Thursday, June 03, 2010

101 Things in 1,001 Days

**Yes it took me 12 days to finish this post. Blogger hates my computer at work and at home and keeps crashing. Enormous frustration. I also changed the blog background. I've wanted to do this forever, but am now completely unsure of my choice. I will probably make many changes before settling on something for good.....**

I have a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUUUUUUUUGE project due at work.

That's not the problem. The problem is I AM A PROCRASTINATOR. Have been since college. It's kind of bad...ok, not kind of bad, it's really bad. I am supposed to have a pile of work done by tomorrow, and instead of getting it done now, during my normal 8:20-4:20, I'm sitting here blogging, knowing full well I'll probably be catching the 6:15 or 7:30 train home due to my procrastinating propensities.

Why would I do this? My best work is done under pressure. Yeah, I know professors tell you in college "don't wait until the last minute to do this paper! It's 90 pages, and I'll know if you did it the night before." Not to brag (and I'm not going to call it bragging because I didn't even make the dean's list til senior year) but I NEVER received less than a B on a paper, and actually, I can count the number of "B" papers on a single hand (not that you would know from reading this blog, since I write in broken English , on the fly, do not edit, and probably commit any number of egregious spelling and grammatical mistakes. At least I edited in college!) Tests, well tests are a whole other story, lol, I bombed most of my college exams because I suck at tests HARD, which is why I took four writing-based classes senior year...but I digress...the point is, I produce my best work under pressure and know that my project will be better if I wait and do it tonight. In the meantime, I'm a-blogging.

So I am ready to share my list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 1,001 days. Of course some things won't happen. I know that. But I am a list maker. And part of me will love failing to do all the things on this list, because then I'll be able to make a new to-do list with all my unfinished things. The cycle continues...and I like to be 1o5, expiring only after I complete my list. Makes perfect sense, does it not?! (ps I just fixed my , key and feel like a goddang genius. Had to share that tidbit)

Anyways, here goes my boring ass list with brief explanations. Note that I did not take the easy route out by writing things such as "get married." Just note.

1. Get an article published in a magazine
Kind of a copout since I am planning on being published in an academic journal soon. Still though.
2. Read the Bible (Old and New Testaments)
I've only read a few things. And since I have strong opinions about the Bible and religion, I should probably do the background reading, right?
3. Visit a new continent
4. Go back to Africa
Pretty please?! It's my heart and soul.
5. Buy a house
Would be nice
6. Plant a lilac
7. Walk the whole Freedom Trail
What kind of Bostonian am I having never done that?!
8. Visit 10 new states
9. Go to five new national parks
10. Buy a hybrid car
11. See 30 new birds
neeerrrrrd alert
12. Kayak in a new place
13. Make myself a sweater
14. Run the Boston Marathon
unless my shin acts up again :(
15. Skydive
Second scariest thing on this list
16. Memorize three poems
17. Get out of debt
uh, credit card debt...unless I hit the lottery the student debt is here to stay for a while
18. See a Red Sox game
19. Skip work for fun
20. Help an animal
21. Take a cooking class
22. Try and learn a new language
Wow, it was a real moment of weakness when I put that up there
23. Learn basic home repair
24. Take a dance class with Jamaal
25. Read 20 books from Modern Library's List of 100 Best Books of the 20th Century
26. Go to a drive-in movie
27. Learn more about my ancestors
28. Write a letter to a teacher who changed my life
29. Help someone do something they thought they couldn't
30. Make a pie with fruit I've grown myself
31. Visit the Mapparium
32. Go to the top of a lighthouse
33. Sponsor a child
34. Knit 50 hats for Caps for Kids
35. Have a spa day
36. Finish a coloring book with a new pack of crayons
37. Read all the unread books currently on my shelf
38. Climb a mountain (or a large hill)
because I hate hiking
39. Make a custom recipe book
40. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy/grateful
because I am a complaining b*tch sometimes
41. Go to the Heifer farm to deliver baby lambs
42. Turn off the TV for a week
43. Photo document a year of married life
44. Document a week
45. Catch up on my scrapbooking
46. Finally make the gay quilt for EE
47. Finish my senior year calligraphy project
48. Work on a Habitat for Humanity house
49. See 10 classic movies I've never seen
50. Go to a Broadway show
51. Go to a book signing and tell the author why I liked his/her book
52. Take a snowboarding lesson
53. Learn how to play tennis
54. Buy a pair of killer heels
55. Participate in a sprint triathlon
56. Make a marriage sampler
57. Take yoga
58. Go to afternoon tea with a friend
59. Enlarge one of my photos into a canvas artpiece
60. Help someone anonymously
61. Shoot a gun (at a shooting range)
62. Visit Niagra Falls
63. Learn (properly) how to change a flat tire
64. Do 100 pushups
65. Put dead batteries in all my watches
66. Learn all the countries in the world and their capitals
67. Get caught up at work
68. Make a meal with only local food
69. Participate in a flash mob
70. Finish my bird life list
71. Go iceskating
72. Fly a kite
73. Buy a lottery ticket
74. Take a trip with my sister
75. Host a fabulous dinner party and invite friends
76. Dedicate one wall in my house as a "travel wall" filled with memories
77. Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
78. Scan my unscanned photos; save on external HD, put in my parent's fireproof safe
79. Visit 5 DC Museums I've never visited
80. Watch 10 documentaries
81. Learn to juggle
82. Visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
83. Visit Western Mass with Jamaal
84. Complete a possessions purge
85. Go out to eat in a fancy Boston restaurant
86. Get a good pair of jeans that are flattering and fit
87. Have a nice surprise waiting for Jamaal when he comes home from a traveling stint
88. Go camping
89. Ride a rollercoaster (it's been YEARS)
90. Recycle WAY more
91. Spend a day at the beach
92. Learn about wine
93. Reduce my yarn stash to nearly 0
94. Buy a bottle of Perrier Jouet to celebrate the completion of this list
95. Have my sister teach me how to use photoshop
96. Learn and identify 5 constellations
97. Give up soda for a month
98. Try 10 new crafts in Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts
99. Meet with a rep at work to review my 401k and 403b's
100. Have a baby
the FIRST most scariest thing on this list. Don't know if I'll be ready. Or that it will happen. Um, but wouldn't it be insane if by Feb 2013 I had a kiddo? CRAZY.
101. Write about doing this challenge.

So there it is. Some of the things WILL get done. Some won't. I'm interested to see what I accomplish. OK Back to work...




3 comments:

amy_c said...

Oh I can totally help you with some of these! And watch "Man On Wire" for one of your documentaries! Amazing!

Al said...

oh thanks Ame! Can you help me produce a child? lol. Well you could probably make it less scary since you have more experience with babies than I do...

Elizabeth said...

I would like to help you with 7 - Freedom Trail, t'would be fun; 18 & 19 - perhaps all in one day; 35 - and not just for your wedding! I'm thinking a wedding-unrelated-purely-for-luxury's-sake spa day; I <3 #46; 49 - during a crafting weekend!; 50 - I haven't seen a show in fo'ev; and 51 - I'd love to read something and meet the author. I miss bookclub for the discussions; 58 - afternoon tea! so so so fun. I think this should be a Smithie outing...; I really need to learn how to do 63 - I don't have a clue how to change a tire; 75 - YES! Sounds amazing; 80 - perfect for crafting! I could use more documentaries in my life; 85 - I recommend going to The Market at the W hotel in downtown Boston. Be prepared: the food is so good nothing will ever taste the same. Nancy and I went on Dan's recommendation back in April and I'm STILL recovering from the complete and total AWESOMENESS that is this restaurant.

Yeah. I'm into this list. INTO IT!! I love you lady! xoxo 2xE