Project: 101 things in 1001 days
I'm not going to make a special filter because i'm cutting the list and details so you can easily skip over it if you're not interested. There are well over 100 things (167 or so) so some are not measurable and some are vague.
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).
Craft
1. Get back to weaving. Complete one piece a month for a year.
2. Also work ten hours weekly at the loom. Make this equivalent to a part-time job.
3. Also make enough to demonstrate and sell by the time Jim's loomery is up at the Ohio faire.
4. Also make the gifts promised to people.
5. Also make Connor's blanket.
6. Pottery. Learn. Go to that place in Girard and take a class or rent some time or whatever.
7. Get back into mosaics. Complete something.
8. Get back into refinishing furniture, to a point at which I can say one of my hobbies is refinishing furniture.
9. Finish repairing little quilt
10. Make little photo albums for parents/grandparents
Culinary
1. Begin making fermented things with which to duel.
2. Bake more often.
3. Develop a kick-ass ginger beer recipe
4. Make cheese
5. Create a cookbook of all of our most-used recipes.
6. Make dandelion wine with the plenteous dandelions in our field (Why did this become Jim's thing??)
7. Experiment with creating tasty and nutritious food bars
8. Attempt cultivation of some kind of delicious mushroom
Entertainment and bookage
1. Read more fiction. (Too much time is dedicated to non-fiction and practical stuff, and my dreams suck.) Average one fantasy, sci-fi, or magical realism novel, or one novel-sized collection, per month. [Moon Called; Coyote Blue]
2. Read more novels in general. Average one piece of (semi-)realistic fiction, modern or classic, or one novel-sized collection, per month. [Silas Marner]
3. Read two complete graphic novel series per year, for the above mentioned reasons.
4. Read a more diverse selection of non-fiction. One piece unrelated to gardening, homesteading and the like per month.
5. Create a collection/file of ideas for the house we may build in the future. Have resources and design ideas.
6. Watch a few more movies. Like, more than one a month. One a week, try. Even if it's one i've seen before.
7. Flesh out music collection. Fill holes that need filling, trim excess. Find more artists I like.
8. Finish organizing music library.
Garden and yard
1. Clean up woods.
2. Get an annual vegetable garden established.
3. Get an orchard/vine/shrub grove established.
4. Get an herb garden established.
5. Plant the fern/rock/shade garden.
6. Plant Jim's asian-type garden.
7. Plant the bird garden.
8. Old fashioned/cottage garden
9. Set up a greenhouse.
10. Clean up that brushy area a little.
11. Start keeping bees. Have a hive for spring 2008.
12. Build a pond?
13. Consider what it takes to breed native endangered butterflies; decide if the expense is worth it by 2009.
14. Soil sample sent in before spring 2008. ( We got some of those capsules from the hardware store. Will deal with actual samples later.)
15. And a water sample sent in before 2008.
16. Chickens.
17. Get the random deck out of the garden.
18. Keep a record of all of this.
19. Encourage a seedling exchange into existence.
Health, diet, etc.
1. Get to the point where most, if not all, vegetables and fruits consumed at home are grown chemical-free. This may mean canning/freezing for during brown months. (I've been canning/freezing, then eating those things. Need more to start with.)
2. Get to the point where most meat and dairy products consumed at home are actually chemical-free, not just "feel good about."
3. Look into the local meat co-op.
4. Look into the produce program thing.
5. Learn details about sustainably harvested favorite fish
6. Cook at home more often. Average no more than four meals purchased/week for one year.
7. Go to the doctor to establish a primary physician.
8. While at the doctor, get the sinus thing checked out.
9. Go to the dentist. Get tooth fixed.
10. Keep going to the dentist. Once/year, or as deemed necessary.
11. Go the eye doctor at least once.
12. Go to the optometrist to update driving prescription.
13. Get into a 4 times per week meditation/stretching routine. Do this for three months.
14. Get into a 2-3 times per week athletic routine. Do this for three months.
15. Get off shampoo.
16. Take vitamins every day for two months.
17. Tone body enough that i don't want to hide bits of it.
18. Build upper-body strength to non-embarrassing.
19. Develop better posture.
Home
1. Tile the skeezy kitchen floors.
2. Renovate the skeezy bathroom.
3. Do the bedroom.
4. Finish the kitchen.
5. Fix the stairs.
6. Living room.
7. Make a patio/outdoor room out back.
8. Upstairs renovation begun.
9. Keep a record of all of this.
10. Begin a fortnightly cleaning routine.
11. Have the house clean and refreshed by Oct. 31 and April 31 every year
12. Be responsible in some way with 75% of improvements (tiles: locally purchased, lov-voc grout; kitchen/bathroom/porch paint: low-voc)
Learning, self-improvement, and activity
1. Identify the wild plants in my yard--work on creating a notebook to remember these by.
2. Identify the trees in my woods--work on creating a notebook to remember these by.
3. Learn Welsh, French, or German and achieve conversational understanding.
4. Begin a secondary language study and achieve minimal traveler understanding (Welsh, French, German, some kind of Scandinavian, some kind of Gaelic, or Spanish)
5. Learn to rock climb.
6. Learn to hunt, and if this works out (or if Jim hunts)...
7. Learn to tan.
8. Make progress on the herbalism index.
9. Learn to fish.
10. Poke at tree stuff; try it for a year.
11. Stop being afraid to dance.
12. Walk in the woods. Twice a month, at least.
13. Find an instrument to begin playing. Flute or fiddle or whatever. Something.
14. Keep track of the news. Be aware of the world. (Though I don't know why I'm bothering. People suck anyway.)
15. Find a mind-altering substance that achieves desired effects
16. Unsketch the sketchy parts of my car knowledge so I can fix them myself, or at least so I have confidence that I know what I'm talking about when dealing with a cocky mechanic
17. Learn archery.
18. Learn how to use a rifle
19. Learn how to use a handgun
20. Go skiing (or boarding; I have little pride)
21. Go horseback riding
22. Find a martial arts class compatible with my philosophies and take a few.
23. Learn to drive stick
24. Write mini reviews of all restaurants I've visited. Include six restaurants I've not yet been to each year.
25. Volunteer somewhere on a semi-regular basis for one year
26. Visit 15 museums. (Maritime Museum, Cleveland Zoo, Erie Zoo)
27. See an average of two plays a year.
Life in general
1. Find a job that does not feel like a waste of time. or find some way to support us monetarily outside a job. either will do.
2. Fix super-secret-no-one's-business problems with Jim. I have one year before hiring a concubine for him. And maybe a concubine for myself.
3. But don't get pregnant again until at least 2009.
4. Keep track of Jim. Never get too busy or stressed or distracted to appreciate him. Notice and spend time with him every day possible.
5. Keep track of Connor. I know how fast he's grown already--it's only going to get faster. Notice and spend time with him every day possible.
6. Determine how Connor's going to be formally educated, if at all. We should know by the time this project is over.
7. Take more pictures. They're just stupid mom pictures but they're important. A handful a week, on average.
8. Celebrate holidays -- at least the ones important to us. Teach Connor that these holidays are important. Learn their stories so he can know, too.
9. Celebrate the seasons.
10. Make birthdays special.
11. Answer the phone. Do not screen unless necessary. Do not use the caller ID to avoid communication unless necessary.
12. Get into habit of responding to emails within one month of receipt.
13. Fix the bike and ride it.
14. Game once/month.
15. Keep the tradition of sharing Thanksgiving with Family.
16. Cuss more creatively.
Money and responsibility
1. Begin to build a respectable savings account for Connor
2. Begin to build a respectable long-term savings account for ourselves.
3. Build a short-term savings account for personal ventures/emergencies.
4. Do not be more than 15 days late on a bill for one year.
5. Property insurance records
6. Write a living will.
7. Write a death will.
8. Become financially secure enough to donate to a few specific charities or non-profits regularly. (1/month: ocean conservation, civil liberties, education, guard children, general environment, something for spirit [Tara?], Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood?, National Coalition Against Censorship, CBLDF, Erie Zoo, WXPN/NPR, a non-specified emergency cause)
9. Acquire a passport
10. Find/reorder birth certificate
11. Donate blood thrice per year
12. Sign up for the do-not-mail, plant-a-tree list.
13. Complete address/phone number file - electronic and hard copy.
14. Create a project calendar with realistic goals and stick to it.
15. Develop a plan for going back to school, if this is happening.
16. Get two (pre-existing) loans paid off
17. Vote every year
18. Get AAA
Minimalism 101
1. Get rid of all that shit in boxes in the greatroom. have a yard sale spring of 2008, then once a year until this project is over.
2. When that stuff is gone, get rid of 101 more things.
3. Buy less Stuff.
4. For one year, 90% of purchases should be used or responsible in some way (US/first-world/fair-trade made, or somehow eco-friendly, or made with eco-friendly design).
5. For one year, no more than three electronic media purchases for myself can be brand new.
6. All gifts will be homemade one holiday season.
7. For one year, anything newly acquired (other than basic necessities) must replace something of equal value (monetary, sentiment, spatial, or practical).
Personal
1. Stop being so self-centered.
2. Stop being so whiny.
3. Stop caring that people think i'm an idiot.
4. Do not swig gin and tonic (or any other alcoholic drink) as though it is sodapop. Do not be stupid about this again. Learn how to have more booze than I should and *not* get sick or become irresponsible.
5. Find a clue-by-four. Use liberally until head is in proper shape.
Relatives etc.
1. Get dad's father's day/birthday gift to him.
2. Be vaguely on time with parental gifts in the future.
3. Plan and execute a Celebration-of-Union ceremony/event. Between October 2008 and March 2009.
4. Find a place for said ceremony/catering for ceremony by end of 2007.
5. Herd mom's side of the family into a yearly summer gather.
6. Attend one of dad's side of the family's gathers once per year.
7. Get Jim's nuclear family to a gather once per year.
8. Go out and visit Tracey.
9. Communicate with parents at least once a week.
10. Call Grandmom Cory at least twice per month and contact Grandmom Gephart at least once a month.
11. Email family/folks with Connor's updates at least four times a year.
12. Send change-of-address cards to relatives. Perhaps also birth announcements and pictures.
13. Do the holiday card thing. Two out of three years.
14. Get home for Christmas/Christmas Eve at least once, and once every other year from thence.
15. Manage small gifts for aunts and uncles and cousins in 2008 and onward.
Stuff
1. Obtain a chest freezer.
2. Acquire and use an ice cream maker
3. Procure original art.
4. Find heavy quilt-like blanket. Avoid commercial.
5. Find a decent rain-resistant, breathable, warm cloak or cape
6. Find or make clothes that i am happy in and last more than a year.
7. Find more tea strainers (including one to take to work! Because that’s a good idea!)
Travel and visitation
1. Visit family 4 times per year.
2. Visit Family more than 4 times per year. At least six, if not more.
3. Get to Knoebels. Take Jim!
4. Visit three amusement parks other than Knoebels or Waldameer
5. Leave the country for more than 22 hours
6. Take a vacation with just Jim.
7. Go on a trip with my sister (and not parents) involved.
8. Take a yearly weekend (at least) with just Jim and Connor
9. Keep the godparents involved; visit Adrienne (specifically) and Pod/Tessa (specifically) at least once/year
10. Visit NY folks. Hopefully at least once/year
11. Visit other folks in/near MD, hopefully at least once/year
12. Get out to see Gildowans.
13. Visit both groups of friends currently around Phoenixville at least once/year
14. Figure out what's going on with Diana.
15. Include folks from P-ville group in some kind of future plan
16. Spend some time in the city. Visit a real city--or a very active town--six times. [1/6 Chicago]
17. Spend time in the wilderness where ain't nobody gonna find me. Like a backpacking trip or something. Twice.
18. Go see the ocean. Thrice.
19. Camp at 4QF outside of a gather.
20. Go to two Geek Cons (gaming, sci-fi, comic, anime, whatever)
21. Go see Conan O'Brien before he leaves NYC
This list is subject to tweaking and modification. (because i'm never ever completely done anything. swoo!)
Begin: Thursday, November 15, 2007
End: Thursday, August 12, 2010
*tosses bundle over walking stick and saunters into sunset*
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).
Craft
1. Get back to weaving. Complete one piece a month for a year.
2. Also work ten hours weekly at the loom. Make this equivalent to a part-time job.
3. Also make enough to demonstrate and sell by the time Jim's loomery is up at the Ohio faire.
4. Also make the gifts promised to people.
5. Also make Connor's blanket.
6. Pottery. Learn. Go to that place in Girard and take a class or rent some time or whatever.
7. Get back into mosaics. Complete something.
8. Get back into refinishing furniture, to a point at which I can say one of my hobbies is refinishing furniture.
9. Finish repairing little quilt
10. Make little photo albums for parents/grandparents
Culinary
1. Begin making fermented things with which to duel.
2. Bake more often.
3. Develop a kick-ass ginger beer recipe
4. Make cheese
5. Create a cookbook of all of our most-used recipes.
6. Make dandelion wine with the plenteous dandelions in our field (Why did this become Jim's thing??)
7. Experiment with creating tasty and nutritious food bars
8. Attempt cultivation of some kind of delicious mushroom
Entertainment and bookage
1. Read more fiction. (Too much time is dedicated to non-fiction and practical stuff, and my dreams suck.) Average one fantasy, sci-fi, or magical realism novel, or one novel-sized collection, per month. [Moon Called; Coyote Blue]
2. Read more novels in general. Average one piece of (semi-)realistic fiction, modern or classic, or one novel-sized collection, per month. [Silas Marner]
3. Read two complete graphic novel series per year, for the above mentioned reasons.
4. Read a more diverse selection of non-fiction. One piece unrelated to gardening, homesteading and the like per month.
5. Create a collection/file of ideas for the house we may build in the future. Have resources and design ideas.
6. Watch a few more movies. Like, more than one a month. One a week, try. Even if it's one i've seen before.
7. Flesh out music collection. Fill holes that need filling, trim excess. Find more artists I like.
8. Finish organizing music library.
Garden and yard
1. Clean up woods.
2. Get an annual vegetable garden established.
3. Get an orchard/vine/shrub grove established.
4. Get an herb garden established.
5. Plant the fern/rock/shade garden.
6. Plant Jim's asian-type garden.
7. Plant the bird garden.
8. Old fashioned/cottage garden
9. Set up a greenhouse.
10. Clean up that brushy area a little.
11. Start keeping bees. Have a hive for spring 2008.
12. Build a pond?
13. Consider what it takes to breed native endangered butterflies; decide if the expense is worth it by 2009.
14. Soil sample sent in before spring 2008. ( We got some of those capsules from the hardware store. Will deal with actual samples later.)
15. And a water sample sent in before 2008.
16. Chickens.
17. Get the random deck out of the garden.
18. Keep a record of all of this.
19. Encourage a seedling exchange into existence.
Health, diet, etc.
1. Get to the point where most, if not all, vegetables and fruits consumed at home are grown chemical-free. This may mean canning/freezing for during brown months. (I've been canning/freezing, then eating those things. Need more to start with.)
2. Get to the point where most meat and dairy products consumed at home are actually chemical-free, not just "feel good about."
3. Look into the local meat co-op.
4. Look into the produce program thing.
5. Learn details about sustainably harvested favorite fish
6. Cook at home more often. Average no more than four meals purchased/week for one year.
7. Go to the doctor to establish a primary physician.
8. While at the doctor, get the sinus thing checked out.
9. Go to the dentist. Get tooth fixed.
10. Keep going to the dentist. Once/year, or as deemed necessary.
11. Go the eye doctor at least once.
12. Go to the optometrist to update driving prescription.
13. Get into a 4 times per week meditation/stretching routine. Do this for three months.
14. Get into a 2-3 times per week athletic routine. Do this for three months.
15. Get off shampoo.
16. Take vitamins every day for two months.
17. Tone body enough that i don't want to hide bits of it.
18. Build upper-body strength to non-embarrassing.
19. Develop better posture.
Home
1. Tile the skeezy kitchen floors.
2. Renovate the skeezy bathroom.
3. Do the bedroom.
4. Finish the kitchen.
5. Fix the stairs.
6. Living room.
7. Make a patio/outdoor room out back.
8. Upstairs renovation begun.
9. Keep a record of all of this.
10. Begin a fortnightly cleaning routine.
11. Have the house clean and refreshed by Oct. 31 and April 31 every year
12. Be responsible in some way with 75% of improvements (tiles: locally purchased, lov-voc grout; kitchen/bathroom/porch paint: low-voc)
Learning, self-improvement, and activity
1. Identify the wild plants in my yard--work on creating a notebook to remember these by.
2. Identify the trees in my woods--work on creating a notebook to remember these by.
3. Learn Welsh, French, or German and achieve conversational understanding.
4. Begin a secondary language study and achieve minimal traveler understanding (Welsh, French, German, some kind of Scandinavian, some kind of Gaelic, or Spanish)
5. Learn to rock climb.
6. Learn to hunt, and if this works out (or if Jim hunts)...
7. Learn to tan.
8. Make progress on the herbalism index.
9. Learn to fish.
10. Poke at tree stuff; try it for a year.
11. Stop being afraid to dance.
12. Walk in the woods. Twice a month, at least.
13. Find an instrument to begin playing. Flute or fiddle or whatever. Something.
14. Keep track of the news. Be aware of the world. (Though I don't know why I'm bothering. People suck anyway.)
15. Find a mind-altering substance that achieves desired effects
16. Unsketch the sketchy parts of my car knowledge so I can fix them myself, or at least so I have confidence that I know what I'm talking about when dealing with a cocky mechanic
17. Learn archery.
18. Learn how to use a rifle
19. Learn how to use a handgun
20. Go skiing (or boarding; I have little pride)
21. Go horseback riding
22. Find a martial arts class compatible with my philosophies and take a few.
23. Learn to drive stick
24. Write mini reviews of all restaurants I've visited. Include six restaurants I've not yet been to each year.
25. Volunteer somewhere on a semi-regular basis for one year
26. Visit 15 museums. (Maritime Museum, Cleveland Zoo, Erie Zoo)
27. See an average of two plays a year.
Life in general
1. Find a job that does not feel like a waste of time. or find some way to support us monetarily outside a job. either will do.
2. Fix super-secret-no-one's-business problems with Jim. I have one year before hiring a concubine for him. And maybe a concubine for myself.
3. But don't get pregnant again until at least 2009.
4. Keep track of Jim. Never get too busy or stressed or distracted to appreciate him. Notice and spend time with him every day possible.
5. Keep track of Connor. I know how fast he's grown already--it's only going to get faster. Notice and spend time with him every day possible.
6. Determine how Connor's going to be formally educated, if at all. We should know by the time this project is over.
7. Take more pictures. They're just stupid mom pictures but they're important. A handful a week, on average.
8. Celebrate holidays -- at least the ones important to us. Teach Connor that these holidays are important. Learn their stories so he can know, too.
9. Celebrate the seasons.
10. Make birthdays special.
11. Answer the phone. Do not screen unless necessary. Do not use the caller ID to avoid communication unless necessary.
12. Get into habit of responding to emails within one month of receipt.
13. Fix the bike and ride it.
14. Game once/month.
15. Keep the tradition of sharing Thanksgiving with Family.
16. Cuss more creatively.
Money and responsibility
1. Begin to build a respectable savings account for Connor
2. Begin to build a respectable long-term savings account for ourselves.
3. Build a short-term savings account for personal ventures/emergencies.
4. Do not be more than 15 days late on a bill for one year.
5. Property insurance records
6. Write a living will.
7. Write a death will.
8. Become financially secure enough to donate to a few specific charities or non-profits regularly. (1/month: ocean conservation, civil liberties, education, guard children, general environment, something for spirit [Tara?], Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood?, National Coalition Against Censorship, CBLDF, Erie Zoo, WXPN/NPR, a non-specified emergency cause)
9. Acquire a passport
10. Find/reorder birth certificate
11. Donate blood thrice per year
12. Sign up for the do-not-mail, plant-a-tree list.
13. Complete address/phone number file - electronic and hard copy.
14. Create a project calendar with realistic goals and stick to it.
15. Develop a plan for going back to school, if this is happening.
16. Get two (pre-existing) loans paid off
17. Vote every year
18. Get AAA
Minimalism 101
1. Get rid of all that shit in boxes in the greatroom. have a yard sale spring of 2008, then once a year until this project is over.
2. When that stuff is gone, get rid of 101 more things.
3. Buy less Stuff.
4. For one year, 90% of purchases should be used or responsible in some way (US/first-world/fair-trade made, or somehow eco-friendly, or made with eco-friendly design).
5. For one year, no more than three electronic media purchases for myself can be brand new.
6. All gifts will be homemade one holiday season.
7. For one year, anything newly acquired (other than basic necessities) must replace something of equal value (monetary, sentiment, spatial, or practical).
Personal
1. Stop being so self-centered.
2. Stop being so whiny.
3. Stop caring that people think i'm an idiot.
4. Do not swig gin and tonic (or any other alcoholic drink) as though it is sodapop. Do not be stupid about this again. Learn how to have more booze than I should and *not* get sick or become irresponsible.
5. Find a clue-by-four. Use liberally until head is in proper shape.
Relatives etc.
1. Get dad's father's day/birthday gift to him.
2. Be vaguely on time with parental gifts in the future.
3. Plan and execute a Celebration-of-Union ceremony/event. Between October 2008 and March 2009.
4. Find a place for said ceremony/catering for ceremony by end of 2007.
5. Herd mom's side of the family into a yearly summer gather.
6. Attend one of dad's side of the family's gathers once per year.
7. Get Jim's nuclear family to a gather once per year.
8. Go out and visit Tracey.
9. Communicate with parents at least once a week.
10. Call Grandmom Cory at least twice per month and contact Grandmom Gephart at least once a month.
11. Email family/folks with Connor's updates at least four times a year.
12. Send change-of-address cards to relatives. Perhaps also birth announcements and pictures.
13. Do the holiday card thing. Two out of three years.
14. Get home for Christmas/Christmas Eve at least once, and once every other year from thence.
15. Manage small gifts for aunts and uncles and cousins in 2008 and onward.
Stuff
1. Obtain a chest freezer.
2. Acquire and use an ice cream maker
3. Procure original art.
4. Find heavy quilt-like blanket. Avoid commercial.
5. Find a decent rain-resistant, breathable, warm cloak or cape
6. Find or make clothes that i am happy in and last more than a year.
7. Find more tea strainers (including one to take to work! Because that’s a good idea!)
Travel and visitation
1. Visit family 4 times per year.
2. Visit Family more than 4 times per year. At least six, if not more.
3. Get to Knoebels. Take Jim!
4. Visit three amusement parks other than Knoebels or Waldameer
5. Leave the country for more than 22 hours
6. Take a vacation with just Jim.
7. Go on a trip with my sister (and not parents) involved.
8. Take a yearly weekend (at least) with just Jim and Connor
9. Keep the godparents involved; visit Adrienne (specifically) and Pod/Tessa (specifically) at least once/year
10. Visit NY folks. Hopefully at least once/year
11. Visit other folks in/near MD, hopefully at least once/year
12. Get out to see Gildowans.
13. Visit both groups of friends currently around Phoenixville at least once/year
14. Figure out what's going on with Diana.
15. Include folks from P-ville group in some kind of future plan
16. Spend some time in the city. Visit a real city--or a very active town--six times. [1/6 Chicago]
17. Spend time in the wilderness where ain't nobody gonna find me. Like a backpacking trip or something. Twice.
18. Go see the ocean. Thrice.
19. Camp at 4QF outside of a gather.
20. Go to two Geek Cons (gaming, sci-fi, comic, anime, whatever)
21. Go see Conan O'Brien before he leaves NYC
This list is subject to tweaking and modification. (because i'm never ever completely done anything. swoo!)
Begin: Thursday, November 15, 2007
End: Thursday, August 12, 2010
*tosses bundle over walking stick and saunters into sunset*