day zero

Start date: March 1, 2010
End date: November 26, 2012

academic and professional

1   get my MFA (completed 6.11.10)
2   add five new pieces to my digital portfolio (5/5)
3   get through chapter 15 in the organic chemistry textbook (failed)
4   attend a conference of some sort (AWP, 4.7.10 through 4.10.10)
5   join a professional organization (failed; less interested)
6   add an editing piece to my digital portfolio (4 Willow Springs pieces added)
7   apply to a job that seems like a long shot (counting my MSU job for this because I love it so much)
8   have an unasked-for opinion about a poem in a Willow Springs meeting (completed 4.2.10)
9   find a job in my desired career field (or closely related) (completed 8.12)
10   apply for a PhD or another Masters (giving this one up because I don’t need another degree, and I don’t really want one either)
11   read at Voiceover (completed 5.21.10)

writing and creative

12   enter a contest (completed 3.11)
13   finish my novel (failed; not the right time for this goal yet)
14   publish a short story in a print journal (completed 9.12)
15   write 101 new blog posts (completed 4.1.11)
16   read 50 new novels (50/50)
17   do 15 different design tutorials (failed; 2/15)
18   make my own computer desktop background (completed 3.12)
19   read 5 books of poetry (5/5)
20   go to a book signing (completed ???)
21   play my French horn or a mellophone at least five times (5/5)
22   submit three stories for publication (completed fall 2011)
23   learn a new song on the guitar (failed)
24   read Lord of the Rings with the companion guides (failed but in progress)
25   reread 10 books from my childhood (failed; 9/10)
26   resubmit something that’s been rejected (completed 3.13.10)
27   reevaluate 3 books that I hated the first time around (failed; 2/3: The Awakening, The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

fitness and well being

28   take a day (or half day) at the spa (giving up for financial reasons)
29   join a soccer team (completed December 2010)
30   run a race (failed due to laziness and fear)
31   play a game of tennis (completed 8.24.12)
32   be able to do 30 pushups without stopping (failed due to laziness)
33   play kickball (failed)
34   lose five pounds; get down to 115 (failed)
35   be able to touch my toes (failed)
36   take a yoga class (completed summer 2012)
37   get 10 massages (completed 3.1.10, 3.8.10, 3.18.10, 3.25.10, 4.15.10, 4.22.10, 4.29.10, 5.7.10, 5.14.10, 5.27.10)
38   remove suture from my ankle (completed 3.9.12)
39   go two weeks without a headache (completed 3.18.10 to 4.3.10)

food and cooking

40   try a new ice cream flavor (Dantonio’s Triple Fudge Fake, completed summer 2012)
41   go to a wine tasting (completed 1.21.11)
42   try five new foods (zucchini, avocado, lobster, blueberries, lemondrop melon)
43   make a nice dinner and eat with a nice bottle of wine (failed; I had nice wines and made nice dinners, but not together)
44   visit a farmers market (completed summer 2010)
45   have fondue (completed summer 2010)
46   host a wine and cheese party (failed)
47   try 15 new recipes (12/15)
48   make a fancy dessert (completed only if buttercake or cookies count as fancy)
49   cook a turkey (failed)
50   take my parents out to dinner (completed 1.7.11)
51   eat dinner by candlelight (failed)

travel and language

52   finish book of French verb review (failed; in progress)
53   finish HP2 in French (failed; in progress)
54   order a meal completely in French (completed summer 2010)
55   go to New York (failed)
56   take a trip to visit friends who live out of state (completed 4.12.11 to 4.18.11)
57   visit 3 museums (The Louvre, various Smithsonian museums, the Holocaust museum)
58   go to a national park (completed summer 2012)
59   explore Paris (completed summer 2010)
60   ride a train (completed summer 2010)

money and material things

61   learn my credit score (completed ??)
62   save $1,500 (completed April 2011)
63   buy and wear a cute summer sun dress (completed summer 2010)
64   buy a nice set of sheets (failed)
65   get rid of 101 items (completed spring 2012)
66   buy a pair of jeans that aren’t Silvers (completed 2.11)
67   play poker at a casino (failed)
68   own a flat screen television (completed spring 2012)
69   pay off credit card (completed 12.31.11)
70   make more than the minimum payment on my student loans at least three times (failed; 1/3)
71   buy 25 books from independent booksellers (25/25)

making the world a better place

72   donate to three causes/organizations that I care about (MSU fund, 3.13.10, MSU 8.11, Obama campaign 7.12)
73   find out my blood type (completed 6.10)
74   speak up when I find something offensive (failed due to fear)
75   donate off of a giving tree at Christmas (completed Christmas 2012)

just for fun

78   go horseback riding (failed)
77   see a Broadway musical (completed 12.4.10)
78   ride in my dad’s plane (failed; plane wasn’t finished in time)
79   cross stitch 5 times (completed summer 2012)
80   bowl a score of 150 (completed 1.14.10)
81   go to a Detroit sporting event (failed)
82   build a snowman (completed winter 2012)
83   learn how to tie a tie (failed; lost interest)
84   shoot under par at a putt putt course (completed 7.17.10)
85   go swimming in a lake (failed)
86   go sledding (giving up because I found I don’t really want to do this)
87   carve a pumpkin (failed)
88   see live meerkats (completed summer 2010)
89   send out Christmas cards (failed)
90   go to a midnight premiere of a movie (completed 11.19.10)
91   decorate a Christmas tree (completed December 2010)
92   decorate Christmas cookies completed December 2011 and December 2012)
93   tailgate for Spartan football (completed fall 2010)
94   get dressed up all fancy for a date night (failed; lost interest)
95   dye Easter eggs (failed)
96   get my ears re-pierced (completed 5.14.10)
97   go ice skating (failed)
98   eat lunch along the Red Cedar (completed April 2012)
99   ride a new roller coaster (completed 4.15.11)
100   watch the A&E Pride and Prejudice with my mom (completed July 2010)
101   throw a frisbee (completed summer 2010)