Day Zero Project

Resolutions are fleeting so I made the commitment to complete 101 goals in 1001 days as part of the Day Zero Project.

Start date: September 1, 2009
End date: May 29, 2012

Completed: 77
In progress: 4

Related posts:

• Day Zero project update: the 1-year mark
• Day Zero project update: the 2-year mark
• Day Zero project update: completion!

Academic

1. Take the GRE [9/25/2010]
2. Apply to grad school [11/29/2010]
3. Apply to at least one grad school that’s a “reach” school [11/29/2010]
4. Take a class [10/2/2011]
5. Teach a class/workshop [4/30/2010]
6. Attend SXSW [March 2010 and March 2011]
7. Learn a new language

Web & Personal Branding

8. Bookmark 500 interesting sites [7/7/2010]
9. Choose colors for my personal brand and stick to them [11/2010]
10. Create a logo for myself
11. Design/develop a WordPress theme [7/2010]
12. Improve my CSS skills
13. Make a custom 404 error page for my domain
14. Keep my resume up to date

Travel

15. Go to a Michigan State game [11/14/2010]
16. Take a vacation to a place I’ve never been [1/16–1/18/2010]
17. Visit NYC [11/4/2010]
18. Visit Las Vegas [4/19–4/23/2010 and 7/26-8/1/2011]
19. Make [realistic] plans to travel out of the country [honeymoon, baby!]
20. Host 5 travelers at our house
21. Go camping [4/9–4/11/2010 and 7/14/2011 and 5/26-5/27/2012]
22. Go backpacking

Reading

23. Reread all of Francesca Lia Block’s work that I own [4/28/2011]
24. Reread the Chronicles of Narnia [1/24/2012]
25. Reread the Harry Potter series [6/23/2011]
26. Reread the Little House on the Prairie series [2/5/2012]
27. Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in French
28. Read 10 new books

Writing

29. Start writing my novel [11/2009]
30. Write 3 poems
31. Attend a writing workshop given by Francesca Lia Block
32. Write 150 blog posts (88/150)
33. Write the story of my life by writing unsent letters to people in my past
34. Complete my “History of the Internet According to Kristen M. Byers” project

Financial

35. Get orthodontics (and figure out how to pay for them!) [10/2/2009]
36. Get Nigel’s teeth cleaned [1/22/2010]
37. Pay off student loans from undergrad (original amount borrowed: $29,901.98) [11/17/2011]
38. Buy a new Mac (…with cash) [1/9/2011]
39. Buy at least 10 items off my Amazon wish list
40. Buy a Kindle (or other eBook reader) received one as a Christmas gift from Corner’s aunt Koreen [12/25/2011]
41. Buy a new external hard drive received one as a Christmas gift from Corner’s parents [12/24/2010]
42. Set monthly budgets
43. Make cool graphs using my Mint.com data [6/29/2010]
44. Make $2000 from eBay sales [10/16/2011]
45. Discover a craft I can sell in my Etsy shop
46. Start an emergency fund [8/23/2011]
47. Go 1 week without buying anything but bills/groceries

Food

48. Avoid buying a microwave
49. Make bubble tea [2/14/2010]
50. Cook for 1 week [11/15 - 11/19/2010]
51. Find a good recipe that uses artichokes
52. Find a good recipe that incorporates lots of sriracha
53. Go out to eat at a fancy restaurant [Riverview Restaurant/Lounge in May 2011]
54. Go vegetarian for a week [2/6 - 2/12/2011]
55. Make an entirely vegetarian Thanksgiving meal [Thanksgiving 2009]
56. Make my grandmother’s Christmas cookies using a cookie press
57. Discover a beer I like (not merely tolerate): Michigan Brewing Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale [11/3/2010]
58. Discover a wine I like (not merely tolerate, white zinfandel & sangria do NOT count): vinho verde [3/2010]
59. Create a signature cocktail

Music

60. See the Get Up Kids in concert [9/21/2009]
61. Eliminate unnecessary music from my iPod
62. Rate all of the songs in my iTunes library
63. Try out for roller derby [MBDD on 9/18/2010 & GGRD on 11/20/2010 & SRD on 6/1/2011 & GGRD on 11/19/2011]
64. Learn a new piece on the piano
65. Compose a song using GarageBand
66. Compile old Shelter[ed] footage into a cool video (& make 4 copies for the appropriate girls)
67. Learn the choreography to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”

Video Games

68. Beat Tomb Raider 5, the only game in the TR series I haven’t played through completely [4/13/2011]
69. Learn to play DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and the Flames” from Guitar Hero III on Hard
70. Play one family on the Sims 3 through at least 10 generations
71. Reach skill level 55 on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare [12/7/2010]

Just for Fun

72. Buy (and wear) a pair of cowboy boots
73. Force myself to use keyboard shortcuts on my Mac; set up [and use] Spaces on my Mac
74. Design my own calendar [2010 and 2012]
75. Drive a motorcycle
76. Retrieve my old journals from my mom’s basement [4/30/2012]
77. Wreck a journal
78. Host a holiday at our house [Thanksgiving 2009]
79. Teach Nigel 3 new tricks [leave it, other paw, high five]
80. Get Nigel a lion haircut [5/17/2011]
81. Back up my hard drive 1x/month new hard drive + Time Machine = backups every day! [as of 1/1/2011]
82. Frame my Kurt Halsey print (I believed it would be forever)
83. Dress up for Halloween (no store-bought pre-packaged costumes allowed!) [10/30/2010]
84. Have a 1,001 days completion party
85. Send a postcard to PostSecret [10/30/2010]

For a Better Me

86. Take a yoga class [2/12/2011 and 2/2/2012]
87. Wear my hair in dreadlocks [1/24-3/20/2010]
88. Get modified by Brian Decker [9/5/2009]
89. Collect inspiration for a new tattoo and see it to fruition
90. Take a dance class [line dancing at Dance Manhattan Studios for Charlie's birthday on 12/10/2011]
91. Learn how to swim (like, really swim…not doggy paddle!)
92. Get a massage [4/20/2010]
93. Get a pedicure [10/30/2010]
94. Get a Brazilian wax [2/11/2011]
95. Stop biting my nails (FOR GOOD)

For a Better World

96. Take the Canine Good Citizen test with Nigel
97. Send homemade Christmas cards [Christmas 2009]
98. Use only reusable bags for grocery shopping
99. Stop buying bottled water and use something more environmentally friendly
100. For every uncompleted item on this list, donate $5 to a charity
101. Inspire 5 people to make their own 101 goals list