101 in 1001

Learn more at: http://www.triplux.com/dayzero

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 my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

My Deadline: June 28, 2009

My list (green indicates done, strikethroughs indicate aborted or failed missions)

1. Be a vegetarian for one full week
   • Due to protein considerations, this has been scrapped for “go dairy and beef free for one month”. Dairy for a month, done. Beef-free for two.
2. Complete laser treatments
3. Donate blood, if they want it
   • They don’t want it due to anemia
4. Eat a garden salad
5. Eat three fruits I’ve never had before (red grapes, papaya, apricot, pineapple, tangerines, orange))
6. Eat three vegetables I’ve never had before (garbanzo beans, pumpkin, sweet potato)
7. Find a therapist
8. Get eye exam and new glasses
9. Go completely and utterly caffeine-free for one full week, no cheating or loopholes (May 29 - June 1)
10. Go to the dentist
11. Have a complete physical and full lab work.
12. Hire a trainer for a few sessions, begin a training program three times a week.
13. Join a gym (10/1/06 - Joined, closed membership 7 months later)
14. Keep my finger and toenails intact and polished for at least 2 months without biting or picking them
15. Learn to ski
16. Maintain at least a 190 pound weight loss and reward this maintenance every six months (so far so good)
17. Make a delicious healthy treat and bring it to the office (fresh fruit salad, grain bars, etc) to balance out the Krispy Kremes that frequently show up in our kitchen.
18. Not step on a scale for 30 days
19. Quit smoking
20. Register as an organ donor
21. Stand on my head
22. Take a yoga or meditation class
23. Ten-minute mile
24. Three-day detox
25. Accept all social invitations for one month (dates, lunch, happy hour) whether it’s something I want to do or not.
26. Ask someone on a date
27. Attend a black-tie event
28. Confess a Crush to the Crushee (Yeah, this one didn’t work out so well but I did it)
29. Full day as a tourist in Seattle complete with false identity
30. Hostess a Games Night, Movie Night, or other fun in-home event
31. Make amends: With someone who did me wrong; To someone I did wrong.  Resolve the issue, make peace, and let it go. (What a great feeling)
32. Meet a celebrity
33. Tell someone off who really deserves it; in person, without backing down.
34. Write at least one blog entry a week from a coffee shop or place other than my apartment
35. Attend a non-Catholic religious service
36. Buy a Sunday edition of the New York Times and read it cover to cover
37. Buy and read one book a month
38. Complete A Peace of Me and create a display of the results
39. Create original blog design complete with CSS and custom graphics
40. Get a library card (Now I have to actually use it)
41. Go to a gun range and learn how to handle and shoot a gun to get past my terror of them.
42. Go to a psychic and have tarot cards and/or other type of reading
43. Go to at least five different museums
44. Learn to knit and make something I can wear
45. Protest something (in addition to my continuing boycott of Costco)
46. Set up wireless network (Took long enough)
47. Subscribe to at least two of the magazines I buy more than 50% of the annual issues on the stand (Glamour, In Style, People, Time, Economist, Wired, Newsweek, various Seattle publications)
48. Take a writing class
49. Watch all of the movies on the AFI’s top 100 films of all time list
50. Write and publish one article
51. Go to a country I’ve never visited
52. Go to Las Vegas
53. Go whale watching
54. See the Grand Canyon
55. Spend one holiday somewhere outside of my home state(s), meaning not in Seattle or Michigan
56. Take a five-day vacation completely focused on relaxation. No electronics (including but not limited to mobile phone, laptop, MP3 player – electronics in hotel room don’t count)
57. Take a full picnic, preferably a romantic one but not a necessity, complete with blankets, wine, cheese, nibbles, and dessert somewhere wonderful.
58. Buy a new car or home
59. Eat at a new restaurant once a month
60. Invest in one stock outside of my company
61. Pay my taxes
62. Pay off both computer loans
63. Pay off my credit card
64. Sell my wedding china
65. Start an emergencies-only savings account with a separate bank with direct deposit and contribute additional deposits at least once a month.
66. Update my will
67. Use the first six numbers I hear from people I don’t know and play them as Lotto numbers every other week. On alternating weeks, post a request for numbers to my blog and play the first 6 received.
68. Acquire a piece of original artwork
69. Buy a leather skirt
70. Buy and wear something that scares the everliving hell out of me with total confidence.
71. Design a piece of jewelry and have it made
72. Get a Brazilian (Never again…owww)
73. Get my Big Bend photograph professionally matted and framed
74. Go to a live auction, bid on something and win.
75. Have a professional photography session
76. Spend an entire day at a spa for a complete pampering
77. Buy a complete carry-out lunch/dinner and give it to a homeless person.
78. Completely snark-free in thought, word, and deed for 24 hours
79. Compliment a complete stranger, genuinely, once a month (in progress - on track)
80. Pay for the person’s coffee standing in line behind me
81. Write and actually send Christmas cards before Christmas
82. Attend my 20th high school reunion
83. Buy at least two plants and keep them alive
84. Dip my toes in five bodies of water (oceans, lakes, and rivers count – pools, hot tubs, and puddles do not)
85. Do it in the rain
86. Get the kisses I’ve never had: Under mistletoe, Midnight New Year’s Eve, in the rain, by candlelight, The “movie kiss” complete with a backwards dip somewhere like a mall, public fountain, or museum steps, The unexpected and totally spontaneous kiss
87. Get window treatments for my apartment (done - YAY)
88. Go for 24 hours without speaking
89. Go for one full week without using the Internet for non-work reasons
90. Go skinny-dipping
91. Have completely spontaneous sex outside, join the mile high club, or in another risqué location (many)
92. Let someone touch my face without flinching, pulling away, or lowering my head
93. Move into a new professional role
94. Organize my closet and drawers (10/10/06)
95. Say, “I trust you” to someone and mean it completely and wholly in every way (I did at the time, I don’t now)
96. Spend an entire day in bed…far from innocently.
97. Spend an entire day in bed…innocently (no wallowing). Books, blankets, cuddly jammies, grilled cheese & tomato soup, fruit & cheese. (Done but without the bread and cheese)
98. Stay out all night and watch the sunrise
99. Two words: multiple orgasm (Two words: Yippee Skippee!)
100. Visit my father’s graveside
101. Write one letter a month and actually send it

So out of 101, I’ve scrapped 10 permanently and completed (as of 6/6/08) 39.