Ok, so it's December.
I've failed at 101things. I got so far and then got interested in other things. Some of them are things I still want to do, some I did and never got round to writing up, some of them fell by the wayside for health and wealth reasons, and some were werk-displacement activities which became null after I got a new job. I do eat more fruit, generally for breakfast, and I try harder not to stop off for coffee on the way in, although that's quite difficult with Alex's place open a tiny diversion from my way into work of a morning. I swim more often and next year I'm entering a 10k. I wrote a business plan, learned what planning codes mean (and promptly forgot), took more photos (although one every day for a year, or one for publication? alas, no (sort of)), walked to work more often.
I failed to see a lot more of my friends (and I feel pretty guilty about that) although we did have a nice big party in 2009. I didn't eat at a Michelin restaurant, either. I wrote nothing on my "oh, I really have to get this book written" novel, Silver. Failed at the Farmer's Market, the English vineyard, the Civic Trust. No SCUBA, not that many libraries (although many closed during the 1001 days), no horse riding or rifle shooting. I made jam, but not from foraged fruit. No beetroot pasta, either (I couldn't get it to maintain colour during cooking).
I did go to I Love West Leeds, twice. I may have sent something to postsecret but that's a bit passe these days. I voted, I Did Something About It when it morphed into 38Degrees, made souffle and visited my LBS (and a foreign country, but that's by default), who is doing much better. Beekeeping happened. As did ginger beer, and writing letters to a couple of people. I grew stuff, too. And I did things not on the list, like sourdough and clowning and Light Night and the chocolates at Dock St last year, and things that make me wish I'd kept my LJ more up to date since I got the new job, because I'm forgetting stuff and that upsets me.
Anyway, it's Sunday, it's sleeting and I've just finished off some pear crumble and custard (finally, got the right ratio of eggs to milk and it was exactly right). Am practicing making bread, so my jumper is covered in flour and dough, and my grandmother was 87 last Friday and I'll be 49 years younger than that in ten days time. I have a job I like more than the last one, a partner I (still) adore, and friends who I don't seem to have pissed off too much by being too busy to see them.
Maybe I am too busy. Maybe I should stop and stand still for a while, but... since I started doing the 101 things I've felt more like I'm living my life instead of passing through it, even - or perhaps especially - when I'm doing things that were never on the original list. The year before I started doing 101 things I made a resolution, which I never really did before, or have since: to say "yes" more. It was probably the best resolution I ever had, to be perfectly honest. People should do more of that sort of thing, where they can.
I did, and look where it's got me.
Showing posts with label administrative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label administrative. Show all posts
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday, March 15, 2010
Bad Mike, no biscuit.
I've been very, very poor at keeping this updated. More details for the below will come along in the next couple of days (I hope!) but this is a quick state of the blog, a couple of days past one year into the experiment.
1. Training and running the 5k is still going ahead (tasks 20, 44 and 45). That's happening on Sunday 21st at 9:30, starting at Victoria Gardens in Leeds - cheerleaders welcome, as is anybody who would like to sponsor me.
2. I've not been visiting different swimming pools (task 38), but I have been consistently going to the same one twice a week before work. As this task was primarily an exercise one I think I'm doing quite well here.
3. I discovered that Open Street Map doesn't have my area particularly well covered. So I'm going to fill in the blanks as part of the "explore my grid square" tasks (5 & 6).
4. Thanks to some interesting pointers and online documents I've learned more about planning regs (task 75) than I ever wanted to. And I've discovered just how much commercial rents in nice areas go for (task 74). A lot, is the answer.
5. Walking isn't happening as much as I'd like - 30 miles in any given week is a lot. I can do 20-mile weeks reasonably frequently - I've done eleven so far - so task 4 is getting modified downwards, I'm afraid.
6. New lightbulbs don't get hot enough to make a proper lava lamp (task 84), so I'm having to rethink the original plan. Thankfully I came across this, which has given me ideas.
7. Wordle-ing the blog posts has dropped off. I think I'm more cross about this than anything else; they're there as a prompter for me to actually update the blog, and didn't work. I shall have to kick myself into writing proper updates to this, and expand on the things I've written about in this entry.
So: bad Mike, no biscuit.
1. Training and running the 5k is still going ahead (tasks 20, 44 and 45). That's happening on Sunday 21st at 9:30, starting at Victoria Gardens in Leeds - cheerleaders welcome, as is anybody who would like to sponsor me.
2. I've not been visiting different swimming pools (task 38), but I have been consistently going to the same one twice a week before work. As this task was primarily an exercise one I think I'm doing quite well here.
3. I discovered that Open Street Map doesn't have my area particularly well covered. So I'm going to fill in the blanks as part of the "explore my grid square" tasks (5 & 6).
4. Thanks to some interesting pointers and online documents I've learned more about planning regs (task 75) than I ever wanted to. And I've discovered just how much commercial rents in nice areas go for (task 74). A lot, is the answer.
5. Walking isn't happening as much as I'd like - 30 miles in any given week is a lot. I can do 20-mile weeks reasonably frequently - I've done eleven so far - so task 4 is getting modified downwards, I'm afraid.
6. New lightbulbs don't get hot enough to make a proper lava lamp (task 84), so I'm having to rethink the original plan. Thankfully I came across this, which has given me ideas.
7. Wordle-ing the blog posts has dropped off. I think I'm more cross about this than anything else; they're there as a prompter for me to actually update the blog, and didn't work. I shall have to kick myself into writing proper updates to this, and expand on the things I've written about in this entry.
So: bad Mike, no biscuit.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Day 191, 110909
A quick state of the nation post, just to keep track of where I am.
I have completed 10 - yes, that's ten - tasks.
Not a bad start!
What am I up to at the moment? Well...
In terms of explorations, I'm everso slowly working my way through all the libraries with an LS postcode (#17), even more slowly working my way through the municipal pools (#38), gone walking with Matt (#97) a few times, and have made serious inroads into visiting every museum with an LS postcode (#57). Roundhay park has been visited (#22), but I've not had a good poke around yet.
I have given away 17 books to charity (#60) and sponsored three people for doing things outside their comfort zones (#100). I gave away some of the photo stuff I don't need (#99) but need to give away more, I am still telling someone - guess who - that I love them every day (#13), and along with that am still being good and eating breakfast, not buying coffee, and eating more fruit (#88, #87 and #26, respectively). Also, I'm writing letters to people (#67). People like letters, I've found.
Exercise-wise, apart from climbing mountains I've been half-heartedly pursuing a training regimen, but not really talking about it because it's not been a concerted effort. When I get the focus for it, it'll join the other tasks such as getting the bike out (#81) about 14 times so far, and walking 30 mile weeks (#4), which is proving quite difficult. I'm getting lots of 25 mile weeks, four of them so far, but only one 30-miler.
Growing things has not gone well; not a good year for tomatoes and I lost heart when my chillies died out. I'll try those again next year. Herbs, as well; the parsley did ok, basil survived, just about, oregano smelled fantastic but didn't take very well. Again, reboot next summer. I'll have to restart my take 365 consecutive daily photos task (#3), too. I had a rough week about two months ago and it stalled, I lost track of where I was, and then it all descended into chaos.
But I am still doing quite well on bringing my lunch to work (#66); I'm on 80 out of 250! And I'm still remembering to wordle (#37), mostly.
I think that's where I'm up to right now. There may be a few things I've missed, but I'm fairly happy with how things are going. Not quite a fifth of the way through, and there's some good scores up there. Yeah, I'll take that.
I have completed 10 - yes, that's ten - tasks.
- climbing Pen-y-Ghent (#96)
- had a go at archery (#68)
- watched a play written by @wordweave, aka Mrs W, (#82)
- attended four Exposure Leeds sessions (#85)
- learned how to make chocolates (#8)
- turned my handwriting into a font (#71)
- visited Tropical World (#23)
- appeared on telly (#7) but watch this space!
- whacked some balls (#86)
- and finally, registered for blood donation (#86).
Not a bad start!
What am I up to at the moment? Well...
In terms of explorations, I'm everso slowly working my way through all the libraries with an LS postcode (#17), even more slowly working my way through the municipal pools (#38), gone walking with Matt (#97) a few times, and have made serious inroads into visiting every museum with an LS postcode (#57). Roundhay park has been visited (#22), but I've not had a good poke around yet.
I have given away 17 books to charity (#60) and sponsored three people for doing things outside their comfort zones (#100). I gave away some of the photo stuff I don't need (#99) but need to give away more, I am still telling someone - guess who - that I love them every day (#13), and along with that am still being good and eating breakfast, not buying coffee, and eating more fruit (#88, #87 and #26, respectively). Also, I'm writing letters to people (#67). People like letters, I've found.
Exercise-wise, apart from climbing mountains I've been half-heartedly pursuing a training regimen, but not really talking about it because it's not been a concerted effort. When I get the focus for it, it'll join the other tasks such as getting the bike out (#81) about 14 times so far, and walking 30 mile weeks (#4), which is proving quite difficult. I'm getting lots of 25 mile weeks, four of them so far, but only one 30-miler.
Growing things has not gone well; not a good year for tomatoes and I lost heart when my chillies died out. I'll try those again next year. Herbs, as well; the parsley did ok, basil survived, just about, oregano smelled fantastic but didn't take very well. Again, reboot next summer. I'll have to restart my take 365 consecutive daily photos task (#3), too. I had a rough week about two months ago and it stalled, I lost track of where I was, and then it all descended into chaos.
But I am still doing quite well on bringing my lunch to work (#66); I'm on 80 out of 250! And I'm still remembering to wordle (#37), mostly.
I think that's where I'm up to right now. There may be a few things I've missed, but I'm fairly happy with how things are going. Not quite a fifth of the way through, and there's some good scores up there. Yeah, I'll take that.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Start and end dates
So, I'm going to start this tomorrow. That's March 6th 2009. According to Date and Time the end date is Friday, 2nd December 2011. Seems like a long way off.
I've put a countdown timer in the panel on the right. It currently tells me I have 1001 days plus a handful of hours left, but that's because I'm on day 0. That seems somewhat less, somehow. 2011, that's years away. 1001 days doesn't seem like all that long at all.
Right, let's get this ball rolling.
I've put a countdown timer in the panel on the right. It currently tells me I have 1001 days plus a handful of hours left, but that's because I'm on day 0. That seems somewhat less, somehow. 2011, that's years away. 1001 days doesn't seem like all that long at all.
Right, let's get this ball rolling.
Final list.
Final list:
No Title
1 Create and use a blog about doing a 101 challenge.
2 Finish writing Silver [more details]
3 Take a photograph every day for a year (or 365 consecutive days) [more details]
4 Walk (at least) 30 miles a week for 46 weeks [more details]
5 Find out my grid square [more details]
6 (as part of 5) Thoroughly investigate my grid square [more details]
7 Appear on Telly [more details] (COMPLETED 01/04/09: read me.)
8 Learn how to make chocolates [more details] (COMPLETED 24/04/09: read me.)
9 Make jam from foraged fruit. [more details]
10 Visit a foreign country. [more details]
11 Knit a hat. [more details]
12 Have a stall at a farmer's market [more details]
13 Tell someone I love them every day. [more details]
14 Visit an English Vineyard [more details]
15 Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant. [more details]
16 Join the Leeds Civic Trust [more details]
17 Visit every library with an LS postcode [more details]
18 Sign up with a dentist [more details]
19 Draw at least 20 diary-type comic strips. [more details]
20 Volunteer for something [more details] (COMPLETED 21/03/10: fairly convoluted, but some of this is here.)
21 Tick off 20 National Trust Properties from the Handbook. [more details]
22 Visit Roundhay Park [more details]
23 (as part of 22) Visit Tropical World [more details] (COMPLETED 04/04/09: read me.)
24 Get a photo published in a magazine [more details]
25 Take a portrait photograph of as many people as I can. [more details]
26 Eat more fruit [more details]
27 Attend a bookcrossing meeting. [more details]
28 Get up on stage at a comedy open mic event. [more details]
29 See as many original Atkinson Grimshaw paintings as I can. [more details]
30 See a performance at the Sage. [more details]
31 Get a backstage tour at theYEP WYP. [more details]
32 Go to mass. [more details]
33 Take a meditation class. [more details]
34 Visit my lil baby sister. [more details]
35 Make a souffle. [more details]
36 Make beetroot pasta that looks and tastes fantastic. [more details]
37 Wordle the blog posts I make about this at least once every 30 days. [more details]
38 Go for a swim in every municipal pool with an LS postcode. [more details]
39 Take a cutting from perdu's rose. [more details]
40 Grow my own spuds. [more details]
41 Grow my own tomatoes and chilies. [more details]
42 Go on a beekeeping course. [more details] (COMPLETED 10/07/11: Read me)
43 Go for seven consecutive days without spending any money. [more details]
44 Run 5K [more details]
45 In order to carry out 44: engage in a relatively sensible training schedule. [more details]
46 Go for a dip at White Wells [more details]
47 Plant a tree. [more details]
48 Try to register for blood donation. [more details] (COMPLETED 13/03/09: read me.)
49 Play poker for money [more details]
50 Brew my own ginger beer [more details]
51 Learn to play a particular piece of music on a new instrument. [more details]
52 Grow my own herbs [more details]
53 Have a SCUBA lesson. [more details]
54 Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through. [more details]
55 Read "Poetry for Dummies" [more details]
56 Get gently squiffy with as many of my friends as I can at the same time. [more details]
57 Visit every public museum with an LS postcode. [more details]
58 Write articles for T&C [more details]
59 Design and make a piece of jewellery for my Mother. [more details]
60 Give 50 books to charity shops. [more details]
61 Redecorate the landing. [more details]
62 Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle from start to finish. [more details]
63 Climb the bell tower at Leeds Town Hall [more details] (COMPLETED 13/09/09: read me.)
64 Fit loft insulation [more details]
65 Make a will [more details]
66 Take my own lunch to work at least 250 times over the course of the experiment [more details]
67 Write letters to friends and family instead of emailing them. [more details]
68 Give archery a try. [more details] (COMPLETED 12/06/09: read me.)
69 Visit a gun club. [more details]
70 Go to Classical Fantasia with a picnic. [more details]
71 Turn my handwriting into a font. [more details] (COMPLETED 10/04/09: read me.)
72 Send something to postsecret. [more details]
73 Visit every Farmer's Market within an hour's drive away. [more details]
74 Phone a commercial letting agency and find out just how much rent on a shop would be. [more details]
75 Learn what all the different planning consent types are. [more details]
76 Make a stop-motion animation [more details]
77 Vote in all the local elections. [more details]
78 Ride a horse. [more details]
79 Attend an auction. [more details]
80 Finish a business plan. [more details]
81 Take the bike out at least 250 times [more details]
82 Watch a play that's been written by someone I know [more details] (COMPLETED 12/06/09: read me)
83 Do Something About It [more details]
84 Make a lava lamp [more details]
85 Attend at least four Exposure Leeds sessions [more details] (COMPLETED 03/06/09: details spread over many posts)
86 Whack a bucket of balls at a driving range. [more details] (COMPLETED 17/03/09: read me)
87 Stop buying coffee on the way into work. [more details]
88 (as part of 87) Eat breakfast. [more details]
89 Build a camera. [more details]
90 Make a calendar. [more details]
91 Learn how to use fire poi. [more details]
92 Make a batch of boiled sweets [more details]
93 Attend a lunchtime recital at the Clothworkers [more details]
94 Attend I Love West Leeds [more details]
95 Enter the Charlie Cake competition [more details] (COMPLETED 04/10/09: read me)
96 Go up Pen-y-ghent [more details] (COMPLETED 08/08/09: read me)
97 Go walking with Matt at least eight times over the 1001 days. [more details]
98 Declutter the spare room [more details]
99 Give away all the photographic stuff I don't need. [more details]
100 Say yes to all of my friends collecting sponsorship money for charity, by doing things outside their comfort zones. [more details]
101 Collate all of the material produced whilst carrying out the task list, and make it available in a reasonably easy-to-use format. [more details]
No Title
1 Create and use a blog about doing a 101 challenge.
2 Finish writing Silver [more details]
3 Take a photograph every day for a year (or 365 consecutive days) [more details]
4 Walk (at least) 30 miles a week for 46 weeks [more details]
5 Find out my grid square [more details]
6 (as part of 5) Thoroughly investigate my grid square [more details]
7 Appear on Telly [more details] (COMPLETED 01/04/09: read me.)
8 Learn how to make chocolates [more details] (COMPLETED 24/04/09: read me.)
9 Make jam from foraged fruit. [more details]
10 Visit a foreign country. [more details]
11 Knit a hat. [more details]
12 Have a stall at a farmer's market [more details]
13 Tell someone I love them every day. [more details]
14 Visit an English Vineyard [more details]
15 Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant. [more details]
16 Join the Leeds Civic Trust [more details]
17 Visit every library with an LS postcode [more details]
18 Sign up with a dentist [more details]
19 Draw at least 20 diary-type comic strips. [more details]
20 Volunteer for something [more details] (COMPLETED 21/03/10: fairly convoluted, but some of this is here.)
21 Tick off 20 National Trust Properties from the Handbook. [more details]
22 Visit Roundhay Park [more details]
23 (as part of 22) Visit Tropical World [more details] (COMPLETED 04/04/09: read me.)
24 Get a photo published in a magazine [more details]
25 Take a portrait photograph of as many people as I can. [more details]
26 Eat more fruit [more details]
27 Attend a bookcrossing meeting. [more details]
28 Get up on stage at a comedy open mic event. [more details]
29 See as many original Atkinson Grimshaw paintings as I can. [more details]
30 See a performance at the Sage. [more details]
31 Get a backstage tour at the
32 Go to mass. [more details]
33 Take a meditation class. [more details]
34 Visit my lil baby sister. [more details]
35 Make a souffle. [more details]
36 Make beetroot pasta that looks and tastes fantastic. [more details]
37 Wordle the blog posts I make about this at least once every 30 days. [more details]
38 Go for a swim in every municipal pool with an LS postcode. [more details]
39 Take a cutting from perdu's rose. [more details]
40 Grow my own spuds. [more details]
41 Grow my own tomatoes and chilies. [more details]
42 Go on a beekeeping course. [more details] (COMPLETED 10/07/11: Read me)
43 Go for seven consecutive days without spending any money. [more details]
44 Run 5K [more details]
45 In order to carry out 44: engage in a relatively sensible training schedule. [more details]
46 Go for a dip at White Wells [more details]
47 Plant a tree. [more details]
48 Try to register for blood donation. [more details] (COMPLETED 13/03/09: read me.)
49 Play poker for money [more details]
50 Brew my own ginger beer [more details]
51 Learn to play a particular piece of music on a new instrument. [more details]
52 Grow my own herbs [more details]
53 Have a SCUBA lesson. [more details]
54 Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through. [more details]
55 Read "Poetry for Dummies" [more details]
56 Get gently squiffy with as many of my friends as I can at the same time. [more details]
57 Visit every public museum with an LS postcode. [more details]
58 Write articles for T&C [more details]
59 Design and make a piece of jewellery for my Mother. [more details]
60 Give 50 books to charity shops. [more details]
61 Redecorate the landing. [more details]
62 Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle from start to finish. [more details]
63 Climb the bell tower at Leeds Town Hall [more details] (COMPLETED 13/09/09: read me.)
64 Fit loft insulation [more details]
65 Make a will [more details]
66 Take my own lunch to work at least 250 times over the course of the experiment [more details]
67 Write letters to friends and family instead of emailing them. [more details]
68 Give archery a try. [more details] (COMPLETED 12/06/09: read me.)
69 Visit a gun club. [more details]
70 Go to Classical Fantasia with a picnic. [more details]
71 Turn my handwriting into a font. [more details] (COMPLETED 10/04/09: read me.)
72 Send something to postsecret. [more details]
73 Visit every Farmer's Market within an hour's drive away. [more details]
74 Phone a commercial letting agency and find out just how much rent on a shop would be. [more details]
75 Learn what all the different planning consent types are. [more details]
76 Make a stop-motion animation [more details]
77 Vote in all the local elections. [more details]
78 Ride a horse. [more details]
79 Attend an auction. [more details]
80 Finish a business plan. [more details]
81 Take the bike out at least 250 times [more details]
82 Watch a play that's been written by someone I know [more details] (COMPLETED 12/06/09: read me)
83 Do Something About It [more details]
84 Make a lava lamp [more details]
85 Attend at least four Exposure Leeds sessions [more details] (COMPLETED 03/06/09: details spread over many posts)
86 Whack a bucket of balls at a driving range. [more details] (COMPLETED 17/03/09: read me)
87 Stop buying coffee on the way into work. [more details]
88 (as part of 87) Eat breakfast. [more details]
89 Build a camera. [more details]
90 Make a calendar. [more details]
91 Learn how to use fire poi. [more details]
92 Make a batch of boiled sweets [more details]
93 Attend a lunchtime recital at the Clothworkers [more details]
94 Attend I Love West Leeds [more details]
95 Enter the Charlie Cake competition [more details] (COMPLETED 04/10/09: read me)
96 Go up Pen-y-ghent [more details] (COMPLETED 08/08/09: read me)
97 Go walking with Matt at least eight times over the 1001 days. [more details]
98 Declutter the spare room [more details]
99 Give away all the photographic stuff I don't need. [more details]
100 Say yes to all of my friends collecting sponsorship money for charity, by doing things outside their comfort zones. [more details]
101 Collate all of the material produced whilst carrying out the task list, and make it available in a reasonably easy-to-use format. [more details]
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The list.
This is the list so far. It's not complete, and I'll be going back and editing this post when I have the detailed entry that goes with each item posted up (each item on the list should have a "details" link after it that explains what's been going on and shows progress, if any).
I've not ordered the list in any way, either. That may change.
No Title
1 Create and use a blog about doing a 101 challenge.
2 Finish writing Silver
3 Take a photograph every day for a year (or 365 consecutive days)
4 Walk (at least) 40 miles a week for 52 weeks
5 Find out my grid square
6 (as part of 5) Thoroughly investigate my grid square
7 Appear on Telly
8 Learn how to make chocolates
9 Make jam from foraged fruit.
10 Visit a foreign country.
11 Knit a hat.
12 Have a stall at a farmer's market
13 Tell someone I love them every day.
14 Visit an English Vineyard
15 Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant.
16 Join the Leeds Civic Trust
17 Visit every library with an LS postcode
18 Sign up with a dentist
19 Draw at least 20 diary-type comic strips.
20 Volunteer for something
21 Tick off 20 National Trust Properties from the Handbook.
22 Visit Roundhay Park
23 (as part of 22) Visit Tropical World
24 Get a photo published in a magazine
25 Take a portrait photograph of as many people as I can.
26 Eat more fruit
27 Attend a bookcrossing meeting.
28 Get up on stage at a comedy open mic event.
29 See as many original Atkinson Grimshaw paintings as I can.
30 See a performance at the Sage.
31 Get a backstage tour at the YEP.
32 Go to mass.
33 Take a meditation class.
34 Visit my lil baby sister.
35 Make a souffle.
36 Make beetroot pasta that looks and tastes fantastic.
37 Wordle the blog posts I make about this at least once every 30 days.
38 Go for a swim in every municipal pool with an LS postcode.
39 Take a cutting from perdu's rose.
40 Grow my own spuds.
41 Grow my own tomatoes and chilies.
42 Go on a beekeeping course.
43 Go for seven consecutive days without spending any money.
44 Run 5K
45 In order to carry out 44: engage in a relatively sensible training schedule.
46 Go for a dip at White Wells
47 Plant a tree.
48 Try to register for blood donation.
49 Play poker for money
50 Brew my own ginger beer
51 Learn to play a particular piece of music on a new instrument.
52 Grow my own herbs
53 Have a SCUBA lesson.
54 Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through.
55 Read "Poetry for Dummies"
56 Get gently squiffy with as many of my friends as I can at the same time.
57 Visit every public museum with an LS postcode.
58 Write articles for T&C
59 Design and make a piece of jewellery for my Mother.
60 Give 50 books to charity shops.
61 Redecorate the landing.
62 Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle from start to finish.
63 Climb the bell tower at Leeds Town Hall.
64 Fit loft insulation.
65 Make a will.
66 Take my own lunch to work at least 250 times over the 1001 days.
67 Write letters to friends and family instead of emailing them.
68 Give archery a try.
69 Visit a gun club.
70 Attend Classical Fantasia with a picnic.
71 Turn my handwriting into a font.
72 Send something to Postsecret.
73 Visit each farmer's market within an hour's drive.
74 Convince someone else to give this madness a try.
Obv, 75-101 are missing. That's 27 more things I need to think up.
I've not ordered the list in any way, either. That may change.
No Title
1 Create and use a blog about doing a 101 challenge.
2 Finish writing Silver
3 Take a photograph every day for a year (or 365 consecutive days)
4 Walk (at least) 40 miles a week for 52 weeks
5 Find out my grid square
6 (as part of 5) Thoroughly investigate my grid square
7 Appear on Telly
8 Learn how to make chocolates
9 Make jam from foraged fruit.
10 Visit a foreign country.
11 Knit a hat.
12 Have a stall at a farmer's market
13 Tell someone I love them every day.
14 Visit an English Vineyard
15 Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant.
16 Join the Leeds Civic Trust
17 Visit every library with an LS postcode
18 Sign up with a dentist
19 Draw at least 20 diary-type comic strips.
20 Volunteer for something
21 Tick off 20 National Trust Properties from the Handbook.
22 Visit Roundhay Park
23 (as part of 22) Visit Tropical World
24 Get a photo published in a magazine
25 Take a portrait photograph of as many people as I can.
26 Eat more fruit
27 Attend a bookcrossing meeting.
28 Get up on stage at a comedy open mic event.
29 See as many original Atkinson Grimshaw paintings as I can.
30 See a performance at the Sage.
31 Get a backstage tour at the YEP.
32 Go to mass.
33 Take a meditation class.
34 Visit my lil baby sister.
35 Make a souffle.
36 Make beetroot pasta that looks and tastes fantastic.
37 Wordle the blog posts I make about this at least once every 30 days.
38 Go for a swim in every municipal pool with an LS postcode.
39 Take a cutting from perdu's rose.
40 Grow my own spuds.
41 Grow my own tomatoes and chilies.
42 Go on a beekeeping course.
43 Go for seven consecutive days without spending any money.
44 Run 5K
45 In order to carry out 44: engage in a relatively sensible training schedule.
46 Go for a dip at White Wells
47 Plant a tree.
48 Try to register for blood donation.
49 Play poker for money
50 Brew my own ginger beer
51 Learn to play a particular piece of music on a new instrument.
52 Grow my own herbs
53 Have a SCUBA lesson.
54 Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through.
55 Read "Poetry for Dummies"
56 Get gently squiffy with as many of my friends as I can at the same time.
57 Visit every public museum with an LS postcode.
58 Write articles for T&C
59 Design and make a piece of jewellery for my Mother.
60 Give 50 books to charity shops.
61 Redecorate the landing.
62 Read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle from start to finish.
63 Climb the bell tower at Leeds Town Hall.
64 Fit loft insulation.
65 Make a will.
66 Take my own lunch to work at least 250 times over the 1001 days.
67 Write letters to friends and family instead of emailing them.
68 Give archery a try.
69 Visit a gun club.
70 Attend Classical Fantasia with a picnic.
71 Turn my handwriting into a font.
72 Send something to Postsecret.
73 Visit each farmer's market within an hour's drive.
74 Convince someone else to give this madness a try.
Obv, 75-101 are missing. That's 27 more things I need to think up.
#1
My first entry in my "List of 101 things to do in 1001 days" says "Create and use a blog about doing a 101 challenge."
Well, here we are.
If I could be bothered I'd put in counters and tickers and trackers and little bits of PHP that'll say "OMG: Mike only has N days:hours:minutes to complete X tasks!" with an increasingly red font as N approaches zero, but frankly I can't be bothered (which is also why I'm hosting this on blogger rather than knocking up a Drupal or roll-my-own Ruby on Rails type affair on a different server). This is a point to note: I really am quite lazy and whilst I won't expend more effort on not doing something than actually getting up off my backside and doing it, I will take a long hard look at something that I may need to do to work out the shortcut-to-inconvenience tolerance ratio.
But, what is a 101 challenge? Y'see, I wasn't sure - I'd seen references to it every now and then - and then I met Alex Wolf who mentioned she was doing 101 things in 1001 days. Rightyho, I thought at the time, and took a swig of my tea wondering when this photo would actually be taken. Then the rest of the day happened, and I forgot to go back to Alex for more details so I then had to go and do a bit of research into what this thing was by myself.
It turns out there's a bit of a community for people doing this thing: Day Zero Project. The wording they have on there is fairly straightforward:
Fairynuff. I can see why 1001 days is appropriate; some tasks do, by their very nature, take a lot of time. Some tasks will be one-offs, but many will be habit-forming (with a bit of luck) and others will involve waiting for something to come to fruition. Interesting idea.
Then, of course, I made the fatal mistake: thinking "What would I do for my 101 things?"
When you get to that point, it's like Ruben in Ocean's Eleven saying "You'll need a crew as crazy as you are. So, who have you got in mind?" and it's just a case of working out the details because you know damn well that it's going to happen.
At time of writing this I have 62 things, but by the time I've finished inputting all of the detailed entries into this thing we call Blog I should have finished the list. If you want to comment with suggestions, please feel free to do so but I'm trying to avoid generic ideas ("be happy" or "grow something" seems a bit woolly to me), so don't be offended if I think your suggestion is too close in spirit to one already on the list.
I have to thank Alex for kickstarting my brain into doing this, although perhaps "thank" is too optimistic a word. Saying that, her 101 Strategy document has been very useful whilst dreaming up this thing, so a completely unconditional thanks is appropriate for that.
When I start doing this in earnest I'll put up start and finish dates - technically I suppose I've started already, but *ssh* - and maybe, yes, the countdown timer might be there.
Dear suffering $deity. What have I got myself into?
Well, here we are.
If I could be bothered I'd put in counters and tickers and trackers and little bits of PHP that'll say "OMG: Mike only has N days:hours:minutes to complete X tasks!" with an increasingly red font as N approaches zero, but frankly I can't be bothered (which is also why I'm hosting this on blogger rather than knocking up a Drupal or roll-my-own Ruby on Rails type affair on a different server). This is a point to note: I really am quite lazy and whilst I won't expend more effort on not doing something than actually getting up off my backside and doing it, I will take a long hard look at something that I may need to do to work out the shortcut-to-inconvenience tolerance ratio.
But, what is a 101 challenge? Y'see, I wasn't sure - I'd seen references to it every now and then - and then I met Alex Wolf who mentioned she was doing 101 things in 1001 days. Rightyho, I thought at the time, and took a swig of my tea wondering when this photo would actually be taken. Then the rest of the day happened, and I forgot to go back to Alex for more details so I then had to go and do a bit of research into what this thing was by myself.
It turns out there's a bit of a community for people doing this thing: Day Zero Project. The wording they have on there is fairly straightforward:
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: 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).
Fairynuff. I can see why 1001 days is appropriate; some tasks do, by their very nature, take a lot of time. Some tasks will be one-offs, but many will be habit-forming (with a bit of luck) and others will involve waiting for something to come to fruition. Interesting idea.
Then, of course, I made the fatal mistake: thinking "What would I do for my 101 things?"
When you get to that point, it's like Ruben in Ocean's Eleven saying "You'll need a crew as crazy as you are. So, who have you got in mind?" and it's just a case of working out the details because you know damn well that it's going to happen.
At time of writing this I have 62 things, but by the time I've finished inputting all of the detailed entries into this thing we call Blog I should have finished the list. If you want to comment with suggestions, please feel free to do so but I'm trying to avoid generic ideas ("be happy" or "grow something" seems a bit woolly to me), so don't be offended if I think your suggestion is too close in spirit to one already on the list.
I have to thank Alex for kickstarting my brain into doing this, although perhaps "thank" is too optimistic a word. Saying that, her 101 Strategy document has been very useful whilst dreaming up this thing, so a completely unconditional thanks is appropriate for that.
When I start doing this in earnest I'll put up start and finish dates - technically I suppose I've started already, but *ssh* - and maybe, yes, the countdown timer might be there.
Dear suffering $deity. What have I got myself into?
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