101 in 1001
There's a new phenomena that seems to be spreading these days, one that I was turned onto by some of my friends. Everyone these days seems to have a bucket list, a list of things they want to do before they die. I've had one for years and add to it when I come up with something new or hear about somewhere I want to visit. It's not that I think I'm going to die tomorrow and so I need a to-do list for today, but it's just a reminder that there's a lot that I want to see and do and accomplish before my time comes. When I started hearing about 101 in 1001, I wasn't planning on doing it. To me, it just seemed like a bucket list, with a shorter amount of time to complete the tasks. Basically, you come up with 101 things you want to accomplish in 1001 days. Like I said, I wasn't planning on participating in this "challenge", until I realized that it's designed to motivate you to get going, to not wait... I think so many times we forget that life is short, and we shouldn't put something off for tomorrow just because we think we can. We should accomplish what we want now. The 101 in 1001 also gives you an incentive to accomplish your goals. For every goal I complete, I will save $10 for my trip to Europe. For every one I don't, I will donate $20 to The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund. Let me just say my bucket list still exists, and most of the BIG things are on it: skydiving, kissing the Blarney Stone, riding a donkey through Greece (I mean, duh.... who doesn't have that on their bucket list?) But this list is smaller things, things that I want to do that should get done now instead of later. So here it is, my list of 101 things to accomplish in the next 2.75 years. I am going to re-post this list every couple of months to show my progress of what I have completed and post some pictures of my adventures along the way. If anyone is interested in helping me out with any of these tasks or accompanying me as I check one or two off, let me know by indicating which number in the comment section. I challenge you to come up with 101 things you'd like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. Let the fun begin!
1. Learn how to play chess.
2. Go to a book signing.
3. Submit a photo or spread to a magazine.
4. Cook a four course meal…without poisoning anyone eating it.
5. Take a Jasmine Star workshop.
6. Smoke a Cuban cigar… because deep down I am a 75 year old man.
7. Trace the Irish roots of my name and see if I have any relatives still living in Ireland.
8. Get a massage. I have never had one before and I imagine they are very enjoyable.
9. Start an antique camera collection for decoration.
10. Read the Bible.
11. Learn how to use a round brush. I am seriously challenged when it comes to hand/ hair coordination, and I think it would really help my bouffant.
12. Stay at a bed and breakfast.
13. Go to a driving range with my Dad and try not to humiliate myself too much.
14. Leave 100% tip for a great server.
15. Write 10 “just because” letters to friends or family. (0/10)
16. Write a love letter.
17. Collect every Paul Simon album, cause the man is pretty much the bees knees.
18. Watch the sun set over the ocean, stay up all night talking, and watch the sun rise at another spot close by. This might be tricky because it means that someone will have to put up with me for a solid 10 hours, but I’ll put it down anyways.
19. Bring flowers to the cemetery once a month for the length of the challenge. (0/33)
20. Volunteer photography services for at least 5 charities (0/5)
21. Register to vote (I know, I know…. I am a little tardy to the party, but better late than never right?)
22. Plant a garden of Gerber daisies.
23. Finish at least 3 scrapbooks for myself (0/3)
24. Update my resume and change the formatting so it looks bad-ass. And by that I mean more professional.
25. Commission one piece of artwork from Mark Gallagher.
26. Read an entire newspaper from front to back.
27. Wash and clean the interior and exterior of my car.
28. Take a writing class.
29. Buy a GPS, so I can stop being the cool kid with the Mapquest directions strewn about my vehicle.
30. Go to a tarot card reader.
31. Walk the entire Freedom Trail.
32. Write to my favorite singer, actor and author to tell them how they have inspired me. (0/3)
33. Go on a first date… and maybe that will lead to a second?
34. Learn how to bake muffins or cupcakes. I’m a good baker, but basically anything in tins has eluded me up until now.
35. Have a girls night with my sister and stepsister and try to get to know them better.
36. Learn at least one really funny joke. The last one I was able to retain was in 3rd grade, and isn’t really funny to twenty-somethings. Or even 3rd graders, I’m sure.
37. Complete photo project of Southie.
38. Purchase small business insurance.
39. Celebrate one Festivus- complete with pole and the Airing of Grievances.
40. Create a mosaic mirror.
41. Make a funky necklace that I can actually wear.
42. Volunteer on Thanksgiving and Christmas at a local soup kitchen.
43. Complete 3 Better Photo online courses (0/3)
44. Take my mom out to dinner “just cause”.
45. Have my old sorority shirts made into a quilt. I don’t chide myself into thinking I could ever sew something likes this myself, but just the simple task of getting them together and finally getting this done is enough for me.
50. Save $5,000 before moving to Vermont.
51. Join a book club.
52. Have a bonfire and toast marshmallows over the old memories I don’t need anymore :)
53. Go white water rafting in Maine or Vermont.
54. Go skiing again. I used to be really good, then I got cocky and went down a black diamond at about 100 miles an hour and broke my arm in 7 places, and I never went back. Would really like to get over the fear and at least try a bunny hill or something.
55. Tell myself I am beautiful at least once a week… and BELIEVE IT.
56. Go to a comedy show and laugh out loud with my friends. Jenn, I see Harrison Stebbins in our future :)
57. Try fifteen different kinds of martinis (0/15)
58. Work on New England photography project.
59. Drink Moonshine. My relatives in Tennessee have already agreed to help me with this when I go down in July :)
60. Add song lyrics to my tattoo.
61. Have my contracts reviewed by a lawyer.
62. Pay a toll for a stranger.
63. Send a birthday card to 5 different people I have fallen out of touch with. (0/5)
64. Go to a clam or lobster bake. Kind of sad that this would be like a life goal, but really I’ve never been and can’t imagine anything better in the summer than good seafood and beers with my friends on the ocean somewhere.
65. Make a Christmas tree ornament. I own about 300 but have never attempted a homemade one.
66. Read 5 books that have won either the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Peace Prize. (0/5)
67. Photograph someone who has inspired me.
68. See three musicals that I’ve never seen (aka I need to stop seeing Rent, Sound of Music and Phantom of the Opera REPEATEDLY every year) (0/3)
69. Go horseback riding. I haven’t been since I was 11 and got the worst hay fever EVER. I really need to get back in the saddle again…pun totally intended.
70. Go to the Von Trapp Family Lodge. I have literally been to Vermont every summer since I was in the womb, and I have never been there. It is a travesty. Especially since I have this image of Christopher Plummer working as the concierge, and it just makes me want to go there even more.
71. Take 3 photography workshops or seminars. (0/3)
72. Make at least 5 new wedding albums to show clients. (0/5)
73. Spend a summer day antiquing, garage saling, and flea marketing for some cheap finds. And yes, I just turned flea marketing into a verb. Cause that’s how I roll.
75. Change old picture frames out with new pictures. Sounds ridiculous, but I literally still have some picture frames filled with pictures from my high school prom. It’s a problem.
76. Take a trip to the Harpoon brewery in Vermont. I’ve been a “Friend of Harpoon” for four years and have yet to visit anywhere except the Boston brewery. Some friend I am.
77. Watch every Anne of Green Gables movie. You can stop judging me now.
78. Go swimming on New Year’s Day at the L Street Bath House.
79. Buy a Cape Cod bracelet. I have always wanted one and think they’re gorgeous but have just never gotten around to getting one. No time like the present!
80. Attend a photography exhibit.
81. Take iron for a week and then donate blood.
82. Find a photography mentor.
83. Bring in donuts/ coffee for co-workers, along with a note for each one telling them why I appreciate them.
84. Attend church every Sunday for a month.
85. Pop some champagne, light some candles, and take a bubble bath. Alone. Sexy, I know.
86. Go to a Cape Cod League baseball game.
87. Take Lola for a hike.
89. Go strawberry picking and make fresh strawberry shortcake (and by that I mean the dessert AND the drink…. yummmmm)
90. Take a “me” day and organize my life: get rid of stuff I don’t need, catch myself up on photo editing and archiving, catch up with all the people I wish I could talk to more, etc. End the day feeling relaxed and rejuvenated that I was so productive.
91. Have a girls wine and cheese night at the Melting Pot.
92. Go to Canal Street in NYC for a new knock-off bag.
93. Take at least 5 landscape photos that I am proud enough of to put on the wall.
94. Finish at least the “biographies” section of my book project.
95. Attend a film or book festival.
96. Use a Christmas-y picture I have taken myself for my Christmas cards.
97. E-mail one photographer per month to compliment their work and introduce myself. (0/33)
98. Participate in a day of drinking with friends, for no particular reason except that it’s Saturday and we’re happy to be alive!
99. Ride on a train. I’ve never been on one before!
100. For every task I don’t complete, I will donate $20 to the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund.
101. For every task I do complete, I will save $10 for my trip to Europe.
