Spencer On A Hot Tin Roof

101 Goals for 1,001 Days

I’m going to try it because Devin Castro did, and it seems like a crazy-good idea. I’ll cross out goals as I finish them, and I’ll write notes in italics. Consider the start of this project June 1, 2009 and the end of to be February 27, 2012.

001. Learn to speak enough French to carry on a conversation with a native French speaker.
002. Read 20 books from the list of 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. [1/20]
003. Visit 4 countries that I have never visited before. [0/4]
004. Spend at least a month in France (preferably consecutively).
005. Check out and read a novel from a city library in both New York and Los Angeles (my two homes!).
006. Cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for other people 10 times each. [0/10, 0/10, 3/10]
007. Visit Coney Island.
008. Write and record 5 songs that are at least two minutes long each. [0/5]
009. Write a complete novel.
010. Write 10 short stories. [2/10]
011. Make 100 different mixtapes, each for a different person, all physically burned onto CDs and decorated with unique artwork. [1/100]
012. Bake from scratch and fully decorate a cake, then give it to somebody.
013. Read and thoroughly enjoy 5 graphic novels [0/5].
014. Learn how to mix music like a DJ and then make a mix at least 30 minutes long.
015. Write 50 poems. [3/50]
016. Learn how to draw and paint.
017. Write and mail letters to 10 different people who do not live in the same city that I do at the time that I write the letter. [6/10]
018. Write a feature-length screenplay.
019. Make a short film.
020. Start a Vimeo account and post 5 videos. [2/5]
021. Write and record an electronica song.
022. Purchase a Roland SP-404 or SP-555 (or similar device).
023. Have a piece of artwork that I create featured in an exhibit.
024. Perform on a stage in front of people.
025. Start a tiny record label and release a 7” single.
026. Get a paying job.
027. Go vegetarian for a week.
028. Have a novel, short story, or poem that I write get published somewhere.
029. Rearrange and record three covers of songs that I like. [0/3]
030. Organize and wear for a whole day an outfit composed entirely of shades of each of these colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
031. Visit, shop, and dine in the following ethnic neighborhoods of Los Angeles: Little Armenia, Little Ethiopa, Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Sawtelle, Historic Fillipinotown, Thai Town, Beverlywood, Olvera Street.
032. Visit, shop, and dine in the following ethnic neighborhoods of New York City: Chinatown, Curry Hill, Koreatown, Little Manila, Little Odessa/Brighton Beach, Little Ukraine, Astoria, Bensonhurst, Little Poland, Loisaida.
033. Visit 10 states that I have never visited before. [0/10]
034. Attend a sporting event and get drawn into the action enough to not feel bored.
035. Hold off on visiting the Coinstar machine until my little piggy bank fills to the point where I physically can’t squeeze any more coins in it, and then use all of that money to buy myself one thing.
036. Take ukulele lessons.
037. Learn how to sing.
038. Learn how to skip rocks.
039. Convince 10 people to sign up for Tumblr. [2/10]
040. Watch all of Hayao Miyazaki’s feature-length films, some will be for the first time and some will be the second or third: The Castle of Cagliostro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
041. Have a photo shoot in a forest.
042. Visit 10 friends at colleges in cities other than Los Angeles or New York. [0/10]
043. See the same band three times.
044. Call into and end up on the air on a radio station (preferably KRTH 101, the Los Angeles local oldies station).
045. Play a round of golf and don’t fail too miserably.
046. Ride a subway line in any city to the last stop, get out, walk around, and take the subway back.
047. Complete 30 things that David Horvitz tells me to. [9/30]
048. Create a site-specific work of art.
049. Go to a poetry slam or other literature reading.
050. Go to a rave.
051. Actually take public transportation in Los Angeles with the intention of going somewhere, then take public transportation back.
052. Drive a car in Manhattan.
053. Maintain a dream journal for at least a week straight.
054. Attend a classical music concert.
055. Go out every night for a week.
056. Stay in every night for a week.
057. Sell something physical that I made.
058. Go to the Melrose Trading Post 10 times. [2/10]
059. Walk across the following New York City bridges: Henry Hudson Bridge, Broadway Bridge, George Washington Bridge, Triboro Bridge, Queensboro Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge.
060. Have a photo shoot at the Arthur Kill Ship Graveyard in Staten Island.
061. Have an Annie Hall-style picnic in Central Park.
062. Visit Cape Cod.
063. Attend a political protest.
064. Go on five car ride trips to other cities (the longer the drive, the better). [1/5]
065. Create 5 wallet-sized cards, each with a poem that I love, to carry around at all times. [0/5]
066. Travel to the southern hemisphere.
067. Tell someone off when they really need it.
068. Comfort someone who needs it.
069. Make a stranger laugh (preferably not at me).
070. Help out someone who’s lost.
071. Complete 10 writing exercises out of the book The 3 A.M. Epiphany. [1/10]
072. Host or co-host a talk show podcast for a few episodes.
073. Make a fort with pillows, blankets, and chairs.
074. Cook up a Paula Deen dessert.
075. Communicate with facial expressions and hand gestures for a full day.
076. Shoot a cartridge of Polaroid SX-70 film.
077. Go to a multi-day music festival other than Coachella.
078. Visit the following museums in New York City: the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters, the Guggenheim, the New Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, P.S.1.
079. Read a novel at the New York Public Library’s main branch at Bryant Park by coming back every few days to keep reading (they don’t allow books to be checked out).
080. Make a left turn on a red light (which is legal in a few states).
081. Get a new driver’s license.
082. Watch the sun rise.
083. Write down all of my troubles in a notebook, rip out the pages, put them in a bottle and throw them out at sea.
084. Take a ride in a sailboat.
085. Start a band with the sole stated objective being to play a single show before breaking up.
086. Stay in a log cabin in the woods for a few days.
087. Attend mass and take communion at a church.
088. Make or decorate a piece of clothing myself and wear it around for at least a day.
089. Go to sleep before midnight every day for a week.
090. Send a letter to somebody anonymously.
091. Get tickets for a concert at the venue’s box office.
092. Create a superhero identity for myself, then design and construct a costume.
093. Save a friend’s relationship somehow.
094. Go on a blind date.
095. Watch the nightly news every night for a week.
096. Read the newspaper every day for a week.
097. Personally package and send somebody a gift for no particular reason.
098. Serve jury duty as summoned.
099. Get out of jury duty by pretending to be racist.
100. Host a tea party.
101. Learn how to play backgammon.