The Replacements

This is a housekeeping post.  In the interest of keeping my project relevant, I had to make some changes to a few of the tasks I originally set out to accomplish.  I tried to stick to the intent of each task as I made changes.  I have added the changes to my sidebar list.  Here are my replacements:

23. Start or participate in a book club.
23. Participate in the 2011 One Book One Community.
My local library will announce this year's selection on May 6, 2011.  I will read the book along with other members of my community.  In 2010, the library chose To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  Excerpts from the book appeared in the local paper; in addition, several events were held throughout the community.  I will try to attend at least one of the events this year.

26. Go to another DMB concert.
26. Go to a concert or musical.
To my great disappointment, Dave Matthews Band is taking a break from touring this year.  They will be back in 2012, but that would not allow me to complete this task as written.  Thus, I will go a concert or musical that is yet to be determined.  Anyone want to go?  I'm talking to you, Sarah. :) 

31. Take time to really think about and decide upon my favorite movies, songs, foods, etc.
31. Complete 10 writing prompts. (0/10)
This original task was the fluffiest of the fluff.  Writing prompts seem slightly more legitimate. 

61. Continuously have a puzzle out to work on.
61. Complete 5 new puzzles. (4/5)
Continuously seemed a little vague.  Clearly, I could not continuously have a puzzle out.  That would have made moving a bit more difficult.  I have completed four of my own puzzles so far during the project.  I also helped out on a few puzzles that my friends were working.

68. Attend a major music festival.
68. See Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway in Roanoke.
I have tickets for May 1, 2011.  I'm pretty excited. 

69. Go to Cedar Point and ride rollercoasters.
69. Be a tourist in a new city.
I don't see myself getting to Cedar Point this year/I seem to have developed some serious motion sickness issues that may prevent me from riding rollercoasters in the near future.  There are so many cities that I want to visit.  I get excited thinking about all the places I can explore with my camera.  I don't want to commit to a specific city right now, but I have some potential work trips on the horizon that may permit me to complete this task.  If those don't pan out I plenty of other ideas, including my desire to go to Charleston, South Carolina, that seems to grow daily.

88. Apply to graduate school.
88. Prepare to apply to graduate school.
I am only modifying this task.  I don't think I will actually be applying to graduate school until 2012 at the earliest.  Until then, I will continue to do research and make plans.

2010 in Review

I completed 15 tasks on my list in 2010, which puts me at 35 total tasks completed or 34.7% of my project.

I watched 155 movies; 121 were new to me.  That's approximately a 3 to 1 ratio of first watches to rewatches, something I'm pleasantly surprised to discover.  I also finished watching AFI's 25 Greatest Movie Musicals list. 

I read 28 new books, which is more than the last few years.  I do think my reading became more diverse in 2010 as I mixed in more nonfiction and read from mostly new to me authors.

I completed two significant photography projects: the February 26 Things Challenge and Project 365.

I finished my Honors Thesis, as well as summer internships with the Alzheimer's Association and the Harrisonburg Fire Department.

I graduated from college, found a job, and moved into my very own apartment!  2010 brought many big changes to my life!

2010 Catch Up

I'm playing bloggy catch up with 2010.  I neglected/forgot to blog about some things I did (hence the pictures from Halloween in this post).  I also need to mention my two year-long tasks that I completed on December 31.

64. Attend 5 community events. (4/5)
Back in October, I returned to Harrisonburg to help with the Harrisonburg Fire Department's booth at the annual Trick-or-Treating on Court Square.  I brought the Safe Kids pumpkin I had carved earlier in the week (which, I am proud to say, was featured on the Safe Kids national website).  In addition to handing out candy, we passed out reflective bags and safety information.  Trick-or-treating was followed by a costume contest.  The kids were adorable and the some of the costumes were very impressive.

I also feel the need to share that this dog had on a squirrel costume!

18. Read the Bible in a year using a daily reading guide.
Complete!  I used The Message version of the Bible and a beginning to end reading guide.  It was sometimes hard to read beginning to end because the first nine months of the year are spent on the Old Testament.  To increase chances for success, I think I would recommend one of the other reading guides that provides passages from the Old and New Testaments each day.

34. Make a list of memorable events and favorites at the end of each year. (2/3)
For the most part, I added events as they happened last year, which saved me from my bad memory at the end of the year. 

42. Project 365: Take a picture every day for a year. 
Complete!  Honestly, this is much harder than it sounds.  The majority of my days are the same, so finding something new to take a picture of each day can be challenging (especially if you are feeling lazy or can't/won't leave your home).  Thus, I came to appreciate the days when I traveled somewhere new or the clouds were unique on my way home.  The bottom line is that I have some pictures from 2010 that I love, while most are nothing special or just plain bad.  I added my favorites from the rest of the year to my Project 365 page (located on the right sidebar). 

4. Fantasy (5/10)
I finally watched Miracle on 34th Street, which is clearly one of the classic Christmas movies.  Not sure how I managed to not watch it for approximately 23 years.  No worries though; I'm now a fan.

Next Up: A post with statistics from 2010 (cause I'm nerdy like that)