101 Things in 1001 Days

51. Go through 33 boxes of my things

In May, I managed to sort through 30 boxes of things from my larger storage area! It took me almost all month, but I got rid of a lot and feel extremely proud.

51. Go through 33 boxes of my things

I didn't take a photo of it, but I did clear out another box in August.

Progress: 3 / 33

51. Watch all of Agatha Christie’s Poirot and read one new-to-me book
73. For everything in my Netflix “My List” either watch it or delete it

I grew up watching episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot on PBS and reading his mysteries. I haven't any idea which I've read and which I haven't, so maybe one day I will read the whole series. I definitely remembered some of the myseries as I was watching the episodes, though it has been 18 years since I read my last Poirot mystery (Curtain), so there were definitely some details I didn't remember! A few years ago I saw part of an episode of the series with Tim Curry in it, and I knew I'd never seen that one as a child. So this thing was born so that I might relive the fun of solving cases with this detective.


Over the past few months, I've worked my way through the entire series, all 13 seasons of it, which had been on my Netflix queue. To be honest, if I'd known there were 13 seasons, I might not have tried to do this. But I'm so glad that I did. I rediscovered how much I enjoyed Hastings and Poirot, my adoration of Ms. Lemon's filing system (WANT), and the lovable Inspector Japp (who is smart enough to bring Poirot in on many a case... though it's also funny how danger seems to follow Poirot around; perhaps that's only because we don't see the episodes where he's just living normally). I loved the earlier episodes best (though season 8). And though I liked some of the new characters, it just wasn't the same feel (though production values were much better; "Murder on the Orient Express" for example was absolutely GORGEOUS in dramatic storytelling and cinematography).

I left one episode in season 9 for last as I was planning on listening to the audio book then watching. However, it turns out I got the radio drama version. Not really the same, as I don't get the full Agatha Christie effect. So I ended up getting The Body in the Library out instead and trying Ms. Marple for the first time. She was excellent.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I made this one of my things! It took several months, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

51. Snarf in 3 states I've never snarfed in before

On my way home I snarfed in every state I passed through: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. So I more than accomplished this goal!

Sample snarfs from states I hadn't snarfed in before:
Florida:


Georgia:


South Carolina:


North Carolina:

51. Snarf in 3 states I've never snarfed in before


Denver, Colorado

I went to Denver for work and spent a few hours snarfing while I was there. I really liked Denver. It's walkable and it's almost as snarf-rich as Washington, DC. There are something like 150 National Register buildings in downtown Denver alone. I ended up with a few hundred snarfs at the end of the trip. Denver seems to have an identity crisis. It built its capitol to look like the capitol building in Washington, DC. and they have a re-creation of the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia. They also seem utterly obsessed with transportation (I walked all over the city for hours and hours, so it is walkable, but about half of their plaques/buildings are dedicated to or mention the railway system, the bus system, the trams, etc.).

   

And I also stumbled upon the TARDIS's cousin :-)

It occurred to me today that I have less than a year to go before my 1001 days are up. Yikes! So I thought I'd summarize my progress to date and go through my list to see how probably it is to do the unfinished things.

So far, I've finished 27 out of 101.

1. Take a basic car maintenance class/workshop
I called my car insurance company to ask if they knew of any classes/workshops. And I checked out the adult learning programs in my area. I wasn't able to find anything. Unless one falls into my lap, I probably won't accomplish this one.

2. Sign-up for a dating service
Hmm. Haven't done this. Thought about signing up at a geek dating service but I'm not sure I'm geeky enough for that. And I'm too geeky enough for a regular dating service. LOL But lately I've felt less and less interested in this (life's just too busy at the moment) so we'll see

3. Stay in touch with college friends I’ve reconnected with
I haven't done much on this front, I admit. Bad Kate.

4. Keep in touch with my KS better
Not doing too badly with this one. Could do better. *hugs* I love you, KS!

5. Re-write weekly schedule and try better to follow it
When I wrote my schedule, I truly believed I could follow it just fine. It was realistic. But I'm lazy. LOL So I didn't follow it much. Maybe I'll re-write it again.

6. Learn basic sign language (i.e. more than what I know already)
I learned a little. I really should stick the DVD back in and learn some more.

8. Lose 15+lbs
Yeah... no.

9. Work out at least 3 times a week
Since the demise of my VCR, I haven't worked out much. I need to either start a new routine that doesn't involve my beloved VHS Tae-Bo tape or switch out my VCR with the one my parents just stopped using when they bought their new VHS/DVD combo player.

10. Start wearing pedometer again and keep track of steps walked- do sit-ups if I fall below my average
I still haven't replaced the battery in it in order to use it. I really should, shouldn't I?

11. Floss at least 5 times a week if not every single day
Hmm. Have been slacking on this one as well.

12. Drink & finish a bottle of water every week
I can't even remember making this one! I definitely haven't been doing this. I should. But I just don't like the taste of water.

15. Get juicer out of storage and start using it
Apparently, my juicer IS out of storage. I haven't used it yet, but I should. Maybe when I get some fruit from the farmers market in Thing 25 I'll make something nummy :-)

16. Start taking Centrum vitamins again
I bought some, but stopped taking them after a while. I should start again and make it part of my routine.

17. Walk to the library at least once a month (weather permitting)
I'm not going to do this one. I haven't even tried walking there and back once. I started volunteering there after work on Thursdays instead of going there leisurely on Saturdays. So there's no time to walk there and the walk back would be in the dark, which isn't safe. So I won't be accomplishing this one.

18. Try 5 times to give blood
I've tried 1 out of 5 times. My doctor suggested I not give blood since I have so much trouble with the process (lately it's been the pulse rate, but other times it's the iron or bleeding slowly or them not being able to find a vein).

19. Grow hair out to 10+ inches past chin and donate to Locks of Love
I'm almost there! I just bought some new conditioner a few days ago that's supposed to help prevent split ends in longer hair. So I'm going to see it through another inch or so then chop it off!

20. Send 30 care packages to soldiers through AnySoldier.com
I've sent 8 out of the 30. I've slacked off a bunch with this one (I used to send one or so a month) but I have a bunch of things set aside for care packages. So I'll have to step this up. I want to get this done but, if I fall short, I want to send at least half the goal number.

21. Donate 100 books to charity/the library
I've done 80 out of 100. I'm collecting books to donate right now because of the Accio Books! project. I have about 200. So... that's a little more than 20 :-) I'm planning on donating the kids books to ECHO and the adult books to the library or the hospital where I used to candy stripe (though I haven't heard back from them)

24. Get involved with the Cairn rescue group somehow
I got involved! However, I haven't had time yet to make any of the website pages for the memorial section of their website, as I promised I would. That's awful of me. I resolve to rectify that soon.

25. Buy fruit at a farmer’s market
Last week at a girl scout meeting I met a woman who sells her food at some of the local famer's markets. Apparently there's a really nice one in Kingstowne. So once the spring & summer roll around and the markets open, I'll head over and check that one out some Friday afternoon.

26. Put a recycling bin in the laundry room and empty it myself regularly
I have one there that I've used. But I filled it once and never emptied it. LOL What a lazy arse I am! I feel so embarrassed about that that I'll do better now.

27. Get rid of 5 boxes of things in my room/storage unit
I've gotten rid of 2.5 out of 5. But I have every intention of doing a huge spring cleaning this year and getting rid of A LOT. So I should be able to do this one.

28. Separate laundry (don’t just wash all at once on cold)
I've been doing an excellent job with this one, actually. Kind of proud of myself. I've been separating lights and darks and hots, colds, and warms.

29. Clean from 3pm-5pm every Sunday- no excuses!
Yeah, well, not so good here either. I've cleaned a few times but mostly I have had better things to do 3pm-5pm on Sundays :-)

31. Keep car gas level at least half full at all times
Wow, I totally forgot I made this goal as well. I've been awful about this, but I'll try to do it from now on because it's a good idea. Glad I thought of it at one point. LOL

33. Start making smoothies again
I haven't. Doesn't seem that hard to do, though.

34. Pair down closet and move all clothes out of Simon’s room
I've made a lot of progress here, but there's still a ways to go. I'm hoping to try out the space-saver thing in my wardrobe this weekend. If it works all right, I'll buy a few more and that will make room in my wardrobe for the clothes left in the closet upstairs in Simon's room (which is now Sugar's room)

35. Clean out/sort Outlook Express Inbox
It was clean and organized at one point... but I really need to do this again. Now. Tens of thousands of unorganized e-mails need homes!

36. Back up computer completely once every two months
Ever since I installed FreeByte Backup, I've backed up my important files quite often, sometimes more than once a week. I no longer live in complete fear of losing it all. heehee Definitely a great improvement.

38. Get/buy some sort of cataloging software & catalog all books, CDs, tapes, DVDs, video games, and videos
I have about half my collection cataloged and I'm hoping to get a little more done this weekend.

39. Go through Real Simple magazines and create a binder of useful pieces
I've started this project, but it's unfinished. I bought a bunch of sleeve inserts that should make it easier (no more hole-punching and worrying about ripping pages when I leaf through them in the binder).

40. Go through digital camera cards and print/save/delete all photos
Why haven't I done this yet? I need to do this now! My old camera died so I need to make sure I have all the photos saved off the cards that fit in that camera. Since I've tried out the 'send a file on your computer to CVS to print' and it worked nicely, I am less worried about keeping the cards around in order to print the pretty photos :-)

41. Register all books waiting to be registered for BookCrossing
So close and yet so far. I still have about a hundred unregistered books sitting by my computer. Maybe I'll make a mass effort this weekend.

44. Start a state map postcard for book trade on BookCrossing
Haven't started this yet but I'll get to it. A list of the ones I do & don't have are here: http://www.kintailscape.com/BC/mappostcards.html

45. Create the Around the World in ? Days Challenge on BookCrossing
I'm having second thoughts about this one. Maybe I'll revise what I thought I was going to do for this one.

46. Send out 25 Ray it Forwards at BookCrossing (books I've actually read first)
I've sent 11 out of 25. Not bad but I need to step it up!

50. Start an LGBT BookRelay and keep it going
I've participated a lot, but it hits its slow moments

51. Start an anime BookRelay and keep it going
I've participated a lot, but it hits its slow moments

52. Make a better list/system of books I mail out (spreadsheet) and keep up with it
My list system rocked... but I didn't keep up with it. So maybe it wasn't as good a list/system as I thought it was. I'll have to think about how to do a better job of this

53. Clear 50 books off my To Be Read bookcase
I'm not sure what my current count is, but I don't think I'll have trouble finishing this one within a year (if I haven't already). My last documented amount was 46 out of 50. I'm sure I've read 4 off my bookcase since August.

54. Watch every nominated movie from the Academy Awards (excluding foreign film) from 2007-2009
I still have quite a few left. 84 to be exact. Yikes!

55. Get a P.O. Box and do PostCrossing; send out 50 postcards
I've sent 20 out of 50. I'm not sure if the stamps I have are the proper amount now for international postcards. So I'll check on that next time I'm at the post office and get back into the game here.

56. Finish my website portfolio
Totally haven't done this.

57. Add to Max’s scrapbook
I just figured out where I PUT this the other day. I'll open it up and add some things :-) Maxwell's sitting right here between my keyboard and monitor right now. He agrees. heehee

63. Bring TG’s Realm website up to date
Whoa. SO not done with this. It's a huge project and only getting huger.

64. Bring Kintail: the Dreamscape & BookCrossing websites up to date
Same deal. The BookCrossing website is doing all right, but the Dreamscape needs lots more love. I'm such a slacker.

65. Make Remus & Sirius sock puppets
Aw, why haven't I done this one yet? I must. I really must!

66. Catch up on Stargate
I recently bought the entire series on DVD. So I should be able to get through it now, so long as I can make the time.

69. Finish Farscape series
Having trouble with this one since Blockbuster online has difficulty getting the discs to me. I might have to put this one on hold since I don't think I want to buy the whole series on iTunes just yet.

70. Finish Gabaldon series to date (reread Outlander-Fiery Cross and read A Breath of Snow & Ashes)
So far I earread Outlander and Dragonfly, then began Outlander again for a book club and didn't finish it. I should really get back on this one.

71. Mark up Harry Potter paperbacks with post-its
Haven't done this, but I'd still like to.

72. Go to at least one hockey game every season
Yes! So far, I've managed this one!

73. Read the entire Hornblower series of books
I have just one book left until I'm done with this, so it should be a breeze. I'll be SO sad to finish the series, though! *sob*

74. Finish archiving the Chronicle and complete the Photo Archives
I did finish the Chronicle archives but I have been slacking on the photo archives. I need to get back on top of that project. It feels overwhelming but it'll be worth it when I'm done.

77. Bring goodies to work bi-weekly
Not sure I've managed every other week, but I've certainly brought in a lot a lot more often than I used to. So I consider this a success so far

78. Update Webmaster/Admin html manual
I've done a little work on this but I'm far from finished

81. Do & win NaNoWriMo 2007, 2008, etc.
I did it for 2007 and 2008 and plan to do it for 2009. I guess we'll see in November if I've accomplished this.

82. Keep an ongoing master list (spreadsheet) of all stories I finish
Beyond keeping this list, I've actually enjoyed keeping it! I wrote up a nice recap of everything I wrote in 2008 and could nicely analyze it. I'm really glad I kept this list now (it totally paid off) so am encouraged to keep it up this year.

83. Finish 5 more Strokes stories
I've written 4 of 5 so I think I'll be able to finish this goal within a year.

85. Make one entry every month to my Rectacular journal
I started a new twitter account that feeds into my Rectacular journal (http://twitter.com/rectacular). This makes it quicker to update and quicker means I'm more likely to update. Once a month might still be beyond me but I'm doing a much better job with this.

86. Finish 25+ WIPs which have been waiting/ignored for a while
Um... ACK! I would LOVE to be able to finish 25. But so far I've only finished 2. The likelihood of me finishing so many more in just a year is small since it means I'd have to increase the rate significantly. But at least I've managed a few and maybe I'll finish a few more.

87. Submit something to be published
Hmm. Haven't even really thought about this since my last rejection. I haven't written anything good enough or ready enough. But I'll keep this goal in mind.

88. Start a file of rejection letters
I haven't done, but it's an easy goal so I'll do it soon.

89. Enter more dreams in my dream journal
I keep thinking "I should enter that!" and then I don't and I forget the dream soon thereafter.

90. Read 5 books on writing
I've read 1 of 5 and I have plenty of others to choose from. I'll definitely try to finish this goal

91. Start reading slash-dot and try to keep up with techie news
I get the e-mails and I check it out from time to time at work thanks to the RSS feed in the toolbar. I definitely feel more informed.

92. Set up a special savings account and put $1 into it every day for a total of 1001 days- 06/13/07 (set up special, separate ING savings account with weekly direct transfer)
Easiest one so far since it takes the money from me automatically. I'll have no trouble with this.

93. Go to a Free-For-All Friday at Mix 107.3
I'd definitely still like to do this one!

95. Go to the International Spy Museum in DC (for the first time)
I gave my family money for tickets for us all to the museum. So I'm hoping we'll actually go soon!

97. Go to Mount Vernon to see the new museum/exhibits/theaters
I would certainly love to do this. Maybe in April or June on a weekend when I don't have so much scheduled.

98. Visit a lighthouse
Of all my goals, this is the one I most wanted to accomplish. So I'm going to make this one a priority during the next year. I'm going to do some research and find a nice one not too far away and take a road trip there.