101 in 1001

It’s good to have goals. So here is my 101 things I want to do in the next 1001 days, which puts me at finishing on February 27, 2008. I’ll be 28 years old—what a weird thought. I totally stole this idea and loved it. Here goes. Please feel free to add suggestions, but only encouragement, OK?

There are some rules, apparently: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part)

Here goes:

1. Start a savings account Completed 1/17/06. I finally did it! I opened a savings account! I am so freaking proud of myself!!
2. Get a new job Completed 7/25/06. I accepted a position with a local nonprofit fund development organization. I think it's going to be a great situation and a much better work environment for me. Plus, it's off the Hill and that's mostly what I wanted. Even better, I did it on my own, and that thrills me more than anything.
3. Fix my bike and make it a commuter. completed 7/14/05. I did it! I rode my fixed bike (fixed by Indie Rocker on 7/09/05) to work today! I got my first commuter punch, took my first shower on campus, and made it to work with tons of time to spare.
4. Buy a surfboard. Completed 12/25/06. Indie Rocker paid for part of it as a birthday gift, but I paid off the rest and I cannot wait to use it. My friend Bryan at Seven Surfboards is awesome, and I can't wait to ride my new board. Woo!
5. Replace my windshield. Completed 12/04/07. This is a little embarrassing that it took me this long to do it. However, I'm sure it will be really nice to actually be able to see through my windshield. I might even get new wipers.
6. Visit several friends in LA/Santa Monica. I’ve been promising to do this for years, and I really ought to get around to doing it.
7. Go to Vegas
8. Purchase a matching set of furniture, even if it’s from IKEA.
9. Have enough in savings to last more than a month if I find myself unemployed.
10. Spend an entire ski season somewhere besides Mt. Hood Meadows.
11. Play an entire season of lacrosse for Portland Winded, including practices. Completed 5/1/06. I'm considering this one done, since I did go to a bunch of practices and even traveled with the team. Ergo, I did it. Certainly moreso than I ever did in the past.
12. Attend an opera performance
13. Go to Coachella/Bonnaroo/Austin City Limits (one, not all) or some such multi-day, mega-band festival once. Bumbershoot doesn’t count, as I’ve gone, like, five times. Completed 5/27-28, 2007. I went to the Sasquatch Music Festival this year, so I'm calling this one done. I mean, it was written up in Spin and Rolling Stone as a major summer festival to check out, so as far as it required travel, I had to stay there overnight and it had to be a significant show, I'm thinking I'm good.
14. Go surfing in Bali
15. Go surfing in Hawaii Completed 11/12/07. Indie Rocker and I surfed Waikiki. I'm counting this because I did actually stand up on the board. Mushy waves are a bitch. Additionally, Indie Rocker, Furry Thing and I surfed Ho'okipa on Maui just four days later. Woo!
16. Ski with my sister wherever she is working/living in the winter Completed 3/1/07-3/4/07. I flew down to Tahoe and spent four days skiing with Speedy, Marshall, State, and Redhead. So yeah, it pretty much rocked.
17. Spend a girls weekend with the HS crew, either at a spa or wherever we decide to go.
18. Participate in a triathlon
19. Join a gym that has a swimming pool and use it. Completed 6/2/06. I joined this gym something like 6 months ago. I finally used the pool for a 35 minute swim!!
20. Clean out my closet and take the things I haven’t worn in over a year to Goodwill/Buffalo Exchange completed 7/10/05. I actually started this over two weeks ago when I had Chitown come help me go through my Goodwill pile. He went through my entire closet, I made $30 at Red Light and took the rest to Goodwill.
21. Take a cooking class at Sur la Table. Completed 9/27/05. Mom and I took the class from Pixie, who taught us cool recipes from her restaurant, which rocked. Plus, Mom bought me a bunch of fun stuff for the kitchen that we needed. yay!
22. Take the motorcycle riding class at PCC that I’ve been talking about taking for about four years.
23. Learn enough HTML to make the blog somewhat cool-looking. Or enlist a friend to do it in exchange for something.
24. Buy ski pants that aren’t made by Spyder Completed 1/21/08. I bought a pair of Cloudveil pants. Which now means that I actually don't have to steal my pants from MHM to go on my ski vacations this year. Good times!
25. Take the GRE and GMAT Completed 5/15/07. I took the GMAT today and kept my scores. I don't need to take the GRE, so I'm calling this one done since I have no interest in wasting $200+ on a test I don't need to take. That's just idiotic!
26. Eat dinner at El Gaucho
27. Either suck it up and learn to knit or stop talking about it. Completed sometime between May and November 2007. I haven't talked about this in months, and I know it's never going to happen, so good riddance.
28. Nurture Presents... for the Bus Project into a self-sustaining program that I can hand off to someone else Completed 1/18/06. I've largely figured out that since the ball is now rolling, somebody else can take this over. Both because I don't want to anymore and also because it appears that they don't need me. So, good times either way.
29. Figure out if there is a grad program that I want to enroll in. Completed 9/15/06. Mom found out that there's a Willamette U. MBA program here in Portland. It's spendy, but I think it's a good idea. Dad actually talked me into doing a "night" program, since it'll end up better long-term.
30. Apply to said grad programs Completed 6/27/07 when I emailed my essay to PSU's MBA+ grad program. I'm hoping that my letters of recommendation came through, and I assume PSU will tell me soon if they didn't. However, my end of the application bargain is done. Woo!
31. Attend Black Tie & Tennies once
32. Subscribe to Surfer completed 6/7/05. This was actually partially so that I would remember to reinstate my Surfrider membership, since I am a big, fat slacker.
33. Plan and take an actual vacation, complete with airline reservations and hotels Completed 11/10-18/07. While we didn't actually stay at hotels, I did make plane reservations, rental car reservations and actually negotiated crash space with friends which can be an even touchier subject than hotels. So, awesome trip to Hawaii, thanks for knocking this one off the list!
34. Buy a bathing suit from somewhere besides Old Navy completed 4/7/06. I bought two Aaron Chang suits at the Longboard Grotto in Encinitas. They are so awesome. One of the bottoms doesn't fit right, but the top matches both of my boardshorts and the suits were so cheap that I bought both anyway.
35. Grow out my nails long enough to get a manicure that doesn’t look ridiculous Done 6/10/2006. My nails are definitely long enough that the manicure that Mom gave me for my birthday doesn't look ridiculous. It looks pretty cool, actually.
36. See Coldplay live Done 8/17/2005. Got the good seats and everything and got to see "Clocks" live. Awesome.
37. Pay off my credit card Done 1/7/2008. I meant to actually do this at the end of the month, but I screwed up and did it early. Oh well! Good on me anyway--I was really tired of looking at that bill!!!
38. Purchase a laptop Done 10/7/07. Technically, Dad purchased it, but I wrote the reimbursement check, transferred everything from the old laptop to the new one, and returned the old one to Mom and Dad. Ergo, I'm considering this one done.
39. Visit New York City
40. Buy groceries at a farmers market. Completed 6/29/06. I went to the farmer's market at Ecotrust last week with Scienziata and decided that I'd come back and pick up dinner stuff this week. And I did. Plus, last Sunday in Seattle, I bought groceries at Pike Place Market. So I doubly did this one!!
41. Take a sailing lesson
42. Take a horseback riding lesson
43. Get back in touch with Tintin and go visit her in Chicago. This gets an italic note because I got back in touch with Tintin on 8/11/05. Now I need to go see her, which would kick ass.
44. Take a class on radio or find out how to submit something to NPR. Basically the goal of this task is to do something with this interesting voice I’ve been given aside from accepting very nice compliments from strangers and enduring endless mockery from my friends. Completed 2/19/08. I think this one may have been about getting on the radio somehow, but I did figure out how to submit something to NPR. They have a segment called "This I Believe" and once I finish my purpose statement for one of my current classes, I plan on sending it in. So this one is essentially completed, since I did figure something out.
45. Purchase a case of wine from a winery (Ultimate goal? Drouhin. Reality? Something a little less expensive)
46. Send a girlfriend or two to the wine class at Square Deal and tell Indie Rocker’s aunt about it beforehand. It’s a joke, really.
47. Get a hash name. Completed 9/21/05. Be careful what you wish for...I've been dubbed "Red Wings" for taking a digger and bleeding all the way through the hash. For the record, it was my knee that was bleeding.
48. See a Timbers game Completed 9/8/05. The Timbers kicked some ass, too. The score was 6-1.
49. Go to New Orleans
50. Visit the Aussie fam in Shanghai. Preferably with Bumbershoot. Well, this one isn't going to happen because they moved back to the States. However, I haven't seen their place in Seattle yet, so maybe I'll consider this one done when I do that.
51. Find, obtain and live in an apartment that isn’t one step up from a college hovel. Dishwasher optional, but hardwood floors and screens on the windows are not. Basically, I want it to look like the apartment I moved into shortly after moving back to Portland from Eugene, but without the emotionally unstable roommate. completed 9/4-6/05. Obtained, paid first and last, moved all my stuff in, purchased a new couch set, and spent my first night sleeping there. It has hardwood floors, screens on every window, a dishwasher and disposal, a fireplace, a covered front porch and beautiful built-ins, plus enough closet space for a small army. Awesome.
52. Find a yoga or Pilates studio that I like and take classes for at least two months Completed 1/20/08. I'm calling this one good, mainly because one of my friends teaches yoga on Sunday nights at my gym, and I've been going off and on for six months+. In the sense that I've been doing more yoga, which was the idea behind this one anyway, this one's done.
53. Frame the last few posters I own that I would like to not ruin
54. Buy a blanket that actually fits my bed Completed 12/25/05. Mom actually bought the blanket, but it's Egyptian cotton and queen-sized. Sweet.
55. Find a Laundromat and do my laundry there at least twice completed 10/11/05. The whole point of this one was to stop doing my laundry at my parents' house. I've used the washer and dryer in the basement of my apartment building for two separate laundry days now, so I'm calling it good.
56. Invite my parents over and cook for them, including dessert and wine Completed 6/29/06. I invited Mom and Dad over, made a salad, made a main dish (pork chops with blueberry sauce), made dessert (Tillamook ice cream covered in fresh raspberries) and even though Dad brought the wine, they said it counted. Woohoo! Mom actually even said that mine was a little better because I had bought fresh herbs at the farmer's market and it really does make a difference. So yeah, I kick ass.
57. Purchase and use a larger memory card for my digital camera Completed 10/27/05. Although I didn't technically buy it, I did put it to good use in Costa Rica. Thanks, Indie Rocker!! Scratch that, I paid Indie Rocker back. So I did it for real!!
58. Climb Mt. Hood. All the way, this time.
59. Once I move into a new apartment, hang the posters/pictures that I do have framed. Completed 9/15/05. I had to get everything hung up before the party, but I did it!!
60. Buy a matching set of really great underwear and actually wear it.
61. Come up with a menu, grocery shop and cook for myself for an entire week.
62. Watch all of Wes Anderson’s movies. Completed 12/11/07. Indie Rocker took me to see "The Darjeeling Limited" tonight and I liked it. At this point, I've only not seen the 10 minute short of Bottle Rocket, and I kind of don't want to bother. So I'm going to call this one good.
63. After that, if I still like them, own all of Wes Anderson’s movies
64. Learn to telemark ski
65. Write to my congressperson
66. Use all the rest of the gift certificates I have squirreled away and probably forgot about.
67. Ski at a resort I’ve never been to. Completed 3/1/07 when I skied Sugarbowl and then really, really completed 3/2/07 when we skied Squaw Valley.
68. Backcountry ski at least once. Completed 3/1/07 with the Lake Run, wherein we strapped on the transceivers, packed shovels and probes, hiked for almost half an hour and were then rewarded with nearly two hours of waist-deep, untracked powder. Yeah, baby.
69. Take a climbing trip to Smith Rock
70. Live by myself
71. Sustain a healthy relationship with a boy for over six months without wigging out completed 8/12/2005. This is actually quite the milestone for me, and Indie Rocker as well. It's a cool feeling, that's for sure.
72. Watch the entire first season of “The OC”
73. Get recertified in First Aid and CPR. I got recertified in CPR on 12/6/05. However, I didn't renew the First Aid. So I think I'll go do both when the CPR regulations change this summer.
74. Maintain certification in both
75. Give blood
76. Get a tattoo
77. Repierce my ears
78. Revise and finish the novel I’ve already started
79. Let somebody read it
80. Clean out the 18 pounds of magazines I have and get rid of the ones I’m never going to read again Completed 7/9/05. I must have trucked a two-foot stack of magazines down to the recycle bin. I had Outside Magazines from 2001! And they've had Lance on the cover ever damned year. Swear to God.
81. Subscribe to Spin. Completed 5/5/06. I finally paid for this. I suspect this sounded like a better idea than it actually is. I daresay I will probably not renew this particular subscription. We'll see.
82. Subscribe to Vanity Fair Completed 5/5/06. I finally mailed out the payment for this and have discovered that I am incapable of sitting down and reading one of these in one sitting. Seriously.
83. Help my mother clean out my old room and the basement in their house
84. Let my father teach me everything he wants to about my car
85. Go sledding for the sake of sledding
86. Watch the movies that Mom and Dad keep bugging me to watch
87. Learn how to apply makeup Completed 9/9/06. I inexplicably developed the ability to do my makeup while in Cali for my cousin's wedding. Perhaps I just needed to get over my fear of it and just do it. Either way, I was even giving Mom tips on her eye makeup and getting compliments. Sweet.
88. Go to Oregon’s Homecoming
89. Learn to make a foofy cocktail
90. Own a kitchen appliance that isn’t a hand-me-down
91. Buy a tent, preferably three season convertible
92. Brush up on enough French and Italian to watch “La Cite Des Enfants Perdu” and “La Vita E Bella” without subtitles.
93. Surf Santa Cruz without getting yelled at or threatened. Taking a local would be a good idea. Bonus points, really
94. Buy my sister the magazine subscription that I owe her
95. Launch and land a slopestyle jump
96. Master an alley-oop in the pipe
97. Participate in the Hood to Coast
98. Let Marshall teach me how to do something with my hair
99. Attend a concert where I know every word to every song Done 8/17/2005, as I knew every word to every Coldplay song, even when they covered Johnny Cash. We also saw one song of the opening band, who was covering the Stones and I knew the words to that too. Ha-ha!
100. Visit a house I used to live in
101. Get a facial Done 6/10/2006. Mom gave me a while bunch of cool things for my birthday, including a manicure, a facial, a cut and color, several meals and a shopping spree. Needless to say, it rocked, and I'm stoked that the 101 list benefitted as well.

Quote of the Day: “Do or not do. There is no try.” Yoda (Frank Oz), The Empire Strikes Back.