It’s been nearly three weeks since my 101/1001 challenge officially ended. As expected, I failed miserably. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a Day Zero list, it is a project aimed at helping people achieve 101 personal goals in the span of 1,001 days. The website states that once your preset tasks have been organized in list form, your “project” begins. From that moment, you have about 2 and 3/4 years to complete everything you have set out to do. Supporters and followers of the Day Zero project indicate that it is easier to accomplish than a simple New Year’s resolution because you have time to really focus on your goals, and they’re written down in front of you, so you can’t really ignore them (unless you do, in which case oh well).
I achieved 50 of my 101 goals. That’s actually not so bad considering 17 of the unfinished 51 goals had multiple parts to them. For example, I watched 45 of the AFI’s top 100 movies of all time, which is pretty impressive, but still a failure. I had five friends recommend books to read, but I needed ten to cross that item off the list. I think my goal to visit the 13 remaining US states I haven’t visited was unrealistic, as was my goal to subtract “fast food” from my diet for a full year. I fasted for 24 hours, but didn’t fast for 72 straight hours. Those were the items on the list that I feel really kept me from doing most of the things I wanted to do. I’m bummed about the small goals I didn’t accomplish. Why couldn’t I eat the fried egg/chili/bacon/cheeseburger at Fatburger? What stopped me from calling into a radio show? I might never know the answers to these questions.
Here’s the final, updated list with some notes about the unfinished goals.
Family / Friends
001. Return to New Jersey and visit with family at least once a year. [2/2]
002. Treat my father, mother and sister each to a nice meal. [3/3]
003. Visit the graves of my grandparents. [1/2] (Note: I tried, but I don’t know where one of them is buried)
004. Send one handwritten letter a month for 6 months. [6/6]
005. Send a gift to someone for no particular reason.
006. Say something positive/uplifting to a friend each day. [1001/1001] (Note: It’s easy when you have a girlfriend)
007. Host a party.
008. Purchase card and gift for each immediate family member’s birthday for one year. [3/3]
Health / Food
009. Find a doctor and schedule healthy check-ups. (Note: I visit a doctor regularly but it is for my crippling stomach issues, not healthy check-ups)
010. Find a dentist and schedule regular visits.
011. Find a good multi-vitamin, take one each day from that moment on.
012. Try 100 new foods. [101/100]
013. Go to Venice Beach. Start walking north. See how far I get. (Note: I walked home from Sunset and Vine once. Does that count?)
014. No soda pop for one week. (Note: Not only accomplished, I gave up soda for good in May of 2010)
015. Drink the recommended daily allowance of water (50 fl oz) for a month.
016. Subtract “fast food” from my diet for one year.
017. Bake My Own Bread.
018. Learn how to make Fawn’s vegan sushi. Make it for friends.
019. Eat a piece of fruit every day for a month. (Note: I tried this for a while but the closest I got was 2.5 weeks)
020. Buy a bike to ride instead of driving locally. (Note: I didn’t expect to do this)
021. Do 100 sit-ups every night before bed for one month. (Note: The closest I got was one week)
022. Do a system cleanse.
023. Eat vegan for one week.
024. Make my own tortilla chips in the deep fryer, make salsa to go with it.
025. Try ten new styles of cuisine. [10/10] (Brazilian, Persian, West African, Ethiopian, Tibetan, Peruvian, Korean BBQ, Greek, Burmese, Nepalese)
026. Eat the fried egg / chili / bacon / cheeseburger at Fatburger.
027. Fast for 24, 48 and 72 hours.
Projects: Artistic / Creative
028. Get my book published.
029. Put together a band for live shows/recordings
030. Have 10 friends recommend a book, and read all ten. [5/10] (Note: Pat gave me a copy of Lou Dobbs’ book (?), Meredith sent me “Home Land” by Sam Lipsyte, Ian gave me a copy of “Living Lost,” Tom gave me “The Road” and my mom recommended Artie Lange’s “Too Fat To Fish”)
031. Read five books about L.A. [1/5] (City of Quartz)
032. Make a collection of favorite poetry.
033. Watch all unseen movies in AFI’s Top 100 List. [45 / 100] [48/123] (Note: That’s 45 of the original 100 listed in 1997, and 48 of the updated 100 published in 2007, which included 23 films not on the original AFI list)
034. Create stencils for homemade t-shirts.
035. Write a screenplay.
036. Write one song a day for one week.
037. Learn to read music.
038. Think of a unique, marketable idea and try to sell it.
039. Put out an album for an artist/band you enjoy. (Note: I recent made some offers but nothing has been confirmed yet)
040. Have an article published in a newspaper/magazine. (Note: In another week or two this will be accomplished)
041. Wear a suit one day for absolutely no reason.
042. Call into a radio show.
Home
043. Rescue a dog from a local shelter. Keep it alive! (Note: Yeah right.)
044. Find a residence and sign a long-term (or open-ended) lease.
045. Make your bed every morning for one month.
046. Clean, then maintain a spotless bedroom floor.
047. Vacuum whenever you think “this room needs to be vacuumed”.
048. Paint something and hang it on a wall.
Financial
049. Find advertisers for my website, make some money.
050. Get a job that pays better than the record store.
051. Pay one month’s rent entirely from blog income.
052. Sell at least twenty items on eBay / Craigslist / Amazon [20/20]
053. Give money to a beggar. Get money from a beggar. (Note: Funny in theory, but in reality it is difficult to execute. I asked one guy but he got this look in his eye like he wanted to stab me)
054. Spend $0 For One Week.
055. Donate $2 to charity for each task on this list not completed. (Note: I intend to combine my donation with the one I will make when my petition to get “The Event” canceled is fully signed)
Travel / Leisure
056. Visit remaining 13 states I have not visited. [1/13]
057. Attend a Lakers game and a Clippers game. [0/2]
058. Drive cross-country again.
059. Go on one multi-night camping trip.
060. Go on a real picnic.
061. Go SCUBA diving.
062. Take one of the long hikes in Joshua Tree.
063. Drive to Mexico
064. Ride a roller coaster.
065. Attend a rally or protest.
066. Drive the PCH up to San Francisco.
067. Drive to Vancouver.
068. Spend a summer day in Death Valley.
069. Sleep on a beach one night.
070. Fly somewhere first-class.
071. Make a list of local weird sites, visit twelve. [12/12]
072. Visit the remaining two Pizza Port Breweries.
073. Tour 5 breweries. [3/5] (Note: I am utterly ashamed that I did not fulfill this goal. No excuses.)
074. Visit 5 museums. [5/5]
075. Memorize the Alpha Bravo Charlies. (Note: And it actually helped me on trivia night a few months ago)
076. See a theatrical production.
077. Take The Scientology “Free Stress Test” with a friend.
078. Attend Dia de los Muertos at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Personal / Capitalist Urges
079. Have name printed in newspaper, in a positive article.
080. Buy a nice pair of sunglasses.
081. Do not use a computer for one week. (Note: The closest I came was the 3 or 4 days when my laptop was in the shop. Plus I have to use a computer at work every day. A dumb goal I should have realized was impossible.)
082. Do not say anything sarcastic for one week. (Note: I should have tried harder. Wait, is that sarcastic? Shit.)
083. [PRIVATE]
084. [PRIVATE]
085. [PRIVATE] (Note: I didn’t travel outside the country in the last 3 years, so I couldn’t achieve this secret goal)
086. Try five new beers each month. [217 /190] (Note: That was before I stopped counting. Yes, this week’s Friday Top Ten will incorporate the ten best beers I consumed in 2010)
087. Buy something from the Rose Bowl flea market.
088. Don’t speak for an entire day. (Note: I came really close once but then I walked into a house and yelled “Hello!?” for no reason.)
089. Play poker at a casino in Vegas.
090. Pay for the car behind me at a fast food drive-thru.
091. Learn and identify 10 constellations.
092. Buy a Jerry Jones baritone guitar.
093. Buy either a Hiwatt, Orange, or Sovtek guitar amplifier.
094. Buy a nicer camera than the one I have.
095. Make a new 101 in 1001 list.
096. Write three letters of complaint for a bad product/customer service. [3/3]
097. Convince somebody else to create a 101/1001 list.
098. Win something. Anything.
099. Visit a psychic.
100. Buy An Extraordinarily Expensive Bottle of Bourbon.
101. Subject myself to hypnosis. Why? I don’t know, just because.
Ash – Gone The Dream
