101 in 1001

Another resolution, the 101 in 1001, basically 101 tasks to be completed in 1001 days. I'll come back to this and cross things off as I do them.

Start date: Jan 13th, 2010
End date: Oct 9th, 2012

Completed so far: 30 out of 101
In progress: 11 out of 101

1. Get an interesting job Buck Institute
2. Learn Python CS188 Spring 2011
3. Learn more about web design (PHP) In progress
4. Learn Javascript In Progress
5. Work at a big biotech company
6. Program/Code something for fun
7. Take a dance class Lindy Hop, Feb 2011
8. Take a singing class Spring 2010, Music 20a
9. Apply to grad school In progress
10. Live on my own Mission in SF
11. Take a more involved photography class
12. Learn Japanese
13. Learn Latin
14. Take an art/drawing class
15. Get promoted at a job
16. Get an A in a Bio class
17. Go to Magic Castle at night
18. Spend a day at the beach
19. Learn a cool magic trick
20. Learn how to snowboard toeside and hillside
21. Take a long walk on the beach at night
22. Attend a wedding
23. Attend a formal dinner party
24. Go to a black-tie event
25. Go to a rave Etd.LOVE 2011
26. Get a pedicure
27. Get a massage
28. Go to a club Mel's bday
29. Get my hair done for a special event
30. Go to a New Years' Eve party
31. Have a picnic Bluegrass Festival 2011
32. Donate my clothes Buffalo Exchange
33. Donate money to a charity Heifer International
34. Host a party Apt party March 2011
35. Go to a Big Game (Stanford vs. Cal) Fall 2010
36. Meet Orson Scott Card
37. Take pictures of street style in Berkeley 9-20-10, Looks on Campus for collegefashion.net
38. Take studio pictures
39. Cook a meal for someone
40. See the Phantom of the Opera Las Vegas, Jan 2011
41. Watch another musical
42. Watch Cirque du Soleil
43. Go to a professional tennis match
44. Go to a concert Voxtrot, 5-28-10
45. Ask for a guy's phone number
46. Go on a blind date
47. Go on a double date
48. Buy a drink for someone Thalassa, 3-11-10
49. Fall in love
50. Kiss in the rain
51. Pierce my ears completed, June 2010
52. Dye my hair a different color
53. Get a cat
54. Get a dog
55. Finish my current journal
56. Send someone a letter sent two letters, 3-24-10
57. Work out regularly for 3 months completed Core Conditioning, 5-6-10
58. Be able to run a mile easily
59. Be able to do 20 pushups easily
60. Get a super comfortable bed
61. Bring a friend home for the holidays
62. Visit my grandparents April 2011
63. Make a foreign friend
64. Decorate my room
65. Learn how to use a steamer in progress
66. Get a blunt haircut
67. Go on a trip with friends (that doesn't involve a competition) Las Vegas, 2011
68. Fly first class
69. Travel to Europe
70. Travel to Japan
71. Go to Vegas Jan 2011
72. Go to New York City August 2010
73. Travel with only one other person (that isn't family)
74. Take a road trip Reno Winter 2010
75. Drive somewhere far (few hours) Tahoe 2011
76. Go back to Toronto
77. Go to World Championships for Rubik's Cube
78. Get a sub-20 average for 3x3 18.56s avg at Stanford Winter 2010!
79. Get a sub-30 average for one-hand
80. Go to a Rubik's Cube competition in another country
81. Write a short story
82. Write a good fanfiction
83. Buy a designer handbag
84. Read the Silmarillion in progress
85. Buy another lens for my camera Tamron 17-50mm
86. Shoot a photoshoot for a magazine
87. Finish a drawing 5-3-10, History of Middle Earth project
88. Go to SF to take pictures 7-18-10, DJ Smoke photoshoot
89. Learn how to knit
90. Learn how to sew clothes
91. Learn a new pen trick
92. Shoot a wedding
93. Reread LOTR trilogy
94. Paint something on a canvas
95. Blog more regularly (once every 2 weeks)
96. Learn how to play the guitar In progress
97. Buy a piece of art
98. Have a photoshoot with another photographer Caliber assignments
99. Read a book for fun In progress, The Black Swan
100. Buy flowers for someone
101. Learn to cook an exotic dish

On asking questions

You've probably all encountered those questions that are repeatedly asked over and over, to the point where, as much as you appreciate the concern of the asker, annoy you to death because it's the 10th time someone has asked and you've given the same boring answer every time. Usually these questions are some form of "How are you?", but in a more attentive way, like "How have you been?" or "What are you doing during break?" or "How is [insert name of school here]?"

By adding little details, the asker prides themselves on seemingly knowing what is up and happening in your life. In some ways this is pretty considerate, but if it goes wrong the conversation may go like this:

"So when are you going back to school?"
"Um... I graduated five years ago."
"So... how's work?"
"...I'm unemployed."
"Now would be a great time to travel!"
"I have no friends."

At this point you both feel extremely embarrassed and you have failed to be considerate about your friend. In my opinion, the reason most people ask these mundane questions (myself included) is that they do care (however little) about your life and wish for you to tell them something cool about it. Thus, keeping a few interesting stories at hand would make the encounter go a lot smoother.

Since I am not as fast-thinking in actual person-to-person interaction, I cannot come up with the eloquent prose you read on the blog in an instant. So when people ask me these questions my brain interprets it and I answer them literally. A second later I realize I probably should have said something more interesting. But doesn't "how" imply an adjective?

"How has your break been?"
"Good."
"How's Berkeley?"
"Hard."
"How are you giving me the lamest answers?"
"Dunno."

Maybe if they had said something like, "What is the most fun thing you did that was illegal in 48 states?" or "What is the coolest thing you bought exceeding $200?" I would have thought longer and come up with something more appealing. As such, I need to teach my brain to interpret questions like "How's school?" as "Tell me about that time you tried to study for a test but was interrupted by a slew of naked people."

Of course, these interpretations would vary with audience. With anyone older than the age of 30, "How's school?" would interpret into "Tell me your greatest academic achievement so I can go home and tell my kids and compare them to you."

So it is up to both the asker and the askee to make something more of general vague questions. As I proved above, the askee should think of some interesting stories beforehand. The asker, depending on how much facebook stalking they have done, may choose to ask more personal questions. This depends on the extent to which they want to reveal the level of their stalking. Such questions can range from "How do you have so many presents in Farmville?" to "Why is there a picture of you passed out with hieroglyphics on your face?" to "Why do your wall-to-walls with so-and-so go all the way back to 2005?"

Having said all this, I don't want you to get the wrong idea that I'm silently seething while you're making small talk about the weather. It'd just be nice if both parties deferred a little from generic question/answers, because we all know the answer to "How's home?" is "Sooo relaxing and sooo much food it's sooo awesome." Because you know what you get when you have an actual conversation that's not about how hard school is and how bored you are and what you ate for lunch? SECRETS.