Checking In

I think it's fairly obvious that I have been doing an awful job at keeping this blog updated, considering it's been nearly a year since I posted an entry. A lot has happened in that year, but most importantly, I've completed a number of goals. Here is a quick summary, along with a promise that I'll never wait this long between updates again. I've already failed my "update this blog regularly" goal, but I plan to update at least once a month from now on.

-2. Go to Europe/47. Study Abroad
In spring 2011, I spent a semester studying in London at the ICLC. Ut was definitely one of the best times of my life. In the five months I spent abroad, I visited seven countries and had countless new experiences. Some of them are included on my 101 Things list:

- 10. See the Sistine Chapel I went to Italy for spring break in March, and I spent 10 days in Rome, Florence, and Milan. Michelangelo is one of my favourite artists of all time, so I was excited to see works such as the Pieta and David in person. Most of all, I was looking forward to seeing the Sistine Chapel. I spent a day in the Vatican Museum, which ends in the chapel. It was even more incredible than I could have ever imagined.

- 27. Watch a sporting event in a pub
I didn't do this as much as I could have, but I did go to pubs, sports bars, and other locations several times to watch football games while I was in England and Ireland.

- 35. Walk across Abbey Road
Fun fact: It's harder than it looks to get the perfect imitation of the Beatles' famous album cover, especially when there are cars honking at you to hurry up. Luckily, when our program director took us to see the recording studio and the road outside us, he didn't mind waiting for us all to walk across four-by-four and have our pictures taken.

- 83. Visit ten museums
In addition to all of the museums I visited while travelling around Europe, I took an Art in London course. Every week we visited a different museum, including the Tate Britain and Tate Modern, the Saatchi Gallery, the V&A Museum, and others. We saw works by some of the most notable figures in modern art.

- 88. Get an internship
While I was in London, I interned at Peace News, a monthly tabloid-format newspaper focused on peace issues. I wrote stories about protests, anti-war activists, environmental topics, and other events and people. It was my first internship ever and it was a very good experience. I got to write, research, and interview, and it was exciting to see my name in print.

- 90. Go to Paris
My dad happened to have a business trip to Paris the second weekend I was in London, so I took the train there to visit him. It was my first trip while I was abroad, and we went to all of the important locations: the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and so on. It was also my first weekend with a new camera, so I took a ton of pictures.

- 91. Have an apartment
Living in London was my first time living in a non-campus place that wasn't with my family. I lived with three other people in a flat in West Kensington. It had its issues, but it was also interesting to get a taste of city living, and it made me much more comfortable about living in an apartment or living alone in the future.

43. Meet three of my online friends in person
Ten days after I returned home from London, I flew to Seattle to visit one my friends. I've known Greta for about six years, so it was really exciting to meet her in person. While I was there, I also met Olivia, another online friend. Also, over spring break, I stayed with my friend Lavinia at her apartment in Rome.

57. Take a creative writing class
I took Introduction to Creative Writing in the fall of 2010. While there were some things I didn't enjoy about the class (it is frustrating to be asked to critique a story that the author couldn't even be bothered to spell-check), it was a great class! I liked being pushed to write poetry and stories beyond what I have attempted to do in the past, and it definitely inspired me to do more in the future.

Goals on which I've made progress since last update
16. Own all of Stephen King's Books: I will have to check on this list again and see how close I am.
22. Read 100 books I've never read before: I am currently at 82 new books, with an 83rd in progress.
23. Learn Italian: I should probably come up with some kind of benchmark for when I will consider myself to have completed this goal. I don't need to be fluent, but I want to be able to speak at least a little bit.
48. Watch 10 foreign-language films: I recently watched the Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. For all the hype it's getting, I wasn't particularly impressed.
58. Write at least three short stories: I just had an idea for a story last night, so I may be able to complete this goal soon.
62. Go to a fan convention Next month, I will be flying out to San Diego for Comic Con!
86. Read ten biographies (5/10): Since last updating, I've added autobiographies by Stephen Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, and others to the list. I am currently reading Keith Richards' autobiography.

#54: See a Taping of the Colbert Report

I'll make a better post for this, hopefully with Erin, at some point, but because we've gotten behind on the blog, here's a post for now about accomplishing my #54 goal: Go See a Taping of the Colbert Report

So Erin and I went to see The Colbert Report on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. It was amazing. Here’s some stuff that happened.

Before the show, there was a Q&A:

First question was some weird political thing about de facto segregation and he looked really confused but tried to give an answer but then he just gave up and was like "Wait, did they not separate the blacks and the whites in here today?"

Second question: "Chuck, fuck, or marry: Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Glen Beck."
Stephen: "Well, first off, they're all insane. Hmm... Marry Papa Bear, because he has his family values. I'd do... uh..."
Someone in audience: "Go for the crier"
Stephen: "The crier? You like a man who cries? *creepy voice* Why don't we go back to my apartment and I'll get all emotional for you."

Third question: WHAT HAS TWO THUMBS AND ASKED STEPHEN ABOUT THE LORD OF THE RINGS? THIS GIRL \o/
Me: "Who do you think should play Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit movies?"
Stephen: "Ah, now we're getting to the topics that are important to me!" And he like, grinned when he said it and it was adorable. "I like uh... who's the one who had sex against the bookshelves?"
Me: "James McAvoy?"
Stephen: "Yes. You know, those bookshelves, my wife and I have those in our house. My wife and I saw the movie and we really liked them, so we had ones like those designed for our house. And we were trying to figure out how wide the lip, the shelf needed to be... and we made it a bit wider. [to me] Who do you think should play Bilbo?"
Me: "I like James McAvoy for it too."
Stephen: "Yeah, I thought he was good as Mr. Tumnus in the Narnia movie." Some girl was like “woo!” for that and he was like "I hope you're cheering for CS Lewis and not the movies." and she said both, and he goes "Okay, marry, fuck kill: James McAvoy, CS Lewis, Bilbo Baggins" XD XD But then filming had to start so we didn't hear her answer.
By the way, he called me "young lady." For some reason that makes me laugh so hard. He like, didn't address anyone else, just said "you," but he was like "Yes, young lady" and I was like "oh god."

And then he kept messing up during the filming. They stopped filming a lot more than for The Daily Show, I guess because since Stephen is playing a character, he can’t crack up as much (though I noticed his one character break made it onto the episode, but that’s probably because he laughed like 4 times on that line.

After the first mess-up: "Well, that's our show. I will now read you this entire book. [reading Game Change] 'What will Barack think?' she asked, unbuttoning her blouse..."

After the second mess-up: "As you may have noticed, I am apparently drunk today."

He messed up during the “angry Pope part” and said: "We'll, we've had a good run, Jay Leno will finish out the show" *audience boos* "What, you don't like that? ... Conan will finish out the show?" *audience cheers* "Oh, I see we're taking sides now" Then he was like “Okay, let’s take it from angry Pope. Angry Pope angry Pope…” XD

At the end: "I don't know if I'm getting a cold or what, but I promise, when you leave here, you'll forget I'm such a fuckup."

He pulled out the Hulk toy during filming breaks and went "RARRR" with it.

In the sports segment, he started after the theme even though he messed up farther on because "This audience shouldn't miss out on the opportunity to hear me sing twice."

"I actually have never made a mistake before. Just by being here, you are all collector's items. Have yourselves notarized."

It was awesome. HERE is the episode we went to see.

Day Eight: See a Stage Production of Hamlet on Broadway

I saw Hamlet on Broadway yesterday (yesterday by about ten minutes, whatever), accomplishing goal #5 on my list. I can't even describe how amazing it was. First off, it's my favorite Shakespeare play. One of my favorite plays ever (second favorite, to be exact, after that other play about Hamlet...ish, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard).

Jude Law was freaking incredible. I’ve never not been a fan of his; I’ve liked him in pretty much everything I’ve seen him in, which is a fair amount, but oh my god he was glorious. I fell a little bit in love, haha.

Also, I really like being into British stuff because I recognized a guy who was in Hot Fuzz, “Little Dorritt” and “The Idiot’s Lantern,” and someone who was in “Meat” (Torchwood). And Tish Jones (Martha’s sister on Doctor Who) played Ophelia! Oh and Gibbs from PotC played Claudius, but Pirates isn’t really a British thing per se. I love recognizing people from other roles.

But it was so good. I was blown away by Jude Law’s performance, and by the performances of all of the other actors. I wasn’t very impressed by Ophelia initially, but once she went insane she pulled out all the stops and was great. I liked the stage design a lot, very minimal but with great lighting.

The theater it was at was the Broadhurst, which is where I saw Equus, so I knew where the good seats were, so we had a good view. I really enjoyed it, and so did my mother, who took me as an early Christmas present because she is awesome.

Day One: Starting Off

So, this is my first update of what will surely be many more. After seeing a couple people do this on LiveJournal, I decided to make a list of my own. Erin saw it and decided to do one as well, and we figured we’d work on our lists together so we could encourage each other not to wimp out. You can find my posts on the label called Lauren, unsurprisingly. And my masterlist is here.

To begin, on this first day of the 1001 days, I thought I’d make some comments on a few of the goals I have listed as in-progress:

5. See a stage production of Hamlet: I strongly hinted to my mother that tickets to see Hamlet, my favorite play by Shakespeare, on Broadway would make an excellent Christmas present. So she’s taking me during Thanksgiving break. Fact: I have an awesome mother.

20. Watch all seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: There is nothing about this show that doesn’t appeal to me-- supernatural creatures, kick-ass chicks, hot guys, and Joss Whedon. Why it took me so long to start watching, I don’t know, but I’m glad I’ve finally gotten around to beginning.

23. Learn Italian: I have always been very interested in languages. I studied Spanish in elementary school and then again in middle school and high school, but I’ve always wanted to learn Italian, so I started studying it in college this year. I’ve registered for Italian II for the spring semester.

54. See a taping of The Colbert Report: This one was just dumb luck. I’ve seen The Daily Show, and I got tickets to see that again with my partner-in-crime here in January, but tickets to see tapings of The Colbert Report are notoriously hard to come by. I check on Colbert Nation every once in a while, but have never had any luck. Until tonight. Just a few hours after I added this goal to my list, I looked at the website and saw a few days open over winter break. So Erin and I jumped at the chance.

And here are four goals I’m particularly excited to accomplish:

3. Participate in NaNoWriMo: I’ve always been in awe of people who participate in and accomplish the 50,000-word goal of National Novel Writing Month. To keep working at that non-stop for an entire month? Crazy. And I’ve always wanted to do it, but never had the time. In the next 1001 days, I’ll make the time.

37. Learn five ways to cook tofu: It is a little ridiculous that I’ve been a vegetarian for almost five years and still the only methods of cooking tofu that I know are “throw it in a pan and bake it,” “throw it on the grill and grill it,” and “throw it on the stove and stir fry it.” So I’m going to change that and learn some new tofu dishes.

74. Go to a haunted place: A lot of places have ghost stories. In the area of Pennsylvania where I live, we are within a few hours (or, in some cases, a few minutes) of historical sites like Washington Crossing, Gettysburg, and Philadelphia. As such, we have no shortage of ghost stories. However, I’d like to visit somewhere that is known specifically for it’s paranormal activity.

85. Give five random compliments to strangers: I always see people with cool outfits or awesome hair that I want to compliment, but I feel like they’ll think “Who is that weird girl?” But next time (well, the next five times, at least), I’ll actually say something.

So that’s the plan. 101 Goals in 1001 Days. Wish me luck!

Lauren

Lauren's List

01. Give blood
02. Go to Europe Spring 2011
03. Participate in NaNoWriMo
04. See Bruce Springsteen in concert
05. See a stage production of Hamlet 10.22.09
06. Get a car. July, 2010
07. Lose fifteen pounds. 6/15
08. Learn poker.
09. Go on a road trip.
10. See the Sistine Chapel March 2011
11. Watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in one day.
12. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
13. Play Quidditch.
14. Go to Australia.
15. Participate in Relay for Life. 03.28.10
16. Own all of Stephen King’s books. (65/67)
17. Memorize Beethoven’s ‘Pathetique’ on the piano.
18. Go camping.
19. See a professional orchestra performance.
20. Watch all seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (7/7)
21. Go to Chicago.
22. Read one hundred books I’ve never read before (87/100)
23. Learn Italian
24. Take a philosophy class.
25. Organize a charity event.
26. Go parasailing.
27. Watch a sporting event in a pub. April 2011
28. Write a screenplay.
29. Get more ear piercings
30. Coach a soccer team.
31. Clean my bedroom.
32. Learn how to sail.
33. Go to a professional football game.
34. Go to the Harry Potter theme park.
35. Walk across Abbey Road. February 6, 2011
36. Learn to write Tengwar
37. Learn five ways to cook tofu (0/5).
38. Go on a multi-day bike ride.
39. Sleep on a roof.
40. See an opera or a ballet. May 1, 2010
41. Become fluent in Spanish.
42. Get a job.
43. Meet three of my online friends in person
44. Have a leadership position in a student organization. Spring 2010
45. Dye my hair blonde.
46. Get a record player. June 2011
47. Study abroad. Spring 2011
48. Watch ten foreign-language films (2/10)
49. Get a tattoo. 01.19.10
50. Go to a music festival.
51. Watch all of Gary Oldman’s movies (20/53)
52. Read all of Tolkien’s books. (5/28)
53. Work fandom into an academic paper.
54. See a taping of The Colbert Report. 01.13.10
55. Speak to a magazine writer.
56. Lean how to knit.
57. Take a creative writing class. Fall 2010
58. Write at least three short stories (2/3)
59. Go ice-skating outside.
60. See all of AFI’s top 100 movies (46/100)
61. Take a yoga class.
62. Go to a fan convention.
63. Learn to cook.
64. Learn how to snowboard.
65. Take a photography class.
66. Become comfortable wearing a bikini. Summer 2010
67. Listen to every song on my iTunes. (3753/9138)
68. Have a themed party.
69. Go to twenty-five concerts (6/25)
70. See ten performances by Ithaca students (3/10)
71. Watch all Oscar nominated films one year.
72. Go paintballing.
73. Write a letter and leave it in a library book.
74. Go to a haunted place.
75. Keep a dream journal.
76. Ride a motorcycle.
77. Give a loan on Kiva.
78. Learn to write with my left hand.
79. Make a list of thirty recipes I want to cook and cook them (3/30)
80. Start a blog (not just a journal).
81. Donate 10,000 grains of rice on freerice.com (3,020/10,000)
82. Have five thousand dollars in my savings account.
83. Visit ten museums Spring 2011
84. Start a habit of meditating at least once a week.
85. Give five random compliments to strangers 2011
86. Read ten biographies (5/10)
87. Participate in a demonstration.
88. Get an internship. Spring 2011
89. Learn watercolors.
90. Go to Paris. January 2011
91. Have an apartment with my friends. Spring 2011
92. Learn how to do my own taxes.
93. Learn to play the harmonica.
94. Go to a ballroom dancing class.
95. Run a 5K.
96. Go scuba diving or snorkeling.
97. Give a 100% tip.
98. Read all of Shakespeare’s plays (12/38)
99. Volunteer for a political campaign.
100. Update with my progress on this list at least once a month.* Uncompleted
101. Donate five dollars to charity for each uncompleted goal.