101 in 1001
Dear People Who Read This Site, “George”, Girl, That Euro, Special C, Dr. Chris, The (Other) O.C., (Get Back) JoJo, and Potential Investors,
Needless to say the post-Dancing With the Stars hiatus has been rough. If not for the constant reruns of the Gilmore Girls, plus the previews of the O.C. showing that beach party dinner party where Luke could possibly rise out of the waves and beat Chino up, I don't know what I would do. Luckily, I have broad-band internet to fill the void.
So, I've been reading a few blogs of people whose writing I've enjoyed elsewhere for a while, like Ultratart, from one of the writers at Television Without Pity, TV in convenient internet form. And, while reading Ultratart, I noticed this entry. And it got me to thinking of my own list. So, here goes, some items are mint related, some are not, but all of them are things I'd like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. And after all, lists are good.
Of course, anyone who reads this list will learn that, in addition to launching the mints, I apparently need to unearth the Mint Headquarters from the rubble, figure out a way to procure and prepare food, and get a job with one of the major airlines. We'll see how it goes....
Again, the rules:
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).
1. Get mints into one large-ish chain (Virgin Megastore, Urban Outfitters etc.)
2. Upload scanned article from Best Body onto www.embittermints.com. (Done!)
3. Distribute final signature pages and have board meeting annually.
(Completed November 2006, just have to keep meeting from here on out)
4. Automate the state tax forms for Embittermints. (Not quite automated, but complete!)
5. Place mints in five independent stores, in addition to Vice.(We've done this, but with some bumps and starts -- but only upward from here!)
6. Go strawberry picking and make jam.
7. Eat or throw out the food in my freezer.(there are some frozen treats left, but they are going to be eaten)
8. Open jar of pickles in fridge. Consume pickles. (Thanks "George"!)
9. Lose those pesky extra pounds, so that I can fit into the black pants with the stripe on the side easily.(The pants are all good, though I'm still working towards svelte).
10. Go boating in Central Park.
11. Take sailing classes.(I'm set to start on May 10!)
12. Return to Vienna, and take the hydrofoil from there to Budapest.
13. Go to Iceland for a long weekend.
14. Use my frequent flier miles and go somewhere.(Done in Australia and New Zealand, January 2007.)
15. Get a free ticket after being bumped from a flight. Again. (Done! Albeit somewhat involuntarily, though I got 2 tickets).
16. Take a spontaneous trip -- plan and go within a two week period.(Not for the best reasons, but it still counts.)
17. Reply to all of the unanswered emails from friends in my inbox.(Done, in front of 7th Heaven, October 10, 2005)
18. Clean out my desk and drawers.
19. Get new set of drawers from desk and get rid of the existing set.(I cleaned them out, and I've decided not to replace the existing set.)
20. Figure out shelving for pile of books in bedroom.(it will arrive on November 21, 2005, but it may take a while to assemble, as I am not so handy.)
21. Get California Closets, or faux California Closets for my closets.(they came, they sketched, and they will install on December 22 and 23, 2005)
22. Paint apartment walls an interesting color.(Still getting used to the color, but done!)
23. Have windows washed.
24. Make something with the rice noodles in my cupboard. (I tried, and it was ok, but they were not as good as I had hoped.)
25. Date.
26. Fix parts of floor that are coming up.
27. Have a party in my apartment.(I am going to make the executive decision that dinner parties count.)
28. Get a pedicure.(November 2005, and it was lovely.)
29. Take a foreign language class. (September 25, 2005, Starting Spanish class today!)
30. Go to a movie in the theater once a month for three months in a row.
31. Visit cousins in Australia.(Done!)
32. Go and see a performance at Lincoln Center.(Done!)
33. Go to Ellis Island.(Excellent trip, but lots of waiting on the boat.)
34. Make an Oprah paper doll to go with my Britney, Avril, and Gwyneth dolls. (Done April 19, 2006, and I made a very tiny Tiny Tom one as well -- Thanks, Girl for the assist!)
35. Return the plant I've been watching for a few years to its owner.(I sort of made inquiries, and its original owner doesn't want it back. I've decided to adopt it, as it's survived pretty well.)
36. Send information about mints to my high school, college, and grad school magazines.(Done!)
37. Read copy of Peter Ackroyd's London in the pile of books in my bedroom.
38. Read and recycle pile of magazines, and restart New Yorker subscription when done. (I did get this done, though I probably have to do it again, and I have decided not to restart the New Yorker.)
39. Clean oven, and figure out how to get the racks back into oven afterwards. (Done! Thanks "George" for the help with the racks!)
40. Figure out how to transfer saved items from Tivo to tape or DVD. (Done!)
41. Back up hard drive.(Backup 07 is done, and will continue at regular intervals, thanks to "George" and Norton Ghost)
42. Organize jumbled mess of stuff on computer.
43. Have apartment professionally cleaned.(Fantastic. I'm going to do it again!)
44. Go to one of the restaurants at the Time Warner Center.(Done!)
45. Go to Washington DC and spend a day at the Smithsonian.
46. Eat a salad at least twice a week for lunch for a month.(Given that I am now following a genuine nutritional plan, I'm counting this as done.)
47. Organize box of photos into albums.(Completed April 22, 2006)
48. Have grey fuzzy coat and pink plaid coat professionally altered.(Gave the both away, which was for the best.)
49. Reduce the amount of clothing/shoes I own by 10%.(I think I have done this, and I still need to get rid of more stuff, but it's a start).
50. Copy borrowed CDs and return them. (Done!)
51. Erase most of stuff on iPod and put 500 songs I really like on it.(I got a Nano and weeded through the old songlist, and am adding slowly. Since I'm at half of the Nano's capacity which is equivalent to 500 songs on my old iPod, this counts as done).
52. Redo artwork on walls.
53. Clean under bed.(Didn't get rid of much besides the dust bunnies.)
54. Buy and wear a pair of boots that keeps me from slipping on ice. December 2005 -- The boots are effective, but I don't know that urban ice can be completely neutralized.
55. Fix pile of clothes that need minor sewing repairs, and send things I can't fix to a tailor.
56. Get clothes I have previously sent out back from tailor.
57. Learn to play dominoes.
58. Spend a day visiting museums in New York.
59. Learn the provinces of China and their capitals, again.(I don't think I knew all the capitals, but I can locate the provinces and major cities, so done!)
60. Take a good look at a map of the former U.S.S.R. and learn the countries and capitals, particularly those -stan places.
61. Get a fondue set or a raclette set for my apartment and use it.
62. Make one recipe from my Julia Child/Jacques Pepin cookbook.(I was hoping it would be the duck, but it was Jacques' cornbread, which I made twice.)
63. Go and see the Amish. Or Mennonites. In person, seeing Witness again doesn't count.
64. Contact other small mint manufacturers who were helpful to me in the early going and thank them.(I did attempt this a few times, so it counts as done).
65. Go to a Trader Joe's supermarket.
66. Make Rice Krispie treats at home.(Made them, ate them. Not doing it again for a while.)
67. Learn to make three of my favorite dishes growing up.
68. Eat really good fried chicken, with biscuits.
69. Get rid of duplicate or other CDs I don't need.(I've sold and given away most, and some are listed on Amazon, so will eventually sell).
70. Sell more stuff on eBay.(I've listed items, some sold, but all are going to new owners).
71. Submit two pieces of writing for publication.(It didn't have to be successful....)
72. Drive a stick-shift car again.
73. Get longer wires for audio and video components.
74. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day for a week.
75. Get Daily Candy to cover the mints.
76. Order barbecue from Memphis -- they mail it!
77. Run a 5K race in Central Park.
78. See an outdoor screening of a movie.
79. Be in the live audience of the taping or broadcast of a TV show.{technically after the deadline, but Conan was fantastic!)
80. Get a mailing list on www.embittermints.com.
81. Sit and read a book on the beach. (Done in Dubrovnik, Croatia!)
82. Go through all of the stuff I keep at my parents' house, get rid of what I don't need, and store the rest.(I don't need to put it into storage, but another time I will have to review the videotapes and books to weed out more stuff.)
83. Have a picnic.(Granted, it was pastry in Copenhagen, but I think it counts).
84. Get a custom made suit. (Done! In China, no less,and it is fantastic. I am addicted to the idea of custom made clothing, now.)
85. See You Got Served.
86. Re-learn the Spanish I've forgotten. (Taking a class starting today! -- September 25, 2005)
87. Make a chocolate cake from scratch.(I made this really great chocolate zucchini cake recipe from Devin Alexander -- fantastic.)
88. Go to the planetarium.
89. Plant the windowsill herb garden I ordered. (I took care of the gardening item I ordered, but it wasn't a garden.)
90. Make a chart of all of the possible retail outlets and contacts for Embittermints.
91. Ride the Staten Island Ferry.(I did it for work, and it was still fantastic.)
92. Go to a Pilates class with the machines.
93. Visit one of the following: Brazil, Vietnam, or South Africa.
94. Learn the difference between the founding stories of Scientology and Mormonism.(Done! And I even figured out where Christian Science fits in there. Weird, wild stuff.)
95. See a classical music performance at Carnegie Hall.
96. Do 50 push-ups straight every day for a week.
97. Replicate the tomato-tarragon mussels I had at Petite Abeille.
98. Go out to a hip hotel bar. (The Yard, Soho Grand -- Done!)
99. Clean out my desk in my office. (Done!)
100. Take a day off without leaving town. (This happened inadvertently, as the office was closed unexpectedly on 12/31/07.)
101. Make enough money with the mints to repay all of the inital investments.
(Deep breath). So, here goes....
Needless to say the post-Dancing With the Stars hiatus has been rough. If not for the constant reruns of the Gilmore Girls, plus the previews of the O.C. showing that beach party dinner party where Luke could possibly rise out of the waves and beat Chino up, I don't know what I would do. Luckily, I have broad-band internet to fill the void.
So, I've been reading a few blogs of people whose writing I've enjoyed elsewhere for a while, like Ultratart, from one of the writers at Television Without Pity, TV in convenient internet form. And, while reading Ultratart, I noticed this entry. And it got me to thinking of my own list. So, here goes, some items are mint related, some are not, but all of them are things I'd like to accomplish in the next 1001 days. And after all, lists are good.
Of course, anyone who reads this list will learn that, in addition to launching the mints, I apparently need to unearth the Mint Headquarters from the rubble, figure out a way to procure and prepare food, and get a job with one of the major airlines. We'll see how it goes....
Again, the rules:
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).
1. Get mints into one large-ish chain (Virgin Megastore, Urban Outfitters etc.)
2. Upload scanned article from Best Body onto www.embittermints.com. (Done!)
3. Distribute final signature pages and have board meeting annually.
(Completed November 2006, just have to keep meeting from here on out)
4. Automate the state tax forms for Embittermints. (Not quite automated, but complete!)
5. Place mints in five independent stores, in addition to Vice.(We've done this, but with some bumps and starts -- but only upward from here!)
6. Go strawberry picking and make jam.
7. Eat or throw out the food in my freezer.(there are some frozen treats left, but they are going to be eaten)
8. Open jar of pickles in fridge. Consume pickles. (Thanks "George"!)
9. Lose those pesky extra pounds, so that I can fit into the black pants with the stripe on the side easily.(The pants are all good, though I'm still working towards svelte).
10. Go boating in Central Park.
11. Take sailing classes.(I'm set to start on May 10!)
12. Return to Vienna, and take the hydrofoil from there to Budapest.
13. Go to Iceland for a long weekend.
14. Use my frequent flier miles and go somewhere.(Done in Australia and New Zealand, January 2007.)
15. Get a free ticket after being bumped from a flight. Again. (Done! Albeit somewhat involuntarily, though I got 2 tickets).
16. Take a spontaneous trip -- plan and go within a two week period.(Not for the best reasons, but it still counts.)
17. Reply to all of the unanswered emails from friends in my inbox.(Done, in front of 7th Heaven, October 10, 2005)
18. Clean out my desk and drawers.
19. Get new set of drawers from desk and get rid of the existing set.(I cleaned them out, and I've decided not to replace the existing set.)
20. Figure out shelving for pile of books in bedroom.(it will arrive on November 21, 2005, but it may take a while to assemble, as I am not so handy.)
21. Get California Closets, or faux California Closets for my closets.(they came, they sketched, and they will install on December 22 and 23, 2005)
22. Paint apartment walls an interesting color.(Still getting used to the color, but done!)
23. Have windows washed.
24. Make something with the rice noodles in my cupboard. (I tried, and it was ok, but they were not as good as I had hoped.)
25. Date.
26. Fix parts of floor that are coming up.
27. Have a party in my apartment.(I am going to make the executive decision that dinner parties count.)
28. Get a pedicure.(November 2005, and it was lovely.)
29. Take a foreign language class. (September 25, 2005, Starting Spanish class today!)
30. Go to a movie in the theater once a month for three months in a row.
31. Visit cousins in Australia.(Done!)
32. Go and see a performance at Lincoln Center.(Done!)
33. Go to Ellis Island.(Excellent trip, but lots of waiting on the boat.)
34. Make an Oprah paper doll to go with my Britney, Avril, and Gwyneth dolls. (Done April 19, 2006, and I made a very tiny Tiny Tom one as well -- Thanks, Girl for the assist!)
35. Return the plant I've been watching for a few years to its owner.(I sort of made inquiries, and its original owner doesn't want it back. I've decided to adopt it, as it's survived pretty well.)
36. Send information about mints to my high school, college, and grad school magazines.(Done!)
37. Read copy of Peter Ackroyd's London in the pile of books in my bedroom.
38. Read and recycle pile of magazines, and restart New Yorker subscription when done. (I did get this done, though I probably have to do it again, and I have decided not to restart the New Yorker.)
39. Clean oven, and figure out how to get the racks back into oven afterwards. (Done! Thanks "George" for the help with the racks!)
40. Figure out how to transfer saved items from Tivo to tape or DVD. (Done!)
41. Back up hard drive.(Backup 07 is done, and will continue at regular intervals, thanks to "George" and Norton Ghost)
42. Organize jumbled mess of stuff on computer.
43. Have apartment professionally cleaned.(Fantastic. I'm going to do it again!)
44. Go to one of the restaurants at the Time Warner Center.(Done!)
45. Go to Washington DC and spend a day at the Smithsonian.
46. Eat a salad at least twice a week for lunch for a month.(Given that I am now following a genuine nutritional plan, I'm counting this as done.)
47. Organize box of photos into albums.(Completed April 22, 2006)
48. Have grey fuzzy coat and pink plaid coat professionally altered.(Gave the both away, which was for the best.)
49. Reduce the amount of clothing/shoes I own by 10%.(I think I have done this, and I still need to get rid of more stuff, but it's a start).
50. Copy borrowed CDs and return them. (Done!)
51. Erase most of stuff on iPod and put 500 songs I really like on it.(I got a Nano and weeded through the old songlist, and am adding slowly. Since I'm at half of the Nano's capacity which is equivalent to 500 songs on my old iPod, this counts as done).
52. Redo artwork on walls.
53. Clean under bed.(Didn't get rid of much besides the dust bunnies.)
54. Buy and wear a pair of boots that keeps me from slipping on ice. December 2005 -- The boots are effective, but I don't know that urban ice can be completely neutralized.
55. Fix pile of clothes that need minor sewing repairs, and send things I can't fix to a tailor.
56. Get clothes I have previously sent out back from tailor.
57. Learn to play dominoes.
58. Spend a day visiting museums in New York.
59. Learn the provinces of China and their capitals, again.(I don't think I knew all the capitals, but I can locate the provinces and major cities, so done!)
60. Take a good look at a map of the former U.S.S.R. and learn the countries and capitals, particularly those -stan places.
61. Get a fondue set or a raclette set for my apartment and use it.
62. Make one recipe from my Julia Child/Jacques Pepin cookbook.(I was hoping it would be the duck, but it was Jacques' cornbread, which I made twice.)
63. Go and see the Amish. Or Mennonites. In person, seeing Witness again doesn't count.
64. Contact other small mint manufacturers who were helpful to me in the early going and thank them.(I did attempt this a few times, so it counts as done).
65. Go to a Trader Joe's supermarket.
66. Make Rice Krispie treats at home.(Made them, ate them. Not doing it again for a while.)
67. Learn to make three of my favorite dishes growing up.
68. Eat really good fried chicken, with biscuits.
69. Get rid of duplicate or other CDs I don't need.(I've sold and given away most, and some are listed on Amazon, so will eventually sell).
70. Sell more stuff on eBay.(I've listed items, some sold, but all are going to new owners).
71. Submit two pieces of writing for publication.(It didn't have to be successful....)
72. Drive a stick-shift car again.
73. Get longer wires for audio and video components.
74. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day for a week.
75. Get Daily Candy to cover the mints.
76. Order barbecue from Memphis -- they mail it!
77. Run a 5K race in Central Park.
78. See an outdoor screening of a movie.
79. Be in the live audience of the taping or broadcast of a TV show.{technically after the deadline, but Conan was fantastic!)
80. Get a mailing list on www.embittermints.com.
81. Sit and read a book on the beach. (Done in Dubrovnik, Croatia!)
82. Go through all of the stuff I keep at my parents' house, get rid of what I don't need, and store the rest.(I don't need to put it into storage, but another time I will have to review the videotapes and books to weed out more stuff.)
83. Have a picnic.(Granted, it was pastry in Copenhagen, but I think it counts).
84. Get a custom made suit. (Done! In China, no less,and it is fantastic. I am addicted to the idea of custom made clothing, now.)
85. See You Got Served.
86. Re-learn the Spanish I've forgotten. (Taking a class starting today! -- September 25, 2005)
87. Make a chocolate cake from scratch.(I made this really great chocolate zucchini cake recipe from Devin Alexander -- fantastic.)
88. Go to the planetarium.
89. Plant the windowsill herb garden I ordered. (I took care of the gardening item I ordered, but it wasn't a garden.)
90. Make a chart of all of the possible retail outlets and contacts for Embittermints.
91. Ride the Staten Island Ferry.(I did it for work, and it was still fantastic.)
92. Go to a Pilates class with the machines.
93. Visit one of the following: Brazil, Vietnam, or South Africa.
94. Learn the difference between the founding stories of Scientology and Mormonism.(Done! And I even figured out where Christian Science fits in there. Weird, wild stuff.)
95. See a classical music performance at Carnegie Hall.
96. Do 50 push-ups straight every day for a week.
97. Replicate the tomato-tarragon mussels I had at Petite Abeille.
98. Go out to a hip hotel bar. (The Yard, Soho Grand -- Done!)
99. Clean out my desk in my office. (Done!)
100. Take a day off without leaving town. (This happened inadvertently, as the office was closed unexpectedly on 12/31/07.)
101. Make enough money with the mints to repay all of the inital investments.
(Deep breath). So, here goes....
posted by Mint Mogul at 9:47 AM
1 Comments:
MM, I think I can help you complete some of these tasks. I've made a note of the following: #10, 30, 32, 33, 45, 57, 83, 95. Good times...
When you buy the fondue set (#61), I'll definitely come over and recreate the chocolate fondue recipe that I saw on Rachel Ray's hit t.v. show 30-Minute Meals.
Fondly,
Girl
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