101 in 1001 days!

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and represent some amount of work on my part.

Why: One of my best friends, Kailyn Tran, has her own 101 in 1001 blog and inspired me to jump on the bandwagon. My life in Beijing was exciting, busy and adventurous. Don't get me wrong, I love America, but while I'm jobless and living in the suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. I need to make sure I stay focused, entertained and busy. I love trying new things and keeping the 'ole brain workin' and anyone who knows me knows I like to make lists! Hopefully this blog will help do the trick!

I will post at least once a week (per #18), so be sure to check back :)

Start date: Sept. 12, 2011
End date: thus June 09, 2014


1. Grow a successful garden: herbs, flowers & veggies. (This will be dependent on getting a job and thus moving out and having my own yard.)

2. Eat strictly Paleo for a whole week.

3. For two weeks, drink the suggested amount of water each day, which is 8 8oz. cups, approximately 2 liters.

4. Actually send thank you cards after at an event/holiday.

5. Make one scrapbook (note: picture sleeve booklets do NOT count.) Time to get the creative juices flowing!

6. Buy a new computer & become proficient on a MAC (which hopefully means I will buy a MAC).

7. For one week (or the otherwise specified amount of time) do a "toxic cleansing diet."

8. Go to the San Francisco zoo (or at least one that compares) and see the freaking panda that I never saw in China.

9. Grow my hair long again and...wait for it...perm it! Loose perm, that is.

10. Make at least one dish from all of the Asian countries I've lived in/visited: China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Hong Kong (they have different food).
-Thailand (pad thai)

11. Read 100 books, including 10 nonfiction, and reread 3 classics.
-The Help

12. Go camping (REAL camping).

13. Take a personality test (an extensive personality test, which excludes Myers Briggs (sorry, MB, love ya)).

14. Go on a real picnic.

15. Organize the stuff atop my closet and under my bed. You would understand the magnitude of this task if you saw it!

16. Complete at least two of the three: half marathon, sprint triatholon, or one of those intense obstacle course 5Ks

17. Hit up a new continent.

18. Start a blog...so I guess that's kind of cheating since I subsequently have this one, so we'll quantify it even more by saying I must update at least once a week.

19. Check out a cool new place in the U.S.: the badlands or Hawaii or Lake Tahoe.

20. OK, I've seen several World Wonders, but I haven't seen the Grand Canyon. So #20, check out the Grand Canyon.

21. Attend either the World Cup or Olympics (a purchased ticket and plan to attend the WC will still count).

22. Make something out of the Korean "paper" that I bought. (I know this sounds vague, but I don't know how else to describe it.)

23. Attend 10 UNC sporting events (each a different sport, and note: women's and men's count separately).
-football

24. Attend UNC Homecoming all three years. (1/3)

25. Visit China.

26. Join a church.

27. Win an adult team league in some sport.

28. Learn to identify 10 constellations.

29. Watch 10 movies that I have missed that always receive the "OMG YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT!?" response. (Independence Day, The Patriot, Gladiator, Armageddon, The Terminator, The Mummy...)
-Independence Day

30. Visit the farm in Wisconsin.

31. Coach a lacrosse team again, preferably either high school varsity or college club.

32. Attend at least one UNC Club Lacrosse game each semester. (1/6)

33. Sew...something, and without [too much of] Kailyn's help!

34. Make/Compile a cookbook of at least 100 recipes.

35. Go to a rodeo.

36. Finish an LA Times crossword ALL by myself!

37. Learn how to change a tire and check the oil in my car.

38. Learn Mandarin Chinese. (OK...I know this is ambitious, but I find Chinese fascinating and would love to expand on what I already know. Might as well aim to learn it...and if I only learn 100 new characters out of the 4,000 needed to read a newspaper, so be it.)

39. Send at least five gifts/care packages/cards to friends in China.

40. Give a REALLY GOOD gift. (Since we all know this has probably never happened, it's up to you guys to let me know once I've done it! It will be a glorious day.)

41. Research and become familiar with my family health.

42. Take another religion class.

43. Participate in a Fantasy draft. This will require me learning enough about the players to actually have fun and be strategic with it. I figure, since I love coaching and creating line ups for lacrosse, then I will like this.

44. Volunteer on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

45. Learn how to apply make-up better. Y'all know I don't wear a ton of make-up, but I suppose it could be nice to step it up every now and then.

46. Do P90X or CrossFit for at least a month.

47. Buy a share of stock in a company.

48. Make cornhole boards (and bags).

49. Wine & Design, preferably of the UNC Old Well.

50. Become a full time employee at The Social Value.

51. Collect and send another round of lacrosse equipment to Beijing.

52. Make CDs of all my [important] pictures.

53. Attend a UNC-Duke men's basketball game.

54. Find/Create the perfect recipe for milk tea.

55. Visit Anthony - this is long overdue!

56. Conquer Sporcle's Countries of the World quiz by myself.

57. Learn to roll sushi.

58. Get a job!

59. Go on a tour at Red Oak Brewery.

60. Study for and take the GMAT.

61. Teach Misty a trick.

62. Find/Visit Tina & Chip! (I used to work at their restaurant, Bonne Soiree, and I know they are up to extraordinary things now!)

63. Eat at Southern Rail and on the other end...the Taco Truck.

64. Lamest thing about me - I fell out of music a few years ago, and I hate it. So, find 10 CDs that I really enjoy.

65. Attend a UNC Clef Hangers concert.

66. Read the Old Testament from start to finish.

67. Financially support at least one of my friends doing mission work.

68. Get the Gardasil vaccine. Just seems smart.

69. Start a retirement account.

70. Buy a nice pair of hiking boots. Tennis shoes just aren't cutting it anymore.

71. Attend a UT (NOT Tennessee, dummies) football game.

72. Find a nonprofit and get involved. I would list a specific one, but that's difficult as I don't know where I'll be living in the next three years.

73. Wicked.

74. Go to the Nutcracker with my mom and sister.

75. Golf with my dad at least five times, and one of the times must be 18 holes (gasp!).

76. Donate 100,000 grains of rice.

77. Make homemade ice cream.

78. Learn Photoshop.

79. Frame one picture from every country/trip I've been on.

80. Get at least 6ft. of air snowboarding. (Currently I'm probably at about one foot.)

81. Get my percent body fat to 17%. (I'm not an expert on this, so this number will likely change once I can calculate where I'm at now and what a realistic goal is for my height and body type.)

82. See the Northern Lights.

83. Visit Mamaw (this should happen sooner rather than later).

84. Go to a UNC vs. State football game with my sister.

85. Buy my mom flowers.

86. Go to Christmas in Davidson.

87. Create a professional web page with my portfolio.

88. Join a badminton team/league.

89. Play Quidditch, hehe.

90. Go white water rafting!

91. Organize a UNC Women's Club Lacrosse Alumni game.

92. Visit Savannah or Charleston.

93. Figure out what's wrong with my back, and thus how to fix it or at least make it feel better.

94. Get a dog. (This will likely be toward the end of my 1001 days.)

95. Finish all my Christmas shopping for the year by December 1st.

96. Throw a surprise party.

97. Do the plank for five minutes.

98. Do something extreme. At least one: bungee jumping, sky diving, ride in a hot air balloon..

99. Visit an art museum.

100. Learn how to lucid dream.

101. Donate $5 to charity for each item not completed.

Let me know if you'd like to partake in any of these activities! I'm sure not doing them all alone, so if you don't volunteer I'll likely recruit you anyway :)