Here are some updates on my 101 Goals:

#1. Sell Our Current Home - We were planning on having the house on the market in June, but we were also expecting to be moved into a new house in May (see below).  Plastering, priming, and painting is being done around all of our belongings, and should be completed soon. 

#2. Purchase a New Home - We are under contract on a new home, but it is a short sale with a mortgage held by Countrywide; therefore, it has been a long, frustrating ordeal that may not ever see a closing.  We are in the process of finding some back-up homes that we like in case this deal falls through.   

#8. Obtain My Credit Score - Completed.  I have a Washinton Mutual credit card, and one of their perks is they give you your credit score as reported by Experian every month.  My credit history is far from perfect due to some unfortunate circumstances in my past, but I was pleasantly surprised to find my credit score was actually pretty good!

#19. Read 10 Modern Fiction Books - I’ve read Next by Michael Crichton (a horrible excuse for a book), The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet (probably the greatest book I have ever read), and The Gunslinger by Stephen King (not very good, but it had a few trinkets of wisdom at the end that made it worth reading).

#24. Watch 10 Pre-1970 Movies - I watched Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon.  Both were great films.

#41. Finish Cornhole Sets - Completed.  I will probably go in depth with the comstruction of these in a later post (with pics!).

#43. Vote in at Least 3 Elections - I voted in the Ohio primary which included some local ballot issues.

#58. Attend a MLB Game - Completed. I went to a Cincinnati Reds game versus the Altanta Braves with my buddy, Chris.  It was the first week of Jay Bruce’s Major League debut, and (if I remember correctly) he scored the winning run.  It was a great time.

#64. Find a Dentist - Completed. I am a baby when it comes to the dentist chair, and had neglected to get regular dental check-ups and cleanings for years.  I made it a goal to find a dentist that I was reasonably comfortable with.  Well, I found one and because of the complications that arose from not going to the dentist in so long, I had to go five times in a period of two months!  This included getting a root canal in one of my very back molars (four roots!), but amazingly, it was a breeze.  After this, I think I lost my fear of the dentist.

#68. Go 30 Days Without Carbonated Drinks - Completed.  I gave up carbonated beverages for Lent this year.

#84. Purchase a GPS Unit - Completed.

#85. Purchase a Trumpet - Modified and Completed.  I played trumpet in High School and I really wanted to buy one so I could play again.  But, in reality, there are two problems to this: 1) the only trumpet I would really be happy with (Silver Bb Bach Stradivarius) costs about $2300 (pretty expensive for a hobby), and 2) the trumpet is not the most practical instrument to play solo.  It just not something you can break-out around the camp fire, either.  So, I came to the decision that I would instead get a guitar and teach myself to play.  Because my wife is awesome, I bought myself an Epiphone acousitc for Father’s Day this year.  It is a beautful instrument and I am having a lot of fun with it.

#91. Beat 3 Video Games That I Already Own  - I beat Crimson Skies on Xbox and Norse by Norsewest on PC.  No one cares but me…

No, I’m not participating in the writer’s strike.  I’ve just been busy (and at times, lazy).  In the meantime, I have made great progress on my 101 in 1001 goals.  I will be posting updates on this shortly.

Also, this post is my personal test of Windows Live Writer.  If you are able to read this, then it is at least doing its job on the most basic level.  If the formatting looks jacked-up–well, I’m still testing.

Day Zero is the home of the 1001 Day Project. The idea is to create a list of 101 goals to complete within 1001 days (Just shy of 3 years). I decided to create a list of goals for myself and they are posted below, split into categories.

Creating this list took at lot more time than I first anticipated! To come up with things that I wanted to accomplish, it helped to look at other people’s lists on the Day Zero website.

I am starting the 1001 days on December 14th, so my deadline will be September 10th, 2010 (How did I figure that out? Using this website).

In future posts, I will explain some of the 101 goals and track their progress.

Personal Finance
1. Sell Our Current Home
2. Purchase a New Home
3. Open an IRA
4. After New Home Purchase, Save $10k in Retirement Savings
5. Hold $1k in Stocks
6. Create a Will
7. Calculate and Track Family’s Net Worth
8. Obtain My Credit Score
9. Eliminate All Debt (excluding Mortgage)

Career/Business
10. Clear My Work E-mail Inbox
11. Obtain 2 Industry Certifications (0/2)
12. Get Promoted or Obtain a Higher Position Elsewhere
13. Take 2 Accredited Classes and Receive A’s (0/2)
14. Start an LLC
15. Have One Profitable Website
16. Have Something Published, Anywhere
17. Sell Something on E-bay

Art/Culture/Projects
18. Have 250 posts on cemiv.com (0/250)
19. Read 10 Modern Fiction Books (0/10)
20. Read 10 Non-fiction Books (0/10)
21. Read 5 “High School” Books
22. Read and Take Notes on 5 Books of the Bible (0/5)
23. Create Bible-Study Website
24. Watch 10 Pre-1970 Movies (0/10)
25. Watch 4 Foreign (Non-English) Movies (0/4)
26. See 3 Plays/Musicals (0/3)
27. Write/Email 5 Famous/Semi-Famous People
28. Learn 150 German Words (0/150)
29. Re-learn the Capitols of the US
30. Build a PVR
31. Design & Build 2 Original Woodworking Projects (0/2)
32. Digitalize My Filing System and Documents
33. Create 1 Quality Piece of Art
34. Purchase a Piece of Art
35. Visit 3 Museums With My Kids (0/3)
36. Organize and Scan All Our Family’s Photos
37. Complete Our Family Tree
38. Complete My Contacts Listing
39. Study/Document/Photograph 10 Types of Trees (0/10)
40. Make Plastic Bag Organizer
41. Finish Cornhole Sets
42. Go 5 Consecutive Days Without Watching Television
43. Vote in at Least 3 Elections (0/3)

Sports/Fitness/Health
44. Run a Sub-6 Minute Mile
45. Compete in 5 5ks (0/5)
46. Run a Sub-21 Minute 5k
47. Complete a 10k
48. Complete a Half-Marathon
49. Complete a Marathon
50. Complete 20 Consecutive Pull-ups
51. Complete 30 Consecutive Push-ups
52. Bench Press My Body Weight
53. Golf at 5 Different Courses
54. Shoot 90 or Less for 18 Holes of Golf
55. Complete Backpacking Trail at East Fork Lake
56. Go Hiking in 2 States (Other Than My Home State)
57. Find 3 Geocaches
58. Attend a MLB Game
59. Attend a NFL Game
60. Attend a NHL Game
61. Attend a NBA Game
62. Attend a NCAA Basketball Game
63. Attend a NCAA Football Game
64. Find a Dentist
65. Find a Doctor
66. Get an Eye Examination
67. Remember to Take a Multivitamin for 90 Consecutive Days

Food
68. Go 30 Days Without Carbonated Drinks
69. Go 30 Consecutive Days Without Eating Fast Food.
70. Eat Vegan for 3 Consecutive Days
71. Eat at 20 New Restaurants (0/20)
72. Try 10 New Foods From the International Section of the Grocery (0/10)
73. Try 10 New Wines (0/10)
74. Bake/Cook/Prepare 50 Different Recipes (0/50)
75. Can/Preserve 10 Jars of Food
76. Brew a Batch of Quality Beer
77. Cook a Turkey
78. Grow an Herb Garden
79. Grow 2 Vegetable Producing Plants from Seed (0/2)

Miscellaneous
80. Obtain my Conceal and Carry Permit
81. Donate Blood 3 Times (0/3)
82. Collect All 50 State Quarters (0/50)
83. Visit 3 State High-Points (0/3)
84. Purchase a GPS Unit
85. Purchase a Trumpet
86. Purchase a New Suit
87. Purchase a Shotgun
88. Purchase Spiderman Reigns #1
89. Get Another Pet for My Girls
90. Get a Tattoo
91. Beat 3 Video Games That I Already Own
92. Win 10 Games of Chess Against a Human Competitor
93. Organize Our CDs/DVDs
94. Get Rid of Books I Will Not Read
95. Make a Home Emergency Kit
96. Create Emergency Kits for Our Cars
97. Create a Car Maintenance Log
98. Replace My Socks
99. Wake Up Before 6 AM for 14 Consecutive Days
100. Teach My Wife to Drive a Manual Transmission
101. Get CPR Certified

Every blog requires a first post.

Usually, the first post is void of anything interesting or noteworthy.

Such is this post.