Day Zero project update: the 1-year mark

One year ago yesterday I started my Day Zero project. I can’t believe it’s been 365 days! Only 636 days left.

So far I have accomplished 19/101 goals:

1. Teach a class/workshop [4/30/2010]
2. Attend SXSW [3/12–3/16/2010]
3. Bookmark 500 interesting sites (500/500) [7/7/2010]
4. Take a vacation to a place I’ve never been [1/16–1/18/2010]
5. Visit Las Vegas [4/19–4/23/2010]
6. Go camping [4/9–4/11/2010]
7. Read 10 new books
8. Start writing my novel [11/2009]
9. Get orthodontics (and figure out how to pay for them!) [10/2/2009]
10. Get Nigel’s teeth cleaned [1/22/2010]
11. Buy a new Mac (…with cash) [1/31/2010]
12. Buy at least 10 items off my Amazon wish list
13. Make cool graphs using my Mint.com data
14. Make bubble tea [2/14/2010]
15. Discover a wine I like (not merely tolerate, white zinfandel & sangria do NOT count): vinho verde [3/2010]
16. See the Get Up Kids in concert [9/21/2009]
17. Wear my hair in dreadlocks [1/24-3/20/2010]
18. Get modified by Brian Decker [9/5/2009]
19. Get a massage [4/20/2010]

22 others goals are scheduled or in progress:

1. Take the GRE [scheduled to take it on 9/25/2010]
2. Apply to grad school
3. Apply to at least one grad school that’s a “reach” school
4. Improve my CSS skills
5. Keep my resume up to date
6. Host 5 CouchSurfers (1/5)
7. Write 150 blog posts (this is entry 39/150)
8. Pay off student loans from undergrad ($9,438.58 to go! Original amount borrowed: $29,901.98) [as of 8/24/2010]
9. Set monthly budgets
10. Make $2000 from eBay sales ($874.13/$2000)
11. Eliminate unnecessary music from my iPod
12. Rate all of the songs on my iPod (6510/7981)
13. Beat Tomb Raider 5, the only game in the TR series I haven’t played through completely (currently on level 11/13)
14. Play one family on the Sims 3 through at least 10 generations (8/10)
15. Reach skill level 55 on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (46/55)
16. Force myself to use keyboard shortcuts on my Mac; set up [and use] Spaces on my Mac
17. Back up my hard drive 1x/month
18. Learn yoga
19. Stop biting my nails (FOR GOOD)
20. Use only reusable bags for grocery shopping
21. Stop buying bottled water and use something more environment-friendly
22. Inspire 5 people to make their own 101 goals list (4/5)

I am on track to finish on time in May 2011 (which used to seem impossibly far away and is now starting to seem a whole lot closer).

I have also only failed one goal…the one about not purchasing a microwave. This is because Corner and I inherited a microwave when our friend Katy moved to South Dakota. I suppose we could have declined it, but really, the root of this goal had to do with cooking more and avoiding frozen dinners/pre-prepared foods. I am happy to say that we pretty much only use the microwave for heating up leftovers of yummy stuff we have cooked previously, so I suppose I didn’t exactly fail. Do you think it’s okay to replace that goal with a new one? Or is that cheating? If I replace the goal, what kind of new goal should I achieve instead?

Tagged as dayzero, goals, progress