Dominica May

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).

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 organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

My Personal Variations

In early 2009, I was revising my list to see which goals I would have to remove as they would prove too difficult to achieve whilst living in Malaysia, and thus would have to come up with some new goals. I ended up coming up with more than I needed, so I decided to modify the challenge for myself, to allow for more than 101 goals in the list. If I achieve 101 of the goals in the 1001 days, then I will consider the challenge complete, but I will still try to achieve all goals in the allocated time.

Start date: Jan 1st, 2008
End date: Sept 28, 2010
Updated: Sept 4, 2010

Key:
Not yet started
In progress (30/37)
Completed (64/101(122))

Learning and Personal Improvement
1. Read at least 15 non-fiction books including (13/15):

• “Multi-Stakeholder Governance and the Internet Governance Forum” by Jeremy Malcolm
• one about Quantum Physics
• one about psychology
• one about ancient civilisations: “Longman Secondary Histories: The Ancient World (Second Edition)” by R J Cootes and L E Snellgrove (June 8th 2008)
• “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” by John Gray (May 27th 2009)
• “Thai Die” by Greg Fleet (Dec 22nd 2008)
• “Motherless Daughters” by Hope Edelman (Apr 3rd 2008)
• The US Constitution and Interesting Facts About It (Jan 12th 2009)
• “The Women’s Power Pocket Book” by Joan Kirner and Moira Rayner (Jan 14th 2008)
• “The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphs” by Lesley & Roy Adkins (Mar 25th 2008)
• “Archaeology The Basics” by Clive Gamble (May 14 2008)
• “Free Culture” by Lawrence Lessig
• One on US History
• One on Medieval History
• “Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps” by Allen and Barbara Pease (May 23rd 2009)
• “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!” by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo (Aug 6th 2009)
• “Opening Up” by Tristan Taormino (Aug 9th 2009)
• “How to Talk to Anyone” by Leil Lowndes (Sept 2009)
• “Mars and Venus in the Bedroom” by John Gray

2. List 101 things I did/accomplished in the 2.75 years before I started this list (101/101) (completed Jul 2nd 2008)
3. Learn to play the keyboard better; considered complete when I can play at least 4 new songs, play by ear 1 new song, and compose/record 1 song into the computer
4. Learn to use Logic Express
5. Learn to use the unix command line better
6. Try a new recipe an average of at least once every week (68/143)
7. Exercise for 30 mins in a day an average of at least once a fortnight (19/71)
8. Revise Indonesian notes/books and learn some conversational Malay
9. Learn Hiragana
10. Learn 100 commonly used Kanji (0/100)
11. Learn at least 50 (previously unknown by me) words in Japanese (0/50)
12. Learn to play mah jong with real mah jong tiles (not on the computer)
13. Watch or read news on average once a fortnight (45/71)
14. Eat a meal with chopsticks on average once a fortnight for a year to improve my skills (26/26)
15. See a chiropractor (completed Mar 10th 2008)
16. Get my (third) knee checked out by a doctor again (surgery completed Apr 11th 2008)
17. Floss at least once a fortnight (24/71)
18. Finish my HPV vaccination shots (completed Mar 4th 2008)

Marriage Enrichment
19. Remember to kiss Jeremy every day for a year (unless he is away for business) (23/364) started Jan 1st 2009 (days missed: 2/26)
20. Private Goal
21. Clean the bathroom for Jeremy every fortnight (deducting fortnights I’m away for holidays) (16/67)
22. Make Jeremy a 5 course meal as a special treat, not for a particular event like his birthday (completed May 23rd 2008)
23. Get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant with Jeremy (completed March 15th 2009)
24. Invent a new cocktail for Jeremy (completed Jan 1st 2008)
25. Take a weekend away with Jeremy while either Elyse or Jeremy’s parents are in Malaysia to look after Doyle
26. Have a date day with Jeremy where he decides everything and I don’t ask questions or make suggestions (completed June 14th 2008)
27. Wash the dishes after every meal for a month to get in the habit (31/31) (started Mar 11th 2008, completed Apr 10th 2008)
28. Vacuum, sweep and/or mop every fortnight (deducting fortnights I’m away for holidays) (26/65)
29. Try a new sexual experience with Jeremy (completed Feb 10th 2008)
30. Take Doyle somewhere out of the house for a full day once a fortnight until Jeremy finishes his thesis (6/6) (completed Mar 12th 2008)

Family
31. Prepare/make food for Doyle’s first birthday party (completed Jan 9th 2008)
32. Find and frame a photo of my mum and display it
33. Take Doyle to a children’s play gym at lest 12 times in Malaysia (3/12)
34. Take Doyle for his 12 month vaccinations (completed Jan 22nd 2008)
35. Take Doyle for his 18 month vaccination (completed Jul 29th 2008)
36. Find a playgroup/something social for Doyle to join (completed May 2nd 2008)
37. Teach Doyle colours
38. Teach Doyle shapes
39. Teach Doyle to count to ten in English (completed Apr 30th 2009)
40. Go camping as a family
41. Toilet train Doyle
42. Move Doyle out of his cot (completed Dec 2008)
43. Make Christmas wrapping paper with Doyle

Organisation
44. Organise my coin collection (completed July 2nd 2008)
45. Distribute Journey DVDs (4/4) (completed Apr 30th 2008)
46. Throw out everything that we won’t use in Safety Bay (completed Oct 28th 2008)
47. Get my nice dress and wool coat drycleaned (completed Jan 10th 2008)
48. Make backups of data and media
49. Program USB controller for xoanon (completed Feb 5th 2008)
50. Put all Corless family data from Aunt Shirley in Gramps
51. Put my favourite figurines on display in a new home (completed Dec 2008)
52. Write my will
53. Make my Trip Advisor map public on my wordpress blog (and update it) (completed Jan 1st 2008)
54. Follow up Mileage Plus frequent flier miles not counted on my latest trip (completed Mar 2008)
55. Set up hobby room
56. At the start of every month in 2009, go through my list & life and write out a hard copy to-do list of goals to work on that month (1/12)
57. Sort through iPhoto library, find old digital photos to include, name photos, remove bad photos, create albums, and select 100 photos to get printed for scrapbooking and hard copy albums

Creativity and Hobbies
58. Co-write a comedy act I can perform on stage (at some point in the future) with my husband as a comedy duo
59. Write my Antarctica story and/or Participate and complete the National Novel Writing Month challenge
60. Paint a picture on a canvas
61. Make a scrapbook of photos involving Doyle
62. Make another two layouts/styles for the Malcolm Media site (2/2) and one new layout for our home page (1/1) (completed Apr 3rd 2008)
63. Draw 30 things in 30 days (30/30) (started Aug 3rd 2008, completed Sept 1st 2008)
64. Write in my wordpress blog an average of at least twice a month (36/66)
65. Write at least three short films including:

• One involving time travel
• One encompassing male vulnerability
• One where only one character is white (close enough, only 2 were)

66. Edit my 2004-05 holiday video/mockumentary
67. Submit a film to film festivals
68. Draw an average of 2 things a month for a year (6/24), colouring at least half of them (3/12) (started Jan 2009)
69. Enter Present Vision (Jeremy’s cut) into competitions (2/2) (completed Jan 3rd 2008)
69. Write up the questions and code for the automated-interview on ComedyDownUnder.com
70. Finish writing interviews for comedians I have to interview
71. Open competition on ComedyDownUnder.com for Greg Fleet’s book
72. Write a short story a month for six months (3/6)
73. Sew a new outfit for myself
74. Sew a new outfit for Doyle
75. Record 3 video blogs (3/3)
76. Make a video mash up using pre-recorded material at least 10 minutes long

Friends and Social Life
77. Have someone around for dinner on average at least once every two months (5/16)
78. Host a Christmas or other celebratory dinner (completed for Doyle’s 2nd birthday Jan 9th 2009)
79. Make 3 new friends I can spend time with in person (3/3) (completed Dec 2008)
80. Have friends around for Buzz! (Completed June 21st 2008)
81. Organise a girls’ night out and host a girls’ night in with friends
82. Send a snail mail letter to someone different once a month for a year (0/12)
83. Send a postcard to someone different once a month for a year (3/12) started Dec 2008
84. Join some sort of social group in Malaysia
85. Send at least 3 people random surprise gifts in the mail (0/3)

New Experiences and Travel
86. Colour my hair (completed Feb 7th 2008)
87. See the pyramids and sphinx of Egypt OR go to India and see the Taj Mahal
88. See at least 3 new US states (completed Feb 5th 2009)
89. Have a manicure and pedicure (completed June 2010)
90. Drive across the Nullarbor (completed Sept 2008)
91. Use a public photo booth to take silly photos (completed Dec 20th 2008)
92. Sing at a karaoke night (completed June 14th 2008)
93. Visit Vietnam (completed Nov 2009)
94. Visit Cambodia
95. Listen to 30 of Jeremy’s CDs by artists I haven’t heard of before (3/30)

• US3 – Hand on the Torch
• The Time – Pandemonium
• Albare – What Goes Around… Comes Around

Fun
96. Watch Twin Peaks season 1 & 2
97. Finish watching Millennium series 1 & 2
98. Finish Final Fantasy XII (storyline) (completed Sept 24th 2009)
99. Turn Saturday night into “Games Night” for a month or more (0/4)
100. Read all the unread comics I own
101. Use my frequent flyer points (either to go back to Japan or to upgrade a flight to business class; I’m leaning toward business class)
102. Watch at least 10 movies from my must-see movie list (10/10) (completed Oct 31st 2008)

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Jan 5th 2008)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (Jan 23rd 2008)
• Easy Rider (Feb 22nd 2008)
• Arthur (May 23rd 2008)
• Citizen Kane (May 30th 2008)
• West Side Story (July 31st 2008)
• Metropolis (Aug 3rd 2008)
• Lolita (Aug 19th 2008)
• Young Frankentein (Oct 26th 2008)
• King Kong (1933) (Oct 31st 2008)

103. Make a house in Second Life or Home that we can turn into reality
104. Read at least 15 fiction books including: (3/15)

• a Terry Pratchett book to see what all the fuss is about (“Reaper Man”)
• “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” by JK Rowling (Dec 28th 2008)
• “Snow Crash” by Neil Stephenson
• A Doctor Who book: “The Keys of Marinus” by Philip Hinchcliffe (Jan 4th 2009)
• “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll
• “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain
• “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne
• “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
• “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams
• A manga book translated to English

105. Show Jeremy at least ten films he hasn’t seen and I think he needs to: (4/10)

• Aladdin (Feb 6th 2008)
• Lilo & Stitch (Mar 15th 2008)
• The Lion King (Mar 17th 2008)
• Treasure Planet (Mar 24th 2008)

106. Make a 3D puzzle (completed Feb 8th 2008)
107. See at least 20 films at the cinema (25/20) (completed June 8th 2009)

• I Am Legend (Jan 15th 2008)
• Alvin and the Chipmunks (Jan 22nd 2008)
• Cloverfield (Jan 22nd 2008)
• Enchanted (Jan 25th 2008)
• 10,000B.C. (Mar 12th 2008)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (June 18th 2008)
• Mamma Mia (July 15th 2008)
• The Dark Knight (Jul 22nd 2008)
• Kung Fu Panda (Aug 3rd 2008)
• Tropic Thunder (Aug 20th 2008)
• The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Aug 20th 2008)
• Wall-E (Aug 31st 2008)
• Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging (Sept 10th 2008)
• Quantum of Solace (Nov 2008)
• Australia (Dec 26th 2008)
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Mar 18th 2009)
• Fast and Furious (Apr 28th 2009)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Apr 29th 2009/May 9th 2009)
• Star Trek (May 9th 2009)
• Night at the Museum 2 (June 8th 2009)
• Monsters vs Aliens 3D (June 10th 2009)
• Slumdog Millionnaire
• Ice Age 3
• The Proposal
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (x2)
• Up

108. Wear my kimono somewhere outside the house (completed Jan 5th 2008)
109. Finish re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (completed Jan 11th 2008)
110. Attend the Melbourne Comedy Festival again (completed Apr 24 2009)
111. Finish watching unwatched Disney DVDs
112. Finish watching unwatched Red Dwarf DVDs (completed Apr 11th 2009)
113. Finish Kingdom Hearts
114. Borrow or buy a Singstar game and play it on the PS3 (completed May 30th 2009)
115. Finish X-Men Legends
116. Watch all unwatched movie DVDs
117. Doctor Who related fun:

• Re-watch season 2 (5/14)
• Re-watch season 3 (0/14)
• Watch commentary for season 1 (0/13)
• Watch commentary for season 2 (0/14)
• Watch a First Doctor story
• Watch season 2 of Torchwood
• Watch commentary on Peter Davison stories we have on DVD

118. See something on stage (musical/play/comedian/etc) in Malaysia, preferably in English! (completed Jun 4th 2009)

Acquisitions
119. Move into at least a 3-4 bedroom home with a bath (completed Dec 2008)
120. Get a sewing machine
121. Get a tablet for freehand drawing into the computer (completed June 1st 2009)
122. Get Folklore on PS3 (completed June 30th 2008)