#57 Have Lunch With Coworkers, Part 2

When I first started this woman who was also new invited me to have lunch with her. Last week, I finally reminded her. (I've been here for 9 months.) We went to El Azteca. It was okay. I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years and I don't expect to get the kind of Mexican food here that I could get there. It was completely adequate.

My coworker's boyfriend had been admitted to the hospital for an irregular heartbeat, and in the middle of lunch he called to say he was being admitted for surgery. So she was a little distracted. But we've done the thing. 38 to go...

#25 Find Out How Much a Combine Costs

You may think this is a weird item to have on my list. I'm a writer; I do fundraising for an academic medical facility in a major American city. Why the hell would I want to know how much a combine costs? How do I even know what a combine is?

I'll tell you, it is a weird one. In 1998, I went to teach English in Poland; I was in a small mining area south of Gdansk. One night I was at a bar with some of the other teachers, when this guy excitedly calls us over, "In America, how much does a kombajn cost?" We look at each other agog; there are a lot of questions about America that we can answer, but this is not one of them. Some of us don't even know what a combine is. We're all urbanites, none of us even lives near a farmer. We explain this. The poor man was crestfallen. So I decided I should know how much a combine costs, in case I'm ever asked again.

Now, asking how much a combine costs is kind of like asking how much a car costs: what make? what model? what features are you looking for? how much horsepower? how many acres are you harvesting? new or used? how used?

Since I found it difficult to get a quote on a new combine without calling someone, and since I am so not interested in owning a combine (I think they're bigger than my back yard), I just found what I could find on the internet. Used combines range in price from about $80,000 to $225,000.

But it's the shipping that really gets you.

#57 Have Lunch With Co-Workers

Yesterday, I was eating lunch at the local salad place when two of my coworkers invited me to join them. (I never said I had to instigate these lunches.) We had a lot of fun talking about living in New York which we all have done at various stages, our job offers out of college, and the town I live in, which happens to be the hometown of the new girl. I had to run to get to my 1:30 meeting, but it was worth it.

Two down (LW and LW), 39 to go (BC, BE, CD, CN, CP, DM, DC, DG, PM, EG, FR, JM, JH, JF, JH, JR, HB, KM, KW, KB, LA, LN, LM, MG, MK, MM, MG, NB, NL, NS, PH, PN, SS, SS, SS, TM, TA). (Just because I love a list.)

#1 Go to One Cultural Event Per Month for Three Months

Last night, we went to see Itzhak Perlman at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. We had lawn tickets, which is my first experience with that--despite the fact that I always got my tickets to the Hollywood Bowl free. We ended up surrounded by two Hispanic families (kids about 8-14), an old couple, and a group of multicultural urban sophisticates. Who was the worst behaved? Yup, the urban sophisticates, one of whom thought hitting her boyfriend with a piece of cardboard while Itzhak Perlman played was a good idea. People! I tell you. They did manage to shut up proving music hath charms to soothe the savage breast beast. Here's a tip for them though. When they say it begins at 8:00, they mean it. So, if you're going to sort out your picnic and gabble, arrive before 7:55. The old people came in second, because that's just how old people are. They know that they could die at any moment so it is terrifically important to talk when they get an idea in their head. They had the sense to whisper at least. Of course, the old guy got up in the middle of the last piece to go to the bathroom and then provided minutes of entertainment as he wandered around looking for his seat in the dark. And his date helped, by squirming about, trying to think of a way to attract his attention without shouting, "hey, over here." Which was really quite kind of her.

I don't think I can do the performances justice because I am pretty lame in the music department. My parents weren't really into music, and for some reason I didn't take the easy-A music appreciation class in college. The dude, who has heard quite a bit in his day, and even plays the clarinet, did exclaim, "That bloke can fiddle!"

But he also thought the Italian tuna sandwich I brought for dinner from Carmen was the "finest tuna hoagie in Philadelphia, and thus, the world!" He was exclaiming a bit last night. But I do think he was right about the hoagie.

The fireworks were really great too.

Once Every Ten Days

In order to complete this 101 things in 1001 days, you have to do something every ten days. That's really why I signed up. I can go for months without doing anything at all.

So I took some baby steps. I ordered some magazines, checked out where I could learn CPR, and scored some free tickets to the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Unfortunately, they're on the lawn. So we're supposed to go tonight. If it rains, I'll just have to find another cultural event to drag the dude to. (Actually, he's the one dragging me.)

AFI's Greatest Movies

I have said that I want to watch all the AFI's 100 Greatest Movies. Here's the list. I've struck the ones I've already seen. You can see from this list, I'm not one for war movies. I do like Westerns, though I guess I've just seen all the "wrong" ones.

They've been added to the Netflix list. Bring 'em on (at the rate of 1.5 per month).

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. Godfather, The (1972)
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
7. Graduate, The (1967)
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
13. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
15. Star Wars (1977)
16. All About Eve (1950)
17. African Queen, The (1951)
18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974)
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
21. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
23. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
24. Raging Bull (1980)
25. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
26. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
27. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
30. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
31. Annie Hall (1977)
32. Godfather Part II, The (1974)
33. High Noon (1952)
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
35. It Happened One Night (1934)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
37. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
38. Double Indemnity (1944)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
40. North by Northwest (1959)
41. West Side Story (1961)
42. Rear Window (1954)
43. King Kong (1933)
44. Birth of a Nation, The (1915)
45. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
46. Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
47. Taxi Driver (1976)
48. Jaws (1975)
49. Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
50. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969)
51. Philadelphia Story, The(1940)
52. From Here to Eternity (1953)
53. Amadeus (1984)
54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
55. Sound of Music, The (1965)
56. M*A*S*H(1970)
57. Third Man, The (1949)
58. Fantasia (1940)
59. Rebel without a Cause (1955)
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
61. Vertigo (1958)
62. Tootsie (1982)
63. Stagecoach (1939)
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
65. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
66. Network (1976)
67. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
68. American in Paris, An (1951)
69. Shane (1953)
70. French Connection, The (1971)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)
72. Ben-Hur (1959)
73. Wuthering Heights (1939)
74. Gold Rush, The (1925)
75. Dances with Wolves (1990)
76. City Lights (1931)
77. American Graffiti (1973)
78. Rocky (1976)
79. Deer Hunter, The (1978)
80. Wild Bunch, The (1969)
81. Modern Times (1936)
82. Giant (1956)
83. Platoon (1986)
84. Fargo (1996)
85. Duck Soup (1933)
86. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
87. Frankenstein (1931)
88. Easy Rider (1969)
89. Patton (1970)
90. Jazz Singer, The (1927)
91. My Fair Lady (1964)
92. Place in the Sun, A(1951)
93. Apartment, The (1960)
94. Goodfellas (1990)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
96. Searchers, The (1956)
97. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
98. Unforgiven (1992)
99. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

I Am Basically a Follower...And I Love Lists

I love listmaking. Often to the detriment of doing the items on the list. But I'm going to join up.

I saw Annette's List which led me to Triplux.

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Begin Date: June 16, 2006
End Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2009

1. Go to one cultural event per month for three months
2. Find my local library and get a library card (and get a Philadelphia library card)
3. See a Broadway play with the dude
4. Take nieces to New York City
5. Visit Elfreth's Alley once in the summer and once in the winter
6. Visit the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
7. Visit the Rosenbach Museum
8. Visit the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Penn
9. Visit the Morris Arboretum
10. Visit the Athenaeum
11. Visit the Frick and the Cloisters
12. Go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
13. Watch the 49 films on AFI's Top 100 films that I have not already seen
14. Read 16 works of fiction
15. Read 16 works of nonfiction
16. Read Bill Bryson's work that I haven't read before
17. Attend three ethnic celebrations in Philadelphia
18. Subscribe to the Atlantic Monthly and the New Yorker. Read them.
19. Go to Camden Yard
20. Watch an Eagles game at Lincoln Field
21. Ride in a hot air balloon
22. Contribute additional $$ to retirement
23. Consult a financial advisor
24. Write a will, including all the attendant documents
25. Find out how much a combine costs
26. Be less bossy—so the dude notices; this item will be complete when he says something about it, without prompting
27. Make two new friends
28. Meet up with blogging stitching friends
29. Host an open house each December
30. Catalog books
31. Write to my grandmothers monthly
32. Host a dinner party
33. Go one week without tv--in season
34. Finish current WIPS, including Elizabethan Rose, Toy Gatherer, Hardanger Napkins, Alpine Garden, Treasured Tulips, St. Basil's Cathedral, Watercolor Geraniums, majestic rooster, Dolly Mama's Freebie, Enchanted Alphabet, Anna's Bird.
35. Finish 6 FUFOs as wall hangings
36. Finish 3 FUFOs as pillows
37. Finish 2 FUFOs as flatfolds
38. Frame 10 FUFOs
39. Send four needlework items to be professionally finished
40. Take a sewing class
41. Take a finishing class
42. Go to the Main Line stitch n' bitch three times
43. Go to EGA Meeting at least once
44. Finish 4 scrapbooks currently in progress: 1999, Alexa, Mackenzie, and the 1998 Poland trip
45. Make albums of nephews
46. make 8 more wreaths so I can change the front door wreath every month. Don't spend more than $75 on this project.
47. Create cards for each relative's birthday, a couple for the lesser holidays, and some sympathy cards.
48. Get tested for celiac
49. Have bunions removed
50. Exercise three days/week for 3 months
51. Stretch every day for one month
52. Lose 50 pounds
53. Learn CPR
54. Pick fruit at a UPick farm
55. Update my cv quarterly
56. Join a professional organization and attend three meetings
57. Have lunch at least once with each co-worker (41); group lunches count
58. Have lunch with three people outside my department
59. Get the Bulletin on schedule
60. Understand my job well enough to set significant goals
61. Visit Slovenia
62. Visit Iceland
63. Visit England just before Christmas
64. Visit four of the following states overnight: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, or Wisconsin
65. Visit the Biltmore Estate
66. Visit Newport, RI
67. Attend the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness
68. Visit Acadia National Park
69. Go to the Rockland Maine Lobster Festival
70. Visit Chesapeake Bay
71. Go whale watching
72. Go on a picnic
73. Install toe molding in bedroom
74. Repaint brown bathroom
75. Paint downstairs bathroom, including trim
76. Remove downstairs carpeting
77. Replace kitchen counter
78. Replace kitchen floor
79. Buy and install blinds and curtains in dining room
80. Install blind upstairs bath
81. Buy and install blinds in bedroom
82. Find curtains for living room
83. Paint living room to match curtains
84. Paint guest room, including trim
85. Fix couch in guest room
86. Buy chairs for dining room
87. Fix and hang curtains in guest room
88. Buy frames for and hang maps in guest room
89. Buy shelving and hang in dining room
90. Rip up carpet in craft room
91. Paint craft room
92. Buy filing cabinet and file patterns in craft room
93. Create a household inventory
94. Plant blueberry bushes
95. Buy a new front door
96. Plant someting in the pot by the front door
97. Paint shutters or buy new ones
98. Take the antenna off the roof
99. Hang the decorative bowl in the bedroom
100. Clear of the top of the dresser and keep it that way
101. Buy grill and patio furniture--and use it!