Keep those doggies rolling…
Where in the world has the time gone and what have I managed to do with my time. NYC has a distinct way of being a time warp/vacuum that sucks people in alive I think. Kind of like how life is a rollercoaster. Eternal things can’t do much about, so it is onwards and upwards.
That said, I am pretty impressed with this month of April… despite all (and I have had my annoyed, angry and lonely moments), things have actually turned out well, or it is me choosing to look at them from that side. So without further ado… here is the 101 in 1001 run down- seemingly the only thing I can every bring myself to blog on… One day I do hope to find my voice again.
Purchase (10/101)
- Treat myself to a massage or a facial once a year
- Buy a Lomo camera (Getting one in a deal the first week of May)
- Buy one piece of art
- Buy fresh flowers for my room once a month for a year
- Buy a new “professional” set of luggage
- Buy one piece of investment furniture
- Get a subscription to National Geographic Traveller, New Yorker, Economist
- Buy an antique map of Paris and frame it
- Buy a new DSLR upgrade (Definitely to be purchased before my birthday)
- Find and buy one pair of killer jeans
Health (15/101)
- Run/Participate in a 5k, 10k, and half marathon
- Participate in an olympic distance triathalon
- 30 day trial… bikram yoga 3 times a week (Managed twice a week this month. hoping to make it 3 soon)
- Visit a nutritionist/naturopath
- Do a master body cleansing/fast/colonic
Travel (31/101)
- Rent a beach house for a getaway
- Go surfing in Costa Rica or Hawaii
- Visit 3 national parks (i.e. Antelope Canyon, Grand Canyon, Muir Woods, Yosemite, Moab, The Arches, Grand Tetons)
- Take a working vacation at a winery in the south of France
- Play in the tulips in Netherlands and Skagit Valley
- Visit 10 friends (SF next month here I come! Yes it will only count as one friend but I am still happy about it :))
- Rent a convertible and go on a road trip
- Do an Ashram in India or Bali
- Camp out in Wadi Rum
- Climb up Macchu Picchu (Change in plans… but this will happen, yes it will!)
- Visit a buddhist temple
- Watch an opera at La Scala and a ballet at Opera Garnier (I went and saw the La Fille du Regiment Opera on Gala Opening Night no less, but at the Lincoln Center :))
- See the northern lights in Iceland
- Go to Ireland
- Go on a crazy Thelma Louise girls trip
- Stay in a luxurious 5 star hotel
Finance (42/101)
- Work to better credit score (by 50-100 points)
- Contribute at least 50% of max out to my Roth IRA annually (approx. $2000-2500) (I sucked it up and put $3000 in… camera will wait a little longer)
- Create, maintain and track my budget for one year (Got part of my medical reimbursements which goes back to savings, shipping reimbursements will be submitted next week… and while not budgeting I have lived within something close to my paycheck and am working to rebalance all the accounts. Hopefully that will be done definitively in June)
- Pay off all credit cards and maintain zero balances (Financial flows still going buckwild and I am giving myself a bit of reprieve, but they are all close to zero balances)
- Save $5 for 1001 days (YUP)
- Do my taxes annually (2007 done, sent and buggered up but clearing up and looking forward to getting a tax rebate :))
- Invest in retirement and net worth (10% of income)
- Pay off 50% of remaining student loans (“High-ish” interest rate loan is set to be paid off possibly by around my birthday! Am also almost 18 months prepaid on the rest of the loans. And then I attack the unsubsidized amount)
- Invest in socially responsible mutual funds (2% of income)
- Get a major credit card: use and pay of in full monthly (so I got one… I am a big girl now! Waiting for it to arrive so I can hide it… Ok use it but try not to abuse it.)
- Save $10000 towards a major investment (purchase of property etc)
Learning (53/101)
- Take a photography course on light and flash (Going to a speaking engagement with a guru of light May 8th to see if I like him enough to take a class with him)
- Learn how to fly the trapeze (I am going to do an intro to silks class next month. And this is what I will be doing on the day of my 31st birthday!)
- Take an intensive Spanish language course in Spain
- Get my a scuba diving certification
- Learn how to drive a Vespa
- Take a wine tasting course
- Learn how to dye yarn
- Learn more about buddhism
- Research travel photography and writing
- Take skiing lessons in the alps
- Learn 5 Photoshop tricks
Reading (59/101)
- Go to 3 book readings
- Read 6 classics and 5 works pre- 1950
- Read a banned book, a booker book, a pulitzer prize book
- Read the Tao Te Ching
- Read 3 biographies per year
- Enter all my books into Library Thing (Need to add the boxes of books I just got from Paris storage…)
Creativity (69/101)
- Design my blog (Waiting to hear back from the Etsy designer for my banner… may put a bat-call out to the other savvy friends to get it done with)
- Do a photographic travel/documentary project (A high up from UNICEF has offered to open the door for me on this… now I need to get myself together on it and pick a place and a story!)
- Knit three sweaters for myself (Sweater #1: Finished the knitting, now to block and seam)
- Document all my yarn stash (the box from Paris is here… the accounting will be had shortly!)
- Print 10 of my photos for framing and hanging
- Keep a film and book list
- Sell 5 photos
- Participate in Sunday scribbles
- Go to the cinema once a month (Went to see Smart People… I REALLY want to see The Visitor and The Band’s Visit soon though!)
- Make a quotes book
Gastronomy (74/101)
- Go berry picking
- Eat at 12 new restaurants- one three star. (Balthazar’s- fun NYC “cool people” experience! Also part of a very long day/night)
- Try one new recipe a month
- Throw a dinner party for 8 friends
- Try 6 new foods and 6 foods I “dont like” (I had oysters at Balthazars, had never tried them before had thought I didnt like them. Only it wasn’t like I thought :))
Career (77/101)
- Take GRE Course and Exam (1350 score goal) (Must schedule a test date this month)
- Apply to 10 PhD programmes
- Work on creating a career path (While not a career path I applied to two jobs I would be happy to have)
Do (101/101)
- Go galopping on a horse out in the free range
- Participate in some volunteer/public service project (maybe dealing with sexual health or at a soup kitchen)
- Go canoeing in Central Park
- Watch one classic movie per month
- Go to a live music festival
- Go to Shakespeare in the Park
- Meditate for 5 minutes 3 times a week
- Purge my wardrobe (of at least 30%) (I think a spring cleaning and closet change is upon me this month…)
- Attend a meditation retreat (5+ days) (I heard about this one where you dont talk… could possibly be the biggest challenge for me, and something I so want to do! in a very odd turn of thoughts)
- Go snowshoeing
- Get rid of 101 things
- Consolidate and reduce my storage needs and use
- Go to the HCB museum in Paris
- Reduce my carbon footprint (by 10-20%)
- Donate “one meal out” per month to a Food Bank
- Spend 5 minutes daily in total silence and inactivity for a month
- Visit my grandmother and father’s graves and take flowers
- Go to an outdoor movie
- Live in a new city in 1001 days
- Hang my mirror, shelves and frames
- Trace my Irish geneology
- See a broadway play
- Preserve my family photos
- Go to a museum once every other month