It's been one year since we landed in Japan. How is that possible?! One whole year. One year ago, I was terrified. I was so jetlagged I couldn't think straight. I was overwhelmed by the base. I was so excited to start a new adventure. I was so happy to be out of Lemoore. I never wanted to write another paper again after graduating a month earlier. I was a fish out of water, unsure of where to go now that I was no longer a student and was living in a foreign country.
One year.
Now it feels like home. I have a full-time job, with benefits. I have friends from all over the world. I've learned bits and pieces of a new language and culture. I've tried foods I never thought I'd touch. I've experienced incredible things and heartbreaking events.
Some highlights:
- The Adventure of Getting to Misawa Part 1
- The Adventure of Getting to Misawa Part 2
- A Video Tour of our Apartment
- This is my Temporary Home
- The 8.9 Earthquake, Which Became the 9.0 Earthquake
- It's Been a Long Week (Earthquake and Aftermath)
- "Disaster in Japan" -- A Visual Aid (Still Works!)
- Why I'm Not Incessantly Posting About the "Disaster in Japan"
- Let's Go Out for Sushi!
- Working with Yen
- Something's Not Quite Right...
- Oirase Gorge
- Shipwrecked
- Ryusendo Caves & Amber Museum
It's been a big year.
To make sure the next few are just as exciting, I've decided to tackle a new challenge.
I've created a list of 101 goals to complete in 1,001 days. It's a Day Zero Project. And it starts today.
The Challenge:
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 your part). I will document, as best I can, the completion of each task.
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities.
Why I decided to do this:
I've had a handful of friends take the plunge and try this challenge. I started to make a list and stopped, back in California. It's hard not knowing where you'll be living in 2+ years. If I had completed the list then, most of it wouldn't apply to my now Japanese address! Being in Japan is a wonderful opportunity for exploring and trying new things, but it's all too easy to fall into the comfortable couch and zone out in front of the TV. I don't want to waste these years, and I don't want to waste the ones after life in Japan either. Making a list makes all my wants and ideas public. I'm hoping accountability will push me to try the things I've always wanted to try, or want to see or experience before I leave Japan, or whatever the list may include. I also want to share my experiences with everyone, and I think working my way through a list is a great way to do so.
My List
Love
1.
Plan a second honeymoon and take it
2.
Celebrate five years of marriage
3.
Beat Jeff at a game of chess
4.
Make Jeff breakfast in bed
5.
Have five at-home date nights
6.
Watch fifteen Jeff-recommended movies
7.
Let Jeff plans five dates, no questions asked.
Enjoy them.
8.
Plan five surprise dates for Jeff
9.
Write three letters to Jeff
10.
Have a candlelit dinner
11.
Spend the day in bed
Adventure
12.
Renew my passport
13.
Climb Mount Fuji
14.
Go to Tokyo
15.
Go skiing
16.
Go snow shoeing
17.
Get certified to scuba dive
18.
Visit ten cities in Japan
19.
Go somewhere I need a bikini
20.
Go paintballing
21.
Go to the shooting range
22.
Visit my brother in Arizona
23.
Go to five Japanese festivals
24.
Take five ITT Tours
25.
Go to an onsen
26.
Visit Korea
27.
Start planning our trip to Ireland
28.
Make a list of countries I’d like to visit
before I die
29.
See a sumo wrestling match
30.
Ride the bullet train to Tokyo
31.
Take a trip with friends
32.
Collect sea glass
33.
Visit a beer factory
34.
Visit a sake factory
35.
Spend a day at the beach
36.
Go hiking
37.
Go camping
38.
Visit Seattle again
Health & Wellness
39.
Lose fifteen pounds
40.
No soda for one month
41.
Complete Couch to 5K Running Program
42.
Complete two 5K’s
43.
Finish a 1.5 mile run in 14:00 (Good in
Navy Female PRT Standards)
44.
Leg Press my own weight
45.
Get past beginner in Wii Zumba
46.
Spend one week doing Yoga exclusively
47.
Try meditation
48.
Try belly dancing
49.
Try three fitness classes at the gym
50.
Donate blood twice
51.
Volunteer with animals
52.
Volunteer with people
Intelligence
53.
Finish all training for my new job by January
2013
54.
Read one hundred and twenty-five books
55.
Read forty books written before I was born
(1987)
56.
Read fifteen recommended books
57.
Write ten short stories
58.
Attempt to publish something I wrote
59.
Decide on two/three possible career paths, take
steps to make them possible
60.
Pay off all credit card debt
61.
See five digits in savings and keep it that way
62.
Pay off our Dodge Avenger
63.
Complete Rosetta Stone Japanese Levels One and
Two
64.
Complete one challenging Sudoku puzzle
65.
Remain certified in CPR
66.
Learn computer coding/CSS/etc.
Food and Drink
67.
Cook seafood at home five times
68.
Plant three herbs and use them in my cooking
69.
Try ten new slow-cooker recipes
70.
Try ten restaurants in and around Misawa
71.
Try five different kinds of sake
72.
Make sushi at home
73.
Make yakisoba at home
74.
Buy a rice cooker
75.
Make spaghetti sauce from scratch
76.
Bake my own bread
77.
Try five different Baskin Robbins ice cream
flavors
78.
Make ten new mixed drinks at home
79.
Bake homemade cinnamon rolls
80.
Make pot roast
Interests
81.
Learn how to shoot in manual on my Nikon d3100
82.
Frame five pictures of Japan
83.
Gift five of my own pictures
84.
Buy three pieces of Japanese artwork
85.
Write and send five letters
86.
Finish five crochet projects
87.
Finish three embroidery projects
88.
Finish 3 paint projects
89.
Buy a sewing machine
90.
Finish five sewing projects
91.
Take a class at the Arts and Crafts Center
92.
Get a second tattoo
93.
Get a massage
94.
Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy
95.
Have a Star Wars Day
96.
Get my nails done
97.
Get my hair professionally dyed
98.
Buy a dress and wear it
99.
Host a theme party
100.
Finish a 1,000 piece puzzle
101.
Buy a bamboo plant
I intend to blog as I go, filling you in on my progress and struggles along the way. Think I can do it?
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