Cat's Corner

I've never been a really big fan of such things as New Year's resolutions. I suppose I'm of the general belief that if you want to do something -- if you want to change something about your life, break a bad habit, or form a good one -- there's no time like the present to get on that. I figure... why waste time? Life has made me painfully aware a little bit at a time that we've much less of it than we tend to think we do.

Plus, I don't like shackling myself via devices like times and dates or schedules other people make for me if I can possibly help it, so the idea of waiting for January 1st to start a project I'm really excited about on... say... October 22nd seems kind of stupid to me. I guess my point is that I don't really like the idea of New Year's resolutions because they can encourage people to procrastinate too much about actually getting started when it comes to positive change, and procrastination is a demon I've been trying to slay myself for a long time now.

I do agree that the beginning of a new year is an excellent time to stop, take inventory, and see how you're doing when it comes to consistently making progress and moving forward though. I also think that the idea of adding a deadline can be very helpful in making sure any goals you do decide to set for yourself go beyond simple wishful thinking.

A friend recently told me about something called The 101 Things To Do In 1001 Days Project. It's kind of like an alternative to making traditional New Year's resolutions because it gives you a fixed number of tasks to assign yourself, as well as a clear deadline by which to complete your list. However, the deadline is reasonable and realistic... about three years.

As usual, I hemmed and hawed about whether or not I really wanted to commit myself to this, but after a while, I decided it might do me some good... and perhaps do my readers some good as well through the positive force that is inspiration. After all, it's easier for me to think of this as a to-do list with a deadline attached than a list of New Year's resolutions. The following is my list of 101 things. I'll add a link to this to my articles archive and strike the items through once I complete them so that all of you can check up on me now and again and see how I'm doing.

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1. Visit Edith Wharton's house and soak up the greatness.

2. Finish editing and publish both of my existing novel manuscripts.

3. Spend a day in Salem, Massachusetts.

4. Visit Nathaniel Hawthorne's house and soak up some more greatness.

5. Get married so we can finally start wearing these gorgeous wedding rings we bought quite a while ago now.

6. Get a tattoo.

7. Bake a cake from scratch.

8. See Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory in person.

9. Reread the entire Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum.

10. Buy a black and white polka-dot dress.

11. Bake a loaf of pumpernickel bread.

12. Do a photo shoot at the graveyard.

13. Write four original fairy tales.

14. Reread Dante's Divine Comedy.

15. Start an on-line literature appreciation, discussion, and reading community.

16. Submit poetry or creative writing to five different websites or publications.

17. Make English muffins from scratch.

18. Visit the Statue of Liberty.

19. Learn all 88 constellations.

20. Build a snow man.

21. Do a good deed without expecting anything in return.

22. Read my beginner's Latin book from cover to cover and learn everything in it.

23. Do two more paintings for my Brothers Grimm art series.

24. Do an art piece that includes a unicorn.

25. Paint a new self portrait.

26. Attend a live concert.

27. Go to a midnight movie.

28. Finally sit down and eat a meal at the retro diner around the corner.

29. Rewatch the Star Wars trilogy.

30. Go to the zoo in this area, since I haven't been since I moved here.

31. Carve a jack o' lantern.

32. Write an article on the importance of confidence.

33. Buy another bottle of Poison by Christian Dior.

34. Buy the soundtrack to Skeleton Key.

35. Take a new photo of myself now that I've lost so much weight.

36. Print out my NaNoWriMo winner's certificate from this past November and hang it on my wall.

37. Write a new article for the "On Writing" section of my article directory.

38. Wear my purple dress out to dinner now that it fits again.

39. Try a new kind of hot sauce from the specialty shop at the mall.

40. Make a lasagna that includes the fresh cheese I learned how to make.

41. Finish reading The Shining with Seth.

42. Finish reading the Harry Potter series so I finally know what happens.

43. Find a pair of fatigue pants that are actually cute and wear them.

44. Set up a schedule for sending out newsletters and stick to it.

45. Find a cool case for my iPod.

46. Participate in at least one new art or writing related contest or event that I've never participated in before.

47. Cook duck for dinner.

48. Organize the closet.

49. Make a virtual scrapbook of a road trip.

50. Learn to sew.

51. Create at least four prints featuring my poetry.

52. Learn how to use at least one new feature in Photoshop.

53. Improve the Alexa rating for my website by 50%.

54. Paint a picture of "the opium fairy".

55. Buy a bottle of good Chianti.

56. Make two new pieces of art using just pencils and paper.

57. Get a library card.

58. Find and try a type of tea I've never had before.

59. Take a vintage-style black and white self portrait.

60. Start taking photographs of things I find interesting and stop worrying about whether or not they're actually good.

61. Learn the names and calls of five local birds.

62. Discover two new musical artists to love.

63. Learn all the moons for the different planets in our solar system.

64. Learn how to make a traditional Christmas pudding.

65. Organize the artwork in my Deviant Art gallery.

66. Invent one new cocktail and serve it.

67. Create and publish a follow-up to Cabbages and Kings.

68. Buy a new jewelery box and arrange all my jewelery.

69. Finally make a wishlist on Amazon.

70. Paint another picture of Seth.

71. Finish building Elle's kitty jungle gym.

72. Find and purchase an Alice in Wonderland t-shirt.

73. Go to a musical or play.

74. Buy red satin dress to celebrate weight loss.

75. Organize and update new art portfolio.

76. Design and print new business cards.

77. Replace ink cartridges in the printer.

78. Make another batch of Turkish delight.

79. Get a new laptop.

80. Create and cook recipe for alligator stew.

81. Paint Fiddler On The Roof inspired art.

82. Start consolidating recipes and taking photographs so I can release a cookbook someday.

83. Buy white plates for photographing food.

84. Buy lighting for photo shoots.

85. Buy a telescope and start stargazing regularly.

86. Go camping at least once.

87. Go fishing at least once.

88. Take a photograph by the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park.

89. Learn how to make mojo bags.

90. Start creating artwork for tarot deck and explore publishing options.

91. Learn how to make homemade pasta.

92. Make homemade doughnuts.

93. Write a new novel-length first draft each year.

94. Start astronomy-inspired art series.

95. Write a song.

96. Brush up on my tarot-reading skills.

97. Create at least one art-related tutorial.

98. Finally sit down and read Silas Marner.

99. Learn how to make either soap or candles.

100. Go to the county fair in this area or a neighboring area.

101. Join the Writer's Guild of America.