101 Things in 1001 Days, v2.0

1 Apr 2013   | 101 things in 1001 days

I finished 73 of the 101 Things on my previous list. Let’s see if I can top that the second time around!

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as new year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Begin Date: April 4, 2013
End Date: December 31, 2015

Items Completed: 53/101
Items Not Completed: 47

Strikethrough indicates a completed item
Italics indicates an in-progress item
Red indicates a non-completed (i.e. failed!) item
* indicates an item that is continued from my previous 101 Things list
– + – + – + – + –

TRAVEL

1) Go to spring training in Fort Myers
2) Take the Pacific Surfliner between LA and San Diego Nov 2014
3) Visit 5 new countries [2/5] (St. Lucia, Antigua)
4) Take the ferry across Lake Michigan
5) *Go to a new continent
6) *Visit 4 more UNESCO world heritage sites, for a total of 30 [4/4] (Pitons Management Area – St Lucia, Grand Canyon National Park, Historic District of Old Quebec, Missions of San Antonio) Jul 2015
7) Go to Tiki Ti for the toast to Ray (Wed nights)
8) Hike to Papakolea (green sand) Beach on the Big Island
9) Write 5 more posts with travel advice on Runaway Truck [3/5]
  1. A Review of TSA Precheck
  2. The American Express Centurion Lounge at LAS
  3. A Traveler’s Review of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card

10) Go somewhere I haven’t been in Canada (i.e. not Vancouver, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, or Niagara Falls) May 2015
11) Go visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces in Orlando
12) Buy Sky Club or Centurion Lounge passes sometime when we have a long layover
13) Visit Four Corners
14) Kayak or swim in the bioluminescent bay in Vieques March 2014
15) Go back to St Augustine
16) *Cross the equator
17) *See the Grand Canyon Jan 2015
18) *Go to Cuba

FINANCIAL / BUSINESS

19) Put $12,000 more in savings (~6 months of nondiscretionary expenses) April 2015
20) Update my financial planning docs and go over them with Matt July 2014
21) Finish one of my personal web applications in ASP.NET MVC
22) Get a client or two to beta-test the application
23) Get 3 paying clients
24) Redo my will, get Matt to write one, and complete our advance healthcare directive
25) Increase my deferral to Christmas Club and actually use that money for Christmas gifts Oct 2014
26) Establish our short-to-mid-term investing strategy with the financial adviser
27) Double my net worth

MAKIN’ STUFF

28) Build something out of wood again, because my arbor is awesome
29) Learn double knitting and make something with it Aug 2013
30) Design and print a letterpress project
31) *Finish my granny square blanket Oct 2013
32) *Finish Moroccan Days, Arabian Nights Aug 2015

FOOD & DRINK

33) Invent 5 cocktails and post recipes and photos of them
34) Try 40 new recipes Apr 2014
  1. Parmesan Bread Pudding with Broccoli Rabe
  2. Crispy Quinoa and Mole Sweet Potato Tacos
  3. Minestrone
  4. Belgian Carrot Soup with (un)Meatballs
  5. Cheesy Grits with Spring Vegetables
  6. Crunchy Cashew Thai Peanut Salad
  7. Tofu Skewers with Jerk Sauce
  8. Tofu Popcorn Chick’n
  9. Seitan Negimaki
  10. Tori Meshi
  11. Curried Waldorf Salad
  12. Rainbow Cake
  13. Chard Slaw with Creamy Scallion Dressing
  14. Sourdough bread from a starter
  15. Kale, Tofu, and Cashew stir-fry with Soba
  16. Stuffed Poblanos
  17. Beet Hummus
  18. Baked Chipotle Sweet Potato and Zucchini Fritters
  19. Farfalle with Turnips and Kale
  20. Cauliflower Soup with Hazelnuts
  21. White Bean and Wheatberry Soup with Escarole
  22. Roasted Squash with Lime and Tahini Sauce
  23. Parmesan Polenta with Eggs and Roasted Mushrooms
  24. Tortilla Soup
  25. White Beans and Greens
  26. Vegetable Cigars
  27. Sweet Potato and Coconut Curry
  28. Spinach and Hominy Enchiladas
  29. Beet and Grapefruit Salad
  30. Barley, Cauliflower, and Herbs with Burrata
  31. Baked Ziti with Pea and Arugula Pesto
  32. Bhel Puri
  33. Indonesian Tek Tek Noodles
  34. Pan-Fried Sole (well, seitan) with Quinoa and Vegetables
  35. Mashed Cauliflower Puffs
  36. Panang Curry
  37. Slow-Cooked Mustard Greens from Afro-Vegan
  38. Vegan Cowboy Caviar (Afr0-Vegan)
  39. Black-eyed Pea and Millet Sliders (Afro-Vegan)
  40. Carrots with Mint and Peanuts (Afro-Vegan)

35) Go to the farmers market 4 times / year [2013: 1/4, 2014: 1/4]
36) Make beans that a Mexican grandma would be proud of March 2014
37) Devote a month to making “greatest hits” recipes, since we don’t often remake things
38) Visit five breweries/distilleries we haven’t been to before [5/5]

  1. Lift Bridge
  2. Red Wing Brewery
  3. Canal Park Brewing Company
  4. Dangerous Man
  5. Indeed
  6. 612 Brew
  7. Maiden Rock Cidery/Winery – Maiden Rock, WI
  8. Hangar 24 – Redlands, CA
  9. Golden Road – Los Angeles, CA
  10. Eastlake Brewing
  11. Prescott Brewing – Prescott, AZ
  12. Surly Brewing
  13. Lynlake Brewing
  14. Insight Brewing
  15. Brau Brothers
  16. Castle Danger Brewing
  17. Du Nord Craft Spirits
  18. Fair State Coop
  19. First Legal Distilling – Key West
  20. Waterfront Brewing – Key West
  21. Wynwood Brewing – Miami
  22. J Wakefield Brewing – Miami
  23. Concrete Beach – Miami
  24. Florida Keys Brewing – Islamorada
  25. Islamorada Brewing – Islamorada

PERSONAL

39) Read 5 classic books I haven’t read before

  1. Islands in the Stream – Hemingway
  2. Breakfast of Champions – Vonnegut
  3. Native Son – Wright
  4. The Sheltering Sky – Bowles
  5. Ubik – Philip K Dick

40) Have a nice photo taken with Matt
41) Research charities and find a new one to support. Set up a monthly donation. Doctors Without Borders Apr 2014
42) Get a new WordPress theme for this site Apr 2013
43) Make a totally irresponsible bet at a casino (“totally irresponsible” to me means $100+) Nov 2014
44) Blog every weekday for a month (to stay in the habit) Nov 2015
45) Be at work before 8am every day for a week May 2014
46) Have a fancy dinner party with friends
47) Host game night 3 times [1/3]

SEEING OUR HOMELAND

48) Go to the Holidazzle Parade
49) Rent a Nice Ride bike and tour Minneapolis Jun 2015
50) Take a picture of Minneapolis from the pedestrian bridge near Franklin
51) Visit 5 new landmarks/museums etc in the Twin Cities [1/5]

  1. Holidazzle Winter Market
  2. NWA History Museum

52) See a show at the Guthrie Jul 2014
53) Attend five new Gopher sporting events (i.e. not men’s hockey, football, or basketball) [1/5]

  1. Gophers Women’s hockey

54) *Do the MN Aidswalk again May 2013
55) *Visit 30 new local restaurants/bars  Feb 2015

  1. Copper Pot
  2. Red Wing Brewery
  3. Canal Park Brewing Company
  4. Tycoon’s Rathskeller
  5. Burch Pizza
  6. The Lynn on Bryant
  7. Marin
  8. Amore Victoria
  9. Gabe’s Rinkside Bar and Grill
  10. Element Pizza
  11. Coup d’Etat
  12. Town Hall Lanes
  13. New Bohemia
  14. Red Cow
  15. Rinata
  16. Brasserie Zentral
  17. Sonora Grill
  18. Zeke’s Unchained Animal
  19. Rival House
  20. Mattie’s on Main
  21. Porchetteria at Terzo
  22. Hola Arepa
  23. Lyn65
  24. Libertine
  25. Rail Station
  26. Busters on 28th
  27. Red Wagon Pizza
  28. Eastlake Brewing
  29. Third Bird
  30. Surly Brewing
  31. Spoon and Stable
  32. Prairie Dogs
  33. The Cardinal
  34. Tiny Diner
  35. Monello
  36. Nighthawks
  37. Kyatchi
56) Walk the length of Main Street/Marshall in Minneapolis with Wendy and take photos, revisiting our Lake Street Photowalk Jul 2015

NEW EXPERIENCES

57) Ride in a helicopter
58) Go beach camping
59) Try stand-up paddleboarding
60) Run a 5k with Matt and Wendy (no pressure, guys)

LEARNIN’

61) Learn to brew beer May 2013
62) Learn asynchronous programming Sep 2013
63) Take 3 community ed classes [1/3]
64) Write an Android app
65) Take bowling lessons so I can increase my average
66) Go to a work-related conference
67) Update my web dev skills to the current era Jul 2014

HOME / GARDEN / ORGANIZING

68) Organize our attic and get rid of stuff we don’t need Oct 2013
69) Get real chairs for our dining room table. Those folding chairs are from the 60s. Nov 2013
70) Put in a perennial garden around the birdbath, in our old firepit May 2013
71) Fix the dents in the basement stairwell May 2013
72) Steam-clean our rug and the basement carpet Jun 2014
73) Clean up the area around the air conditioner so it’s not all weeds and pinecones; put in fabric and edging Sept 2013
74) Organize the laundry room Apr 2013
75) Get a new hammock May 2013
76) Replace our kitchen stuff that’s in rough shape (dishes, pans, utensils, etc) Jan 2014
77) Replace the stupid bushes in front of the house with pampas grass May 2013
78) Take a day off and do stuff around the house (I never do this) July 2013

OUTDOORS

79) Attempt to ride a scooter again
80) Get our bikes tuned up (new tires for me, and Matt’s shifting issue) Jun 2014
81) Take a roadtrip and have a picnic Jul 2014
82) *Go sailing again Nov 2014
83) Kayak across Lake Kampeska to the Prop July 2013

ITEMS ADDED AFTER 4/4/2013

84) Kayak in 20 new places [15/20]

  1. Normandale Lake, Bloomington
  2. Lake Kampeska, Watertown SD
  3. Mississippi River backwaters, south of Lake Pepin
  4. Bryant Lake, Eden Prairie
  5. The BioBay in Vieques, Puerto Rico
  6. Lake Phalen, Maplewood
  7. Lake Shakopee, Onamia MN
  8. Rum River, Onamia MN
  9. Chippewa River, Nelson WI
  10. Brownie Lake, Minneapolis
  11. Bush Lake, Bloomington
  12. Albert Lea Lake
  13. Mississippi River
  14. Rice Creek Park Reserve
  15. Saddlehill Key

85) Have the full tailgating sporting event experience three times
86) Learn to tie knots, because this seems like useful knowledge.
87) Try curling Nov 2013
88) Go to the Red Carpet
89) Do one of those daily knitting projects for an entire year Dec 2014
90) Watch all of the Coen Brothers movies again, because we talk about them all the time [11/16]

  1. Fargo
  2. Hudsucker Proxy
  3. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  4. Blood Simple
  5. Raising Arizona
  6. No Country For Old Men
  7. The Big Lebowski
  8. Miller’s Crossing
  9. Barton Fink
  10. Intolerable Cruelty
  11. Burn After Reading

91) Go through the entire house and either donate, sell, or throw away the things we don’t want to move June 2014
92) Kayak on Minnehaha Creek
93) Do Project 365 again in 2015 (photos here!) Dec 2015
94) Get to 15 reputation on Stack Overflow so I can upvote Oct 2014
95) Finish our ever-expanding “Things to Do Before Saying FU to Minnesota” List [8/18]

  1. Go to the U of M Band Concert
  2. Go to the Pizza Farm
  3. Revisit the North Shore Jul 2015
  4. Go in the witch’s hat
  5. Get party deck tickets at a Twins game again
  6. Go to All Pints North again Jul 2015
  7. Visit Fort Snelling Jun 2015
  8. Take Bally to get some tourist photos, like we do in other places Sept 2015
  9. Go to the NWA History Museum Aug 2015
  10. Go to the Cherry Pit
  11. Visit Our Lady of Lourdes by Nye’s
  12. Take Bally to the fair Aug 2015
  13. Go to the Wabasha Street Caves
  14. Stay at ‘our’ cabin up in Crosslake again Apr 2015
  15. Go to a townball game
  16. Go to D4th of July again Jul 2015
  17. Visit the MN Landscape Arboretum
  18. See A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Dec 2014

96) Buy a new bike Jun 2015
97) Lose 25 pounds
98) Move away from Minnesota Sep 2015

THIS CHALLENGE

99) Put $20 into savings for each completed task on this list, and $70 for each non-completed task ($1160) Dec 2015
100) Pay myself back for the unfinished items on my last list Oct 2014
101) Have a new list of 101 things in 1001 days ready to go on day 1001

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