101 Things in 1001 Days

As you all know by now, I do not make New Year's resolutions. I think they're stupid.

I do, however, "set goals and acheive them."

Recently, my friend Danika challenged me to start a list of 101 things I wanted to do in 1001 days, an idea that she got from this website. I have shamelessly lifted the description below from Danika's blog.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

My tasks are seperated by category, but they may be completed in any order.

So, without further ado, here is my list:

Start date: 07-11-07
End date: 04-07-10 (Thank you, Danika)

Begin!
1. Write a list of 101 goals.

Cleaning/House
2. Clean my bedroom closet by August 15th. 8-15-07
3. Clean up my bedroom by the end of the summer.
4. Clean out the fridge. 9-07 (Though it probably needs it again, at least I got rid of like 10 jars of expired salsa.)
5. Do the dishes every night for two weeks. 8-11-07
6. Clean the bathroom and keep it clean for two months.
7. Mop the floors once a week for a month.
8. Clean off my balcony this summer.
9. Wash the windows in my apartment, inside and out.
10. Clean out my car.
11. Water my plants as often as they would like to be watered.
12. Plant herbs next year in May (chives, basil, etc.).
13. Start a garden with Ben (if he’s willing).
14. Hang up all the pictures I have sitting around the house. Frame those that aren’t.
15. Organize the filing cabinet and actually put the paperwork from the green bin into it (rather than using the filing cabinet for storing liquor and Christmas presents).
16. Either use my beads once over the next year or give them away.

Money/Work
17. Buy a new car with a good warranty that does not cost me more than $300/month in car payments. (Don’t talk to me about Toyotas; I do not want to hear it.)
18. Open a Roth IRA.
19. Figure out what’s going on with my current retirement plan.
20. Create a budget.
21. Save $1 per day for one year. ($62 through August)(Not doing so good here. Due to a fiasco, I had to raid the savings to accomplish #38.)
22. Pay off SELF3 by the end of the summer.
23. Pay off SELF1.
24. Pay off SELF2.
25. Pay off SELF2. (I have two SELF 2s).
26. Send at least an extra $100 to my SELF loan payments each month. (4 of 31 months)
27. Take on one freelance project in 2007.
28. Fix my resume and send it to my friend for more freelance work.
29. Open a high-interest savings account and transfer 2/3rds of my savings to it. I opened a CD on 8-15-07 (and got my interest rate increased on my regular savings account, but I may decide to do 1/3 or 1/2 depending on what I do with my Roth IRA.
30. Use trial of MSN money to sort out my finances and begin a debt reduction plan.
31. Make a profit at freelancing in 2007 and 2008. (On track to do this for 2007.)
32. Complete my insurance’s health assessment and “coaching” (even though I think it is B.S.) to get lower co-pays. Lie whenever prudent/possible. I skipped the lying. I still got an 825 out of 1000, which I'm pretty sure was my score last year when I pretended I weighed 30 pounds less than I did.
33. Find a new doctor and switch to primary provider.
34. Move my prescriptions to the Walgreen’s nearest me to save on gas.
35. Arrive to work at least 5 minutes early for one week.
36. Cancel three of my credit cards (if, after accomplishing some research, I discover that this is, in fact, beneficial to my credit score). Turns out this can actually hurt your credit score and does very little to help it. Who knew?
37. Get a credit report.
38. Maintain 0 credit card debt. (4 of 31 months)
39. Apply for three jobs with someone other than my current employer.

Do Something Nice/Good for Someone Else
40. Send a thank-you to a former teacher.
41. Send thank-you cards for every gift received for one year.
42. Recycle all my cans, bottles, and junk mail (even though I hate the hippies who feel so superior to everybody for doing so and even though I hate that I get junk mail after I have requested to be taken off such lists…neither of these things are the planet’s fault).
43. Contact SAVE and find out what volunteer opportunities they have. Choose one to participate in. (Amount may vary depending on what the activity is, but for at least one month or one event.)
44. Get yellow ribbon cards from the counseling center at work to put on my desk at work.
45. Surprise Ben.
46. Complete and mail 10lees’ b-day/Christmas present before her next b-day/Christmas.

Learn Something/Read Something/Write Something
47. Record/Interview Grandma Helen for writing project/family record.
48. Learn to cook at least six new meals, even if it’s something dumb like roast beef. (3/6) (Round steak with carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes over rice; pasta with brie, broccoli, shrimp, and toasted almonds; beef stew with mushrooms.)
49. Write for at least ½ hour every day for two weeks.
50. Read at least two books each month. (2 of 31 months)
51. Start online writing group.
52. Participate at least 16 months in the online reading group I joined. (Modified from participating ever other month on 08-27-07--can't participate if I have to buy a new book--this is half the months in my time frame).
53. Read If I Live to Be 100.
54. Read the EarthSea series.
55. Write Old Chicago newsletter “Conversational Highlights” article weekly.
56. Decide on a program of study for grad school. 08-07-07 I have decided to look at Composition and Rhettoric programs. I will work on my MFA after I have a job that will pay for it, using my Comp and Rhettoric degree to get said job.
57. Decide on a school for grad school.
58. Apply to grad school.
59. Begin grad school.
60. Watch the Planet Earth documentary. (I'm stalled out on disk 5.)
61. Watch An Inconvenient Truth (even though I still don’t like Al Gore).
62. Read and return everyone’s books to them (or simply return them if I don’t intend to read them).
63. Learn how to quilt.
64. Buy a digital camera and learn how to use it.
65. Learn some basic html.
66. Take a Community Ed drawing course.
67. Send at least two articles to two different magazines.
68. Read at least 10 of the books on Dr. Becknell’s “Good Books” list.

Health
69. Work no more than 60 hours/week in the month of August (either year). (1 of 2)
70. Exercise at least three times a week for one month. (Joined a gym and have been going twice a week, working my way there.)
71. “ for two months (can count off of last month if done consecutively)
72. “ for three months (can count off of last month if done consecutively)
73. Drink green tea every day for two weeks.
74. Take B vitamins every day for two weeks.
75. Get the proper 3 to 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day for two weeks.
76. Lose 30 pounds by Christmas.
77. Eat only healthy snacks for one week.
78. Floss every night for two weeks.

Have Some Fun/Relax
79. Sip wine on my balcony.
80. Find someone to play Settlers of Catan with at least three times a year.
81. Watch 4th of July fireworks display.
82. Find my Lego’s and play with them.
83. Ride bike in the city at least once.
84. Walk around Lake Calhoun.

Travel/Museums/Restaurants
85. Stay in Duluth. 8-12-07
86. Go to Gooseberry Falls. 10-14-07. Ben and I went up last Sunday, and it was beautiful. It was sunny and crisp, and there was hardly anyone there. There's a cute picture of us on FaceBook if you're interested.
87. Go to Taylor’s Falls.
88. Go to New Ulm for Oktoberfest.
89. See Herman the German in New Ulm and get a smooshed penny.
90. Get a smooshed penny from every machine in MN. New stipulations are as follows: I do not have to pay admission a second time if penny machines are broken during my attempt to secure a penny. I do not have to get duplicate pennies (i.e., if a store has two machines, but they have the exact same pennies, I do not have to get the same penny twice. (16 out of 60ish)(1 machine broken).
91. Go to Iowa City alone or with younger sister to visit middle sister.
92. Go to the A Day in Pompeii exhibit at the Science Museum. This was amazing. You should all go!
93. Try five new restaurants. (1 of 5) (Bellisio's in Duluth (I give it 5 stars for taste, but 2 stars for value--exhorbitant prices), ...)
94. Go back to the sculpture gardens.
95. Go to the Walker once a year (and eat at the restaurant there at least once).
96. Go to the MIA once a year.
97. Visit a farmers’ market.
98. Visit Chicago.
99. Find out what that one famous museum or observatory is called (the one I read about in the Smithsonian)/where it is and go see it. It is called Roden Crater and they are hoping that maybe it might be done by 2010. And I can't find anything terribly recent on it, but it kind of sounds like it's one lone guy out there digging holes in the side of the mountain. So, I found it, and I can't visit it yet (and let's face it, given the way of these things, may never be able to visit). Even so, I plan to write to the skystone foundation for more info.
100. Get a passport and use it to visit Canada or Mexico (or both if I can afford it).

Finish!
101. Have a party (maybe with Danika and Lindsey?) for completing goals!

Feel free to start your own and play along--you could be partying in 2.75 years as well!