The end of December marks the end of the first complete year that I’ve been working on my 101 Things list.
I averaged it out in the beginning and figured I’d have to complete roughly 3 tasks a month if I wanted to finish everything in time. I’ve completed 39 in the past 12 months, which means I’m on track so far.
The only tasks that worry me are the ones that involve traveling to specific locations — I certainly hope I’ll be able to complete them in the next year and ten months, but those variables are harder to control. If it comes down to it, I’ve reserved the right to replace certain tasks as long as what they’re being replaced with takes just as much effort as (or more than) the original.
So, for December, Month 12:
2. Give $10 to a homeless person or a stranger in need
I mailed a donation to an organization in DC that was providing Christmas dinners to people in need.
31. Research ways about how to be more ecologically conscious and put 3 new ideas into practice
1) I rinse out those plastic bowls that come with frozen meals and recycle them instead of throwing them away; 2) I brought a real mug to work and stopped using disposable cups; 3) I save my plastic bags from the grocery store (and I also tell the cashiers not to double-bag heavy stuff, which they’re always trying to do), and re-use or recycle them. It would be even better to use canvas bags, but if you’re buying a lot of stuff at once it’s hard to remember to carry them around with you.
37. Send at least 10 Christmas cards and write a personal note in each
I mailed the cards the day after Christmas — but like I said, better late than never.
72. Attend a dance performance
I saw my friend Jeremy perform in Richmond at the Firehouse Theatre.
4 Comments
I’m glad you’re making your way through the list; cool! On item 31: I’m amazed that more people don’t use their own mugs for coffee/tea. I’ve been doing it for at least 20 years, and I’m never without my mug of tea at the office. It’s a small thing, but it’s so easy. I also use a string bag and a canvas bag. The string bag lives in the car, in the glove compartment. It’s also small enough that it can live in a purse without getting in the way. Having it with you all the time is the only way you’re really going to use it. And yes, sometimes I need more space and have to take the store’s bag. But at least 90% of the time, and probably much higher than that, the string bag is all I need.
On item 2, I have to say, Zan, that this sounds like a cop-out to me. It’s your list, so you interpret it as you want, of course, as you meant it. But it seems to me that mailing a donation to an organization… impersonalizes it, avoids the direct contact that “Give $10 to a homeless person or a stranger in need,” says to me. I’m sure the donation you mailed was more than $10. And, yet, handing $10 to someone who needs it, and looking him/her in the eye is very different, and very much more powerful.
I occasionally give the food I’ve taken home from a restaurant to a homeless person. If I pack up half my meal because the portions are too large, and I pass a homeless man on the street, I’ll sometimes approach him and say, “Would you like some food?” They’ve never said no, and they usually start eating it on the spot, before I’ve walked away.
It feels good, and I know it’s filled an immediate need.
At first I read one of those as “saw Ron Jeremy perform in Richmond” and thought that was a rather interesting accomplishment.
Happy new year!!
Love the 101 things list, it inspired me to start one of my own. And I was a soc major too!
I mailed some of my Christmas cards just yesterday. Oh well.
Happy 2008!