Closing out the 101/1,001 list

I’m closing out the list today. So much of it, I didn’t accomplish. Most of the reason why is money (or lack of).  Still, it was a fun experiment. It’s interesting  how my priorities and interests changed over the course of the list. I’d really like to try another one. But first, here are the results:

101 Things in 1001 Days  (12/1/08 – 8/29/11)

Closed out 9/4/2011

1. Begin contributions to deferred comp plan again (done 4/23/10)
2. Reach goal weight (24/47)
3. Get rid of clothes I no longer wear/fit into/like (done 3/6/10)
4. Get a full-body massage (done 4/10/10)
5. Prepare a new will
6. Attend a bluegrass festival (done 6/2010)
7. Get a 2^nd tattoo
8. Visit the Catskill Animal Sanctuary
9. Update beneficiary designation on all policies (done 5/21/10)
10. Take guitar lessons
11. Attend a film festival
12. Participate in an archaeological dig
13. Drink only water for two weeks (0/14)
14. Sell and/or publish one of my photographs
15. Write a humor article
16. Publish a humor article
17. Write a personal/self-help article (done 9/08)
18. Publish a personal/self-help article(done 1/4/10)
19. Ride in a hot air balloon
20. Go parasailing
21. Photograph the Merello Volta grave
22. Walk a labyrinth
23. Donate books to ERCCW (done 1/24/09)
24. Sell unwanted items on eBay (done 12/08)
25. Visit Nicky in Boston
26. Visit Ann in Saco, Maine
27. Move into an awesome apartment (done 1/2/10)
28. Visit Marian in Northampton
29. Organize craft supplies (done 11/8/09)
30. Join a local social group (done 12/08)
31. Switch all cleaning products to animal- and eco-friendly ones (done 1/2/10)
32. Read Pablo Neruda in his native Spanish
33. Finish Walden
34. Try snowshoeing (12/21/08)
35. Try cross-country skiing (done 1/9/11)
36. Try Ethiopian food (done 8/15/09)
37. Try Vietnamese food (done 2/14/10)
38. Visit the New York Public library (and photograph the lions Patience and
    Fortitude) (done 2/7/09)
39. Try matcha green tea
40. Organize all books in my library (done 1/9/10)
41. Join a book club (4/09)
42. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity
43. List at least one thing I am grateful for every day for one month (0/30)
44. Take Calcium & Multi-V every day consecutively for 90 days (91/90) (done 5/31/09)
45. Take a photography class
46. Track down Trish (done 11/12/09)
47. Go through in-basket once a week for three months (12/12) (done 8/16/09)
48. Read entire camera manual
49. Buy bookshelves that are all the same for apartment (done 1/8/10)
50. Go one month without calling in to work (20/20)(done 10/16/09)
51. Wash my face and brush my teeth every night for one month (0/30)
52. Meditate every day for one month (30/30) (completed 6/30/09)
53. Participate in a paranormal investigation (done 7/18/09)
54. Take a yoga class
55. Go vegan for two weeks (0/2)
56. Read one book a month for six months (done)
57. Shop at a Trader Joe’s (done 9/4/09)
58. Volunteer at a food pantry or kitchen
59. Update my blog once a week for one year (done 1/10/10)
60. Complete and submit grad school app by 8/1/09 (done 7/22/09)
61. Compile family histories into one location
62. Go through my (home) office and declutter (done 11/27/09)
63. Clean out cabinets over washer and dryer (done 12/12/08)
64. Go through kitchen cabinets and declutter (done 9/18/09)
65. Hike to summit of Mt. Greylock (done 8/30/09)
66. Use neti pot daily for 30 days (0/30)
67. Draw/paint one image a week for two months (0/8)
68. Survive without a microwave for 6 months (done 7/2/10)
69. Take a bookbinding class
70. Save $1 each day (done)
71. Keep a food journal for one month (0/30)
72. Complete a diet detox (finished 1/10/09)
73. Take a class on how to play the didgeridoo (done 8/21/09)
74. Visit Steve in Syracuse
75. Rent an RV for a week and travel
76. Take a class on how to play the bodhran
77. Donate 100,000 grains of rice on Free Rice (14,800/100,000)
78. {Private} (2/11/10)
79. Move Parnassus IRA into a CD (done 12/23/08)
80. Go kayaking (done 8/8/09)
81. Get up the minute that the alarm goes off every day for a month (0/30)
82. Carry notebook with me at all times to make notes for self-betterment
83. Pay for the person behind me at a coffee shop
84. Take a zipline tour
85. Go one month without picking my fingers (0/30)
86. Participate in Earth Hour 2009 and 2010 (2/2)
87. Learn to work with runes
88. Do something different on New Year’s Eve (1/1/09 midnight snowshoe trek!)
89. Complete the Couch-to-5k program
90. Get rid of all of my fat clothes
91. Sort through all boxes in the basement
92. Organize cds and dvds
93. Buy a nice suit (done 10/31/10)
94. Visit Joanie in Colorado in 2011
95. Set up workout area
96. Sell video camera on eBay (done 10/10)
97. Organize wine into wine racks
98. Run a 5k without walking (done 6/4/11 Freihofer’s Run for Women)
99. Install a roof rack on CRV
100. Take LVB on dates
101. Start a new “101 Things in 1001 Days” list!

High Hopes

Looking at a big pile of firewood earlier today, I thought “Oh God, how am I going to get all of this stacked?” Then I remembered a song: “High Hopes” about the ant moving a rubber tree plant. So I felt like that ant for awhile, slowly, slowly working through the pile.

Baby steps.

This is really the way to effectively make any progress, and any changes, in life. Slowly, bit by bit, until we reach our goal. Weight loss, debt reduction, decluttering, writing a book, starting and maintaining meaningful relationships, homework, building a business. See how many areas of life where this baby step process can be used to get where you want to be. And, don’t forget to have High Hopes.

A birthday email

I received this from SparkPeople.com on my birthday. Yes, I know it’s a general email, but I really like the message:

Don’t just count your years, make your years count. ~Ernest Meyers
What matters most in life is often viewed as peripheral to the things that we usually focus on. Passion takes a backseat to production, wellness to working, and balance to busyness. The old adage that “life is not a dress rehearsal” is so true, and yet we act to the contrary by putting off what is truly important or indulging in things that are not. On your birthday, stop focusing on your age and start meditating on your life at this exact moment. How can you make it better? During the next year, reshuffle your priorities. Spend more time with family and friends, take care of your body and health by eating well and exercising regularly, and offer to help others in need. Discover what matters most to you, and make your daily life into a true reflection of those ideas, beliefs, and attitudes.

Origins

Several people have asked me what the name “Goldman Café” means. This is the name I typically use for my online presence.

In a nutshell: one of my all-time heroes is Emma Goldman. My original Masters Thesis (in English) subject was going to be Emma Goldman and her analysis of the social significance of dramas during her active time in the anarchist movement of the 20^th century. Thus, the “Goldman” part.

Goldman first learned of the anarchist movement in the United States shortly after arriving in New York from her native Russia. She moved from Rochester to New York City where she quickly became involved in, and a leader for, the labor movement, women’s rights, birth control support, gay rights and other socially- and politically-oriented groups. She first encountered her future comrades in these movements at a small restaurant in New York City called Sach’s Café. Thus, the “Café” half.

And from this work on my thesis, I started to use the name Goldman Café.

There you have it.

Rilke on love

I found this passage in Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. It speaks of love in a seemingly opposite view that we typically have. When we fall in love, we so often want to give ourselves over COMPLETELY to the other right away. Rilke expresses a different perspective.

“Love is at first not anything that means merging, giving over, and uniting with another (for what would a union be of something unclarified and unfinished, still subordinate–?), it is a high inducement to the individual to ripen, to become something in himself, to become world, to become world for himself for another’s sake, it is a great exacting claim upon him, something that chooses him out and calls him to vast things.”

Ahhhh. Happily in my life right now, I do feel “called to vast things.”

10 Things Challenge: Week Ten

Finally finishing this Challenge! I lost a bit of momentum over the past few weeks, but I am officially done. I have released a MINIMUM of 100 things in ten weeks. Some big (Chevy S10 pickup truck) and some small (stickers). I will continue to release stuff from my life from here forward. I still have several boxes left to unpack. I simply don’t have room for everything. So I am methodically going through boxes…which is a slow process.

This was a great experiment for me. I just may do it again!

1. Purse

2. Bathroom rug

3. Beaded meditation bracelet (2)

4. Pocket guide to wine & cheese

5. Set of 8 pens

6. Water bottle

7. Mug/cup hook for shelf

8. Lace curtains

9. Window panel

10. Bowl

10 Things Challenge: Week Nine

I know, it’s been a couple of weeks. I moved into my new place three weeks ago today. Going from a 2,000 sq. ft. house into a small one-bedroom apartment has definitely forced me to downsize everything. I know that I’ll continue to part with “things” as I unpack more boxes.

1. Pants: Goodwill

2. Electric wok: co-worker

3. Measuring cup & spoon: Goodwill

4. Ceramic tea cup: Goodwill

5. Tie rack: Goodwill

6. Frames (2): Goodwill

7. Necklace & earrings: Goodwill

8. Craft project frame: Goodwill

9. Craft project box: Goodwill

10. Linen napkins (2): Goodwill

The Change Blog

Peter Clemens, creator and writer of The Change Blog, published the piece I wrote in 2008! Thank you so much, Peter!

Now Comes the Hard Part

When my dad died, my family experienced the typical chaos of writing an obituary, planning the funeral, getting all of the proper paperwork in place for insurance, and all of the other details that come up when there’s a death in the family. We mourned, but we were kept so busy with “doing” that we hadn’t the chance to “be.”

After the funeral, a few close friends and relatives stopped by Mom’s house. Once the last person hugged my mom and left, she sat back in her chair and said, “Now comes the hard part.”

At first, I didn’t understand what she meant. It took some time for me to get it.

We finally had time to just be. And let sink in what we lost.

I relate this story because it is so relevant to me now, albeit for a different reason. No one died. Not a person, but a relationship.

When this relationship ended one month ago, I immediately fell into the whirlwind of finding a new place to live, packing and all the preparations with planning to move. Getting boxes, renting a truck, lining up friends to help on moving day, changing my address and all of the other details that piled up.

One month ago, today, my relationship ended. And here I am, all moved in the new place.

Now comes the hard part.

10 Things Challenge: Week Eight

1. File pocket

2. Canvas tote bag

3. Necklace

4. Craft ribbons

5. Earrings

6. Necklace

7. Mittens

8. Flat iron

9. Hairdryer

10. Stickers

I move in one week. I will probably finish up my remaining two weeks of this challenge after I get settled in the new place. No doubt I’ll come across more stuff that I need to part with.