The Game of Life: 100 Things to Do in 2008

For 2008 I have devised a little game: THE GAME OF LIFE! I made a list of 100 things to do this year. Each item has a point value from 1 to 5. In addition to the regular points, I will also get extra credit bonuses on a 1/2 to 2 point scale for everything I accomplish that was left from 2007. There is a total of 359 (potentially more…) points possible (300 regular + 59 ec) and the goal of the game will be to collect 150 points by the end of the year! The number of points allotted for any given task is in parentheses at the end of each list item. Jeez Val, way to get complicated!

This will be a very fun year! I’m especially looking forward to my NUMBER ONE AND TWO SUPER SECRET MISSIONS of the year 😉 (I guess if you don’t know who number one is about you can email me and ask…)

If there is anything you think you’d be interested in doing, leave me a comment or send an email!

So, without any further adieu, I present…

THE GAME OF LIFE: Val’s list of 100 things to do in 2008:

Top Secret Missions

1. Super Secret Mission #1 (let’s just say this involves getting a certain someone I have a huge crush on to fall in love with me…you probably know who it is…) 😉 (5)
2. Super Secret Mission #2 (no clues for you on this one) (5)

Val Time

3. Make out with someone in the back seat of my car 🙂 (5)
4. Get a chocolate manicure (4)
5. Suck it up and get my hearing checked (4)
6. Get a massage (4)
7. Throw a coffee/tea party (3)
8. Eyebrow threading (3)
9. Order Room service (2)
10. Get my hair cut more than once (1)

Travel

11. Leave the Country (5)
12. Visit Scotty in Seattle (5)
13. Coney Island for the Fourth of July (5)
14. Vegas (this is on my list every year…) (4)
15. Crazy Fun Road Trip of another state (4)
16. Do two experimental travels (3)

Local Adventure

17. Turkey Testical Festival (it will make great Silly America fodder, right?) (4)
18. Starved Rock (4)
19. Go to two parades (3)
20. Adler Planetarium (3)
21. The Museum of Holography (3)
22. Looptopia (3)
23. Chicago Botanic Garden (3)
24. Crazy Chicagoland mini golf extravaganza! (3)
25. Ride the entire length of the pink line (2)
26. The Hancock Observatory (2)
27. Go to Chinatown (2)
28. Go to the McDonald’s museum when it is open (2)
29. Lincoln Square Lanes (2)
30. Go to Buckingham Fountain at night (2)
31. Around the Coyote (2)

Web Stuff

32. Officially launch sillyamerica.com (5)
33. Brush up on CSS (3)
34. Brush up on flash (3)
35. Brush up on photoshop (3)
36. Retag and categorize all old blog entries (2)

Entertainment

37. Go to a comedy club (4)
38. Dirty Dancing The Musical (4)
39. See two other musicals (3)
40. See a non-burlesque cirq de soleil show (3)
41. See the Nutcracker (2)
42. See David Sedaris (2)

Learning

43. Take three professional development courses (5)
44. Learn photography for real (now I really have a reason to, thanks Jen and Andrew!) (5)
45. Learn to drive stick shift (4)
46. Learn to swim (4)
47. Take a gogo/strip tease/burlesque class (4)
48. Take two dance classes (4)
49. Learn embroidery (3)
50. Take a cooking class (3)
51. Learn how to work a grill (2)
52. Learn to make good crepes (2)
53. learn to make gnocchi (2)

Boring Stuff

54. Go to a coffee shop at least twice a month to write (5)
55. Find the naughty lion book (3)
56. Get the cd rom on my computer fixed (2)
57. Get a new point and shoot (1)
58. make a list of everyone I know’s birthdays (1)
59. finally set up direct deposit for my pay checks (1)

TV and Movies

60. Music Box Massacre (4)
61. Watch all the seasons of 24 (3)
62. See 5 Dario Argento films (2)
63. Watch 5 Bond movies (2)
64. Watch all the Indiana Jones movies (I have honestly never seen a one of them) (2)
65. watch the final season of the OC (1)
66. watch the final season of Joan of Arcadia (1)
67. Watch 3 Fred Astaire movies I have never seen (1)
68. Watch Eraserhead (1)

Fun Stuff

69. Ride a rollercoaster (5)
70. See a psychic (4)
71. Go fishing (4)
72. Happy New Month! (4)
73. Critical Mass (4)
74. Play bingo (3)
75. Hockey game (3)
76. Go camping (3)
77. Go to a sing a long movie (3)
78. Christmas light hunt (2)
79. Attend an oktoberfest celebration (2)
80. Make shrinky dinks and suncatchers (1)
81. Go to a farmers market (1)
82. See nadia’s wedding pictures (1 – Half a point extra credit if I see the wedding video too!)

Food

83. Moto (5)
84. Eat ten things from Time Out’s “100 Best things we ate this year” list (5)
85. 3-course meal at Marche (4)
86. The Tasting Room At Randolph Wine Cellars (4)
87. Go somewhere that has a world’s largest food of some sort and try to eat it (even if with a friend) (4)
88. Find the best milkshake in Chicago (3)
89. Evil Olive (3)
90. Margie’s Candies (3)
91. Hopleaf (3)
92. Dave and Busters (I have never been!) (3)
93. Beat my taste-going record 🙂 (probably not possible as I hope to be in NYC for much of it, but I can try!) (3)
94. Superdawg (3)
95. Pannenkoeken Cafe (3)
96. Elephant and Castle (every time we pass it Emily says we should go) (2)
97. Feed chicken shack (2)
98. Swedish Bakery (2)
99. Eat a Chicago style hot dog (2)
100. Olive Oil Tasting (2)

2007 Extra Credit

101. Move out (2)
102. Furnish, unpack all my boxes and decorate (2)
103. Find a man (2 points…each 😉 )
104. Get a tattoo or at least get mine touched up (0.5 for getting mine touched up, 2 for a new one)
105. Audition for American Idol (I crossed this off last year by applying to a reality show, but I get ec this year if I actually audition for AI) (2)
106. Go to 10 pin bowling (1)
107. See the Christmas trees at the museum of science and industry (0.5)
108. Go to the 80s dance club (this one may have closed though) (1)
109. Go to a carnival (half point if I ride a ride)
110. See a concert (a real concert) (0.5)
111. Ride the Navy Pier ferris wheel (0.5)
112. Go to at least 2 book readings (0.5)
113. Go to MCA (0.5)
114. Watch all the 80s cartoons I have on dvd (0.5)
115. Go to at least one midnight movie at music box (0.5)
116. Take a bubble bath (0.5)
117. Get flowers from a boy (1 point if I get flowers from a boy who is not Josh)
118. Resurrect Valerie’s movie night at least a couple times (1)
119. Throw a housewarming party (1)
120. Throw a wine and cheese party (1)
121. Throw a pajama party (1)
122. Throw a game night (1)
123. Throw a Christmas party (1)
124. Read ten Pulitzer Prize winning books (1)
125. Write a good draft of my memoir (2)
126. Edit that draft (1)
127. Write an article and send it out (1)
128. Finish a good essay and send it out (1)
129. Finish a good short story and send it out (1)
130. Learn Actionscript (0.5)
131. Finish my website (so many little things I never finished) (0.5)
132. Relearn basic php and mysql (0.5)
133. Apply to do freelance editing (0.5)
134. Organize my recipe collection (1)
135. Organize my photos (0.5)
136. Develop a financial plan (0.5)
137. Design a freelance website (2)
138. Learn to use my ipod and get all my music on it (0.5)
139. Learn to snowboard (2)
140. Skate along the lake when it is nice out (0.5)
141. Go ice skating (0.5)
142. Go to a roller skating rink (0.5)
143. See Takeru Kobayashi (2)
144. Go for a fancy tea (0.5)
145. Learn to make good soufflé (0.5)
146. Eat duck fat fries at Hot Doug’s (0.5)
147. Try three different wine bars (0.5)
148. Coffee shops that Time Out recommended in their coffee issue (half point each)
     1. Metropolis
     2. Charmers Café
     3. Lakeside Café
     4. Café Ennui
     5. Istria Café
     6. Medici Bakery on 57th
     7. Third World Café
     8. Julius Meinl
     9. Pick Me Up Café
     10. Uncommon Ground
     11. Intelligentsia
     12. Ventrella’s Caffe
     13. The Grind
     14. Beans & Bagels
     15. The Perfect Cup
     16. Swim Café
     17. Atomix
     18. Mercury Café
     19. Muse
     20. Café Mestizo
     21. Jumping Bean
     22. Kristoffer’s Café and Bakery
     23. Marshall McGearty Tobacco Artisans

(though they now have to give up serving coffee, damn city!)

101. 101. 1. Filter

(this closed, hopefully it will reopen somewhere…)

101. 1. Half & Half
     2. Caffe de Luca
102. Moonshine for mohitos (0.5)