101 Things in 1001 Days

43. NaNoWriMo 2021

This was my sixteenth time doing NaNoWriMo, and it was the first time I seriously thought I wouldn't make the word count. I ended up including everything I wrote that month, from journal entries to equipment descriptions for work as well as all of the fanfiction stories I was supposed to have finished for the holiday season back in January. With just a few days to go, I still had about 32,000 words to write. So I kicked it into overdrive and managed to just squeeze a win out of the month with an hour or so left to go. Whew! I did manage to finish every story I needed to write, so it was a success on all fronts. But I hope to never struggle like that again.

43. Go to the gynecologist every year

I went yesterday morning, and the doctor I saw was super nice. I'm glad I went. And now I can cross this off my list!

Here's a wrap-up of my second 101 Things in 1001 Days.

Totals--
Finished: 67
Started: 22
Not Started: 12

By Category--
Complete One Project Each Month: 28/33
Writing: 4/8
Hobbies: 6/16
Visit/Travel: 5/6
Fannish: 7/14
Personal/Home: 9/15
Philanthropic: 6/7
Misc: 2/2

Discussion of unfinished goals--
10. Makeup Project- Put together all the LEGO sets I've bought as of December 2010 and haven't yet assembled
Yeah. I kept buying new sets. Now I have dozens not yet put together. And I don't need the pressure to get to them. I'll put them together when I have time and inclination.

11. Makeup Project- Complete all the prompts from the book before the end of this 1001 days
I'm still on January prompts!

18. August 2011 Makeup Project: STILL haven't decided yet AND 25. March 2012 Project
I didn't come up with projects ahead of time for these months. That seemed to be key in my finishing monthly projects.

20. October 2011 Project
This was my Ticket Stub diary. I started it. I decided to do it by type of ticket (movies together, concerts together, etc.) But then I didn't know how many pages to leave blank in-between for future events. So I assembled all my tickets and then stalled. But this made it onto my next 101 list, so I have hopes of finishing it. I'm planning to do it in random order :-)

34. Finish all outstanding gifts/recent requests
I didn't really work on any fics that fit this category, but I don't even know how many there were or which ones. I really should have made a list to begin with. I did write dozens of gifts, though, so I don't feel bad

37. Finish my Remus H/C 10 story set
I wrote one fic during this time period, and that's it. Boo! Poor Remus!

38. Write/post 7 Strokes stories
I did work on a number of stories, but I only finished a few and posted even fewer. I hope to turn this around next time. I miss my boys!

39. Submit to 5 writing contests/journals
I submitted to 1. Which is still 1 more than before I started these goals. So there is that :-)

43. Write 2 BookCrossing articles
I wrote one. There are a few topics I wanted to write, but the article just didn't materialize. The BookCrossing Newsletter has been sporadic, though, so it wasn't really on my mind often enough.

44. Choose a wild release location and take photos of 100 different releases there
I got more than 1/10th released and I enjoyed it. I think going onto campus feels too difficult (driving on campus, finding a spot in the parking deck, running over and releasing, using the parking ticket machine, then getting out of the parking deck before it charges me). But it really is a great spot. I have this again on my next 101 list and I hope this time I'll do it!

45. Clear 25 books off my BookCrossing TBR Shelves
I came so close! But no cigar :-( This is on my next list as well

47. Get a book journaled for all states I don't already have books in
I definitely made progress, but I didn't finish this task. It's on next time's list, so maybe I'll make it then.

48. Get to 4,000 snarfs at Markeroni
Originally, I had 2,000 on my list. crrcookie & melydia convinced me to raise it to 4,000. What was I thinking? LOL Even with all the Gettysburg and UK snarfs, I can't make it to 4,000. But maybe next time...

49. Write 2 Markeroni articles
Shortly after I made this goal, the Markeroni blog changed its style, so I didn't get the articles written the way I'd intended. However, I am writing some short essays about my snarfing adventures for a Markeroni fundraiser (I've started them but I'm not quite done yet). So I'm still counting this as in progress.

52. Log all landmarks from before I joined Markeroni
I made a good effort, digging up and scanning in a bunch. But some (like my first trip to Ireland/Scotland) are still unlogged

54. Create full list of To Be Read books
I wanted to do this as I packed up my books to take them over to my new house. But that hasn't happened yet. This made it onto next time's list.

55. Bring Kintailscape up-to-date
I really didn't even touch this one. Bad Keta!

61. Re-experience the magic of the dollhouse store
Went out of business. I cried.

56. Learn how to crochet
I bought a starter kit for a scarf... haven't even opened the kit. But I did put this on next time's list so that I can actually do it!

64. Finish watching all of Doctor Who
Wow. Um. I'm still on the First Doctor!

68. Watch the Academy Award Best Picture nominees each year (2010, 2011, 2012)
I came SO CLOSE! Just 7 or 8 left. I think I'll add these to next year's list as well, because I still do want to watch them!

69. Watch all my unwatched DVDs
Not even CLOSE! I did watch some specifically because of this goal on this list, so it served some purpose. But there are still a bunch I didn't get to. How many? No idea, because I never made a list. That's part of my next 101 things.

70. Finish Gabaldon series to-date (re-read & read for the first time)
I earread the first ones, which are really my favorites. But I want to try this goal again with a stronger push.

72. Create a Washington Capitals Season schedule for all seasons that start during my 1001 days
Yeah. This didn't happen. I usually just looked it up on the internet. Less convenient, but it worked.

73. Go to a Hershey Bears game
I wish I could have gone to TONIGHT'S game at the Verizon Center! But I'm exhausted and, truly, I put this on the list because I wanted to go up to Hershey to get the whole experience. So I put this on next time's list as well.

74. Start a local Quidditch team
We did play a few times and DC Sports tried to organize a local team/league. But you need people to get this done, and that's what we didn't have.

80. Get weight down to 135lbs
I gained a LOT Of weight over the past 3 years. But I'm at 18lbs lost since I really started to try to lose weight, and I'm proud of myself for that. I'm going to stick with this one. It's going on next time's list.

81. Handle the mess that is my closet
I did... look at my closet a few times. I need to do an honest cleanout of it.

82. Clean out/sort Outlook Inbox & Google Mail
I didn't do this one either. I lost my email for a while and I thought that might help, but I got most of it back in the end. I'm still at 41,000 unread and about 57,000 total not in folders or deleted/dealt with.

84. Create 10 digital scrapbook pages
I didn't do a single one! I did read a part of a book about it and look into software packages. But the two digital scrapbook albums I own are both completely empty still.

91. Figure out how to display my keychain collection
I like the hooks I saw on melydia's bookcase. I might try something like that, but I like them in bunches the way they are as well. So I'm still undecided, but I've put this on my next list.

92. Make breakfast for dinner 33 times during the 1001 days (that averages out to once a month)
To be completely honest, I got bored keeping track. I ate a bunch of breakfasts for dinner, but I don't know how many. I probably ate close to 33, but I don't know for sure. I certainly enjoyed the ones I did eat.

98. Donate 100,000 grains of rice at FreeRice
I discovered that, though I like answering the FreeRice.com questions, I'm not really remembering anything I didn't already know. And I really did give this my best shot!

Here's the wrap up of my first list of 101 Thing in 1001 Days. I accomplished 50 (so about half) of the things. Not a great result, considering at the time I made the list, I thought I would do them all. But, I did try hard and I got a lot more done than I would have without the list. So even though it was a half-fail, I'm still glad I did it.

Self-Improvement/ Personal

1. Take a basic car maintenance class/workshop
I did look for such an animal but I couldn't find one anywhere. I even called my car insurance place and they didn't know of any locally. So I was unable to complete this one.

2. Sign-up for a dating service
I checked out a few online dating sites. I even started my profile for one. But, in the end, I chickened out. Bad self image is my biggest hurdle.

3. Stay in touch with college friends I’ve reconnected with
Didn't do so well with this. I did reconnect with some of them, but I haven't been in contact as much as I wish I'd been.

4. Keep in touch with my KS better- 3/10/10
I've done a bit better here. And now that Kate tweets, it's easier to say hi every so often on top of e-mail & snail mail. I love my KS *hugs*

5. Re-write weekly schedule and try better to follow it
Yikes. I did try to follow it at first, but it was a pretty strict schedule and, honestly, my life has changed so much that a schedule re-done 1001 days ago just didn't work for me for long.

6. Learn basic sign language (i.e. more than what I know already)
I learned a little, but have forgotten most of it now. I need to make a more serious attempt at this in the future (a future monthly project, perhaps)

7. Learn how to tie a tie- 04/20/08
Every time I go to tie one, I have to look up the instructions to refresh my memory. But I generally have the right idea.



Health & Fitness

8. Lose 15+lbs
This SO did not happen. I'm still a fatty. LOL!

9. Work out at least 3 times a week
I did have periods of time where I worked out this much. But for the most part, I didn't work out at all for months on end.

10. Start wearing pedometer again and keep track of steps walked- do sit-ups if I fall below my average
melydia even gave me a new pedometer (after the batteries in my old one died) but I didn't like the new one as much (couldn't calibrate it to my pace/walking style) so I had doubts about its accuracy at times. In the end, I didn't keep up with this one either.

11. Floss at least 5 times a week if not every single day
I definitely improved on this for a while, but I went through periods of doing well and others where I did not so well. On a whole, i call this a fail but I know I need to keep up with this.

12. Drink & finish a bottle of water every week
I made an attempt at this, but I just really hate the taste of water. Couldn't do it for the long term.

13. Go to the optometrist (it’s been 9+ years) and get new glasses- 6/22/07
I still have my glasses, and they're wonderful

14. Go to the gynecologist (haven’t been since I was in college)- 12/12/07
Actually, I should go again...

15. Get juicer out of storage and start using it
I never made any effort on this. Which is a shame.

16. Start taking Centrum vitamins again
Once again, for a while I was doing well with this, but then I lapsed and didn't keep up

17. Walk to the library at least once a month (weather permitting)
I made this goal back when I was going to the library to buy used books every Saturday afternoon. Now I volunteer at that library on Monday nights (used to be Thursday nights) and it's too dark when I'm done at the end of the night to safely walk home. So this one became unrealistic very shortly after I made it.



Good Things

18. Try 5 times to give blood
I did give it a good shot a few times. When I made the goal, I didn't realize what a problem it would be for me to give blood. After more complications arose, it made it virtually impossible for me to donate blood. What a shame, because I used to be so good at doing it every few months like clockwork.

19. Grow hair out to 10+ inches past chin and donate to Locks of Love- 03/10/10
My hair is SHORT now! But I hope my hair will go to help a kid who needs/wants it

20. Send 30 care packages to soldiers through AnySoldier.com
I managed to send 10 out of 30, which isn't too bad at all. I made the goal of 30 back when I sent 1 every month and I just wasn't able to keep up with that pace. But it's still 10 more units out there benefitting from what I've sent.

21. Donate 100 books to charity/the library- 03/29/09
With Accio Books last year, this was done in practically one drop off. LOL

22. Buy 10 things for Toys for Tots- 12/19/07
It's a nice program, and it was fun looking for toys that I thought kids would like.

23. Raise $250+ for AIDS Walk Washington- 9/27/07
Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, I more than exceeded this goal!

24. Get involved with the Cairn rescue group somehow
I did sign up, but I haven't built any pages for them. I feel guilty for letting that slip.

25. Buy fruit at a farmer’s market- 07/02/09
Nom nom nom! I wish there were a farmer's market closer to my house that was open when I wasn't working so I could visit it regularly.

26. Put a recycling bin in the laundry room and empty it myself regularly- 3/10/10
I let this slide for a while, but I've been pretty good about storing up recycling and then taking it up on trash/recycling night


Home/Things

27. Get rid of 5 boxes of things in my room/storage unit
Actually, I have another box of stuff to go. But a full 5 boxes? VERY close but no cigar. I could stretch it and say this was finished, but, honestly, I fell a little short.

28. Separate laundry (don’t just wash all at once on cold)- 3/10/10
I've actually been doing a phenomenal job at this. Seriously, my laundry skills have improved significantly over the past 1001 days.

29. Clean from 3pm-5pm every Sunday- no excuses!
I have no excuse, I just didn't do this

30. Make small fixes to car (paint in front, dome light, reflectors on holes, side shade)- declared finished on 3/13/09
My car looked nice!

31. Keep car gas level at least half full at all times
Fail. I did manage to do this for a while, but there were some pretty important times my tank was definitely on empty.

32. Clean out car (even vacuum)- 8/17/09
I did clean it out a few times (both my last car and the new one)

33. Start making smoothies again
I didn't even make ONE! But we might be getting a blender at work, which means I'll have an excuse to eat/drink yummy soon. A little late for the 1001 days though.

34. Pair down closet and move all clothes out of Simon’s room
I did give away several boxes/bags of stuff. But I still have about 20 things in the upstairs closet I need to get rid of.

35. Clean out/sort Outlook Express Inbox
I am beginning to believe I will never get this mess sorted

36. Back up computer completely once every two months- 3/10/10
I have been backing up quite a lot, and my external hard drive is awesome. Except during the past month, my computer won't recognize it. ACK! I spent some time tonight trying to figute it out, to no avail.

37. Buy a display cabinet and put things in it- 07/02/07
I love my display cabinet so much

38. Get/buy some sort of cataloging software & catalog all books, CDs, tapes, DVDs, video games, and videos
My entire collection isn't yet in there, but the majority is, and I've been keeping up with my new purchases.

39. Go through Real Simple magazines and create a binder of useful pieces
I have a big binder of these, but lately I've thought it would be better to put them all in plastic sleeves instead of punching holes in the flimsy pages. So I'm going to have to re-do what I've already done and then work on all the new issues.

40. Go through digital camera cards and print/save/delete all photos
I'm lazy when it comes to my photos, apparently


Hobbies

41. Register all books waiting to be registered for BookCrossing
At this point, it seems unlikely that I'll ever be 100% caught up on this. I have several hundred unregistered at the moment.

42. Make/refine my BookCrossing car kit- 08/12/07
I still use it

43. Write & submit another BookCrossing article- 09/09/07
I'm proud of my articles

44. Start a state map postcard for book trade on BookCrossing
I'm shy and never worked up the courage to start this

45. Create the Around the World in ? Days Challenge on BookCrossing
Ditto. I acquired 2 copies of the book, but by then I learned that someone else did something fun with the book and I lost my nerve.

46. Send out 25 Ray it Forwards at BookCrossing (books I've actually read first)
Not even close! I did send out some, which is good, but not 25!

47. Create a BookCrossing iCal (publish it?)- 12/29/07
I created it, yes, but didn't keep up with it.

48. Start a Fannish BookBox- 07/06/08
I did one round of an online bookbox before I decided I don't like online bookboxes.

49. Start an LGBT BookBox- 07/06/08
I have since set out two different LGBT bookboxes!

50. Start an LGBT BookRelay and keep it going
Someone else created one, but I participated in it for a while

51. Start an anime BookRelay and keep it going
Someone else created one of these as well, but I participated in it for a while, too

52. Make a better list/system of books I mail out (spreadsheet) and keep up with it
I created a nice spreadsheet, but didn't find it as useful as I had hoped it would be. So I stopped using it.

53. Clear 50 books off my To Be Read bookcase- 09/25/09
Hardly feels like I made any dent at all, but I did read them

54. Watch every nominated movie from the Academy Awards (excluding foreign film) from 2007-2009
Wow. I honestly thought this would be no problem. But I didn't even come close to watching them all

55. Get a P.O. Box and do PostCrossing; send out 50 postcards- 3/5/10
I still have my PO Box (love it) and I sent 50 postcards out!I got some great ones back, but I probably won't keep up with PostCrossing much in the future.

56. Finish my website portfolio- 6/5/09
It's not perfect, but it exists :-)

57. Add to Max’s scrapbook
I actually couldn't find it for the longest time. But I recently un-lost it and plan to pick it back up again.

58. Catalogue Eeyore collection- 01/04/09
I love having a catalogue/list of all my Eeyores!

59. Find out about displaying my Eeyore collection at the library- 12/02/08 through 12/30/08
I am so proud that I got to do this

60. Get a new library card (mine is 20 years old and almost in pieces)- 11/10/07
I love my new library card!

61. Learn how to play Mahjong- 07/29/07
I could probably use a refresher course, and apparently I learned the Chinese version, not the US one. But now I know how it's supposed to be played.

62. Decide what big thing to build out of LEGOs and begin planning- 08/03/07
I built amazingness and displayed them at my first LEGO convention as a participant in 2009

63. Bring TG’s Realm website up to date- 01/31/10
This is one I am especially proud of. I did massive updates.

64. Bring Kintail: the Dreamscape & BookCrossing websites up to date
I wish I'd done as much to this site. I've updated parts a little, but it's not completely done.



Fannish Stuff

65. Make Remus & Sirius sock puppets
I still want to do this!

66. Catch up on Stargate
I bought the whole thing on DVD, so I should be able to get this done during the next 1001 days without problem

67. Catch up on The 4400- 08/17/07
What a great series. I cannot believe they cancelled it just when it was getting amazing.

68. Catch up on The Dead Zone- 12/13/07
DITTO! The ending was amazing. I want more!

69. Finish Farscape series
I came close. Just one season & the Peacekeeper Wars left

70. Finish Gabaldon series to date (reread Outlander-Fiery Cross and read A Breath of Snow & Ashes)
I re-read the first two books and bought the newest. I've got a long way to go with it.

71. Mark up Harry Potter paperbacks with post-its
I really thought this would be useful, but I use the Lexicon so often instead, that maybe I don't need to do this after all.

72. Go to at least one hockey game every season- 9/15/09
I am so happy that I accomplished this one! I saw them win 1 game out of the 5 I went to, I think (so I think I'm 3 in 7 for my whole life). Maybe I'm jinxing them and shouldn't go any more...

73. Read the entire Hornblower series of books- 03/29/09
Oh Horatio, how I love you!


Work

74. Finish archiving the Chronicle and complete the Photo Archives
Chronicle: yes. Photo Archives: still in progress.

75. Get everyone moved to Adobe CS3- 02/18/08
We're all on CS4 now

76. Get a new graphics card for my PC and set up monitors- declared finished on 03/12/09
This was the bane of my existence for so long. I'm glad I completed it finally

77. Bring goodies to work bi-weekly- 3/10/10
Okay, maybe not exactly bi-weekly, but I did bring in a LOT of stuff, and that was my whole point of this goal.

78. Update Webmaster/Admin html manual
I have updated it several times, but it needs a total overhaul now

79. Update Software Inventory & keep it updated!- 09/14/07
Hmm. I did finish that huge project, but I didn't keep it updated throughout 2009.

80. Bring caricature of self to work and put on wall- 08/17/07
It's still there.



Writing

81. Do & win NaNoWriMo 2007, 2008, etc.- 11/25/09
Many, many words written! And I finished my 2009 attempt last month.

82. Keep an ongoing master list (spreadsheet) of all stories I finish- 3/10/10
I absolutely love my spreadsheet of stories. It's a great resource and fun to compile

83. Finish 5 more Strokes stories- 03/10/10
My Strokes boys need more love. But I definitely wrote at least 5.

84. See about doing the Writers’ Roundtable twice a month- 07/25/07
We still have 2 meetings each month.

85. Make one entry every month to my Rectacular journal
Now that I have a separate Twitter account for recs, I've been updating it more easily and frequently. Not quite every month, but an improvement.

86. Finish 25+ WIPs which have been waiting/ignored for a while
Wow. 25. Really? What was a thinking. I tried, though. And I'm happy of the ones I did work on and especially the ones I finished.

87. Submit something to be published
Didn't even try. I'm making next time's goal 5 submissions as a penalty. LOL

88. Start a file of rejection letters- 03/10/10
It's a nice file folder. I hope it doesn't get too full

89. Enter more dreams in my dream journal
Often I said to myself "Kate, that was an amazing dream. Go write it down in your journal" and then I would forget and be lazy and just not do it. Bad Kate.

90. Read 5 books on writing
Um, I am drowning in books. I've read parts of many, but only finished 1 completely.


Miscellaneous

91. Start reading slash-dot and try to keep up with techie news- 3/10/10
I have the RSS feed on my browser and I pay attention to it much more than I used to. Not as much as I should, but I'm more aware on a whole of things that are going on in the Tech world

92. Set up a special savings account and put $1 into it every day for a total of 1001 days- 3/10/10
I am so happy I made this goal. Now I have more than $1020 to spend as I see fit!

93. Go to a Free-For-All Friday at Mix 107.3
Nope. I didn't do this. What a shame.

94. Get a new computer with a flat screen monitor- 06/01/08
I love my new computer, even when it doesn't cooperate with me.

95. Go to the International Spy Museum in DC (for the first time)
I gave my family money for tickets on Christmas a few years ago, but we haven't gone. I did step inside the entrance because I won tickets to the Spy in the City contest. But that was for a GPS tour of the city in a hunt, not something inside the museum

96. Go to the Zoo (see new Asia section & new panda before he’s gone)- 10/05/08
I'm glad I got to see him before he left for China

97. Go to Mount Vernon to see the new museum/exhibits/theaters- 03/07/10
I wish I'd known to watch the full intro movie. But apart from that, I had an excellent time with friends!

98. Visit a lighthouse- 10/31/09
I didn't get to go inside, but I did see one :-)

99. See the Washington Capitals practice at their new facility- 01/02/09
I love Kettler. My boys have such a nice home now (and so much closer to where I am, too). I really want to take my mother there soon.

100. Keep a separate 101 LiveJournal- 06/13/07
You're looking at it!

101. Start a new 101 list when I’m down to my last few things to do- 03/10/10
I've got a new list. I'll post it next! Wish me luck!

43. Write & submit another BookCrossing article

I was going to post if/when it got published... but after reading through this, it looks like my goal was only to write and submit one... which I've done!

I wrote a short piece about the BookCrossing car kit I created. The article is called "Have Car, Will BookCross!" and I submitted it on September 9. It's not published yet but that usually takes several months. So we'll see :-)