The Experiment

There's a website called Day Zero where visitors create lists of things they plan on accomplishing. This isn't quite a bucket list, per se, since life has a funny way of throwing monkey wrenches in the mix to change plans. Normally, these lists include 101 things the people want to accomplish in 1001 days. I had first started kicking this idea around shortly after moving to Virginia last summer, but like most things I kick around in my head it was pushed off to the side. I had originally hoped to start working on these tasks this past November 22, because 1001 days from that date would be my 33rd birthday.

Not only did I not begin working on these tasks, but I didn't even come up with 101 things. That probably sounds awfully lazy of me, but here's the problem: coming up with 101 different things to do that are measurable and can be definitively quantified is HARD. I read through many of the lists to get some ideas, but some of them are just not practical. There were things like "Be happier" or "Have a more positive attitude." How can a person objectively say whether he or she is happier than that person was a year prior?

The other tough element was finding things I could likely accomplish in the next 1001 days. I had thought about stuff like visiting Mount Rushmore or visiting Four Corners, but I don't see either of those events likely happening. But hey, like I said before, life has a funny way of changing direction in midstream, so anything is possible.

Now since I don't have all 101 things on this list, I reserve the right to add to this list as I go along. That may sound like cheating a little, but with this blog as my witness I will not add tasks or events on this list retroactively. That should save me from any loopholes, at least for now.

So here it is, a work already in progress:

1. Go on a cruise

2. Buy a house

5. Take a cooking class

6. Take a dancing class

7. Visit DisneyWorld

8. Try out for Jeopardy

9. Go back to Vegas

10. Go fishing

11. Get a dog

12. Write the first season of Star Trek: Beyond Forever

13. Play a musical instrument

14. Visit relatives in Houston

15. Visit the MLB Hall of Fame

16. Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame

17. Visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

18. Watch A Clockwork Orange

19. Watch the complete Godfather Trilogy

20. Buy left-handed scissors

21. See 3 bands in concert

22. Cook dinner every night for a week

23. Join a softball league

24. Work out first thing in the morning instead of after work for a week

25. No fast food for a month

26. Read a non-fiction book

27. Lose at least 30 pounds

28. Read the Bible start to finish

29. Fine a new home church

30. Visit hometown in PA and drive past the house I grew up in

31. Frame and hang my MBA

32. Visit Gramps’ grave

33. Go ice skating

34. Learn rudimentary Arabic

35. Write a will

36. Go on a weekend hiking trip

37. Visit a state I haven’t been to before

38. See a drive-in movie

39. Get a real Christmas tree and decorate it

40. Get a passport

41. Change the oil in my car myself

42. Take golf lessons

43. Gamble in a casino

44. See the Trans Siberian Orchestra live

45. Go camping

46. Watch The Wizard of Oz with Dark Side of the Moon playing in the background

47. Go to a dinner theater murder mystery

48. Make homemade pizza

49. Attend a costume party

50. See the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

51. Go on a random, unplanned road trip

52. Watch Scarface

53. See the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

54. Play in a poker tournament

55. Buy a left-handed can opener

56. Donate old clothing to Goodwill

57. Wait in line for a store to open Black Friday morning

58. Run a 10-minute mile

59. Go to an Army/Navy game

60. Do volunteer work for 1 day (7x)

61. Donate at least $100 to charity

62. Begin at 5 sit-ups per night for one week. Then add one sit-up per night per week until I get to 50 sit-ups per night. Maintain through the end of the project

63. Go to a hockey game

64. Ride in a limo

65. Buy a new laptop

66. Get a promotion at work

67. Bake a cake

68. Get my security clearance

69. Spend a day in bed

70. Write a letter to myself to open on day 1000

71. Plan Marie’s 30^th birthday party

72. Motivate someone to do his/her own list

73. Start a new list upon completing this one.