Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The List- Numbered and In-Progress

Just so I don't have to cross out items on the original.

Help Others
1.  Leave 25 encouraging notes for strangers {2/25}
2.  Influence a person to make a Day Zero list
3.  Say something nice to someone every single day
4.  Compliment five strangers
5.  Make someone's day extraordinary
6.  Donate to the OLL
7.  Do ten nice things for people without telling them {2/10}
8.  Donate 3+ books to the library
9.  Teach someone a new skill
10. Buy lunch for someone low on cash
11. Make someone smile... 50 times {31/50}
12. Tell someone s/he's a good friend
13. Talk to someone in a group who looks out of place
14. Give a just-because present
Help Myself
15. Do stretches at least twice a week for a month
16. Learn some yoga or Pilates- at least six poses
17. Drink no soda for a month
18. Go a day without technology
19. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
20. Don't complain about anything for a week
21. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy
22. Eat a fruit and vegetable each day for two weeks
23. Spend a school-and-work free day outside
24. Say yes to everything for one day
25. Note one good thing that happens every day
26. Go to the dentist for a check up
27. Go a day without my cell phone
28. Make a promise to myself and keep it
29. Drink only water, milk, and tea for a week
30. Lotion every day for a week
31. Don't look in the mirror for 24 hours
32. Try a new vegetable
33. Try a new fruit
34. Try three new kinds of tea {1/3}
35. Go a week without contacts
36. Go a day without makeup (and leave the house)
37. Go on a 30+ minute hike
38. Go a day without saying "disgusting," "ew," etc
Hobbies New and Old
39. Finish editing my second novel
40. Submit my novel to at least ten publishers / agents
41. Read all of the novels I own but haven't yet read
42. Practice viola four times weekly for a month
43. Read five new classics {1/5}
44. Read Les Miserables
45. Read a book in French
46. Play through Handel's Concerto in B Minor
47. Finish the notebook I'm working on now
48. Take a picture for each letter of the alphabet {5/26}
49. Learn a new Irish folk tale
50. Own 150 books {137/150}
51. Learn a new poem
52. Enter a writing contest
53. Complete a new short story
54. Ice skate again
55. Win NaNoWriMo again
56. Meditate on a beach
Try New Things
57. Bake a cake
58. Make an entire dinner
59. Get my driver's license
60. Complete at least three freelancing jobs
61. Find a French pen pal
62. Go to the art museum
63. Write with my right hand for a day
64. Write a hand written letter to someone
65. Stay up all night
66. Go a day without sarcasm
67. Move out
68. Learn to French braid
69. Go three days without looking at a clock
70. Bake someone something for a birthday
71. Spend an entire day in pajamas
72. For a day, listen to only instrumental music
73. Do something spontaneous
74. Have a Tarot reading
75. Mail each of my grandmothers
76. Put a bright, improbable colour in my hair
77. Hang out with someone entirely new
Kick Bad Habits
78. Contact Dad once weekly for a month
79. Make and follow a budget
80. Clean out all of my drawers & stuff piles
81. Go a month without my card
82. No texting for three days (or reading texts)
83. Go a day without using my iPod's skip button

Miscellaneous
84. Contact an old friend
85. Replace my burned-out light bulbs
86. Make a snow angel
87. Clean out my iPod
88. Listen to all of the songs on my iPod in alphabetical order
89. Do a headstand
90. Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
91. Patch my holey jeans
92. Donate blood again
93. Solve a Rubik's Cube
94. Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
95. Finish this list
96. Take a Young Me Now Me picture http://www.zefrank.com/youngmenowme/
97. Leave an anonymous confession somewhere
98. In one day, speak no more than 1000 words
99. Get rid of 100 things {64/100}
100. Write a message in a public bathroom

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind


  1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
    20
  2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
    Never trying.  Failure presents a lesson to be learned.  Not even trying teaches you nothing but cowardice and complacency.
  3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
    People are afraid.  We are all trained from infancy to do as others do, to conform.  People are afraid to stretch their boundaries, and they are afraid of losing their carefully coveted places in society.
     
  4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
    I sure hope not.
  5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
    The room we allow for selfishness
  6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
    Probably counseling others, helping them work through their own issues.
  7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
    The former for sure.
  8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
    Ideally, I would live it no differently.  Realistically?  Probably I would take more time to do the things that I enjoy in the present rather than the things that will get me in the long run to a place I’d enjoy.
  9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
    Before I turned eighteen?  Maybe 75%- maybe.  After?  More like 95%
  10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
    Doing things right- that way, there is no wrong.
  11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
    Speak up.  Defend her.
  12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
    Be happy.

  13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
    Absolutely.

  14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
    Not that I can recall
  15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
    Everything?
    Right, that was a serious question.  Here's a serious answer.  I perceive the world in a way no one else ever will.  This can, of course, be said of anyone.

  16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?My example here will have to be math- I enjoy it immensely because it is always either calming or exciting.  Most people have learned- through painful school experiences and through others' shared mislike for it, to hate math on principle.  The things that make me happy are things that I have gotten positive experiences from in the past, or that I expect to receive positivity from in the future.  Others have not had those same experiences, and therefore appreciate different things.
  17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
    Something spontaneous.
    I was holding me back.  I'm trying very hard not to now, though.

  18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
    Yes.

  19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
    Probably Ireland.  It is a place with rich history, somewhere I have family background, and home to a variety of lovely accents.  Also, the climate is similar but slightly more blustery than where I live, which I would enjoy immensely.

  20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
    ... No.
  21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
    Funny enough, this is something I've considered before.  I'd rather be the genius.  If there is something to be worried over, being ignorant about it is going to do nothing to help.

  22. Why are you, you?
    I am me because of something that is the very essence of me- something that determines the way I see the world, and because of the experiences I have had.

  23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?Yes
  24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing
    touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
    The latter.  Both have the same affect on one's life, except that someone moving away is not synonymous with losing touch with them.
  25. What are you most grateful for?My family and the friends who have a family-like place in my life.
  26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?The former, without a doubt.
  27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
    Possible?  Oh, yes.  Probable?  Not so much.

  28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?No.  I have no distinct greatest fear anymore, and back before when I did, it was death.
  29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
    Yes... and no.

  30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
    I have no singular happiest memory.  When I think of my childhood, it is a collection of memories, the good and the bad intertwined, that I see.  They are all special because they have helped me to become who I am today.

  31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
    Standing outside in a storm while upset.

  32. If not now, then when?Soon
  33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
    Nothing but pride- which is to say, nothing.

  34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
    Absolutely.  And I still feel that it was the best of conversations.

  35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
    Corruption.  Misunderstanding.  Greed.  Power lust.

  36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?On a personal level, yes.  Universally?  No.
  37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
    No.  Though I would certainly cut my hours.

  38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?The latter.
  39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
    Absolutely not.

  40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
    Recently- but before that, it was a long time.

  41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
    I suppose that a list of people is not the way to go here, so one person I will choose.  My grandmother.

  42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?No.  I wouldn't even reduce it a day.
  43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?Attitude, perception.
  44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?As soon as you know it's right
  45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?Just because learning is gained doesn't mean that pain doesn't come with it.  People naturally shy away from pain.  Also, many are afraid of change, and learning is a form of it.
  46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?Nothing, I hope.
  47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?An hour ago
  48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?I love the good in things and people.  Of course I have.
  49. 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?No, no, and no.
  50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
    I am making them.

101 / 1001

I am going to be trying the 101 / 1001 Challenge- also known as the Day Zero Project. Here's the list.


Help Others
Leave 25 encouraging notes for strangers
Influence a person to make a Day Zero list
Say something nice to someone every single day
Compliment five strangers
Make someone's day extraordinary
Donate to the OLL
Do ten nice things for people without telling them
Donate 3+ books to the library
Teach someone a new skill
Buy lunch for someone low on cash
Make someone smile... 50 times
Tell someone s/he's a good friend
Talk to someone in a group who looks out of place
Give a just-because present

Help Myself
Do stretches at least twice a week for a month
Learn some yoga or Pilates- at least six poses
Drink no soda for a month
Go a day without technology
Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
Don't complain about anything for a week
Make a list of 100 things that make me happy
Eat a fruit and vegetable each day for two weeks
Spend a school-and-work free day outside
Say yes to everything for one day
Note one good thing that happens every day
Go to the dentist for a check up
Go a day without my cell phone
Make a promise to myself and keep it
Drink only water, milk, and tea for a week
Lotion every day for a week
Don't look in the mirror for 24 hours
Try a new vegetable
Try a new fruit
Try three new kinds of tea
Go a week without contacts
Go a day without makeup (and leave the house)
Go on a 30+ minute hike
Go a day without saying "disgusting," "ew," etc


Hobbies New and Old
Finish editing my second novel
Submit my novel to at least ten publishers / agents
Read all of the novels I own but haven't yet read
Practice viola four times weekly for a month
Read five new classics
Read Les Miserables
Read a book in French
Play through Handel's Concerto in B Minor
Finish the notebook I'm working on now
Take a picture for each letter of the alphabet
Learn a new Irish folk tale
Own 150 books
Learn a new poem
Enter a writing contest
Complete a new short story
Ice skate again
Win NaNoWriMo again
Meditate on a beach

Try New Things
Bake a cake
Make an entire dinner
Get my driver's license
Complete at least three freelancing jobs
Find a French pen pal
Go to the art museum
Write with my right hand for a day
Write a hand written letter to someone
Stay up all night
Go a day without sarcasm
Move out
Learn to French braid
Go three days without looking at a clock
Bake someone something for a birthday
Spend an entire day in pajamas
For a day, listen to only instrumental music
Do something spontaneous
Have a Tarot reading
Mail each of my grandmothers
Put a bright, improbable colour in my hair
Hang out with someone entirely new

Kick Bad Habits
Contact Dad once weekly for a month
Make and follow a budget
Clean out all of my drawers & stuff piles
Go a month without my card
No texting for three days (or reading texts)
Go a day without using my iPod's skip button

Miscellaneous
Contact an old friend
Replace my burned-out lightbulbs
Make a snow angel
Clean out my iPod
Listen to all of the songs on my iPod in alphabetical order
Do a headstand
Watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day
Patch my holey jeans
Donate blood again
Solve a Rubik's Cube
Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"
Finish this list
Take a Young Me Now Me picture http://www.zefrank.com/youngmenowme/
Leave an anonymous confession somewhere
In one day, speak no more than 1000 words
Tell JM what a difference she's made in my life
Create a list of my screennames / passwords
Write a message in a public bathroom