Saturday, June 26, 2004

100 tasks list

(backdated for my sanity.)

A Boatload of Tasks!
The Mission: Complete 101 at least 100 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days six months.
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 (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).
--tasks in italics are longer-term, and thus have a time period of 2+ years
--tasks that are "blacked out" are those that i have decided are not in my best interest, or that are no longer possible to accomplish.

Start Date: 06.25.05
Deadline: 12.31.05

(yeah, whatever. just get them done!)

1. get myself some renter’s insurance. wait til after BK. And: get replacement cost, not what my stuff is worth, since the latter won’t get me very far. My tv is almost as old as I am.
2. complete the bankruptcy filing without incident (meaning: turn in all the paperwork and the rest of payment BEFORE JULY 15th!)
3. go to a postseason baseball game. (this has been on the unofficial, completely undocumented lifelist for ages.)
4. attend a game at whatever the stadium is called where the sf giants play SBC park
5. attend a game at yankee stadium (shea was taken care of last year.)

6. volunteer at the READ center in richmond.
7. go to more richmond braves games!
8. take care of my skin, even if it means breaking down and going to the dermatologist.
9. start some sort of savings account that doesn’t involve my desk drawer. Or at least one that involves a second desk drawer, from which I do not draw to live day to day.
10. get my teeth some help. This one will be a long and expensive process. I will consider this check-worthy once I get a plan in motion—- not just buying a discount dental plan, but actually getting some updated xrays and a cleaning, at the very least.
11. fill and hang up the frames I’ve bought or rediscovered recently.
12. get back on the language learning track. I’ve already hunted down some audio help for spanish, french, german, AND italian... now I just need to pick one and get listening!
13. ok, the big education one: take more classes toward finishing one of my degrees.
14. and then: finishing, filing, walking.
15. handwrite and mail one letter/card each month. I keep threatening to restart my old postcard pranks, but this keeps not happening... so how about a baby step?
16. submit one short story each to the two publications that I would most like to be published in.
17. enter a writing contest
18. submit at least one story somewhere other than my dream mags.
19. go to the caribbean! Preferably in high season, when it’s cold and nasty at home, but anytime will do.

20.
buy a real couch, or at least a better one than the loveseat that is currently holding saggy court in my living room. [ don't need one for now; new roomie has one.]

21.
buy a dining room table—preferably the red peanut one I found at ikea, but which they will not deliver. [nah, for now i'll stick by the tax rules and only use the DR as my office, so as to honestly get the deduction.]
22. regarding the 800 900+ CDs that I own: listen to each of them at least once! And I don’t mean, spin the entire collection—I’m talking about music I’ve bought or downloaded that I have NEVER ONCE given even given a cursory listen.
23. watch all the johnny depp movies I haven’t seen yet (including charlie & the chocolate factory, preferably with P and his niece on opening night). halfway done!
24. update the 100 things list I made for the pcc years ago
25. go to norfolk/vb to visit mp, ls, clay, bro, etc...
26. repeat at least once every three months.
27. go to texas to see my folks in october, for grandma's birthday
28. go to mp’s wedding in september
29. learn how to play freakin poker already
30. bet on horses either at the OTB on broad st or at colonial downs
31. ride horses! Pref, take the riding class at dorey park to start.
32. get in the habit of wearing jewelry other than the two rings I never take off.
33. put lotion on my scaly legs on a regular basis (this might have to wait until the humidity goes bye-bye).
34. throw the monthly dinner that I planned once roomie left
35. go to the damn VMFA, mere blocks from my house
36. find a regular bar that I feel comfortable going to alone [need to clarify this one-- IN RICHMOND.]
37. pay back my parents the $$ i owe them
38. either get the bike P/derek gave me spruced up and ready to ride OR get rid of it
39. finish sprucing up the balcony: two more black folding chairs, new sturdy table, possibly a shade and/or bug screen
40. go see a Saturday midnight movie at the byrd!
41. give a shit what I look like for an entire week straight, meaning a haircut, clear skin or makeup, clean clothes—no points awarded if I fail to leave the house on any day during the week in question.
42. restart my NYT Sunday subscription, assuming my impending new neighbors are not thieves (test with cheaper, current rtd subscr.) --update: new neighbors moved in 6/25. on 6/26, newspaper vanished. :-( --just as easy to buy it at the market when i get to work.
43. write travelogues for past trips that have not yet made it to the computer. Extra points for setting up new photo pages since aol withdrawal. [did the pic part on flickr.]
44. take vitamins often enough that I actually go through a whole bottle.
45. USE the sewing machine that I spent so many hundreds of dollars on! If it has atrophied with age, get it tuned up! Clothes, home project, no matter. Just use it!
46. make or buy cushions for the window seat. [changed my mind-- decided to use the seat as a boot display instead.]
47. watch all of the movies that elicit shocked faces when I say I havent seen them. List to follow; highlights include casablanca and gone with the wind, along with newer flicks such as night of the living dead and anything involving batman. update: "accidentally" saw "batman begins" on 7/12. posted movie list on 7/13.
48. take good care of my feet, so if I have occasion to put them in someone’s lap, I will not be embarrassed of their crackles.
49. open a bank account of some sort, preferably checking (this may have to wait until after the BK if I want a decent, non-ghetto bank).
50. buy a red kitchenaid mixer—i want empire red, because i am shallow (and because i already have other red kitchenaid items in my kitchen), and i want bowl-lift and not tilt head, so it looks like my only choice is the pro 5 plus. not that i need a 12 cup mixer...
51. wear a bathing suit in a public or semi-public place.
52. wear my boots! Really, it’s ridiculous how I’m all “I collect boots, look at all my boots” but they rarely make appearances on MY FEET. (again, this will wait til fall.)
53. read. . read. . read! Separate list to follow, possibly longer than this one...
54. put my four poster bed up in my new, larger bedroom.
55. go an entire week without eating any junk food (this may be the biggest challenge!)
56. go a week without watching any television. (will have to wait til after baseball.)
57. buy more sexy undies (ones that actually fit, so I’ll wear them)
58. replace my navel ring (that’s been on the list for YEARS.)
59. go see bb in florida. done: aug11-18th.
60. go see brooks
61. get the silver car running, whether or not the civic is “gifted” upon me...
62. use ALL of those calphalon pots I bought myself for christmas, AND get a new saucepot (doesn’t have to be calphalon, just something decent & not thin as paper like the one I have now).
63. develop a muscle or two... preferably in my belly or my upper arms, since those’ll be the ones that will start going bad soon (well, the ones I can do something about anyway...)
64. see chris whitley live again
65. figure out how many times I’ve seen him live previously
66. pick out a fantastic writing conference to go to in an exotic place and start saving toward the trip (this is my equivalent of other people’s ‘backpacking across europe’ type of thing... something I’ve always wanted to do, but most don’t get around to til retirement, unless they do it in college)... leaning toward coppola’s place in belize, despite its luxe.
67. pick up a boy in a bar (it’s been way too long)—NB: if I work in the bar or in a restaurant connected to or affiliated with said bar, points are SUBTRACTED, not added. ditto if said boy is a previous scratch-off on my dance card.
68. make maya a mix cd (or three)
69. give bboy the mix cds I made him a zillion years ago (quit waiting for that one last perfect mix to add to the package!)
70. get my passport
71. start sending little bits toward my student loan so that the payments don’t cripple me when I’m finally done with school.
72. but first, set aside money toward classes yet to be taken, else the student loans will come due too soon
73. wear my jiggy new glasses for an entire week straight.
74. pick up the trial pair of contacts and order more. (seems simple enough, but I’ve been working on that for a year without success. switched doctors, which should help. seems i've fallen into some sort of eye care wormhole.)
75. reread the border trilogy-- ooh, and buy/read the new cormac mccarthy as soon as it comes out (July 19th!).
76. drink (more) water! (recently bought a faucet filter to make this "easier.")
77. cancel the netflix membership until I have a credit card of my own to put it on
78. renew my video fan membership and get movies there instead
79. learn about commercial real estate/development so I can continue to help chris, which will lead to...
80. stop waiting tables except to earn $ for specific, nonessential goals (i.e. vacations, extra school payments)
81. leave the house every day for a week. Repeat.
82. make my blog all purdy
83. learn to play chess (thanks to lewis for the tutorial link!)
84. learn about snakes
85. wake up before noon every day for a month
86. update my swimming skills well enough to feel comfortable in the water (and not be paranoid that someone’s going to throw me in whenever I’m near a pool) (preferably before that carribean trip mentioned up yonder!)
87. learn how to use my DVD burner
88. wipe drive on old desktop and donate it to someone who can use it
89. ditto with old laptop --or, keep it to use as a ringer for burglars :-(
90. get in the habit of using the 10 yr calendar regularly (i.e. at least once a week)
91. cull a dozen or so books via ebay or stories
92. have more sex!
93. spend a few more days at P’s mom’s kickass river house. update: this one's not gonna happen, now that i am no longer seeing P. ah well.
94. for an entire month, do not let more than 7 days go by before answering any & all personal email
95. spend more time with sarah
96. go to a bar (in richmond) without P.
97. buy (another, better) air purifier for the apartment.
98. find a roommate :-(
99. go shoot some guns!