Changes since January

Many, many things have changed since January - I have successfully completed many of the items on my list. I am thrilled to have finished many of these things, but including them just wouldn't be fair. I'll have to take some time to replace them, but for now, I have done these things:

1. Graduate from High School

I graduated from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics on May 23, 2009. The day was chaotic with packing and preparations, especially with all the damn parents wandering around. One of the Residential Interns, Amy, gave all of the graduating seniors fresh flower leis to wear. They were huge and tacky, but a badge of emotional pride. I wore mine throughout the ceremony. Our ceremony was short and meaningful - there were four speeches, two of which were beautiful and moving, and one with great intentions but too many "drugs are bad!" references. We all marched up to receive our diplomas proudly, some happier than others. It didn't feel like a giant leap - the hard work had already been done. We were finally being granted our ceremonial privilege to say, "I survived the MSSM!"

2. Finish applying to college

I finished applying college on January 15, shortly after the panicked date-moving post.

3. Get accepted to college

I was accepted from several colleges and rejected from several more. The first letter I received was from Eckerd College, a school that required no supplementary essays. I was subsequently accepted to The New College of Florida, Hampshire College, and Lawrence University, all small liberal arts schools. In the fall, I will be attending the New College of Florida thanks to their "You went to a magnet school!" Math & Science Merit Scholarship. My top school was Hampshire College, who unfortunately lagged on the financial aid.

86. Get a data phone

Just yesterday my parents bought me an iPhone thanks to the drop in price. The plan was just as much as the plan for my old, non-data phone, too, thus changing my parents' mind about getting me a data plan.

87. Get a laptop

Another graduation gift I received was an HP Pavilion DV7-1260US. I am, of course, being pressured to give my desktop away now, but this computer is surprisingly powerful and should suffice for anything I need to do. My parents cited my excellent finals grades for the decision.

That's all I've done, but at the time of original posting, many of those goals seemed nearly impossible. The laptop and data phone seemed years in the future, not right now, and graduating and getting into college were both nightmares. Little did I know, at that time, that I would have horrific difficulties in physics and that my college dreams were on the edge of being crushed. But those are for another time.

Today is a New Beginning

I start today, on June 15.

New Start Date

In a typically procrastinating move, I've decided to move my start date to June 4, 2009.  Why?  Because everything's easier after you've passed finals, AP tests, etcetera.  

My 101 Goals

After nearly 48 hours of consideration on this project since my original post, I have developed a list of goals for the next 2.75 years. While many people attempting the 1001 Day challenge have stated that it was difficult to narrow down their goals to only 101, I found it difficult to come up with 101 goals that are sustainable throughout upcoming changes in my life. In the end, I was able to strike a balance between the future and the present, leaving space for any future wants and deciding on goals that will stick with me for years to come.

Some of the goals I have listed have a quota I must meet - I must find 100 things that make me happy, for example. Others are less easily attainable; these goals must become a habit or be continued over a long period of time. I've decided to judge these at the end of the project. If I feel that I have used rechargeable batteries as a habit at the end of the challenge, for example, it will be successful.

All goals in progress will be italicized.
All completed goals will be struck out.

Lazlo Gearailt's 101 in 1001 List

Life Goals
1. Graduate from High School
2. Finish applying to college (1/9)
3. Get accepted to college
4. Find 100 things that make me happy (0/100)
5. Overcome one personal problem
6. Make a list of things I truly believe in

Personal
7. Keep an organizer successfully
8. Find a place for my keys and consistently leave them there at the end of the day
9. Keep track of my finances
10. Stop hating the French language
11. Go through my clothes twice (0/2)
12. Make my bedroom into a home
13. Jump a horse
14. Read one recreational book a month (0/33)
15. Get a library card
16. Put away $2 for every day of the challenge (0/1001)
17. Find 20 quotes that I love
18. Cook and eat a meal with friends
19. Get my ears double-pierced
20. Learn how to play my bass
21. Dye my hair a color that isn't my natural color
22. Get a real job for a summer
23. Put flowers on a grave that doesn't have any
24. Try Bubble Tea
25. Burn all of the old school papers I don't want

Computers
26. Write a blog entry once a week for the next 143 weeks (0/143)
27. Buy a domain
28. Participate in NaBloPoMo
29. Make a blog post for any goal I complete (0/101)
30. Make a new layout for my blog
31. Regularly back up my computer
32. Write ten book reviews in my blog (0/10)
33. Scan and display my written work and images

Geekery
34. Build something with my brother
35. Take apart an expensive gadget
36. Build a robot
37. Make a steampunk sculpture
38. Hug a windmill
39. Buy a kit and make something with LEDs
40. Only use energy-efficient light bulbs as replacements
41. Go somewhere haunted
42. Write a simple program
43. Use rechargeable batteries
44. Build something with my brother

Crossing Distances
45. Participate in Postcrossing 10 times (0/10)
46. Travel internationally in the next 365 days
47. Participate in Gimme Your Stuff twice (0/2)
48. Send a secret to PostSecret once a year (0/3)
49. Keep in contact with close friends after high school
50. Go to a second-hand store
51. Participate in 10 PaperBack Swaps (0/10)
52. Bike every road on the island where I live
53. Go to a small, independent book store
54. Visit 10 unique museums
55. Become pen pals with someone and reply to at least 3 letters (0/3)
56. Send three kids working with Post Pals a letter (0/3)
57. Go to 3 concerts (0/3)
58. Make a friend on the island
59. Buy someone I don't know a gift

Writing
60. Keep a dream journal at least once a week (0/143)
61. Complete NaNoWriMo
62. Fill in all of the blank books I have without buying any new ones
63. Admit that I am wrong and write about the experience 3 times (0/3)
64. Complete started NaNo novels in any form (0/2)
65. Write three publishing-quality short stories (0/3)

Art and Imagery
66. Take 101 pictures that I love (0/101)
67. Draw one thing every day for a year (0/365)
68. Record a song with friends
69. Build floating bookshelves for my room
70. Print a set of my own postcards
71. Continue involvement with theatre in college
72. Join an orchestra in college
73. Learn to knit
74. Arrange two songs to be sung A Capella
75. Sell things I make on Etsy or eBay
76. Learn to appreciate poetry
77. Make a photo box
78. Take a photography course

Health
79. Brush my teeth twice a day for an entire month (0/30)
80. Exercise outdoors three times a week after graduating
81. Drink 64oz. of water every day for a month (0/30)
82. Stop eating french fries for an entire year (0/365)
83. Go to sleep before midnight for a week each year of the project (0/3)

Acquisitions
84. Get an old pocket watch
85. Get a DSLR camera
86. Get a data phone
87. Get a laptop
88. Get a tea infuser
89. Buy a Deviant Art print
90. Get frames for my favorite photographs

91. Develop goals 91 through 100 after starting college career.

101. Reflect on the experience in writing after end date.

101 Things in 1001 Days

While surfing the internet late this night, in between watching The Others and WALL-E with my sister, I managed to stumble across a webpage that advertised what was called the "1001 Day Project." How nice - another unnecessarily over-thought guide to saving the planet. "Take shorter showers and in 1001 days, you will have saved $300 dollars on energy bills," I figured it preached. "Use recycled toilet paper!" I'd read lists like this before on WebEcoist and other self-proclaimed "green" blogs, and there were rarely any truly mind-blowing ideas to boost my existence's worth on this dying world. Truth is, though, I love lists - they promote thinking and brain-storming, and are easily published to present to the world. I make lists incessantly, and sometimes substitute well thought out written work with cursory lists, because of my chronic need for procrastination. In the end, it was an itch I needed to scratch, and I clicked through to the page.
It turns out that I may need to turn my skepticism level down a tick-mark or two. The project, inspired by Michael Green of Day Zero, had nothing to do with the state of the environment or how to green-ify one's life. In fact, the 1001 Day Project is a challenge aimed at goal-setters:


The Mission: Complete 101 tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

There's a whole list of criteria and helpful hints on the Getting Started section of the website. Other peoples' lists are linked on the website (over 1700!), and some of them are downright inspiring. So far, some of these have inspired me to add participating in Postcrossing, identify 100 things that make me happy, and keep a dream journal (something that I desperately need - my wacky dreams shouldn't be lost when they could be published!) to my personal, unfinished list.

I haven't got a complete list yet, but I have one in the works and a possible start and end date. I aim to start my project on January 5, 2008, which means it ends on October 3, 2011. We'll see what happens - if I can't finish everything, let's see what I can.

Lazlo's Gadget: "Push a button, get a color"

Every time I click on the Opera shortcut in my quick-launch bar, I have to find some way to waste at least an hour of my life. To start, I'll click around on the convenient Speed Dial page that opens in new tabs. In order, I check my fantasy-meets-real life forum that I use to communicate with friends, my school e-mail account, Facebook, three different cool stuff blogs, Mod the Sims 2, Gmail, and my yahoo e-mail account. Then, I open up my bookmarks and check my webcomics, which are conveniently sorted by when they update (despite this, I check all of them every day). After that, I'll check my two webcomics that are not included in my bookmarks list.
Well, hopefully, after tapping my left mouse button the hundred or so times it takes to complete that laundry list of tasks, an hour will have passed. This process is becoming so predictable and natural, though, that I can complete it easily in under 30 minutes. So, uh, then what? What can I do to waste time that I could use to valuably complete assignments or study or apply to the plethora of colleges that need responses from me? I can go to ThinkGeek and look for gadgets. And that's what I do.

So, while clicking mindlessly on ThinkGeek, the coolest place to buy useless-but-awesome gadgets on the internet, I found an astonishingly cool piece of useless that I could not. pass. up.

Multi-Color LED Lightbulb w/Remote

The Multi-Color LED Lightbulb with Remote is one of the coolest lightbulbs I've ever come across. While that fact is fairly unimpressive, considering that lightbulbs in general are boring and uncool, this bulb is super, very, excellently impressive. It's equipped with 16 pre-set colors, four effects for changing colors, and an infrared remote that gives access to all of these options. Basically, it's a party-lover/ultrageek's dream come true.
Alright, alright, so it's cool. But what use is a color-changing lightbulb? ThinkGeek suggests parties, decorating, and mood lighting - all being rather vague suggestions. If I were to dish out and get a few of these (what good is just one awesome lightbulb?), I'd install a whole bunch of them in a room designed for entertainment. Alright, so that's assuming that I owned a house and had money and had still had friends to entertain. But, assuming my future is bright, these lightbulbs could enhance my parties and movie parties enormously. Imagine being able to somehow control them via computer, programming them in such a way that augments the mood of movies or flashing to the beat of music. With a little bit of tweaking and some terribly complicated computer equipment, the owner of some of these lightbulbs could have the coolest basement hangout on the block (party-goers and friends not included.)

Get One: $49.99 via ThinkGeek