Complete: 53/101 in 1001 Days

53 / 101 (52.5%)

1001 days pass so quickly. Time's up on my 101 in 1001, and I finished 53 of the items. Of the remainder, more than 10 I simply didn't care about anymore (this includes learning to play poker, buying a car, and getting a tattoo), some were wildly unrealistic (how many trips did I think I could take in 2.5 years? Where exactly would I get the money to start paying off my student loan?), some were in a constant state of progress and simply never finished (properly renaming all of my mp3s? Anyone, anyone? Salomé?). So on and so forth. I'm proud of what I did accomplish, though, small and large goals ranging from trying a new fruit to graduating from university, only to be accepted into graduate school and then graduate again! All in all, it was an interesting project, and I'm now in the process of writing a new list. Hopefully a more realistic one.

Complete: #047

047. Read one hour per day every day for two weeks.

Indeed I read for at least an hour per day for multiple weeks this summer. Long breaks at work are good for that. It's wonderful to have all my reading be for pleasure these days; I'm back to making good use of the public library!

Complete: #012

012. By the end of the period be living independently (permanently out of parents' house, not relying on family money/charity, budgeting, etc.)

Yes. I haven't lived with my parents since 2005, I have a lovely apartment and life with a great partner, and together we are living the life independent. Complete with a budget.

Complete: #004

004. Obtain some sort of gainful, full-time employment. Paying more than minimum wage, and with benefits!

Okay, so I don't have benefits. But after working this summer at a job, I continue to be gainfully employed, I got a raise, and I'm a supervisor and project leader. It's not quite where I hoped to be, but it's pretty damned good, and can only get better. I'm giving it to myself!

Complete: #45

045. Read at least one book each from Palahniuk, Nabokov, and Marquez.

I read "Lolita", "One Hundred Years of Solitude", and "Fight Club."

Complete: #28

028. Give blood.

Today I finally dropped a pint at Canadian Blood Services. Then I nearly passed out. Awesome.

Complete: #78

078. Eat a fruit I have never tried before.

I ate a dragonfruit (pitaya). It was gross.

Complete: #68

068. Buy something that makes me feel completely fabulous. Wear it often.

I have revamped my wardrobe these past two years, so now I have not merely one but in fact an assortment of items that make me feel fabulous. Necklaces, shoes, dresses, oh my!

Complete: #73

073. Go one week without spending any money.

Earlier this summer I was dead broke. So I didn't spend any money. It wasn't necessarily by choice, but I did it.

Complete: #07

007. Learn to do pretty things with Photoshop.

I don't know how I thought I would qualify this, but I have learned a significant amount in the past two years. I'm no photoshop magician, but my abilities have improved significantly, and along with that so have my photos. I can indeed now do pretty things. This, however, is something that is a lifelong learning process.

Complete: #02

002. Figure out what I want to do professionally.

Totally figured out. There are two paths I want to pursue: one in the profession I have spent the past two years training in, and one a more part-time creative/artistic pursuit borne of my favourite hobby. Now just to get a job.

Complete: #42

042. Watch all three installments of any movie trilogy back-to-back in one day. Extra points for all 6 Star Wars films.

The Godfather Trilogy. A long day indeed.

Complete: #66

066. Get a new bed. (Queen sized!?)

Well, it's more like a different bed, because it's not brand new, but it's new to me and more importantly allowed me to put my piece of crap bed of indeterminate but significant age in the dumpster. AWESOME.

Complete: #31

031. Make a donation to a charitable cause each year.

While I made small financial donations these past three years, I have donated significant amounts of items to various charities for re-selling. It's been rather liberating.

Complete: #60

060. Sort out my school notes. Narrow down what is actually important and potentially useful. Ditch the rest.

Oh yeah. Finally done. All of my school work is now arranged in logical fashion, and I eliminated like 10 pounds of paper from my apartment in the process. What's more, I did it as part of an assignment for school, so not only do I get Life-Improvement Credit for this, but I actually get... Credit-Credit for this. Awesome.