Incoherent Scribblings

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

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e., little to 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).

Start Date: August 25, 2006
End Date: May 22, 2009

Tasks Completed: 62

Professional:

1. Get a job as a (reference) librarian in an academic library.
2. Start working on my second Master’s Degree in English/Creative Writing.
3. Create a research plan. – This was written thinking I would get a tenure-track position. Since my job isn’t a tenure track position, I don’t need this.
4. Create and maintain a “Goals and Objectives” document. Created!
5. Have a professional article ready for publication once every 9 months. – OK, so maybe I didn’t have something ready for publication every 9 months, but two book reviews is nothing to sneeze at!
December 2007 – Book Review submitted to The Electronic Library, Published in Volume 26, Number 2, p. 278-279
May 2008 – Book Review submitted to The Electronic Library
6. Put together a presentation or poster session in conjunction with one article. – I am planning on submitting a proposal for a conference in next spring… the proposal is due in September 2009.
7. Have one article accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. – This was sort of tied to #5.
8. Rejoin ALA and/or join TLA (Texas Library Association) and renew my membership to these associations annually.
9. Attend a library-related conference.
10. Keep my résumé up-to-date.
11. Subscribe to the RSS feeds of 2 or 3 professional journals.
12. Subscribe to one or two professional mailing lists. (i.e., LIBREF-L, DIG_REF, AUTOCAT, etc.)
13. Participate in a continuing education workshop at least once a year. (2008; Introduction to Dreamweaver) – I was supposed to take a PHP workshop last winter, but I had to cancel it due to a scheduling conflict.
14. Get my diplomas framed and hung in my new office. – You wouldn’t think this would be so tough…

Personal:

General

1. File for and finalize my divorce.
2. Participate in NaNoWriMo and complete my novel. – I took a semester-long novel writing class instead.
3. Eat a vegetarian diet for a week.
4. Try and rate 20 new recipes. – I did try and rate handful of recipes. I will have to look at my notes and see if it was 20… I doubt it. Cooking doesn’t appeal to me very much now that I am single and employed again.
5. Declutter my home/clothing at least once a year. – I did this before I left Germany and last year. I currently have a box of things that need to the thrift shop, so I am counting this as complete.
6. Get broadband in my new residence.
7. Try out Netflix and if happy, subscribe.
8. Introduce myself to my neighbors.
9. Get a professional manicure. – Another thing you wouldn’t think would be so difficult… I did buy a manicure set though!
10. Write a blog entry of “substance” at least three times a week for a period of three consecutive months. – I have tried and tried to do this, but I usually lose steam some time during the second month…
11. Contribute to saving an endangered species. – It sounds like a nice thing to do, but let’s face it… I’m too cheap!
12. Contribute time and/or money to the local animal shelter – It sounds like a nice thing to do, but let’s face it… I’m too cheap and lazy!
13. Attend a Star Party
14. (Re)Register to vote.
15. Buy a new queen-sized bed.
16. Get new tires for my car. – I have tried to do this, but no one will sell me any! True story!
17. Take a photography class. – This sort of fell by the wayside when I started taking literature classes.
18. Do something special for my 35th birthday. (To be determined a little closer to the actual date.) – I had hoped to visit England for my 35th, but funds prevented it. I went to San Antonio instead and had a very nice time though.
19. Go see a musical. (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, etc.) – I have been to almost all of the University’s plays since I came to West Texas Town. It’s not Broadway, but who cares?
20. Start a small Christmas ornament collection. – Christmas Schmismas!
21. Decorate my residence for my favorite holidays. – I forgot about Valentine’s Day, but close enough!

Books/Reading

1. Get a public library card wherever I move so that instead of buying books that I will only read once I can check them out of the library!
2. Listen to The Lord of the Rings as an audio book.
3. Listen to the Harry Potter books as audio books. (1-5)
4. Make a list of 50 previously unread books. See my list!
5. Read them. – I am not sure if I read 50 books or not, but it was close. I will have to check my records.
6. Join Friends of the Library. – Once again, too cheap to do this.
7. Buy the hard-cover illustrated Allan Lee editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. – Still need to get The Hobbit.
8. Buy a hard-cover Harry Potter collector’s set. – I bought the Twilight series instead.

Languages

1. Continue practicing my German in the US by joining a German club/society or taking a class. – I talk with the German bartender in German at the bar when I get drunk… does that count? Sure it does!
2. Brush up on my French by taking a French class.
3. Start learning Spanish either by using an audio course or taking a class.

Cats

1. Make sure the cats get an annual check-up. – Amazingly I have done very well with this.
2. Monitor Mouse’s thyroid condition with regular blood tests and decide if radioiodine therapy is a sensible treatment option.
3. When Scooter turns 13 in 2008, get “geriatric” blood work done to screen for liver, kidney, and/or thyroid problems.
4. Get Dolly and Molly fixed by the time they are a year old.
5. Get Scooter’s teeth cleaned.
6. Try SoftClaws for Dolly and Molly.

Financial

1. Use FlyLady’s FACE system to organize and control my finances.
2. Start repaying my college loans again.
3. Save $1001 to represent each day that I have participated in this challenge. – I actually have a little more than this in my savings account. Yay me!
4. Get a loan for a “new” car.

Family

1. Take my niece somewhere fun like a zoo or an amusement park.
2. Have my niece visit me for a week.
3. Attend my step-sister’s high school graduation in 2008. – I didn’t manage that, but I sent her a card with money in it… which is all she really cared about anyway.
4. Celebrate the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) with my niece and nephew.
5. Attend my nephew’s 1st birthday party.
6. Become friends with my sister.

Stitching

1. Attend a major stitching show like CATS or a stitching retreat. – I have been invited to one in the fall.
2. Meet an online stitching buddy (or two!). – Living in the middle of nowhere sure has disadvantages sometimes…
3. Stitch something with silks. – Technically I completed this after the deadline, but I completed it within a few days of it.
4. Create a cozy stitching corner in my new residence.
5. Get some of my larger cross stitch pieces professionally framed. (i.e., “Passing Admirers,” “Catch the Wind,” “Fairy Flora,” “Celtic Spring”) – Flo is currently at the framers.
6. Finish something using the following methods: bell pull, mattress-style pin keep, needlebook – I only have time to stitch or finish these days and stitching always wins out over finishing!
7. Join Silkweaver’s FOM Club.
8. Stitch a HAED design. – Honestly, I am just not interested in doing this.
9. Join The Project Challenge.
10. Complete The Project Challenge.
11. Complete a significant Hardanger project. – Currently not interested… maybe someday
12. Stitch a Christmas ornament for each female member of my immediate family. – I tried, but this just didn’t happen.
13. Stitch something for each holiday that I celebrate during the appropriate season. (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July.) – 3 out of 5 ain’t bad!
14. Implement a PIF challenge.

General Crafts

1. Continue to learn how to knit.
2. Piece a quilt top.
3. Make myself a pair Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

Health and Fitness

1. Take a yoga class.
2. Reach and maintain my goal weight. – Not quite, but I got pretty darn close!
3. Get my vision laser corrected or get new contacts.
4. Go to the dentist once a year.
5. Join a tennis league/club and play once a week, weather permitting. – I have thought about it, but realized I need to buy a new tennis racket and shoes before I can.
6. Get my wisdom teeth removed. – I tried, but the evil-insurance devils conspired against me.

Technical

1. Write a Wordpress Plugin or Theme from scratch. – Have lost my web designing mojo… I am just not interested in doing more than the absolute minimum upkeep on my website/blog anymore.
2. Set up a wireless network in my new residence.
3. Buy a new laptop and upgrade to Windows Vista. – HA! I said, “Screw Microsoft” and joined the Cult of Mac.
4. Renew my domain name.
5. Transfer my domain name to my web host.
6. Regularly check the links on The Literary Explorer. – I took The Literary Explorer offline after a hack attack.
7. Check for and download Windows/Office patches once a month on “Patch Tuesday.” – OK, I probably didn’t always do it on Tuesday, but my machine is up-to-date.
8. Become prolific in PHP. – Was supposed to take a class for this, but I had to cancel it due to a scheduling conflict.
9. Learn Dreamweaver

Travel

1. Visit two of my friends that live in Connecticut.
2. Visit Big Bend National Park.
3. Take a “literary tour” of England.
4. Visit my best friend once a year. (2007)
5. Travel to Canada.
6. Travel somewhere unrelated to work or family for at least three days once a year.
7. Make a list of the 25 places I most want to visit so that I will have a reference point when planning future vacations. See my list!

List Administration
~ Update this list once a month.
~ As I complete each task, write about my accomplishments, set-backs, experiences, etc.
~ When 1001 days are up, update this list and start the process all over again!