Submit a picture to Threadless

I have quite a few Threadless shirts. I love them.  When I was playing around on their website one day, I noticed that you could have your own profile and submit pictures to it.  If they like your picture enough, they'll even use it on the shirt page too.

I opened my profile two or three years ago, and I finally just got around to submitting my first picture.  I ordered a hoody for Rich for a holiday gift, and I decided to add a $5 Mystery Tee for myself.  I was nervous because I generally prefer a sure thing, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the package and saw this black shirt with a burning man on it, aptly called "Burn."

After a few failed attempts, I finally got the site to accept my picture, and there it is in all its silliness.  Now that I know what you have to do to get your picture on the site, I think I'll be submitting pictures with each new shirt going forward.

Finished Goals: 69/101
Days Left: 290

Leave an inspirational note inside a book for someone to find

I've been reading Catch-22 on Time Magazine's Top 100 English Language Novels list to fulfill one of my other goals.  I got it from the library, and I'm going to return it, so it seemed like the perfect time to get this goal done too.

Since the story is set during WWII, it seemed apt to hide a quote from the time period, and Winston Churchill just seemed like the right guy to draw from.  Can't ever go wrong when you quote a drunk, after all.  So if you check out Catch-22 from the Bucktown-Wicker Park library in Chicago in the next couple of weeks, you might find this in my handwriting:

"Today we may say aloud before an awe-struck world: 'We are still masters of our fate. We are still captain of our souls.'"

Winston Churchill

Finished Goals: 68/101
Days Left: 304

Play a new song in full on the piano

This goal wasn't too difficult to finish.  I found a website with free piano music on it, and I looked for an interesting piece in what I thought would be my skill level.  I haven't played my piano in years, so my actual skill level was a little difficult to assess.  I went with "Intermediate 2" according to the site, and picked a short piece by Mozart. 

I think my neighbors probably hate me now.  I've been playing the same song repeatedly for the last hour and a half.  But I figure it's after 9AM, and they make a lot of noise at all hours of the day and night, so we're far from even.

Finished Goals: 65/101
Days Left: 367

Finish a 5k Race

On Sunday I ran the Bucktown 5k.  I can't believe I did it, and I am so proud of myself!

I was really surprised that it was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.  On Thursday I took a practice run on the course just to see what it was like and what to expect, and it went pretty well, although not as easy as I had hoped.  Then on Saturday I talked with a client about the race and what to wear, whether or not to bring my headphones, and other bits of info.  She said I wouldn't want my music, that with all of the other people around, it would be a distraction.  My gut told me not to listen to her, but I did anyway.

During the first mile, I was really missing my music, and when I saw the clock at the marker, I was appalled at how slowly I was running -- it read 14:30.  So I picked up the pace.  I am not a 14:30/mile runner!  The next couple of miles actually flew by pretty quickly, and when the finish line was in sight, I peeked at the clock, and it said 34:20.  I decided that I was going to finish before 35 minutes if it killed me, and I sprinted to the end!  It was a fantastic finish to a pretty good first race.

On my way to brunch a little later, I passed by the running store that sponsored the race, and they had the results posted outside.  It took me a good 10 minutes to find my name.  I was looking at all of the runners in the 34 minute finish slot.  As it turns out, my real time was 30:58!  I totally forgot that it took me about 3 minutes to reach the starting line.  My average ended up being 9:58/mile, my fastest mile ever!

Overall, I am extremely pleased with my performance -- so much so that I already registered for my next 5k race on Thanksgiving day and I have decided to start training to run a 10k next.  I just never imagined I would like it so much, and I'm really grateful to the creators of the Couch-to-5k program.  I never could have accomplished this task without it.

Finished Goals: 64/101
Days Left: 376

Complete Couch-to-5k Program

I've never been a runner.  When we had to do the mile run in gym class in school, I walked it.  We often had to run laps for volleyball, but I was always at the back of the pack.  Sometimes, the girls in the front would even lap me.

So when I first heard about the Couch-to-5k program, I was skeptical.  Not skeptical that the program works, just doubtful it would work for me.  I was way off base.  Not only did I complete this program, I did it without ever having to repeat a day.  I started on July 20, and I did the last run on September 13.  And today, I actually ran 5k.  When I was done, I was whooping it up outside like a child.  I'm sure my neighbors and the people driving by thought I was crazy, but I don't care.  This is a huge milestone for me, and I'm looking forward to the race I registered for on October 3rd.

Finished Goals: 63/101
Days Left: 397

Design and Get Second Tattoo

I've known what I wanted my second tattoo to be for quite a while now.  It was just a matter of figuring out the exact design and where on my body to place it.  When I decided to take a vacation back to Minneapolis for a week, I knew it was the right time to finally just bite the bullet and figure out these things.

I went in to Leviticus Tattoo and Piercing on Wednesday, September 1st, right when I got into Minneapolis, and saw Kurt for my consultation.  He totally understood what I wanted, and we made an appointment for Friday at 3:00.  When I went back in for my appointment, it was smooth sailing.  Kurt brought out a couple of drawings he did, we chose one and made a stencil, and after a few placement attempts, we finally got rolling.  Ang held my hand through the pain, which I totally needed because it can be quite intense around the ribs.

All in all, I'm extremely pleased.  The healing has been quick and easy, and not as painful as I anticipated.  And I LOVE my new art!  Seriously, if you are ever in the market for a tattoo, and you will be in Minneapolis, go see Kurt.  He's the best.

Finished Goals: 62/101
Days Left: 402

Tune Piano

Today I finally got my grandmother's piano tuned.  I've had it for about 8 years now, and I've only gotten it tuned a couple of times.  That's pretty horrible, especially considering that I've moved it 3 times since the last time it was tuned.  In all honesty, I wasn't even sure it was going to be tunable this time.  So, I guess I'm a pretty terrible piano owner.

But, I've got a great piano tuner now who I really like and does a great job.  He seems to be very thorough, and extremely knowledgeable too.  He told me exactly what we need to do today and how to maintain the piano over the coming years.  I plan on following his advice.  It would be great to play it again and maybe even take some lessons.  Can't do that with an out of tune piano.

PS - That's not my piano, but it's almost the same model.  If I could just find my camera battery charger...

Finished Goals: 61/101
Days Left: 415

Drink 10 Glasses of Clear Fluids Daily for 2 Weeks

This one was tougher than I thought it would be. At first, I had a difficult time even remembering to track how much I had drunk. Luckily, I found a handy dandy iPhone app to take care of that issue. But then I quickly realized that 10 glasses is actually a lot more than I had bargained for. I often found myself chugging one or two glasses at the end of the night before bed, which meant I was usually painfully awoken anywhere from 2-4:30 AM for a potty break.

On top of that, because I was drinking mostly water and not supplementing much with other clear fluids, there were a couple of days during which I didn't feel so good. Believe it or not, there actually is such a thing as too much hydration. And so it seemed I had flushed my system of essential electrolytes. Luckily again, I was able to identify what was happening and rectify it by drinking some Gatorade. That made me good as new, and still counted as a clear fluid. Killed two birds with one stone.

In the end, I'm glad I did this, but I think I'll dial it back a little. Ten glasses per day is perhaps one or two too many for me when I'm not engaging in regular physical activity.

Finished Goals: 57/101
Days Left: 494

Organize Postcrossing Cards

I collected so many postcards from participating in Postcrossing, that I didn't know what to do with them. I started out with them in a shoebox, but quickly outgrew it. I ended up with piles of cards everywhere. So one day I decided it would be a great idea to put them in an album. But I couldn't find an album that would accommodate all the different sizes of cards I've received, and I am just not a scrapbooker.

And then it came to me. I bought a three ring binder, some thick decorative paper, clear picture corner holders, and sheet protectors. And then I set to work. I'm pretty pleased with the results. All of my postcards are now organized by date of arrival on the paper, held down by the corner holders (allowing me to remove them if I want to see the writing on the back), inside the sheet protectors, in my three ring binder. To top it all off, I labeled them all with a sharpie. Now as I get more cards, I can just add them to the binder.

I suppose eventually I'll fill this binder and have to start over with a new one, but for now I'm just going to bask in the glow of having completed this one.

Finished Goals: 55/101
Days Left: 519

Go Geocaching

Today was a horribly frustrating day. I thought I was going to have this really great day off, which is what I really needed it to be. I feel like I've been working so much -- and that I've been so exhausted from working so much -- that I don't really get to do anything fun anymore. I also kind of feel like I've been neglecting my list. Suddenly, I felt this terrible looming pressure to cross goals off. I don't like that feeling. I also don't like the thought that this list has become more stress in my life rather than the challenge and entertainment it was supposed to be.

So today, amongst all of these gross feelings, I decided to step back for a moment, and try to have some fun. As I was perusing the iTunes App Store on my iPhone, I came across a free Geocaching app. This was perfect! I could use this app to search for a geocache, and cross off an item on my list while getting outside in the beautiful weather. I harnessed up Bo to take with me on my search, loaded a geocache to search for on my app, and set off.

It all went downhill from there. I think I was out searching for almost two hours. I tried so hard to find the one that is supposedly in Wicker Park, but to no avail. I didn't want to give up, but I just couldn't find the damn thing, and every time I thought I was close, the app would tell me I was 30 feet away (right after telling me I was only 9 feet away!!!). So I abandoned Wicker Park, and started walking toward another one just north of the Damen/North Ave/Milwaukee six corner intersection. I found my way into an alley where I ended up being only one foot away from the damn thing, but I just COULD NOT find it. And the hint was awful!

Because I really didn't want to give up, I opted to try the last option that was in the vicinity. My phone was almost dead, Bo was definitely tired, and Dov and Ari were ready to be picked up at the groomer, but I just had to give this last one a shot. And then, SUCCESS! I guess the third time was the charm today. I forgot a pen to write in the log, but I pass by it every day on my way to and from work, so I figure I can just stop tomorrow.

Finished Goals: 54/101
Days Left: 542

Clean Out iTunes

I started this a long time ago thinking it wouldn't take me very long because I don't have a ton of music. Then I got busy and abandoned it, and I acquired more music along the way. Today I finally sat down and went through it all from start to finish. I filled out the information I didn't have for songs I got from other people, including album artwork, and I deleted a lot of stuff that I don't even know from where or how I got it. I think the hardest part, though, was trying to decide if I wanted to just uncheck some songs, or completely delete them. I'm guessing that I'll end up going through again sometime and deleting songs I unchecked. Only time will tell.


Finished Goals: 53/101
Days Left: 549

No Soda For a Month

I didn't think I'd be able to do it. I love me some Coke. I also love Diet Coke, and have actually switched to it in the past couple of years in order to save on the calories. You can often catch me sipping on ginger ale as well. And even more so, I like to use these tasty libations as mixers in my adult beverages. Alas, I had to even abstain from that, which was especially difficult. Luckily I have an amazing bartender at home who knows his way around tonic water and mango nectar.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't actually miss it too much. The month seemed to fly by. Perhaps it is because I was so distracted by my career and its seeming inability to get off the ground in my new city. I don't know; however, I'm thinking it's very possible that I may celebrate this accomplishment with a Coke and a smile.

Finished Goals: 52/101
Days Left: 562