120 things to do in 2010

I don’t tend to make New Year’s resolutions, and when I do, they’re usually simple and basic, like these ones. Last year I made mine at Rosh Hashanah, there were only five of them, and I didn’t keep three. Not a great track record.

But, inspired by Andrea’s gargantuan list, I have decided that, new decade, new attitude. This year, I will actually set out some lofty goals for myself, and hopefully even achieve them. So, without further adieu, here’s my list of 120 things to do in 2010:

1. Go to Morocco.
2. Go camping at least twice next summer.
3. Find my dream apartment and move into it.
4. Get my own washer/dryer and finally stop dragging my laundry around like a friggin’ nomad.
5. Get a dishwasher.
6. Replace my 12-year-old car with something newer and zippier.
7. …or else get rid of it and join CommunAuto.
8. Successfully fight that unfair, BS speeding ticket.
9. Complete and edit my NaNoWriMo 2009 project.
10. Participate in NaNoWriMo 2010.
11. …and win.
12. Buy those new dishes I was eyeing at the Ottawa kitchen store.
13. Buy a spice rack.
14. Paint my kitchen yellow. (I’ve always wanted a yellow kitchen, for some reason.)
15. Go skiing at least three times.
16. Go snowshoeing.
17. Visit Cathy.
18. Visit Andrea and Jim.
19. Convince Andrea and Jim to come visit more often.
20. Host Etrek Montreal-fest 2010.
21. Eat breakfast (other than coffee) more days than not.
22. Buy a vegetable steamer.
23. Find a new volunteer project.
24. Celebrate Canada Day someplace where people are actually happy to be Canadian.
25. …with fireworks.
26. …and some typically Canadian music like Blue Rodeo or Great Big Sea.
27. Buy new socks and throw out the ones with holes in them.
28. Reprise Buy Nothing Week.
29. Roast marshmellows over a fireplace.
30. Have a board game brunch.
31. Eat crepes at CDL.
32. Host a wine and cheese.
33. Host a fondue party.
34. Make homemade sushi.
35. Play poker.
36. …and win.
37. Finish reading Don Quixote.
38. …in time for the January book club meet-up.
39. Watch the rest of the UK version of Life On Mars.
40. Attend the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
41. …and fail to remember much about it later.
42. Turn 30.
43. …with minimal freaking out.
44. Go to New York City. (I heart NY).
45. Go to Quebec City.
46. Get through the winter without succumbing to the winter blahs.
47. …and weighing less than I do now.
48. Win tickets to something on the radio.
49. Get a letter to the editor published in the newspaper.
50. Attend the Salon Passion Chocolat.
51. …and the Jazz Fest.
52. …and the Comedy Fest.
53. …and Bluesfest Ottawa.
54. …and Nuit Blanche.
55. …and the FrancoFolies.
56. …and FantasiaFest.
57. …and a bunch of other festivals.
58. Keep walking to work every day, as long as I live within walking distance.
59. Pack lunches and avoid the takeout trap.
60. Pay someone an undeserved compliment.
61. Learn to sew well enough to hem my own pant legs and sleeves.
62. Don’t get the flu.
63. Call my grandfather.
64. Learn CSS.
65. …and update the look and feel of this blog so it’s not so ugly.
66. Blog more often.
67. Read the Israeli news headlines more regularly.
68. …in Hebrew, to keep my language skills from going completely rusty.
69. …and listen to online radio or watch online TV broadcasts in Hebrew, too, for the same reason.
70. Update my online (Flickr) photo albums.
71. Update my offline (printed) photo albums.
72. Buy fruits and veggies from the farmers’ markets instead of the supermarket.
73. Vote.
74. …in an election where my vote actually makes a difference.
75. Visit the Contemporary Arts Museum on freebie Wednesday.
76. Go to at least one rock concert.
77. …by a band that has been around for less than 15 years.
78. Watch the Cannes Lions winning ads.
79. Carry on an entire conversation with a francophone without letting on that I’m anglo.
80. Try 10 new restaurants in Montreal.
81. Find a good answer to the inevitable questions about my name that doesn’t involve exasperation, or a long backstory.
82. Clean the oven.
83. …using baking soda (?)
84. Organize my DVD collection.
85. Set out to buy clothes and actually end up with clothes.
86. …and no shoes.
87. Master the art of the experience brief.
88. Get more (consumer) insightful.
89. Retrieve my old electric keyboard and actually remind myself how to play it.
90. Reduce the procrastination to a manageable level.
91. Pay my taxes.
92. …and put the refund towards travel.
93. Win my 2009-10 fantasy hockey pool.
94. Draft Ovi in the 2010-11 fantasy hockey pool.
95. Go to at least one Habs’ playoff game – contingent on them actually making the playoffs, of course.
96. Keep kosher(ish) for Passover.
97. Couchsurf.
98. Host couchsurfers.
99. Help at least three friends plan trips.
100. Invent a new smoothie recipe.
101. Watch the Olympics on TV.
102. …and see the Canadian team win the hockey gold. (Hey, I can hope, right?)
103. Improve my Spanish from a 20-word vocabulary to at least a 50-word one.
104. Watch Mad Men Season 4.
105. Upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.
106. …preferably without losing my mind in the process.
107. Go apple picking in the fall.
108. Sell my old backpacks.
109. Clear out my closets and drawers.
110. …and participate in a clothing swap.
111. …and donate whatever I cannot swap to charity.
112. Drink more green tea instead of coffee.
113. Finish the pile of books that are sitting on my “to read” shelf.
114. Get my grandmother’s chicken soup recipe from my mom.
115. …and learn to make it.
116. Convince my mom that the world isn’t going to end in 2012, regardless of what the Mayans said.
117. Go karaoking.
118. Go kayaking.
119. Laugh a lot.
120. Spend less time in front of the computer making these lists, and more time actually doing the things on them.

Yes, I know the original post had 201 things and this one only has 120. But it was all I could think of. Besides, if I manage to do even half of these things this year, it will be a very productive year.