...99, 100, 101

Cooee!

2010-09-20T23:42:00.000-03:00

The List 2.0 is up and running. Not exactly complete, organised or on a useful url, but in existence nonetheless.

I do still intend to finish wrapping up here, but there was a good reason to get the second 101 underway.

Ok, I just checked and apparently cooee is an Aussie thing, but "Hey everyone, I'm over here, come and find me!" didn't have the same ring.

#11 and #88 - Stockings and dealnames

2010-08-30T03:17:00.004-03:00

Status: Failed, but...

To continue the post-mortem of the 101 1.0...

These two became intertwined in a story. Technically, they are fails. I did not find the ultimate pair of stockings and I did not come up with a particularly hilarious dealname. However, the two goals got more than their fair share of airtime.

In the early part of the 1001 days, I spent many a cocktail-hour debating the benefits of stay-ups over pantyhose and whether real stockings were viable in today's busy world... I spent lunch-hours browing hosiery racks frustratedly and would inevitably find the right shade, dernier, toe style, control-ness and waist height, only to walk away with 3 packs in the wrong size.

And then I got laid off. Which has received very limited blog-space I know, but stuff it, you can psycho-analyse me later. I decided to try my hand at entrepreneurship - hosiery style. I did weeks of research, built a cashflow model, started a business plan, planned marketing and started talking to chinese manufacturers. And came up with a cool business name and bought myself the domain name.

It's not exactly a dealname, but in a way it's cooler. It's more mine. And I didn't exactly find the perfect stockings, but boy did I put some energy into finding/creating them.

The business is on ice for the moment. Couldn't tie down my SCA (sustainable competitive advantage, like, duh) and finally caved in to my craving to become a doctor (Med school application is pending).

So there you have it. A few revelations from a shy blogger and a peek at just where a 101 might lead you...

#1. Orient Express

2010-07-25T02:26:00.000-03:00

Status: Fail

An earlier train journey...

I can't believe that of the 101 tasks, this one didn't make it. It was my first list item and one I desperately want to do. Sadly, just last year, the train stopped technically being called the Orient Express (it used to be listed as such in the timetable) but the route is still there and I'll keep trying to do it.

And another...

#39 (new). Wikipedia

2010-07-24T02:21:00.000-03:00

Status: Epic Fail (I'm on a roll of humility here, give me a break)

I still like this task, I just never thought of anything I particularly wanted to write about. I do have one idea now, so maybe I'll give it a go in the next 101.

#38 (new). Scrabble Bingo (as it is apparently called in parts of the world)

2010-07-23T01:13:00.000-03:00

Status: Epic Fail

Thanks to Partizan92 for photo

I WILL do this. I swear I will. It's going on the List 2.0. I did play a bit of scrabble over the last 1001 days, but clearly not enough.

Looking back at this has prompted me to sign up to the Internet Scrabble Club, where I am currently getting absolutely whipped by minimoodle 182-80. I like to think I have a reasonable vocabulary and haven't heard of any of her (surely not a he) first 4 words. My family has always eschewed "official" scrabble dictionaries in favour of common use words. You can't use it if you can't use it in a sentence. And no obscure 2-letter words - it becomes a different, and much more boring, game if it's all about memorising those.

Game Over. I lose 346-264. Longest word = WINDY. Not as shameful as it started out, but not good. The interface actually isn't bad. I could do a game or two a week I think...

#26 (new) Play Poker

2010-07-22T00:56:00.002-03:00

Status: Fail

I don't like not being good at things. And I'm not good at poker. By definition really, seeing as I've never played. There were a few occasions in the year or two this was on the list that I could have achieved it. But I would have sucked. In front of people.

I do still think this is one of those skills that a modern accomplished young lady should possess. So perhaps it goes to List 2.0.

(I really should have posted sooner and got that last post off the top...)

#35. Get Laser

2010-06-25T21:47:00.000-03:00

Status: Complete

This definitely now feels like oversharing. But the rules are the rules. So yes, I got laser. It was good. It wasn't perfect. On a banker's salary - yes. Regular people - probably no.

That will be all.

#28. Me, myself and I

2010-06-24T21:26:00.000-03:00

Status: Complete

As if this whole blogging thing wasn't narcissistic enough, I went and took photos of myself. In the end, 12 out of 33 are actual hold-out-an-arm or hit-the-timer-button shots and the rest are photos other people happen to have taken in a specific month, but I'm satisfied it's complete.

Why? I'm not entirely sure. It's a kind of time-capsule feeling I guess. Certainly not to assess the quality of my skincare products or anything quite so specific. More just "What did I look like when I was 26?"

I've been a slightly coy online presence thus far, so I'm not sure where these pics go. Maybe I get over it and load them up on flickr. Or maybe not.

#71(new). Gallery visits

2010-06-23T20:28:00.000-03:00

Status: Complete (with a tine bit of wiggling)

I tracked this goal in this post. In all, I made 42 visits to galleries/monuments and went to 8 other "cultural events" that I've decided can kind of count...

An installation at the MoMA

This was a fabulous goal - it had all the right ingredients. It was something to chip away at, fun, cheap and satisfying. Well-worded too I think - I didn't say they had to be unique galleries (I got as much out of my 4th visit to the MoMA as my 1st); I didn't say I had to stay a certain amount of time, or memorise any art. Just drop in. Which is just the sort of thing I might not otherwise bother to do. The list provided the perfect amount of extra motivation.

Definitely a candidate for re-inclusion in The List 2.0.

#2 (new). Tricky letters

2010-06-22T09:22:00.000-03:00

Status: Incomplete (17/26)

I ended up getting through 17 of the 26 destinations for the A-Z goal. I've decided that vowels are hard - as are the letters after T. I'm surprised I didn't get H, O, and T - they don't seem so hard... I think if I'd had the full 1001 days on this one I might have made it - it was a half-time addition. It's definitely a candidate for The List 2.0.

R is for Rhode Island

A is for Aspen (and Apollo Bay)

B is for Byron Bay (and Brisbane

C is for Canberra (and Caloundra and Cairns)

D is for Denver

F is for Fontainebleau

G is for the Great Barrier Reef

H is for the Hamptons

J is for Jay Peak

L is for Lenox

M is for Montreal (and Melbourne and Montauk)

N is for New York

P is for Paris

Q is for Quinebaug

R is for Rhode Island

S is for Sydney (and Sorrento and Santiago)

V is for Virginia

W is for Washington DC

#41 (new). Project 365

2010-05-17T14:53:00.002-03:00

Status: Complete!

It's a simple concept: take a photo every day for a year. That's it really. Sounds easy.

That said, Project 365 became one of the "Biggest" goals of my 101, so I'll try to give it a decent debrief.

A Favourite: Day 80

The verdict: 318/365

I ended up with 318 photos in my 365 set on Flickr, which gives me 87%. Not perfect, but I still would have scored a High Distinction at university, so I won't be too hard on myself. My main interest when I started was in taking better photos and I'd say that happened: as a trend, the photos towards the end are better than those at the start. Strangely though, my favourite pics (below) seem to be in the first half of the year.

I hadn't really thought about the "diary" part of the project when I set out, but I'd say that's now the reason I'm most glad I did it, and the reason I would most like to repeat it. I've never kept a diary (except for the sort that says "Handwash dress!!" and "QF107 10:25") and never particularly wanted to, but it's kind of amazing to be able to flick through the last year. A horrifying number of pics are of airports and plane interiors, but I can also see the seasons; the snow; the beach; moving house; graduation night; the sights of NYC; the growth of my basil plant; and the cafes I've blogged and studied in...

The details: 2 cameras, 0 people

I used 2 cameras: my canon point and shoot; and my iphone. The iphone was super-convenient, discrete and reasonably good quality, but made me lazy. There's something about holding an actual camera, even a tiny one, in two hands that makes you at least pause a moment. As for rules, I had a bit of a subconscious prohibition on people in my pics. I was uploading them to flickr and didn't really want to expose myself or my buddies. I don't know if that was entirely necessary...

The good

- I became a better photographer

- I have a fabulous journal of my year

- My favourites: 21 March, 3 April, 24 April, 30 May, 7 June, 19 August

- Flickr's most "interesting": Day 34, Day 80, Day 76, Day 25 and Day 116

- Your's? Do you have different favourites?

The bad

- Timezones! I missed so many days crossing the dateline...

- Any daily task is a chore at times

- Taking snapshots felt like a folly on days when my job/immigration status/general life was in limbo

- Uploading I got used to, labeling remained a massive pain

Should I do it again? I think I'd like to. Maybe I'll start on my birthday in a few weeks... It felt a little strange to start on a random date in February. Maybe it'll be part of my next list.

Phew! Time to go and rescue the laundry. Maybe I'll take a picture of it.

Return to 101

2010-05-17T14:52:00.002-03:00

It's been a busy couple of months. Exams, weddings, travel... I feel like I blinked and suddenly there were 30 days left. Of 1001!

I have a few tasks that are done that I'll post about and then I guess it's time to start debriefing. I'm not going to get to 101, but I have done a lot. Did I like it? Did I like my list? Am I going to do it again? If so, how the hell do I rework this website so I can still use my address, not lose anything I've done, but also have it fresh and ready to go again....?

#21. Archiving the books

2010-02-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

#21. LIST OF BOOKS

53. Songs for the Butcher's Daughter (wip)
52. People of the Book
51. Brick Lane
50. The Messenger
49. Banker to the Poor
48. Revolutionary Road
47. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
46. Eat, Pray, Love
45. Dark Star Safari
44. Running with Scissors
43. Dreams From My Father (really interesting - well written)
42. The Boat
41. Enduring Love (another good Ian McEwan)
40. Trout Opera (slow first half, but great second half)
39. An American Wife (perfect for inauguration season)
38. The Believers (hilarious family)
37. The Good Mayor (pretty weak)
36. The Hour I First Believed (great new Wally Lamb)
35. White Tiger
34. [Maeve Binchy]
33. Everything is Illuminated (quirky, good, rambled occasionally)
32. On Chesil Beach (good little story)
31. A Fraction of the Whole
30. Netherland
29. Fair and Tender Ladies
28. The World According to Garp
27. Breath
26. The Lay of the Land
25. A Spot of Bother
24. Unaccustomed Earth
23. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
22. Double Fault
21. The Memory Keeper's Daughter
1. Birds without wings
2. The Book Thief
3. The Kite Runner
4. A Thousand Splendid Suns
5. Water for Elephants
6. Half of a Yellow Sun
7. Suite Francaise
8. Searching for Caleb
9. The Sea - didn't enjoy, quite contrived, expected more from an award winner
10. Bank - average, amusing, not as good as Monkey Business
11. The Other Side of You - a sweet story, well written
12. A Special Relationship - pretty cheesy, but good at the beach, could have been shorter
13. We Need to Talk About Kevin - very good, funny, spooky
14. The Idiot (wip) - excellent, but hard work, everyone has 3 names
15. The Gathering - good, if a little floaty
16. Atonement - enjoyed the second half more than the first
17. Private Papers - really good.
18. The Post-Birthday World - okay, but not as good as Kevin, a bit predictable
19. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - good story
20. The Secret River - interesting bit of history

#79. Attend an Opening

2010-02-01T13:41:00.004-04:00

Status: Complete

I completed this one without even realising it. Was scrolling down the 101 list this morning, updating my books post and chastising myself for not getting to more galleries when I spotted my Opening Night task. Why yes, I do believe this one is done...

A friend in the city has put together a wonderful production of Dorian Gray off-Broadway and the Hombre and I were lucky enough to get tickets to Opening Night and the after party. It was exactly the kind of night I'd planned when I set this goal. Play was fabulous, cast was gorgeous, and after-party in a stylish little underground den. If you're anywhere near NY, you must go... Only regret is that I didn't wear one of the dresses I'd made - would have been the perfect occasion!

#10. Skiing

2010-01-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Status: Complete

I survived Aspen. According to the Hombre, we did a double black diamond without my being aware/freaking out/dying. I think it was actually a bunch of trees/"glades" off the edge of a lovely blue run, but I'm going to run with the double black. I think this was it:

Now that I look at it, there are quite a few trees there. Allow me to quote a couple of entries from the "Skiers' Dictionary":

Traverse - one method of effectively reducing speed while skiing.

Tree - the other method.

Quite a few opportunities for dramatic wipeouts. If I'd been going faster than a lawnmower.

And we're off again this weekend. Jay Peak, Vermont. The Hombre is being babysat by a female daredevil, while I will ski with her husband, who has a conveniently broken foot, so I think we should have a similar speed and risk appetite.

#20. See The Nutcracker

2010-01-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

Status: Completed in style

I borrowed a 9 year old, donned my marines jacket to look like a tin soldier and hit the Lincoln Centre. It was glorious.

#47. Make something to wear to work. Or an interview.

2009-12-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

Status: Finito

How noble am I. I did the good 101 deed of not copping out and actually finishing a proper work outfit.

I do realise that these halcyon days of house-wifing (sod off spellcheck) will come to an end and I will seek out interviews. And jobs. One job ideally.

In the last interview that I can remember, I was asked by my dapper late-30s gent interviewer (after an hour on the fundamentals of corporate finance):

- What quirky thing are we going to find out about you in 5 years?

Huh?

- Uh, I do a little dressmaking...

- Fabulous! I love crochet myself.

Bigger huh?

- Right, great...

- So did you make this suit?

- No. A tailor in Thailand did...

After which follows a fascinating conversation on the virtues of bespoke suits.

But. This time around, I am prepared and will be able to proudly show off my pinstripe, fine wool dress as my own. Much more important than an opinion on Obama's health care package, surely.

#46. Build a pantry

2009-12-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

Status: Complete

In good housewife style, I believe I now have a well-stocked pantry. Not that it's something one can ever truly 'have'. 'Manage' is perhaps the better term.

I define well-stocked by a couple of measures:

1. Being able to shop in the style of "I'm nearly out of eggs. Must buy eggs." As opposed to "Eggs. Wonder where I could buy eggs..."

2. Being able to make a meal without leaving the house when it's 3 degrees and raining. At most moments I can now scrape together a fried rice or a gluten-free, dairy-free gnocchi carbonara. Or at the very least pasta+pesto.

I have been greatly hampered in this goal by:

1. A kitchen most generously described as 'cosy'. My pantry is a drawer, my fridge fits under the counter, my freezer... hang on, I don't have a freezer.

2. Living so close to Whole Foods that the walk from the veggies to the checkout is longer than from the checkout to the apartment.

And still I triumph. mwahaha.

Not sure if anyone wants to know what lives in a well-stocked pantry such as mine. If I'm stuck for another post, I shall describe in great detail.

#23. Thanksgiving antics

2009-12-07T14:08:00.002-04:00

Status: Complete

You can do the cross-reference if you want to figure this one out.

Amazing first Thanksgiving though. Lashings of food, gallons of wine, a bonfire and #23.

A little new sophistication...

2009-10-15T17:15:00.002-03:00

Be patient with the mildly heinous combination of colours, while I try to engender un peu de sophistication to this here blog.

Cheers....

In Progress: let's take a look... Part 2

2009-10-14T14:40:00.003-03:00

... from previously. Where am I actually at with all this "in progress" rubbish...?

#22. French books (1 / 5)

There are just so many good books to read in english! And then there was the whole 'learning spanish' escapade, during which any exposure to french sent me back about 18 lessons in spanish. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd like to read something in its original French ideally, rather than a translation from english. Light and fun is ideal... And short would be helpful.

#28. Self-portraits (24/33)

This is actually truly 'in progress'. I'm on track for the timeframe and look like finishing at the end of the list. To be fair, they're not all technically 'self' portraits. But my goal was to track what I kind of looked like, so mission accomplished. In the process of being accomplished. And no, they're not online. I'm shy.

#35. Laser (7/?)

I'm close, I think, to being less hairy. Forever. Cool. Just a leeetle more patience and pain and I'll tick it off as done. Too much information? Sorry. Deal.

#49. Cycling

Again with the not-very-specific goal. Do you think it's done? I took the velib' bikes in Paris on three occasions. And didn't die. Or even fall. Touch wood. The last trip was at night from one side of central paris to the other. But that was ages ago and it would be a bit anti-climatic to tick it off now. Let's say one more decent bike ride and it's done. I even have a 'cycling new york' map to use. As long as it's nowhere near another moving vehicle, or pedestrian, we should be fine.

#50. the Big Swim

I think this might have to register as my first Epic Fail. (I just wanted to say Epic Fail). Sad really. I did the swim for the first time about 4 years ago and loved it. Apart from getting sea-sick at about 2.2km and feeling like death for the last 500m or so. I really wanted to do it again with some decent sea-sick pills, but unless I'm back in Sydney for the Australia-Day long weekend next January, it's not going to happen. But let's not chalk it up as a fail yet. Don't think my ego's up to it.

#80. Home addresses (5/10)

My friends keep moving. Like, seriously, do not stay put for more than a few months. I'm sure I've collected at least 10 addresses over the last couple of years, but I'd be doubtful if more than one was still valid. At least I've now sorted out my Entourage/iPhone address book in a nice tidy way so that whenever I do collect an address or two I can keep it.

#95. Gimme Your Stuff

Cool concept, but this site has been down forever. It has occasional peeps of life, but never for long. I'll keep checking in, but it's looking shaky.

Et voila, the incompletes.

In summary, we have:

2 x could probably be considered done, will polish them off (new 76, 49)

3 x will be done in good time (new41, 28, 35)

4 x will show them some love and probably make it (22, new2, new52, new71)

1 x looking shaky, but will renew the effort (new44)

3 x epic fails (likely to be) (50, 80, 95)

In Progress: let's take a look... Part 1

2009-10-13T12:00:00.000-03:00

Status: In Progress

It appears I have 13 tasks that I've had the genius to mark as In Progress. I thought it worth time to check out how prospective they were all looking...

New2. Travel A-Z. 10 out of 26.

This one is fun - nice and flexible. I feel like 10 isn't too bad. But then, I don't exactly have a strategy for the remaining 16. X and Z are looking hard. Keen to check out DC, so that should catch W. Quite fustratingly, many places seem to start with the same letters - I've been to at least 3 each of B, C, M and P...

New41. Project 365

This has gone better than I thought when I first began - I thought maybe I'd only make it a couple of months. But. September was truly abysmal. I'm trying to figure out how to punish myself before I put together the monthly mosaic. Think I missed 10 all up. AND I was traveling for half the month. Great Barrier Reef: no, nothing worth a daily photo there... Current thinking is that I'll figure out the date/number of each day I missed and take a highly skillful and creative photo of that number to repent. All up though, I am up to Day 250. Enough good pics to use in my next set of Moo cards. And a maaarginally improved 'eye'. I think.

New44. Freerice

This one is worse than the last. I've donated 15,290 on my mac and 8,170 on my iPhone. From memory, there were at least 5,000 on my work computer before it was vaporised... So let's say 28,460. I think it's not sitting at a desk with a boring job all day that killed my momentum. Donating grains of rice and improving my vocabulary used to often be the most productive way I could spend half my time. Now I have a life. But I do still believe in the cause. And I've downloaded MobileRice for my iPhone, so let's target using that more in my new dead time: waiting at traffic lights, the queue to buy groceries...

New52. Comments

Bad blogger. Yes, I'm a bad contributor to the general blogosphere in terms of sharing the love with my fellow bloggers. Although I think I'm better than it may appear - my primary weakness my be recording my good deeds, rather than actually committing them. I have to say, it is all a bit more fun when I'm commenting everywhere and - horror - people talk back.

New71. Galleries

New York is great for visiting galleries. Having the goal gives me just that extra little push needed to actually use my museum memberships and drop in on the Met and the MoMA. Still a bit of a way off 50, but have faith.

New 76. Spanish

And here I've come close to breaking one of the golden 101 rules: make sure the goal is specific. I'm not sure how I planned to measure Intermediate. I could happily claim beginner at the moment. And some would say finishing all 3 levels of Rosetta Stone would grant me intermediate. I think I'd like to test it out more first. Possibly a combined surf/spanish school in Central America for a few weeks. I must get back to a bit of Rosetta Stone revision in the meantime. Such elation at finishing the last lesson and don't think I've opened it since. Tut tut.

To be continued... (yep, that's what the 'part 1' was meant to signify)

#41 (new). El mes de agosto

2009-09-29T17:18:00.000-03:00

Status: In progress (236/365)

Another month for the project - up to Day 236 today. A little late getting August up here. And September has been rather shameful (I seem to forget as many as I take) But, voila:

#89. Upgrade on points

2009-09-25T12:16:00.001-03:00

Status: Complete

New York - Sydney return, 200,000 points, Air New Zealand, Business Class. Bliss. In a weird way - it's one of the few things in the world where I think you're really paying for the lack of something. The lack of discomfort, lack of exhaustion... Basically, you pay to not notice the flight. Genius.

*Photo clearly not me....

I nearly considered this goal done a few other times, when I was upgraded by the airline just for having decent status. Only to premium economy though :)

Admittedly this time they weren't my frequent flyer points, as mine are oneworld, not star alliance, but I consider this done. Maybe my points next time.

#84. Graduate from Masters

2009-09-24T12:02:00.001-03:00

Status: Complete

So, I know I cancelled this one at the start of the year for being somewhat outside of my control, but I do feel quite chuffed at actually finishing, so thought it was worth a quick post.

I'm a confused little being at the moment. Officially BA (French), BEng (Civil), MFin (INSEAD), but with minimal interest in being any of translator, civil engineer or banker... I guess the challenge now is to convince someone that this great group of letters ideally qualifies me to start, own and operate a small business...

#85. Get to work by 8:30 for a week

2009-09-23T11:55:00.004-03:00

Status: Complete-ish

So, it wasn't exactly 'work', but it was the closest I'm going to get at the moment and it was definitely 8:30. And it was for TWO weeks.

A tricky one to photograph, but think this gives you the picture:

For two weeks, I made it to class by 8:30 for morning lectures for my Masters of Finance. To be fair, it was a relatively short commute - staying and studying in the same conference centre - but I did made it to breakfast before class every morning it time to sit down and eat. It's amazing the motivation created by crispy bacon.

Procrastination...

2009-09-03T18:12:00.003-03:00

Status: Self-explanatory, no?

I really am being a little neglectful of this here blog. Tut tut. What have I got for excuses...? Not a lot really. There's been two weeks of study recently, but I mean, really. And of course I get the undying urge to blog now. 17 hours before my group presents its final case solution for a masters of finance. And 2.75 hours before meeting up with said group for a 'final run-through' of the contents of our presentation.

Ah, the wonders of procrastination.

I will keep it short though. As much as I'd like them too, I really don't think the slides are going to write themselves.

I was planning a bit of a rant, but maybe I'll restrain it to a little point of irony. Our presentation group of 5 is made up of 5 people who've recently been made redundant from the company sponsoring our masters and are now paying to complete the course. Not too big an issue, we're all cool people. This afternoon, a 'fun, little extra question' was added to our task for tomorrow: "Reflect on what you've learned over the last 14 weeks/3 years and relate that to our marvelous company and come up with a single idea that the company can implement to create value." Seriously. Seriously! WTF? Now you want my advice? For free? Anyway, I did say I was going to leave it at irony, so there you go. Ironic, no?

And that, my friends, will have to be all.

Unless of course, you want to help with my presentation? See, there's a company, buying another company. For some cash. And some shares. Enough cash and shares we think. But perhaps there could be a bit more cash...

Ok, fine, I'm leaving now.

#42. Fleurs Fini

2009-08-20T13:34:00.000-03:00

Status: Complete

Some pretty Dahlias to finish the set. Not that I'm done buying flowers - never - they're part of any proper grocery shopping now. Here's to the 101in1001 developing good habits - hurrah.

El mes de julio

2009-08-19T12:24:00.000-03:00

Status: In Progress

A very rude absence! No excuses really - except for working diligently back in Sydney on goal #58. Here are some pics from last month to kick-start diligent posting again.

#54 Plant herbs

2009-07-24T10:47:00.000-03:00

Status: Complete

We successfully harvested 4 little leaves from my Basil plant to add to a tomato/feta salad we had with dinner the other night. It kind of looks a little over-dressed in the pic, but it was so good. Like, really.

And the little guy is still alive. Or it was when I left the states 30 tortuous hours ago. It's under the duty of care of the Hombre for a couple of weeks now. And he's going to water it carefully every day while I'm gone. Right? xo

#42. Daisies

2009-07-22T15:04:00.000-03:00

Status: In Progress

My ninth bunch of flowers survived us being away for a couple of nights. They were called Novelty Poms, which keeps reminding me of English cricketers. Nice strong stems. (That sentence in turn is now reminding me of that stupid flatmate in the Notting Hill movie - "Nice strong buttocks")

Anyhooo...

#2 (new). Travel A-Z

2009-07-21T14:16:00.000-03:00

Status: In Progress (8/26)

Q is for Quinebaug.

The Hombre and I were out to dinner with a few people last week talking about our new little pad and our experiences with trying to find totally cool industrial antiques with which to furnish it in style. Turns out this is a difficult (not to mention mind-bogglingly expensive) mission in the middle of Manhattan.

Some friends thought to mention their experiences at the Brimfield Antique Show: a thrice yearly event that appeared to be a cross between adventure sport/shopping/music festival where several hundred thousand people gather to buy and sell antiques. Um. Yes. Please. We'd most likely missed the Summer session, but should start thinking about Fall... Ok. Sure.

Cut to. Home on the sofa with Google. "Hombre, what's the date?" "13th...?" Oooo yeah.... Summer show runs 15 - 19 July.

"Are there any big Zipcars?"

"This one is called half-car/half-house - book it?"

Which is how I came to be searching for an Inn within a short drive of Brimfield, MA. I just couldn't resist an adorable B&B just over the border in Quinebaug, CT.

Of course it had nothing to do with the town starting with Q. And my 101 in 1001 and the Travel A-Z goal. No, nothing at all.

(More on our success soon)

#54. Plant herbs

2009-07-20T12:51:00.000-03:00

Status: technically Complete, but we'll call it In Progress

When I created this goal, the intent was really to actually harvest some herbs, so while I've planted some basil and, more importantly, kept it alive for nearly 2 weeks (!), I don't want to call it until the basil has been eaten and enjoyed and lived to tell the tale (the basil, not me).

#47. Make something to wear to work

2009-07-15T13:05:00.003-03:00

Status: Not exactly complete

I was half-thinking of copping out on this goal a little by saying that, technically, since my "work" is now being a lady of leisure, the cocktail dress I made to wear at the Gala at the Met kind of counted.

Pretty, no? (I'm still a tad shy - the whole thing looks a bit silly hanging against the wall, but it does look good on) It's not even really a cop out, because a cocktail dress is not a simple thing to make! But I do want to stick to the goal, so have a proper work outfit planned - a length of orange silk suiting that I'll make into an A-line, below knee skirt and wear with black heels and black top and jacket. Think I just need a zipper and thread. And 8 or 9 hours. Funny how they're the hardest to find, even as a Lady of Leisure...

#71(new). Gallery visits update

2009-07-14T15:47:00.006-03:00

Status: In progress (12/50)

Wanted to share some of my recent gallery visits as they've been a noteworthy part of my recent flurry of 101 activity.

10 - Had an amazing night at the Met for the annual Young Members Party. "Summer Chic", cocktails, summer sunset on the roof and a fabulous new exhibit open just for us: Model as Muse. It was a crazy Gossip Girl-esque scene, full of the junior Upper East Side set - great people watching and a totally hot backdrop. Nothing quite like skipping up those front steps at sunset in a cocktail dress (more on the dress soon)

11 - MoMA - took a friend to visit the MoMA last week and was v disappointed to find out the Waterlillies were on loan to Atlanta for 3 months. I mean, I'm sure Atlanta's a very nice place and all, but they're my Waterlillies and they belong at the MoMA! We were consoled though, by a cool new installation/performance by Slovakian artist, Roman Odnak, measuring and recording visitors' heights. I'm there - just above Alphonso and a good few inches above my friend, Vanessa. Fun!

12. In the spirit of getting to know our new neighbourhood, the Hombre and I hit up the Tenement Museum on the weekend and did the Piecing it Together tour - all about Jewish immigrant garment workers living on Orchard St in the 1910s. Totally interesting - especially in light of my recent garment-making activities (more on this later). We became members, so will no doubt be back to go on the other tours.

#42. More flowers

2009-07-13T13:01:00.003-03:00

Status: Nearly there

I'm not sure if it's because it's fun decorating the new home or because I'm getting close to knocking this goal off the 101, but I'm on fire with the flower-buying.

These are pretty, but they're not lasting nearly as well as the last bunch. I guess you learn these useful things after buying 8 bunches .

#42. Fresh Flowers

2009-07-06T14:09:00.004-03:00

Status: In progress (7/10)

7th set of fresh flowers were this pretty bunch. Have a nice bit of smell, which we're using to try to mask the insanely strong incense from previous tenant. Even replaced the water and trimmed the stems this morning - how house-wifey am I!?

El mes de junio

2009-07-01T17:49:00.003-03:00

Status: In Progress

Another conveniently 30-day month. Tells a story of beaches, birthdays, boxes and beverages. Fun.

New reading list

2009-06-30T12:30:00.015-03:00

Now that the 50 books are complete, I think it's time to migrate the ongoing list to a post.

54. The Beach House

55. Mister Pip

56. A Confederacy of Dunces

57. Gilead

58. A Year in Provence

59. Hunting and Gathering

60. Chanel: Her Life, Her World, The Woman Behind the Legend (wip)

61. Secret Scriptures

62. Dancing Backwards

63. Dead Europe

64. Catch 22

65. East of the Sun

66. Prep

67. A Perfectly Good Family

68. Olive Kitteridge

69. The Elegence of the Hedgehog

70. The True Story of Butterfish

71. The Slap

72. The Lacuna

73. The Idiot (wip) (again)

74. Lessons for Italian Boys

75. New York, the novel

76. Wild Swans

77. The Age of Innocence

78. Catcher in the Rye

79. Fever Pitch

80. Glass Castle

81. For the Term of His Natural Life

82. [mcgahan]

83. Tender is the Night (wip)

84. A Patchwork Planet

Finishing up Birthday celebrations

2009-06-23T13:16:00.004-03:00

Status: so shiny...

I had a wonderful Birthday - thanks to all my well-wishers. Dinner and drinks with the girls, champagne, breakfast in bed (a combined effort from Hombre on the other side of the world and dream-flatmate), beach, shops, books, flowers and a 5 foot 5 stuffed polar bear. Not in quite that order.

Aside: I've struggled a little to find optimal names for the people who pop up in my stories. In particular, my boy. In this current Spanish-learning state, I think I'll go with Hombre. It also has the benefit of being incredibly masculine, so is very useful for teasing him with when he wants to borrow my GHD to straighten his hair.

Back to the story: I'm now back Stateside, a week post-Birthday and awfully jet-lagged, but very spoiled, with a belated Birthday dinner at Toque in Montreal and... a shiny, shiny iPhone from Hombre. Eeeeeeeeee! It's really very shiny.

It's encouraging me to properly sort out all my contacts on my mac and sync them up nicely. I've found lots of fun apps: Skype, facebook, compass, sudoku, remote and maps will likely change my life. I'm still looking for the perfect blogger app, flickr uploader and maybe access to MyMaps?

I'm hoping it will speed up my completion of my freerice goal and my Project365. The freerice progress has been suffering of late...

The Simple Things

2009-06-10T04:51:00.007-03:00

I've been inspired to make a list of the best simple things in life by Christina, via MPC. It's not strictly related to my 101 in 1001 mission, but I love lists, and think it's a particularly apt topic after a day of brain strain trying to buy bathroom fittings for Task #58 (who would have thought there were a dozen styles of floor wastes), with my 26th birthday tomorrow and living in the middle of this penny-pinching recession...

These are a few of my favourite things:

- Jumping in puddles in gumboots - amazing. The autumn leaves just make it extra pretty.

- Real mail - I have 4 birthday cards waiting for me to open in the morning - yay

- Clean sheets

- Being asked for directions in a foreign city - I love being taken for a local - it always makes me grin

- The first page of a new book. And the last

- The first glimpse of the sea - yep, that little dot of blue below - it doesn't matter if it's been a day, a week or months, it's always a thrill

- Winning: scrabble, the lucky door prize, the race - we never really grow up...

- A good hair day

- And... The weekend papers in a sunny bedroom (even better in mounds of clean sheets)

*Big contented sigh* I'll be sure to keep this post handy when I get too stressed about the advantages of wall-mounted taps over basin-mounted or when the builders decide that actually building anything would be far too difficult. Everyone should just go and jump in a puddle.

El mes de mayo

2009-06-08T06:12:00.002-03:00

Status: In Progress

Behold, the month of May. I had a really dull week photo-wise about halfway through, but there are a couple in there I like. Starting to think I'll keep this going longer than 365 days - maybe for the rest of the 1001. It's become one of my favourites out of the 101.

#45. Knitted cushions

2009-06-06T22:52:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete

What a productive week: 2 completed tasks. And both from the core of the original list. I'm a big fan of knitting. Like sewing, it's a crafty, creative outlet that actually produces a useful end product. (I'm not a fan of creating endless cross-stitch or pottery that might require dusting). Unlike sewing, it's extremely portable and can be done while watching Gossip Girl and drinking red wine. It also has the amazing ability to keep even the coldest hands warm in the middle of winter.

#21. 50 Glorious Books

2009-06-04T10:49:00.006-03:00

Status: Complete

What a task - 50 delicious books, finished off in style this week with Brick Lane.

And don't forget the well-maintained List of Books. I actually think the List was probably the best part of the task - I've never kept a track of what I read and often got lost in vague reveries when asked what I'd been reading lately.

Now, with the List to hand, it's much easier to remember favourites and duds. Which, to be clear were as follows:

Favourites: The Book Thief, The Kite Runner, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Fair and Tender Ladies, The Hour I First Believed, The Believers, American Wife and Dreams From My Father

Duds: The Good Mayor, The Lay of the Land, Bank, Double Fault and Oscar Wao

I think the list shall stay. Keeping reading goes without saying - that was never the challenging part of the goal (though to be fair, I really had no idea how quickly/much I read until I started counting).

I'm determined to get back to The Idiot - the one work in progress left outstanding.

And I'm halfway through the next book - People of the Book - which I'm devouring.

Best rainy night. Ever.

2009-05-29T08:24:00.005-03:00

Status: irrelevant but glorious

I really can't tie this to any of my 101, but it's too good not to post about. It's rainy and cold. And here I need to defend myself. It may be a toasty 12 degrees centigrade, but my little terrace house has no radiators, no central heating, no fireplace... Basically no source of heating better than my doona (duvet for the non-Australians) - it feels cold. So I went to the supermarket for a new hot water bottle, decked out in an outfit to match the calibre of my night. The black opaques and merino sweater stayed on from this morning but then I dug up my oldest, daggiest track pants, traded my ugg boots for gumboots and topped it off with the BF's hoodie and a green umbrella. Picked up dinner supplies that were heavy on cheese, as well as the hot water bottle, and splashed in every puddle on the way there and the way back, via the bottle shop for red wine - bien sur. Arrived home to discover my flatmate's completely forgotten, completely unwatched season of Gossip Girl. Five episodes, half a bottle, and a mini magnum ice cream later, I can still hear the rain outside.

Musings from the airline lounge

2009-05-25T01:10:00.003-03:00

I have so many homes these days - Brisbane, Sydney, New York, M House at #42, My other House at #44, my Sydney bookstore, my NY bookstore, and... the various homogeneous airline lounges of the world's international airport. Current home = BA Terrace Lounge, San Francisco, awaiting flight to Sydney. Upside: we have the cute, painted-all-over, Aborignal-design jumbo. Downside: awaiting a flight to Sydney. Ugh. Laptop is charging, but will clearly last nowhere near the whole way home, even if it is my beloved macbook. Need second G&T.

Now that we've sorted out my whereabouts, a quick update.

Kiva (#4 new): received my first loan repayment of $2.50 yesterday. I was so pleased - I'd sort of forgotten about it being a loan and great to realise the woman I lent to has things progressing smoothly with her business and is on track with repayments. On my side, I'm finishing up my application to spend a few months with them - fingers crossed.

Project365 (#41 new): still going. Had a very uninspired week a couple of weeks ago, with plenty of 11pm photos, but am back on track now - even if I'm really starting to struggle with airplane photos (though really mustn't complain)

Galleries (#71 new): three weeks in NY and only one gallery visit - shocking really - but it was a good one - The Frick Collection - loved it

Spanish (#76 new): going well - putting in a couple of hours a day of study and starting to understand the signs on the subway - though was much confused by the signs on the bathroom doors in the airport today - caballeros y damas? what happened to hombres y mujeres?? Apparently it's a bathroom thing.

Feeling like my old tasks are getting a bit neglected, but I haven't forgotten them. Some aren't super-relevant in my Lady of Leisure mode, but I trust they will be again before too long.

Adios!

Estudio Espanol (no, I don't know how to do the squiggly thing over the n yet)

2009-05-13T17:45:00.000-03:00

Status: In progress

As I mentioned, it took me some courage to convince myself that language software was really worth USD500, but I got there. And it is. Worth every cent.

My previous experience studying spanish was as a 4th year engineering student with one elective: SPAN1000 - Introduction to Spanish. The class was great. 6-8pm, twice a week for a semester. Our engineering classes usually finished at 3 or 4, so my engineering buddy and I would hit the student bar for a few hours of v cheap cocktails to get us in the mood. Our earnest first-year-arts classmates gave us v disapproving looks at the start of every class, but we didn't mind, we were much more fluent than they were. Or happily thought we were, which is just as good, right?

So, how is rosetta different? The booze is easily replicated, though now it's just a civilised glass of shiraz on the sofa. I feel like rosetta is a slightly stricter teacher. Back in SPAN1000, I usually got away with speaking some form of "spanish-sounding French," using 7 years of French study as a comfortable crutch. And it worked (High Distinction, just in case you were wondering....) Now I get a very unhappy gameshow-wrong-answer noise when I'm lazy with pronunciation or grammar. There's also no tuning out while the other 11 students have a go at saying Hola. It's one-on-one, 100% - perfect for a Gen-Y attention-seeker.

Despite the required concentration and strictness, it's fun and satisfying. I'm up to past and future tenses now, which is opening up a whole new world of possibilities. There's really only so far you can go with: I'm from Australia, I like swimming, I am sleeping, it is morning, it is sunny. It's a strange way of learning. I felt a bit panicky without any verb tables to hang onto, but you really do just sort of figure it all out.

A few other points to note: unlike blogging, this activity is not entirely transferrable to a cafe or plane environment. Four repetitions of "A-par-ta-men-to" will eventually garner some strange looks from fellow diners/travelers. There is an option to turn off the speech-recognition function, but it's only feasible for about an hour before you feel like you should go home and catch up on the speaking parts. Or maybe that's just me - diligent student that I am.

I also think rosetta (I feel that, 60 hours in, we're on first name terms) could profitably market the program as a weight loss aid. I frequently snack while learning, talking, reading, doing most things really, but have given up even trying while using rosetta. The instant you pop that piece of chocolate in your mouth, you're prompted to repeat "The book is under the bed" and it KNOWS if you're eating and will make lots of gameshow-wrong-answer noises until you swallow and speak clearly. Equally, when you reach for a handful of chips, you'll be asked to choose between "The man has 3 red apples" or "The woman has 3 green apples" and scramble to manipulate the macbook touchpad with an elbow or wrist.

The course has come at just the right time. There was only ever going to be so much full-time "Lady of Leisure-ing" I could take - turns out about a month. The day before the rosetta package arrived I found myself cleaning out the bottom drawer in the bathroom, cooking a roast dinner for 2 friends and thoroughly defrosting the freezer. I have never before felt compelled to defrost a freezer - it was a low point. Now, I spend a few hours a day learning Spanish and have a renewed sense of purpose. Fun.

Apologies for rambling.

Hasta manana (again, can't type the squiggle and don't know how to say later, rather than tomorrow - so guess I'll be posting tomorrow)

Another month, another mosaic

2009-05-07T18:05:00.003-03:00

Status: In progress

I like that April has 30 days: it fits better into a mosaic. Admittedly, my original April had 32 days, but after much head-scratching I found the culprit doubles - continually crossing the dateline can really mess with Project365. In reverse order, but am too lazy to correct it.

#New 4. Lend $100 on Kiva

2009-05-05T07:17:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete

My goal to lend $100 on Kiva was super-easy to complete. I found 4 very worthy recipients and look forward to re-lending the money as it is repaid. I was actually so impressed with the Kiva concept that I'm seriously looking into applying for a 3 month fellowship with them in Central America at the end of the year. I've got some unexpected time to spare in this economic downturn, and have no inclination to jump straight back into the very flat world of finance. Not profitably, at any rate. The Central America part has led to goal (New) #76 - Learn Spanish. More on that soon. With any luck, the last few months of this blog may very well come to you from Nicaragua...

#77. List of bars

2009-04-29T04:04:00.001-03:00

Status: Complete

As mentioned in the post below, I'm doing some blog-tidying, making these lists into posts. Completed both these tasks quite a while ago!

Kinselas - memory a little vague, handy to home...
Karaoke World - 'nuff said
Beach Palace - Coogee - not impressed with the pokies etc inside, but the view from the roof is very cool
Criterion Hotel - pretty average - but I was there for a French conversation night, which was really fun
Ivy - has been such a long time coming! There were some "establishment-types" there, but i was pretty impressed. will be back
Oxford Art Factory - v cool
Cruise Bar - ok, had to go upstairs for cocktails
Hemesphere - great cocktails, cool space, so much fun to get out on a Thursday
ECQ - fab view, more civilised than Opera Bar
Chambers Bar - Martin Place - not bad, nice change from the norm

#78. List of restaurants

2009-04-29T03:55:00.005-03:00

Status: Complete

I wanted to tidy up the blog a bit, so am making posts for the restaurant and bar lists - will leave the books in the side bar - I like to keep an eye on them...

Bar Reggio - East Sydney - fun vibe, close to town, good range of risottos
Palace - City - good yum cha option in town
Rambutan - Darlinghurst - cool venue, good thai, slightly pretentious
Pier - Rose Bay
Quay - amazing location, great food, perfect wedding location (which is why I was there - I don't just routinely think that...)
Bayswater Brasserie - good creme brulee
Wildfire bar menu - Circular Quay
I Thai - King St Wharf - great food
Velvet Slide - King St Wharf
Shark Fin Inn - Melbourne - great yum cha, not particularly atmospheric

Le footing

2009-04-26T04:18:00.006-03:00

I just went jogging or, as the french call it, "le footing". What I did may have been closer to footing than jogging as there was little pace involved. I call it a jog, because it justifies the jogging shoes and baseball cap, which in turn legitimise hanging about on the path by the beach, but really it's a mixture of 6 parts walking, 1 part shuffling (a proprietary, very slow, version of jogging). I've reconciled myself to the fact that I will probably never be a runner (I swim about as fast as I run - I think I need to be immersed in water to function properly, kind of like a chamois).

I took my camera today, partly to make sure I got a good photo for my Project365, and partly so I could make an annotated mymap on googlemaps, a toy I wanted to play with. It really is a stunning walk: from Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach, taking in 3 other beaches and 3 bays along the way. It's roughly 4.2m or 6.5km. And here is my masterpiece, with water bubblers and fav exercise point marked. I was hoping to have photos, but have been restricted to links - google and flickr don't seem to be getting along for now...

View Coogee to Bondi in a larger map

In the pictures, you can see what a stunning day it is. For the last week I've been pining for New York: I have to be here to beat my builders into action if I have any hopes of achieving #58 ("The demolisher-machine-thingy is tied up on another job until... forever..."). But Sydney put on a great show today and renewed my faith in its charms. The Brooklyn Bridge is fun to jog across, but this... this is special.

My "footing" even fits in with goal #48 - another beautiful track not far from home, that I hope to one day run non-stop.

#3 (new). Tripadvisor reviews

2009-04-22T19:22:00.004-03:00

Status: Complete

As an avid traveller, I'd used Tripadvisor occasionally to help choose hotels. Often, when I was then in a hotel, I'd say - I wish I'd know "this" or "that" about this place. And sometimes, I just really loved a place and wanted to help more people discover it. So I decided to start posting reviews and have now completed the target 5. I believe they can all be seen on my member page. In the end I picked the places I've visited recently and where I've had a particularly amazing time. Think I'll keep posting reviews and maybe include some of the ones I was less delighted with as well. It gave me the chance to show off a few photos, like this one of a gourmet picnic with a view, at Spicers Peak in Queensland.

Overall, it's been a good writing exercise and something else that gives me an excuse to look busy on my pretty macbook while lounging in bookshop cafes...

Back in the Southern Hemisphere

2009-04-17T22:12:00.007-03:00

After a month of New York fun, I'm ensconced back in sunny Sydney for a few weeks. I'm planning another post shortly summing up the sights and sounds of my month's explorations, favourites and duds.

For now - an overdue update on some of the tasks in progress:

Kiva: loan #2 made to Asi, a food seller in Ghana

Tripadvisor: review #3 posted, on the stylish Hotel Sezz in Paris

Flowers: fresh flowers #6

Galleries: had a great 2nd visit to the MoMA and a somewhat disappointing visit to the New Museum - we had to go, it was 3 blocks from the apartment, but it's just a little toooo modern for my tastes - the view from the top floor across Downtown was great though

Books: finished The Boat - for someone who doesn't enjoy short stories, I liked it - enjoyed at least half of them

A bientot.

Progress update

2009-04-02T17:14:00.010-03:00

A few milestones to report today:

- Made my first Kiva loan to Neema, who will be using my $25 to grow her business in Tanzania.

- Completed my first full month (March) of Project365 and made a mosaic of the month to celebrate:

- Trying to get my head around spending $500 on Spanish learning software.

- Reached 10,000 grains of rice and enjoyed the congratulations message.

A la prochaine...

#52 (new). Post 101 Comments

2009-04-02T16:16:00.014-03:00

Status: In Progress

This post will track my comments on other blogs/flickr photos - I'm starting to get a better idea of how this whole blogosphere works!

No points for originality of tracking method (or task...) - thanks to 101 of a Wolf for the inspiration

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 - flickr post-its / 5 - budding micro-lender / 6 - libraries/ 7 - gratitude and books / 8 - 365 green march /9 - fellow 101er / 10 - simple things

16 - that one I've almost forgotten on extranjera's blog (wow - i'm terrible at this!)

17 - Irish

18 - soft box

19 - Lils Wild Swans

20 - Travel tips

#71(new). Gallery visits

2009-04-01T20:10:00.022-03:00

Had a fabulous afternoon at the MoMA today. Am now a member of both the MoMA and the Met, which should help with achieving the gallery visits. Between the visits and the painting ID on freerice, I should pick up a little art knowledge. Think I'll allow myself a one-week backdate to include my two visits to the Met last week.

I'll use this post to track my progress.

1 - Met - 24 Mar 09 - Degas...

2 - Met - 27 Mar 09 - Van Gogh, Degas...

3 - MoMA - 1 Apr 09 - Waterlillies

4 - Guggenheim - 6 Apr 09

5 - New Museum - 11 Apr - a little toooo modern for my tastes

6 - MoMA - 13 Apr - showing off my 'local' knowledge, and shopping at the design store

7 - Art Gallery of NSW - 23 Apr - checked out the annual Archibald Prize portrait competition and voted for the "People's Choice" award.

8 - Gallery on Crown - Friday night art showing - bit dark...

9 - Frick Collection - great little museum on the Upper East Side. A Monet, a Degas, a few Constables, a few Turners, some Whistlers.

10 - Met - 9 Jul 09 - Young Members Party

11 - MoMA - No waterlillies! But cool installation.

12 - Tenement Museum - Great local museum. Now members - will be back.

13 - American Museum of Natural History - too many under-8s, but some cool exhibits

14 - Museum of the City of New York - 14 Aug 09 - was excited to see the Mannahatta/Manhattan exhibit, but it was a little disappointing

15 - MoMA - 8 Oct 09 - waterlillies are are back, with 5 friends - aahh...

16 - The Cloisters, branch of the Met - 7 Nov - beautiful in fall...

17 - MoMA - Tim Burton exhibition

18 - The Met - Private Ringo Starr/Ben Harper concert in the auditorium - amazing. And the Impressionists and New American Wing after

19 - Newseum, DC - fabulous museum

20 - National Portrait Gallery, DC - Presidents from start to today - fantastic

21 - Lincoln Memorial

22 - Jefferson Memorial

23 - NGV main Branch

24 - NGV - Ian Potter Centre

25 - Chelsea Gallery #1 with Dad

26 - Chelsea Gallery #2 with Dad

27 - Rivington

28 - Half

29 - Marble House

30 - Rosecliff

31 - The Elms

32 - The Breakers

33 - Library of Congress

34 - Capitol Building and Senate

35 - Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

36 - National Gallery of Art - East

37 - National Botanic Garden Conservatory

38 - National Gallery of Art - West

39 - Natural History Museum

40 - Sculpture Garden

41 - Arlington Cemetery

42 - East Sydney Doctors Gallery

Other cultural outings:

1 - The Nutcracker

2 - Opera Dress Rehearsal

3 - Dorian Gray

4 - Brooklyn Fare (?)

5 - Wicked

6 - Hair

7 - Billy Elliot

8 - Open Top Tour - Santiago

Macbook + Bookstore cafe = Lady of Leisure

2009-03-30T16:35:00.006-03:00

Another Monday, another session of bookstore blogging. My first hotel review was published on tripadvisor here a few days ago and I just submitted a second. All good writing practice I think. Photos are continuing on Flickr, including this one of Pittsburgh - no photos were allowed in the Andy Warhol museum, so I was happy to find this sign on the way back to the hotel, and happy that it was attached to one of the yellow bridges I found so cute about the city:

I ordered myself some MOO cards - much more fun than my old business cards, and much more "me". I was tempted to title myself Lady of Leisure, but thought I may occasionally use them for a job interview, so kept it simple...

I finished Dreams From My Father, which I really liked - pretty multi-talented president... I keep wondering how his success has impacted all the people he came across early in his life.

Also bought fresh flowers, so am half-way through that task. Pretty off-white roses, cut short, filling a short, round vase, on the table for the dinner party we hosted last night.

As mentioned in the last post, I've come up with three new/replacement goals for my half-time update. They will be:

- Post 101 comments on flickr photos or blogs

- Clock up 50 gallery visits

- Learn Spanish to a level were I can reasonably call myself Intermediate

Should help keep me busy... Off to buy some Spanish software.

A plus mes amis...

Heavenly posting

2009-03-25T18:02:00.011-03:00

This post comes from atop a "Heavenly" bed in the Westin in Pittsburgh. It is a seriously comfortable perch. Have spent the last week in New York (and now briefly, Pittsburgh). Accomplishments this week:

Continuing success in Project365: fave pic of the week:

N for New York added to the A-Z travel list. I'm quite put out that Pittsburgh begins with P and I've already been to Paris... hmph. But for now, in this role as a Lady of Leisure, I shall happily go where my man's meetings happen to be. I've set up a Flick set to track progress of this goal and done some internet browsing into RTW airfares to potentially hit up some more locations. I also revisted an old favourite site, Seat61, to check out options for task #1 - retracing the Orient Express route across Europe - I might now have a little more time to follow through on that one.

I reviewed my first hotel on TripAdvisor, the Covent Garden Hotel in London, which I loved. I'll update with a link when the review gets posted.

Another one of the 'new' tasks, I tried to extend a loan on kiva, but had issues with my Aussie credit card, so will set up a paypal account and try again.

I finished another book - The Trout Opera - which brings me to 41 out of 50; blogged on my Big Issue acquisition for task #67; and donated a few more grains of rice.

I found out that 101in1001.com.au was available, so I grabbed it and re-hosted the blog here. Hopefully all the redirects are working!

Have another week in New York ahead and will spend some time coming up with the last few new tasks that I left free at the half-time update.

A bientot...

#67. Buy a Big Issue

2009-03-23T15:54:00.002-03:00

Status: Complete

This is a bit of a belated post. I wrote here about my first attempt to complete this task and was actually able to follow through a week or two later and get a copy of the Big Issue edition I was after, featuring John Clarke. I was pretty impressed overall - took it with me on the plane and read a fair chunk of the mag. The feature article was interesting, with some good anecdotes about Clarke that I hadn't heard before. I won't be buying every edition, but will definitely keep an eye out for fun-looking features and pick up the odd copy.

Flying solo

2009-03-17T20:08:00.003-03:00

I am, quite literally, flying solo yet again. Will be somewhere in between Sydney and New York for the next day or so. I think I'm settling in to the life of the solo traveller - airline lounges, window seats... I just wish I'd started downloading Grey's Anatomy a little earlier - itunes is telling me there's 43 minutes remaining on the download and my flight boards in 20. So close! Will have to make do with the one episode I have, some movies and my book. And finish the download in LAX :)

Still going with Project 365 - I like this one from the day before yesterday:

Now I have to think up a couple of days' worth of interesting airline lounge photos....

Boarding now - to be continued from LAX...

Some accomplishments...

2009-03-12T09:52:00.004-03:00

I've ticked off 2 tasks in the last week-and-a-bit. Finally signed up with builders and convinced a friend to have a go at 101. Have also been keeping up with a few "in progress" bits and pieces. Still snapping away on my Flickr365 project - narrowly missed a few days, but so far no real misses. Have added to my travel with C for Canberra and B for Byron Bay. I read another book towards my 50 - Enduring Love - quirky, plenty of suspense, good for the plane. Donated a few more grains of rice, though probably getting a little behind on that one - hmmm. That's all for now.

#98. Spreading the 101 word

2009-03-12T02:55:00.002-03:00

Status: complete

I finally convinced Lily to join my 101 mission - doesn't mean I won't stop looking for other converts... Go and check it out, I'm sure it will be fabulous!

#57 Builders signed

2009-03-05T06:22:00.001-04:00

Status: complete
Letter of intent emailed while on the train to the airport in Paris.

Scribblings over a coffee

2009-03-02T06:17:00.000-04:00

Not much of an update this week - finished up some study and enjoying a blissful Paris pause... Keeping with Flickr365. And a little freerice...
A bientot!

... and then there were three.

2009-02-24T13:56:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Amanda for the fabulously friendly tips on getting three columns. I feel super-geeky and super-proud all at the same time. Now, how about those 101 tasks......

Welcome to the new look

2009-02-23T17:54:00.002-04:00

Finally got myself a custom header picture - really not that hard! Still trying to figure out how to get to three columns. Baby steps though. Now will be the continual analysis of my photo library to find the very best pic...

Progress update

2009-02-22T17:56:00.006-04:00

I've progressed a few more things in the last week. I think there's a little favouritism towards the fancy new tasks, but a couple of old ones have received some attention too.

New 2 - Travel A-Z - I just blogged on this: 2 out of 26 and a few more planned.

New 41 - Flickr365 - I've been faithful to my daily photos - some of the pics are a little uninspired, but I'd like to think I'm getting better - this is one of my favourites so far:

New 44 - Had some inside time today nursing a hangover, so knocked off a few thousand grains on Freerice - had a tinker with the art and countries options but am mainly sticking with vocabulary. I have another counter running on my work laptop, so cumulative total is closer to 7,000 (I think...)

49 - Relearn to ride a bike - I wouldn't consider this done - I was very shaky. But it was definitely progress. Really fun to have Paris as a backdrop and use the velib' bikes like a local ;)

Baby steps - Registered on websites for Tripadvisor and Kiva, as little steps towards accomplishing New 3 and New 4.

Time for bed

New #2 - Travel A-Z

2009-02-22T17:43:00.004-04:00

Status: In Progress

I adopted this new (halftime) task from 101ofawolf - I like the creativity and flexibility of it - Thanks!

In the last couple of weeks, I've been to P for Paris and F for Fontainebleau as part of a 3 week study session at INSEAD- photo of the Fontainebleau Forest behind the lecture theatre below.

New #41 - Project365

2009-02-16T17:46:00.005-04:00

Status: In Progress

I started my Project365 on Flickr a couple of weeks ago and am already appreciating the habit-forming qualities it has. This is the link to my set of pics so far and an example: Day 4.

Update on "In Progress"

2009-02-09T13:50:00.003-04:00

So far, I've been pretty good about posting items that are completed, but haven't done any updates on the tasks in progress. I'm doing pretty well on some, so time for an update...

#21 - Read 50 books and keep a list. Am up to 40 out of 50 - well over halfway. The reading part isn't really that extraordinary - I read all the time. But making the list is something I definitely don't usually do and it's been great to have a record. Helps me remember what I've read, make recommendations....

#22 - Read 5 books in French. My aunt gave me an old copy of Bonjour Tristesse, which was great. I'm in France at the moment, so must remember to pick up a couple more.

#28 - Monthly self-portraits. This was one of the very few tasks I set that had a schedule to it and I'm glad I didn't do more. I haven't truly achieved the self-portraits, but I did go back and dig up a photo of myself from each month since the start of the challenge, label them and stick them in a folder, so feel I'm partway there.

#35 - Laser. Am almost tempted to cross this off. I'm 4 sessions in out of a recommended 6 and finding it fabulous. But will hold off considering it done until the very end....

#42 - Flowers. I thought it would be really easy to buy flowers for myself, but I'm not quite halfway there. Favourite Saturday flower stall has disappeared and I like for weekends when I'll be in town to enjoy them - these are getting fewer and further between.

#45 - Knitted cushions - halfway through the second one. Will get back into it in winter when my hands are cold.

#80 - Collect friends' home addresses - My friends are too transient! At our age I guess we all move around a lot. I'll keep trying.

#95 - Gimme your stuff. I posted a list and think I actually got one comment - I should follow up.

New 41 - Project 365. I'm on day 6 - can't quite figure out how to add the link, so will focus on that for the next post...

New 44 - Freerice. Have done a couple of thousand in downtime at work (don't tell...), but aren't there now to grab a screenshot.

All for now...

Layoff season. For the list.

2009-02-03T06:33:00.009-04:00

In this time of redundancies, it's time for a few of my list items to go, to be replaced by better, more interesting versions of themselves.

First, the ones that are being let go - I'm sorry guys...

#2,#3,#4 - These are all travel goals. Two were about returning to places, which wasn't particularly exciting and the last was trekking the Andes, which I'd still quite like to do, but doesn't really warrant a goal in its own right.

#26 - The Ginseng Bathhouse. This used to be a very cool, original style bathhouse in the middle of Sydney - rough and ready, no frills. I wanted to go and check it out but wasn't quite ready for the strict no-clothes-policy - hence its justified place on the list. However, it's since been bought by a chain of day spas and now appears to be just another day spa. I don't have anything against day spas, but no longer list-worthy.

#38, #39, #41 - Just a bit boring.

#44 - Cellar wine - I've no longer got 2 years left, and it doesn't really work with the renovation, but I have identified a couple of places to order wine from the vineyard, so fully plan to order a case and cellar it once the house is done.

#52 - Splits/Pointe shoes - these were always a little silly.

#71 - Big Sister - Not entirely sure where I'll be living in a year's time, so unfair to commit to this. Have donated to the program instead, as part of #69.

#76 - Facebook has made this redundant I feel.

#84 - Masters of Finance - this looks to be on track to happen, but it's not something entirely in my control. If I keep my job for the next 6 months ago, and pay a little attention at the 6 weeks of classes, I should be fine - not list-worthy.

12 tasks all up - think I've kept the damage to a minimum.

So. Time to introduce the new recruits...

New #2 - Travel the Alphabet (visit and blog places from A-Z) - thanks to Wolf for this goal and inspiration for others

New #3 - Review 5 hotels on TripAdvisor

New #4 - Lend $100 on Kiva

New #26 - Play poker

New #38 - Use all 7 letters in a turn in Scrabble

New #39 - Write an article for Wikipedia

New #41 - Participate in Project 365 on Flickr

New #44 - Donate 500,000 grains of rice on Freerice.com

New #52, #71, #76, #82, #84 - Want to leave a little room for creativity

Time to get started.

Halfway!

2009-02-01T07:59:00.003-04:00

It's day 500... To celebrate, I'm planning a few light festivities: a proper update post, long overdue; a new template (partway there with new colours, but want more) and a list refresh. I think it's time to send a dozen or so tasks to the archives, and bring in a few fresh and exciting ones. Only rule is that the replacement won't be easier than the one it replaces. Will give myself the next week or so to get it all up to date.

Experiment - blog on the road

2009-01-30T00:34:00.000-04:00

Experiment - blog on the road

I wanted to try taking this blog on the road with my b'berry. If successful it might let me be more ambitious in the halfway list updates I'm plotting. So, fingers crossed, hitting send...

# 67. Buy a Big Issue

2009-01-29T02:34:00.002-04:00

Status: Incomplete...
Harder than expected! Have been 'saving' this one as one that would be really easy to accomplish and then this afternoon seemed like the perfect time. Nothing to do, waiting for a meeting, and happenned to find out that the latest copy featured John Clarke, one of my favourite guys and one of the best things Australia has stolen from New Zealand. Thought I'd just duck downstairs and buy a Big Issue from the guy on the corner. Unfortunately he wasn't there. Nor on the next corner, or the next, or the next. I swear I see at least a couple of the vendors every morning - maybe they knock off at 5... I really want this issue before it disappears at the end of the month, so will try tomorrow morning - while no doubt running late for work and dragging a sadly distressed suitcase behind me.

#91 - Credit card

2009-01-20T02:20:00.003-04:00

Status: Complete
Completed this a while ago, but wasn't excited enough to post about it. Switched to a Platinum Visa, which let me pull all my old Commonwealth Awards into Qantas at 1 for 1 and buy a flight to New York. Sweeeeet!

#90 - Phone plan

2009-01-20T02:15:00.003-04:00

Status: Complete
Blackberry - 1; Willpower - 0
Ok, I give in, I do need a Blackberry. So I now check my email before I get in the shower, while I pick up lunch, at the beach, and occasionally in the middle of the night. The benefit for giving up my life is that work picks up the tab for my phone calls. And I don't have to feel as guilty spending 2 hours shopping at lunch...

#73 - Christmas cards

2009-01-20T02:08:00.003-04:00

Status: Complete
Sent 8 in 07 and 12 in 08. Have a good stash of addresses, stamps and cards to continue my good deeds into 09.

#9 - Broadway

2009-01-20T01:46:00.003-04:00

Status: Complete Saw the fabulous Avenue Q on my last trip to NYC. Sesame Street for grownups.
"Everyone's a little bit racist"
"I wish I could go back to college, in college you know who you are. You sit in the quad and think, Oh my God, I am totally gonna go far!"
"What do you do with a B.A. in English? What is my life going to be? Four years of college and plenty of knowledge, Have earned me this useless degree. I can't pay the bills yet, 'cause I have no skills yet; The world is a big scary place, But somehow I can't shake the feeling I might make A difference to the human race..."

#5 - Road tripping

2009-01-20T01:41:00.004-04:00

Status - Complete and a half
1,000km, 3 days, 3 beaches, 2 ipods. This Brisbane to Sydney trip should cover off my road trip requirements. But just to be sure, we followed up with a couple of adventures west of Brisbane. Only a few hours each, but including some off-roading that stretched the gutsy Jazz to its limits.

#56 - Approved!!

2008-08-28T04:54:00.002-03:00

Status: Complete

So exciting! Though obviously not exciting enough to post within a month. hmmm. So the renovation is to begin! Stamp of proof below:

#32 - No more snooze

2008-08-28T04:44:00.002-03:00

Status: Complete
The alarm clock has been replaced by a daily wakeup call from New York :) Much harder to snooze, though he can occasionally be convinced.

#27 - Day Spa

2008-08-28T04:40:00.003-03:00

Status: thoroughly Complete
A whole day of pampering: Champagne breakfast, massage, facial, cocoa scrub, chocolate wrap, lunch, manicure and pedicure. Believe it was called "I want it all"....

#96, #97 - photos and comments

2008-07-24T21:13:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete x 2

The photos have taken themselves. For a camera-phobe, having taken this many photos is quite an achievement - plan is to keep them coming - makes it all so much more interesting.

And comments - thanks Kathryn! I was sitting on 9 for so long. Again, keep them coming - kind of quirky that people out there actually find this page. Keeps me honest - sort of.

#43. Wardrobe audit

2008-07-21T09:07:00.004-03:00

Status: Complete

Way more than 101 things bit the dust I think. All that new wardrobe space... time to go shopping :)

#7. Week at a beach

2008-06-26T22:42:00.006-03:00

Status: Complete

Overwater bungalow to be precise. Bliss. Pure Bliss.

To clarify - the specific intention of this task was to holiday away from the standard haunts of Sydney's Northern Beaches and Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Tahiti fit the bill veeerrry nicely.

#24. Jogging playlists

2008-05-05T00:24:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete

3 playlists created. And updated onto my ipod. And used for actual running expeditions. Also bought a Nike playlist with a Craig Motram voiceover - 40 mins is a little long, but it's good motivation.

#77. 10 new bars

2008-05-05T00:21:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete

'twas an epic Saturday night, fittingly ended with losing my mobile. Again. But, anything for the 101 cause! Neither of the last 2 were particularly glorious new bars, but they were bars that I hadn't been to before, so they tick the box. Might be time to head back to some of the old favourites now.

#78. 10 restaurants

2008-04-23T01:58:00.003-03:00

Status: Complete
Too easy! Even restricting myself to Sydney (and one Melbourne...) Some good new spots. Will keep up the exploration. New bars are harder - have already covered a surprising amount of ground in Sydney's bar scene!

#29. Get contacts

2008-03-25T11:11:00.004-03:00

Status: Complete
It was always going to take some kind of catalyst to really make this happen. Last week I found it. Finished a project at work after 9 days straight in the office and left work at 6pm (a few posts seem to start like this. hmm). Decided to take the brave step of taking an evening class at Sydney Dance Company. Picked Beginners Jazz and chose a spot at the very back of a class of about 70. Shortly discovered that I couldn't see the instructor, so had to rely on the people just in front of me, who were only marginally more capable than myself. This strategy also left me with a not-so-trendy time delay of a second or two.
Anyway, got an appointment with the optometrist the next day, who checked me out and booked me for a 'fitting'. Session 2 all went to plan - got over the sticking-my-fingers-in-my-eyes thing reasonably quickly, had a pack of 30 lenses ordered and relished walking back to work sans glasses and actually seeing the flags on the harbour bridge. Used my second trial pair on a very large thursday night, and was impressed that at 5 in the morning my eyes were still going strong.
And then the happy story ends. Rang optometrist on Saturday morning to check that my order had come in and was told no-go. Nope, my order would not be ready before I left for Singapore on Sunday.
Which leaves me here. In Singapore. On a 3 week training course, getting my glasses fogged up in the steam every time I leave the building and getting hopelessly lost whenever I dare to try and go without. Sigh.

#95. Gimme your stuff

2008-03-04T21:25:00.005-04:00

Status: In Progress
The deal with this site is that you register a list of things you want to swap with someone in another part of the world. I like things from other countries, so....

To my potential swapper: I'm in Sydney. I'm a big francophile, but thinking of doing a stint in NYC, so I'll try to swap with someone in the Big Apple.
Things I'd like to receive:
Black and white snapshots of NYC/things in your neighbourhood
Maps - old/new/for a continent, city or just a museum...
House stuff
NYC stuff
Stationery
Ribbons - 50cm lengths - I like them in my hair...
Any other things - I like black, white and red and would love to get a 'feel' for New York
Things I can send:
Aussie food/sweets
Souvenirs
"market" things
I'm not hugely in to craft, but can dig up some craft things.
Most things - send me on a scavenger hunt.

Look forward to swapping with you!

#41. Know 7 recipes by heart (1/7)

2008-03-02T22:47:00.004-04:00

Status: In Progress (1/7)
I think I initially said 7 because they were going to be dinner-type recipes and then I would have a notional weeks' worth. But I generally don't really use proper recipes for dinner (if I ever cook it). So this is my favourite chocolate cake, which I think, after baking 3 times in 2 months, is now committed to memory.
185g chocolate
2tbs water
150g almondmeal or ground hazelnuts
150g butter
5 eggs
120g sugar
Melt chocolate and water. Blend with almondmeal, butter and half the sugar. Slowly add egg yolks, blending. Beat egg whites and remaining sugar. Combine gently. Bake. Voila!

#92. Staff trading account

2008-02-04T08:22:00.001-04:00

Status: Complete

Prime account open and ready to go. Started to feel left out during the meltdown last week, so now I'm set to dip my toe in. Once it hits the bottom properly.

#36. Creme brulee

2008-02-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Status: Complete

S and I, cooking up a storm on Sunday night. The blowtorch is seriously fun. And they tasted good too.

#12. Cool summer shoes

2008-02-04T07:38:00.001-04:00

Status: Complete

#30. [ ]

2008-01-28T21:34:00.000-04:00

Status: Complete
Not really for public distribution. But quite chuffed. Thought this would take MUCH longer.

#15. Good earphones

2008-01-16T06:40:00.001-04:00

Status: Complete

It's been a quiet week - still ramping up from the holidays. The whole Australian finance world kind of shuts down for most of January. Which is fine. Leaves lots of time for shopping. Someone recommended these to me at work and I've been meaning to buy them for a while. Not hugely expensive, good sounds, don't hurt my ears and stay on when I'm running - perfect.

#99. Buy www.annaclare.com.au

2008-01-10T21:19:00.002-04:00

Status: Complete
OMG! I can't believe I did it! And I can't believe I'm excited about it... It was much harder than I'd anticipated. Rules around .com.au are actually pretty strict. I've had to set myself up as a business, a sole trader, and get registered on the Australian Business Register with an ABN, in order to get access to the domain name. It was a productive way to spend a few hours waiting for lawyers to get back to me but wow I feel like a geek.

#19. Watch Casablanca with J - update

2008-01-10T18:21:00.003-04:00

Status: Complete

#94. Send a postcard to postsecret

2008-01-09T08:11:00.001-04:00

Status: Complete

Well, obviously I'm not going to show you the other side - that would give away the secret! Will post it in the morning. Probably have zero chance of getting uploaded at this time of year with everyone's new year's resolutions, but I'll keep an eye out. Have become a bit of a Monday morning postsecret addict recently.