The Little 101

Monday, October 04, 2004

22. Write 6 handwritten letters to my grandparents.

The first of my six letters goes into the mail today. I wrote a letter to my maternal Grandparents. Maw Maw and Paw Paw as they are known to me. Writing the letter was an interesting experience. The words came smoothly. I basically just gave them an update on what Sadie and I have been doing since we moved to Kentucky a year ago. I didn't ask that they write back or anything but I hope that they do.

I may have broken my rule a little on this one by using my computer to write the letter. I did that so that I would have a record of it later on. Hunter S. Thompson, one of my favorite writers and journalists, has been, at a late stage in his life, able to reproduce volumes of his correspondence with the people in his life in encyclopedic form. For some reason that idea appeals to me.

88. Rip all of my CD's into iTunes.

After a weekend spent ripping discs as fast as I could I'm still only a third of the way through my collection. The total so far is

941 songs, 2.5 days, 3.62 GB

Just to give you an idea about what I've ripped so far here are the first ten songs selected at random by the iTunes Party Shuffle.

Pistachio Medley -- Smashing Pumpkins
Getchoo -- Weezer
Maps -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Harder Now That It's Over -- Ryan Adams
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town -- Pearl Jam
Perfect Circle -- REM
Disseminated -- Soul Coughing
Is It Safe -- Our Lady Peace
Where Is The Love -- Black Eyed Peas
Ce-Matin La -- Air
Wheel -- John Mayer

Monday, September 27, 2004

3. Read every book I own.

I've finished all of the books I'd borrowed from the library and from now on all of my pleasure reading will come from my own bookshelves. Over the years I've amassed quite a collection of books, and have actually read very few of them. As part of this project I intend to read every book shelf by shelf until I'm done. I'll even re-read the ones I've read.

First up? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix It's the fifth book in the series and by far the best. I'm about 600 pages in to its 800 total and it keeps getting better.

88. Rip all of my CD’s into iTunes.

I've started ripping all of my CD's into iTunes. Here's the total so far:
417 songs, 1 Day, 1.8 GB.

I've got a lot more to go, but it's a start.

52. Take a picture of myself each week of the project

I've created a set using my flcikr account of all the photos I've taken since the project began. They're not all up yet, but so far I'm right on schedule. I'm running out of ideas though. If you look at the pics you'll see that I'm a fan of the closeup. If anyone has ideas for shots or angles let me know. Link.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Slow No Start

Five days have passed and I've done nothing on my list. I've got to at least take a picture of myself before today is over or I'll already have missed completing one of the items on my list (#52).

Today is Saturday so I could pull out the Times crossword and see if I can even answer a few of the clues(#10). I'm thinking that's going to be one of the tougher things on my list. I could also get some gaming in today to take care of my gaming related tasks (#'s 18, 19, 20.)

Oh, and I did spend the week of eating healthy (last night was an exception) so I'm also at work on the weight loss task (#4). Maybe I'm doing better than I thought.

Monday, August 16, 2004

It Begins

So over there is a really long list of things that I hope to accomplish in the next 1001 days. This site will document my achievements along the way.

So I guess I'd better get started.

The 101

1. Learn to play tennis.
2. Go white-water rafting.
3. Read every book I own.
4. Lose 15 pounds.
5. Run in at least one 5K race.
6. Attend the Bonnaroo music festival.
7. Watch no TV for a month.
8. Join a campaign for a local election.
9. Volunteer one weekend a month for at least three months.
10. Complete a Saturday New York Times crossword.
11. Learn a card trick.
12. Attend a Red’s game.
13. Attend a UK Basketball game.
14. Attend a LSU home football game.
15. Go to the Kentucky Derby.
16. Go to Keeneland.
17. Learn how to make a specialty drink.
18. Find the 100 secret packages in GTA: Vice City without a guide.
19. Win a National Championship in NCAA Football.
20. Achieve highest ranking in Hot Shots Golf 3.
21. Eat Vegetarian for a week.
22. Write 6 handwritten letters to my grandparents.
23. Visit New York City.
24. Visit Chicago.
25. Read three books about the history of Kentucky.
26. See all of Woody Allen’s movies.
27. Attend a Radiohead concert.
28. Attend a REM concert.
29. Go on an overnight hiking/camping trip.
30. Read 10 biographies.
31. Buy a piece of local art.
32. Make my own art.
33. Travel somewhere by train.
34. Write a letter to my senator about an issue that is important to me.
35. Write a letter to my representative about an issue that is important to me.
36. Write a letter to my local representative about an issue that is important to me.
37. Enter a short story in a contest.
38. Enter a poem in a contest.
39. Build a coffee table.
40. Build a media center.
41. See a performance at a local playhouse.
42. Perform Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” at a karaoke bar.
43. Attend a play at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.
44. Learn a magic trick.
45. Read my own poetry at a poetry slam.
46. See all AFI top 100 movies.
47. Do five minutes of standup at an open mic night.
48. Clean out and organize the closet in my living room.
49. Give up caffeine for two weeks.
50. Attend a Sabbath service.
51. Writer a letter to the editor of the Herald-Leader.
52. Take a picture of myself each week of the project.
53. Eat caviar.
54. Eat Escargot.
55. Eat octopus.
56. Go deep sea fishing.
57. Take a beach vacation.
58. Get contact lenses.
59. Make and jar my own tomato sauce.
60. Make and jar my own barbecue sauce.
61. Learn to play at least one song on the harmonica.
62. Change the sparkplugs in my car myself.
63. Complete 50 pushups straight.
64. Complete 50 situps straight.
65. Make a mashup.
66. Take a photography class.
67. Complete a photography project.
68. Take ballroom dance lessons.
69. Vote in every election I am eligible to vote in.
70. Pay off my credit cards.
71. See a movie at the Kentucky Theatre.
72. Read the last five National Book Award winners.
73. Read the last five Pulitzer Prize winners.
74. Donate money to my local public radio station.
75. Donate money to my local public television station.
76. Eat at Furlong’s a purported Cajun restaurant in Lexington.
77. Read every strip in the complete Calvin and Hobbes.
78. Read all of Don Dellilo’s books.
79. Read all of Chaim Potok’s books.
80. Teach myself CSS.
81. Teach myself XHTML.
82. Redesign the Little Room from the ground up.
83. Start an investment portfolio.
84. Bowl a 150 or higher.
85. Hit a bucket of balls at a driving range.
86. Teach myself to type (sad I know).
87. Go canoeing.
88. Rip all of my CD’s into iTunes.
89. Buy new speakers for my computer.
90. Keep and roll all of my change for the duration of the project.
91. Buy new living room furniture.
92. Plant and nurture a container garden.
93. Design and wear my own clothing using Café Press.
94. Finalize all of my existing short stories.
95. Finish the edits on my manuscript.
96. Continually submit both the manuscript and shorts until accepted or retired.
97. Watch all 3 Godfather movies.
98. Get a harness for the cats and try “walking” them.
99. Make a Rainy Day mix CD
100. No computer for a week except for writing (no blogging).
101. Get involved with BookCrossing.

: Name: Kyle; Location: Lexington, Kentucky, United States

I'm a writer currently at work on my first novel. The Little Room is where I keep the juices flowing.

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