101 Goals: An Update

Last November, I wrote about my 101 goals list on the Day Zero project.

Some of my goals are highly ambitious and some are quite simple, but I have found that it's a good way to keep track of a lot of those thoughts that pop into my head about things I shoulda-coulda-oughta do.

It's become a bit of a joke in my household about how I must get through every item on the list, despite how inconvenient or expensive it might be. Partner-in-Crime's favorite saying is, "weeeellllll, if it's on THE LIST ...".

I have talked about a number of the items I have completed in my regular updates, but thought I'd take a moment to give a bit of a status report.

New Items
On my original list, I had a couple of items that were directly related to sprucing up our old apartment. Since we moved into a nice new place, those items are no longer relevant, so I made the executive decision to take them off the list and replace them with a couple new goals.

P-i-C gave me some grief about messing with the sanctity of the list, but I also have a favorite phrase ... "My list. My rules."

So, new items to be completed:


1. Take a First Aid class
2. Fill out a map of the world with at least 150 countries
This one may sound a little strange, but sometimes my knowledge about geography is a bit... what's the word? ... embarrassing. When I was in high school, I had a teacher who made us do this exact project. I might not be in high school any longer, but I am not above learning geography (again).


Completed Items


Literary

-Read 5 books by Australian authors

I am in an awesome little book club with some other lovely and lively Americans. For the first few months, we set out to read Australian books, so I was able to complete this one with ease. We read quite a variety of books, but the only one I can make a sweeping recommendation on with any good conscience is The Book Thief by by Sydneysider Markus Zusak. 


And, I am happy to highly recommend this beautiful book, if you haven't read it, yet.


-Re-Read To Kill a Mockingbird
I've decided that this should be a once-every-five years literary goal for me. Is there any book more aspirational about human potential for goodness? We should all be a little more like Atticus Finch.



Travel Goals

-See the little penguins
As I mentioned, we did this on our trip to Kangaroo Island. My pictures didn't work out, but if they had, they would have looked like this. Cute, right? You can see why it's goal-worthy.


Personal Relationship Goals


-Make a birthday list of friends and family and put it in Google calendar for reminders
This is one of those "too simple" ones. It literally took me one hour to do this, and now I am equipped to remember birthdays without relying on Facebook.


Projects, Food, and Craftiness


-Send Wedding Announcements

Names changed to protect the guilty.

I know that wedding announcements are super old-fashioned, but since we married in Australia, our families were not present, so it was important to me to send a token. Besides, even if they're old fashioned, wedding announcements are super classy.


-Participate in NaBloPoMo
One month of blogging everyday in November. Done. And. Dusted.

-Print travel pictures and frame for wall
This one is a bit of a cheat. I printed and framed all these great travel photos from trips that P-i-C and I have taken. However, hanging things on the walls in our rental apartment is a bit of a sticky wicket, since landlords here actually take stock of how many holes are in the walls and you have to ask permission to put even one nail in. So, I've actually given them artistic homes in other places (bookshelf, window ledge, etc.). They are featured decorations, so I am counting this as completed.


Personal Health and Wellbeing


-Pay off credit cards
Like almost any good American with a practically useless Master's degree in the arts, I had a weighty burden of credit card debt that had been my personal albatross for years. Making the final payments on those bad boys was one of the best moments of my life.

Things to Buy


-Better camera

Once the credit cards were paid off, I was ready to reward myself with a present. After a lot of research, I settled on the Olympus Pen EPL-1. You've now seen some of its efforts on these pages. My only complaint is that it has a rather slow response time. Other than that, it is the grooviest little camera for someone with minimal photography know-how. Also, it has the cutest retro-design and is programmed to make that old fashioned clicky noise. I love it. 


Sydney To-Do


-Go to Sydney Mardi Gras Parade
It was a bright and shiny half-naked hoot and holler, and I wrote all about it here.

-Watch the New Year's Eve fireworks over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Ditto above (minus the half-naked part). And here.

Misc.

-Go a week without logging on to Facebook or Twitter
Sadly, I'd really thought this was going to be one of the hardest ones to achieve. ("Hike to Machu Pichu ... too easy, but no Facebook?!?"), but we had such trouble getting the Internet set up in our new apartment that I took that opportunity to complete this goal. I fought off the urge to cheat on my phone, and wonder of wonders, I lived to tell the tale.


As I look at the list, I can see that I have a good number more that I will be checking off over the next couple of months. I mean ... if it's on THE LIST ...