)
67. Do something to pamper myself physically (facial/manicure/pedicure)
68. Learn how to polish leather shoes (I'll post about this eventually, but I did learn so that I could dress up to go to the symphony)
69. Update my address book 11/08
70. Throw a theme party Halloween 2009
71. Get a job (jobs! 5/21/08)
Staying in touch (5)
72. send out Christmas cards one year to at least 15 people 12/08
73. send out Valentines one year to at least 15 people 2/09
74. write 4 real letters to friends #1
75. Make three mix CDs and mail each one to at least three friends (#1 and #2 completed on 29 May 2008, #3 in February 2009)
76. Visit a friend (that I haven’t visited in that state) who lives in a different state than I do visited friends in KY and TN
Blog (9)
77. post an entry about how I afford to travel 29 Sept 2008
78. post an entry (complete with pictures) of a trip I took pre-digital cameras
79. Write “how to do a video post on a mac” post (done!)
80. Write “how to do an audio post on a mac” post
81. write on my blog every day for a month (April 2008)
82. write 4 posts reviewing peer-reviewed biological literature #1: Coffee
83. Do a month long “daily photo” challenge
84. Do a “every year” photo retrospective for my entire life
85. Do a month of simple abundance daily reflection and writing, and post at least one reflection per week
Stretching myself (6)
86. go to a speed dating event
87. go on a date with someone I met in real life (not on the internet) (June 2008)
88. Send something to Post Secret
89. go to three movies by myself 3/3: Wall-E and Coraline 3D, and Harry Potter 6
90. eat a sit-down, order from a waiter dinner by myself (done several times in May 2008)
91. buy a bikini and wear it in public
TBA (10)
added on October 18, 2008
92. Go cross country skiing see! and more proof! 12/08
93. Get business cards (or moo cards)
94. Visit the Minneapolis zoo August 2009
95. Visit dinkytown June 2009
96. Visit the Mall of America (2 November 2008 for "Nick and Norah's Ultimate Playlist" and general wandering with a friend)
97. Go ice skating and it was fun!
98. visit a Minnesota tourist attraction The Ball O'Twine in Darwin in June 2009
99. buy some new underthings for myself 11/08
100. post some macrophotography photos photos!
101. learn three songs on guitar (okay, baritone ukulele -- close enough!) #1, #2 and #3