Day Zero Project
Resolutions are fleeting so I have 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: 64
In progress: 16
Take the GRE[9/25/2010]Apply to grad school[11/29/2010]Apply to at least one grad school that’s a “reach” school[11/29/2010]Take a class[10/2/2011]Teach a class/workshop[4/30/2010]Attend SXSW[March 2010 and March 2011]- Learn a new language
Bookmark 500 interesting sites[7/7/2010]Choose colors for my personal brand and stick to them[11/2010]- Create a logo for myself
Design/develop a WordPress theme[7/2010]- Improve my CSS skills
- Make a custom 404 error page for my domain
- Keep my resume up to date
Go to a Michigan State game[11/14/2010]Take a vacation to a place I’ve never been[1/16–1/18/2010]Visit NYC[11/4/2010]Visit Las Vegas[4/19–4/23/2010 and 7/26-8/1/2011]Make [realistic] plans to travel out of the country[honeymoon, baby!]Host 5 travelers at our houseGo camping[4/9–4/11/2010 and 7/14/2011]- Go backpacking
Reread all of Francesca Lia Block’s work that I own[4/28/2011]Reread the Chronicles of Narnia[1/24/2012]Reread the Harry Potter series[6/23/2011]Reread the Little House on the Prairie series[2/5/2012]- Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in French
Read 10 new booksStart writing my novel[11/2009]- Write 3 poems
- Attend a writing workshop given by Francesca Lia Block
- Write 150 blog posts (88/150)
- Write the story of my life by writing unsent letters to people in my past
- Complete my “History of the Internet According to Kristen M. Byers” project
Get orthodontics (and figure out how to pay for them!)[10/2/2009]Get Nigel’s teeth cleaned[1/22/2010]Pay off student loans from undergrad (original amount borrowed: $29,901.98)[11/17/2011]Buy a new Mac (…with cash)[1/9/2011]Buy at least 10 items off my Amazon wish listBuy a Kindle (or other eBook reader)received one as a Christmas gift from Corner’s aunt Koreen [12/25/2011]Buy a new external hard drivereceived one as a Christmas gift from Corner’s parents [12/24/2010]- Set monthly budgets
Make cool graphs using my Mint.com data[6/29/2010]Make $2000 from eBay sales[10/16/2011]- Discover a craft I can sell in my Etsy shop
Start an emergency fund[8/23/2011]- Go 1 week without buying anything but bills/groceries
- Avoid buying a microwave
Make bubble tea[2/14/2010]Cook for 1 week[11/15 - 11/19/2010]Find a good recipe that uses artichokesFind a good recipe that incorporates lots of srirachaGo out to eat at a fancy restaurant[Riverview Restaurant/Lounge in May 2011]Go vegetarian for a week[2/6 - 2/12/2011]Make an entirely vegetarian Thanksgiving meal[Thanksgiving 2009]- Make my grandmother’s Christmas cookies using a cookie press
Discover a beer I like (not merely tolerate): Michigan Brewing Screamin’ Pumpkin Spiced Ale [11/3/2010]Discover a wine I like (not merely tolerate, white zinfandel & sangria do NOT count): vinho verde [3/2010]- Create a signature cocktail
See the Get Up Kids in concert[9/21/2009]Eliminate unnecessary music from my iPod- Rate all of the songs in my iTunes library (6646/7976)
Try out for roller derby[Monterey Bay Derby Dames on 9/18/2010 & Gotham Girls Roller Derby on 11/20/2010 & Suburbia Roller Derby on 6/1/2011 & Gotham Girls Roller Derby on 11/19/2011]- Learn a new piece on the piano
- Compose a song using GarageBand
- Compile old Shelter[ed] footage into a cool video (& make 4 copies for the appropriate girls)
- Learn the Beyonce “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” dance
Beat Tomb Raider 5, the only game in the TR series I haven’t played through completely[4/13/2011]- Learn to play DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and the Flames” from Guitar Hero III on Hard
- Play one family on the Sims 3 through at least 10 generations (8/10)
Reach skill level 55 on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[12/7/2010]- Buy (and wear) a pair of cowboy boots
- Force myself to use keyboard shortcuts on my Mac; set up [and use] Spaces on my Mac
- have mastered (and regularly use) SHIFT + COMMAND + T to switch to plain text in TextEdit
- learned SHIFT + COMMAND + S to “Save as…” in Photoshop
- installed Quicksilver for Mac to speed up opening of applications, etc.
- replaced Quicksilver with Alfred
Design my own calendar[2010 and 2012]- Drive a motorcycle
Retrieve my old journals from my mom’s basement[4/30/2012]Wreck a journalHost a holiday at our house[Thanksgiving 2009]- Teach Nigel 3 new tricks
Get Nigel a lion haircut[5/17/2011]Back up my hard drive 1x/monthnew hard drive + Time Machine = backups every day! [as of 1/1/2011]- Frame my Kurt Halsey print (I believed it would be forever)
Dress up for Halloween (no store-bought pre-packaged costumes allowed!)[10/30/2010]- Have a 1,001 days completion party
Send a postcard to PostSecret[10/30/2010]Take a yoga class[2/12/2011 and 2/2/2012]Wear my hair in dreadlocks[1/24-3/20/2010]Get modified by Brian Decker[9/5/2009]- Collect inspiration for a new tattoo and see it to fruition
Take a dance class[line dancing at Dance Manhattan Studios for Charlie's birthday on 12/10/2011]- Learn how to swim (like, really swim…not doggy paddle!)
Get a massage[4/20/2010]Get a pedicure[10/30/2010]Get a Brazilian wax[2/11/2011]- Stop biting my nails (FOR GOOD)
- Take the Canine Good Citizen test with Nigel
Send homemade Christmas cards[Christmas 2009]- Use only reusable bags for grocery shopping
Stop buying bottled water and use something more environmentally friendly- For every uncompleted item on this list, donate $5 to a charity
Inspire 5 people to make their own 101 goals list(9/5)
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Great list!!
A fellow 101er and I started an online community for people doing the 101 in 1001 at dayzero.ning.com. We’d love to have you join!
I’m looking forward to following your journey! Good luck!
Tara
http://101.tarasg.com
I’ve done multiple backing trips in the eastern sierras in Cali and I recommend the John Muir Wilderness in the Inyo National Forrest…
http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel-ta-john-muir-wilderness-sidwcmdev_069109.html
Finally had a chance to investigate this…thanks for the tip! Looks like this place is almost directly east of me; too bad there’s no road that goes straight there from Monterey. ;)
Its the little things like this that make me want to be so much like you. I am inspired to make such list (hence your fifth person) and can’t wait to see you accomplish yours!
Heather, you make me smile. I am flattered that I can inspire you so much. Mostly it’s because I’m a crazy woman and I get bored unless I am striving for something new all the time. I also like making lists and crossing items off the list. ;) I know you could rock out your own awesome Day Zero list!
This really is a great list for the Day Zero. I started mine a few weeks back and it’s pretty wild. I hope I’ll be able to complete. Keep up the good work on yours!
I love the way that you portioned your list out into categories. It looks even more doable that way!
Which of those books would you recommend? If you have the time to answer, I’ll make you one of the 20 friends that I’m asking to recommend a book to read, which is on my list. :)
Good luck with your grad school apps! I’m applying right now (due Jan 5th) and am freaking out because noone has gotten my rec letters to me! Oy!
Yay, thank you! The list did seem much easier to accomplish after I broke it down into categories. It also makes it easier for me to update the list when I complete a goal!
Of the books I’ve read since starting the Day Zero project, I really enjoyed The Luxe series (but it really must be read as a series or you’ll be left hanging). It’s totally young adult fiction, but it’s one of my guilty pleasures. If that’s not your thing, I also got a kick out of Chelsea Handler’s My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands.
Good luck with the grad school apps!
Francesca Lia Block wrote another book, my favourite book ever, actually. It’s called Psyche In a Dress.
Replace #73 with Alfred. It’s great: http://www.alfredapp.com/
Thanks for the tip! I’m going to check it out!
Hi! I just wanted to say that you’ve inspired me to do my own list. I was just checking out family trees with the sims 3 on google and I found this. Though, I’m only 13, so I may not be able to start it now, but I know me. I’m the kind of person that wants to do everything, and never wants to wait. But I like these sort of things so much! They’re those things that I think of everyday, and can’t wait to start with when I come home from school. So, Thanks!