Sunday, June 24, 2012

Summer Days



This outfit is back from a couple of weeks ago...it now seems unimaginable that we'd been having weather down in the 60's, given last week's Northeast heat wave.  Makes me warm just looking at this outfit.  Jeans and a blazer?  Granted, this would still be absolutely appropriately-warm clothing for inside my lab.  That's the challenge I have every summer...how to make it out of the house to the T to the Lab without overheating while still being able to be warm all day at the Lab.  Sweaters help some, but what do I do with my legs?  Bare legs and sandals are necessary during a week like last week, but not comfortable for long stretches of time in frigid air conditioning.  Maybe I need to bring a pair of leggings to put on once I get in.  Anybody have tips on how to handle major differences between outdoor heat and indoor cold?

So I've been fairly busy, mostly with my General Exams for my Ph.D. program...a combination of a 3-hour oral exam on my planned dissertation area and three fields relevant to it that I'd chosen and studied (which I took and passed two weeks ago), two 24-hour written exam papers (which I took last week), and one journal-level article (have most of a draft done, planning to finish over the next week).  Other than that, I've been trying to spend more time cleaning the apartment, definitely inspired by reading old entries in UFYH -- take a look, if you like being pushed to clean things and don't mind some bad language and sparkly GIFs.

I've also been crossing some things off the 101 in 1001 list, including a trip to a Cirque du Soleil show yesterday (amazing!) and trying a bunch of different variations on green smoothies (now that my community farm share has started for the summer).  Banana and apple and romaine lettuce is actually pretty good:


Not so good?  The one I tried with grapefruit, lime, kale, and cilantro.  I'll take my smoothies with less bitterness and my cilantro at times other than breakfast...

Sunday, June 3, 2012

101 in 1001



I've been seeing a lot of bloggers creating lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days, and finally started a list for myself after reading Katy's list. The original challenge was inspired by the Day Zero website.

One thing I hadn't anticipated was that the list was really hard for me to make! It's been sitting in a Google Doc for the last two months, gradually getting added to. I chose to have my start date as 4/05/2012, which takes me to an end date of 1/01/2015. I'm very excited about the idea of a list at this timescale. I'd made a 26 Before 26 list last year, but found the six-ish months I gave myself not really long enough for accomplishing a bunch of interesting things. On the other hand, it's thrilling to pick a few of my life-list goals (like visiting the Edinburgh theater festival) and saying, "Fine! I'll find a way to do that in the next two and a half years!"

Something else I really enjoyed about making this list was searching through other bloggers' lists for ideas (both on Day Zero and through Google)! It's always fun to see what sorts of things people are imagining to do and making a priority in their lives, especially people at various different stages in their lives...lots of amazing goals that people are setting!


Without further ado, my 101 in 1001. I'll try to blog about some of these things and keep the list somewhat up to date...maybe I'll make a static page on my blog with this.  Italics indicate completed items.

Work/Studies
  1. Complete my General Exams
  2. Write my dissertation proposal and pass my defense
  3. Write my Ph.D. dissertation and pass my dissertation defense
  4. Graduate with my Ph.D.!
  5. Get my post-grad-school work started
  6. Publish at least three conference or journal papers
  7. Have a project featured on the MAKE blog
  8. Redesign my professional website
  9. Direct another show
  10. Costume design another show
  11. Work through The Artist’s Way
  12. Spend a month choreographing something every day

Travel
  1. Visit at least 4 countries
  2. Attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
  3. Visit Washington DC
  4. Spend a day in Providence
  5. Go to Cape Cod
  6. Spend a day at the beach near Boston (Crane Beach, 5/26/12)
  7. Go to my college reunion in 2013
  8. Visit the Boston Harbor Islands
  9. See the Northern Lights
  10. Go on a road trip with K.

Experiences/Education
  1. See the glass flowers exhibit at the Harvard Natural History Museum
  2. Attend at least 75 theater/dance/music performances, which seems like a lot, but averages to only 2 or 3 per month...So far:Yesterday Happened, Sleep No More
  3. See 5 movies in theaters
  4. Finish watching all the episodes of Star Trek Voyager
  5. Watch a Woody Allen movie
  6. Eat at 20 new-to-me restaurants in Boston/Cambridge
  7. Read at least 10 fiction books (So far: The Help, Call of the Go-Away Bird, Catching Fire, Mockingjay)
  8. Read at least 10 non-fiction books (not for work...)
  9. Read a book a week for a year (can be fiction, non-fiction, work-related, plays, random...)
  10. Go to 5 different museums (So far: Harvard Natural History Museum)
  11. Learn to ski again
  12. Learn at least one new programming language
  13. Take a class in something I’ve never done
  14. Go to a contact improv jam
  15. Learn a new song on the piano
  16. Go whale watching again
  17. Send a postcard to PostSecret
  18. See a show on Broadway again
  19. Go ice skating again
  20. Go fruit picking again
  21. Go to the ballet in Boston
  22. See a Cirque du Soleil show
  23. Do something big spontaneously
  24. Go to a festival of some kind
  25. Watch two TED talks every month
  26. See another meteor shower

Creativity
  1. Write pages at 750 Words everyday for a month
  2. Do a NaBloPoMo again
  3. Participate in the 48 Hour Film Festival again
  4. Create something every day for a month
  5. Sew a dress from a 1950’s pattern
  6. Make at least 10 garments from scratch
  7. Cut my refashioning pile down by at least half
  8. Actually put some things in my Etsy shop
  9. Sell my jewelry/sewing work at a craft fair
  10. Redesign my blog

Fashion/Style
  1. Complete at least one me-made challenge (So Zo blog) (May 2012)
  2. Wear every item in my closet/drawers (or donate those that just won’t get worn).  Possible exception: formal dresses.  
  3. Learn how to wear bright lipstick, and then do so at least once in public
  4. Get a noticeable haircut (5/28/2012)
  5. Cut down to <50 pairs of shoes (this number still seems quite high...)
  6. Get and wear a nice bikini
  7. Use up or get rid of all scented body lotions
  8. Wear makeup every day for a week

Others
  1. Have a weekly “date” with K. for a year
  2. Donate at least 1001 items to charity (current total: 27, 79, 117)
  3. Complement 10 strangers
  4. Buy at least 5 things from Etsy vendors
  5. Send letters/emails to 5 people I’ve fallen out of touch with
  6. Donate to 3 Kickstarter campaigns
  7. Buy something from kids selling things at a stand
  8. Donate to my alma mater each year
  9. Send birthday cards to 10 friends
  10. Send 10 cards to people just for fun/thinking of them
  11. Comment on blogs every day for a month

Life/Health
  1. Get a car
  2. Head towards a more minimal lifestyle- get rid of more things I don’t need!
  3. Get rid of A Thing A Day for a month
  4. Spend a full day without using the internet
  5. Make the bed every day for a month
  6. Have a clean kitchen sink at the end of every day for a month
  7. Start taking vitamins again - at least one month taking vitamins every day
  8. Go to at least 10 exercise classes (any type) (0/10)
  9. Get back to regular workout schedule of at least 3 times/week.  Maintain for a year (0/52)
  10. Return to (and maintain) my comfortable weight range
  11. Go 10 days without spending any money
  12. Research and start a retirement account

Food
  1. Try green smoothies
  2. Spend at least one week without eating sugar
  3. Try 50 new recipes (So far: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/ 5/27/12, http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-thai-chicken-thighs-106499 5/27/12, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tex-mex-burger-with-cajun-mayo/detail.aspx 6/01/12)
  4. Make the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls (5/27/12)
  5. Learn to make cheesecake
  6. Try Ethiopian food
  7. Try Afghan food
  8. Get bagels in Brookline
  9. Take lunch into work for a month
  10. Try 3 new fruits or vegetables
  11. Learn to make gnocchi

Finally...
  1. Finish another 101 in 1001 list
Things I'm aware I didn't focus on as much here as I'd like to, probably partly because I'm making this public - improving my relationships with family and K., and getting specific on more future-work-related goals. I also have attempted to avoid the feeling of a "stuff that has to be done" list in favor of "awesome/self-improving stuff I'd really like to do." Have you ever made a list like this? Would you? And what do you think about these sorts of timed goal lists? Motivating, or just a fad? I think I'm pretty pleased with the list, and looking forward to diving into more of these experiences! Will keep you all posted...
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