101 things in 1001 days

I started this project awhile back with another list, which I've just deleted, a list that I hated. More of a To-Dolist than a fun challenge, everytime I'd go see what I'd like to work on or cross off the list, I'd cringe. There was no one holding a gun to my head saying I had to finish the original list, so I didn't. Instead, I took from the other list the parts that are fun and left the rest for my To-Do list which really is that boring.

With my last list, I kept wanting to add to it. In the course of the year, I had new interests and ideas and I felt restrained by the list being complete. This time, there are no glass ceilings and I left 20 wild card slots open, to be determined. I quiver with excitement at the possibilities.

My Mission:To complete 101 tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Rules:
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).

Bold text means a completed entry, followed by the date and any relevant comments and/or links

Stricken text means a failed entry

Italic text means the entry is in progress

Start date: 02.13.2009

End date: 11.11.2011

1. Paris, completed 2.14 - 2.19, 2009
2. London, completed 2.19 - 2.22, 2009
3. Manzanita, Oregon, (alas, not this list)
4. Portland, Maine, (alas, not this list)
5. Portland, Oregon, completed 8.12 - 8.15, 2010
6. Italy, (alas not this list)
7. Ireland, (alas not this list)
8. Scotland, (alas not this list)
9. Edmonton (alas not this list)
10. Paris, again, (alas not this list)
11. Palm Springs
12. Salton Sea
13. Drive across the United States, from NY to CA (my family isn't interested, i'm so disappointed.)
14. Read 20 books in 2009, completed 7.11.09
    1. Loving Frank
    2. Those Who Love Us
    3. Garden Spells
    4. Rosie
    5. Crooked Little Heart
    6. The Reader
    7. Sugar Queen
    8. Sharp Objects
    9. Always
    10. The Witch of Portobello
    11. The Virgin Blue
    12. The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
    13. Revoluntionary Road
    14. April in Paris
    15. Mad Girls in Love
    16. Cover Her Face
    17. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
    18. Olive Kitteridge
    19. Sarah's Key
    20. Dead Until Dark
    21. The People of the Book
    22. Lush Life
    23. The Third Angel
    24. The Zookeeper's Wife
    25. The View from Mount Joy
    26. Writing Down the Bones
15. Read 20 books in 2010, completed 10.17.10 
    1. Last Night in Twisted River
    2. Committed
    3. A Reliable Wife
    4. The 19th Wife
    5. The Lacuna
    6. Her Fearful Symmetry
    7. Brooklyn
    8. Let The Great World Spin
    9. On Agate Hill
    10. Family Linen
    11. The Angel's Game
    12. A Homemade Life
    13. Bloodroot
    14. The Forgotten Garden
    15. Weetzie Bat
    16. Butterfly House
    17. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
    18. The Girl Who Played With Fire
    19. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
    20. Mudbound
    21. Chronic City
    22. Falling Home
16. Read 20 books in 2011, completed 7.11.11
    1. Skeletons at the Feast
    2. On Folly Beach
    3. The Great House
    4. The Book of Lost Things
    5. Summer at Tiffany
    6. The Soloist
    7. The Gifts of Imperfection
    8. The Swan Thieves
    9. The Endarkment
    10. March
    11. Just Kids
    12. The Bean Trees
    13. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
    14. Mathilda Savitch
    15. The Undomestic Goddess
    16. Can You Keep a Secret?
    17. Graveminder
    18. Imperial Bedrooms
    19. In the Shadow of Gotham
    20. A Curtain Falls
    21. Fall to Pieces
    22. Ten Thousand Saints
    23. Twenties Girl
    24. Remember Me
    25. The Violets of March
    26. When We Were Strangers
    27. The Worst Thing I've Done
    28. The Brightest Star in the Sky
    29. Juliet
    30. Hush
    31. By Nightfall
    32. A Visit from the Goon Squad
    33. The Keep
    34. Elizabeth Street
    35. Salt Dancers
    36. The House on Tratt Street
    37. The Girl on Legare Street
    38. The Stranger on Montagu Street
17. Attend a reading of a favorite author. Completed, Jonathan Lethem, Skylight Books, 2-13-11
18. Leave random notes of love and inspiration around NYC, document it. Completed, 8-20-11
19. Leave random notes of love and inspiration around L.A., document it.
20. Vist and shoot all the light houses around NJ, (moving to Los Angeles in 9 weeks, no time to complete the project, waah.)
21. Visit and shoot all of the California State Missions, completed 10.24.11
    1. Mission San Miguel, 3.5.11
    2. Mission Soledad, 3.5.11
    3. Mission Carmel, 3.5.11
    4. Mission San Antonio de Padua, 3.6.11
    5. Mission San Luis Obispo, 3.7.11
    6. Mission La Purisima, 3.7.11
    7. Mission Sante Ines, 3.7.11
    8. Mission Santa Barbara, 3.7.11
    9. Mission Buena Ventura, 3.7.11
    10. Mission San Juan Capistrano, 3.11.11
    11. Mission San Luis Rey, 3.11.11
    12. Mission San Diego, 3.11.11
    13. Mission San Fernando, 3.19.11
    14. Mission San Gabriel, 3.19.11
    15. Mission San Rafael, 10.19.11
    16. Mission San Francisco de Asis, Sonoma, 10.19.11
    17. Mission San Jose, 10.20.11
    18. Mission San Juan Baptista, 10.20.11
    19. Mission Santa Cruz, 10.21.11
    20. Mission Dolores, San Francisco, 10.23.11
    21. Mission Santa Clara, 10.24.11
22. Make 10 postcards and send them, completed 04.02.09
23. Make a new inspiration board, completed 03.29.10
24. Have a fondue dinner party, completed 12.29.10
25. Bake Andrea's red velvet cake + frosting, (gluten free now 4/2011)
26. Learn to make a good sangria
27. Learn to play Mahjong
28. Go skinny dipping, completed 09.17.09
29. Go to a museum or art gallery 10 times in the next 1001 days, completed 5-01-11
    1. Bergamot Station Art Center, Culver City, 04.15.09
    2. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Frank exhibition,  9.25.09
    3. Gagosian Gallery, Sally Mann - new work, 10.10.09
    4. MOMA, Tim Burton Exhibition, 12.30.09
    5. Bergamot Station Arts Center, Michael Kenna - new work, 07.17.10
    6. Scion Gallery, Ed Emberley illustrations, 07.17.10
    7. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, permanent collection, 10.02.10
    8. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, William Eggelston exhibition, 11.29.10
    9. Angel City Brewery gallery, Los Angeles, Street Brewed,  4.29.11
    10. The Geffen Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles, Art in the Streets, 5.1.11
30. Make a book of my photography
31. Create 3 series of photos, completed 7.7.10
    1. Escapism
    2. Outtakes :: take out fortunes
    3. Piscina, (pool-aroids)
32. Take 3 nude self portraits, completed 10.6.11
    1. 13, 2.10.10
    2. bulletproof...i wish i was, 6.21.11, wreck beach, vancouver
    3. she bought a clock on hollywood blvd the day she left, 10.6.11
33. Learn to shoot with our OM2, completed 08.09
34. New Nikon camera body,  D300s a birthday present from M, completed 09.15.09
35. Nikon 24-70mm lens, happy early birthday to me, completed 8.4.11
36. Nikon external flash, SB-600
37. Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens
38. Fuji Instax mini camera, yay! happy holidays to me from M, completed 1.22.10
39. Attend a Flickr meet-up, completed 04.08.10
40. Open an Etsy store, completed 03.29.09
41. Have a photography show
42. Have a photograph published, Inner Excavation, 10.2010
43. Have my portrait taken, completed 09.20.10, squam lake, NH
44. Shoot at the beach, all 4 seasons, completed 03.14.10
    1. Spring, completed 04.05.09
    2. Summer, completed 07.09.09
    3. Coney Island. Fall, completed 11.22.09
    4. Winter, completed 03.14.10
45. Learn to Speak Spanish (I'd love to learn how to speak Spanish, but it's not realistic right now.)
46. Pay off all credit card debt
47. Watch all 3 seasons of Arrested Development, completed 12.24.09
48. Alter/make a book, (travel journal), completed March 2010
49. Spend the day with 5, new blog friends, completed 10.09
    1. Irene
    2. Caroline
    3. Scarlett
    4. Maddie
    5. Suvarna
50. Take the CA acupuncture licensing exam, (will happen after this project is completed,  february 2012)
51. Learn the flower essences and use in my acupuncture practice. (No longer interested.)
52. Find a mentor
53. Make pillow shams from purple crazy quilt squares, (these sewing projects are for the to-do list, not a list of inspiration which is how I like to think of this list here)
54. Make a lap throw with crazy quilt squares, (ditto)
55. Finish all current sewing projects, including hand-sewing, mending, tailoring, completed 11.24.09
56. Sew a long, patchwork skirt, (see no. 53 and 54)
57. Sew pajama pants, (ditto)
58. Sew drawstring pants, (ditto)
59. Trade acupuncture for massage, completed 12.20.09
60. Trade acupuncture for private yoga. (I really tried! I started a practice 5-09, but after one session I knew for certain, yoga is not for me.)
61. Take a Bhangra dance class. (Changed my mind.)
62. Learn to rollerskate backwards, fast, completed 03.28.09
63. Do 20 pushups off my kneees
64. Do 5 chin-ups, unassisted
65. Have a pen pal, completed August 2010
66. Make and take a picnic with my family, completed 7.31.11 (The English Beat, Hermosa Pier)
67. Chicken tattoo, completed 05.09.09
68. Butterflies tattoo, completed 05.09.09
69. Attend Coachella, (not going to happen unfortunately.)
70. See 3 Broadway shows (no time! moving to los angeles in 9 weeks. sigh.)
71. Lucha Libre! Go see a Mexican wrestling match live, 10.28.10
72. Adobe Lightroom
73. Photoshop Elements 9
74. Swim nude at night, 
75. Finish box no. 1, started at Squam 09 (the box died during construction.)
76. Get a typography tattoo, completed 6.27.11
77. Get a tattoo of California and New York state flowers 
78. Get the same tattoo as my sister's blue ringed octopus on my left hip, completed 4.21.11
79. Take a pottery class, learn how to use a potter's wheel
80. Grow a dwarf Meyer lemon tree, completed 01.11
81. Grow gardenias in pots, completed 12.10
82. Have my eyebrows professionally shaped, completed 9.3.10
83. Shoot the Watts Towers in polaroid, March 3, 2011
84. Host a photo walk with flickr friends, 02.12.11
85. Take swimming lessons, completed 9.2010
86. See a movie at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, completed 7.09.11
87. Go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market, completed 9.12.10
88. Start a culture club. Once a month get together to do something culture-filled around L.A., (no longer interested.)
89. Finish my 100 strangers project
90. Take a photography workshop with a photographer whose work I admire, completed 12.19.10
91. Shoot the Day of the Dead parade at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (too bad, will be out of town.)
92. Shoot a zombie walk, 10.16.11
93. Have my teeth whitened professionally
94. Give myself a break and accept that I can't do it all, it can wait until next year. 6.21.11
95. Photo shoot at the Scary Dairy in Malibu
96. Buy a rose gold nose ring, completed 8-15-11
97. Go to Melrose Trading Post flea market, completed 9.18.11
98. Camp at El Capitan Canyon in safari tents, 10.4 through 10.6.11
99. Host a bon fire beach party
100. Have dinner here, 10.8.11
101. Learn to build a proper camp fire, completed 10.5.11