28 Things Progress Report: Week 23

Boy do American politics make it tough to get anything done!  It seems like every couple days there is something crazy going on that requires time to read up on and decide how to react--- laugh, cry, scream, organize.  I'm trying to stay focused on my goals when I can, but it is hard with so many important things demanding my attention in addition to the usual--- work, school, doggie.

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS:  I drew up a fab plan to get the remaining 7 films watched, but I fell behind last week.  Instead of 4 films I only watched two.  I finally watched Double Happiness (yes, internal library loans!) and I also watched After the Wedding after I heard Hugh Laurie praise the director at the Golden Globes.

28 Things: Progress Report Week 20

Week 20! That means my 28th year is nearly halfway over!  Eek!  Time flies!  I also feel like I lost most of November and December to a black hole of post-election/NoDAPL attacks/work drama depression.  I had a restful holiday week and am hopeful that my funk in drawing to a close and that I'm looking forward to getting back into the thick of things in this next year!

I am expecting 2017 to be tough, probably tougher than 2016.  But I did a tarot reading for myself for the year, and although it predicted a few rough patches, it was surprisingly positive and promising much success.  That's a bit perplexing for me, but I'm going to try to run with it (albeit with a bit of skepticism).

Since this is the start of the new year, I'm also taking the opportunity to revise and/or change some of my goals a bit if I want.  I did not take into account how taxing it is to be back in school, and I've got a lot on for the spring semester so I maybe want to dial down the number of big projects I'm assigning myself.

While I didn't accomplish all 70 million things I wanted to get done during the holiday week, I do feel like I made some good progress on several thing.  Let's see if I did . . . 

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS: Ok, so I should have completed this by Dec 31st, but I'm a little behind.  I went back through my list and I only need to watch 7 more films.  Not too bad!  I already have them planned out so I should be able to complete this by the first week of February.

Over the past two weeks I also got some good viewing time in and checked off 5 films.  I watched--- May in Summer (ok I guess, interesting because it is not set in the US but in Jordan), Your Sister's Sister (eh, more white people giving themselves drama/depression due to relationship problems), Under the Tuscan Sun (cute romantic feel-good movie set in beautiful Tuscany, Sandra Oh is there, has a nice message about love and family not having to be the husband/wife/nuclear family kind), How to Make an American Quilt (I really liked this!), and because I liked Quilt, I watched The Dressmaker (quirky, cute, darkly and subtly funny) which was directed by same director, Jocelyn Moorhouse.

Progress Report: Week 18

It's been hard to keep up with my goals over the last two months.  I've been feeling depressed and have been having trouble writing and being motivated.  But it's good to check in and make some steps forward no matter how small or few.  The end of the year is coming, and I must look forward to what I can do with some New Year's momentum . . .

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS - I've gotten more behind on this, but I am still chipping away.  I was behind by 3 films and then added 6 more weeks, meaning I should have watched 9 films by now.  I've watched 5 - Miss Julie (didn't like), Adore (found interesting), Absolutely Fabulous The Movie (cute for those who get all the inside jokes), and Black in America Since MLK: and Still I Rise (definitely learned a lot, but felt like some stuff seemed missing) and What Happened Miss Simone (liked! learned a lot here too).

2. Collect the rest of the state quarters I am missing (I am missing Hawaii, Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa) - COMPLETE

PROGRESS A friend of mine send me Hawaii, Michigan, and Iowa, and then someone at work serendipitously found the Nebraska quarter a few days later. 

3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter 

PROGRESS: Absolutely Fabulous finally became available for digital rental!

4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah

No Progress

5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In

No Progress

6. Visit Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ

No Progress

7. Get my passport

No Progress

8. Get involved in local alumni film festival or environmental film festival

TINY PROGRESS:  I was emailing back and forth with a film festival and was about to meet with them, when I realized they had confused me with someone else.  Once I cleared that up, they stopped being so responsive.  So who know what will come of this.

9. Finish off another student loan COMPLETE

I only have one small loan left, so I want to pay that off this week.  I just need to find time to call them during business hours.

10. Start to learn to play the drums

No Progress

11. Complete a serious outline for a screenplay

No Progress

12. Write a song

No Progress

13. Move  COMPLETE 

28 Things: Progress Report Week 12

Boy, have I had trouble keeping up with these progress reports!  It is a sign that I've forgotten about my goals.  Between never-ending upheaval at work, trying to stay on top of school work, and feeling depressed and exhausted by the world I've bumped off track a little bit.

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS - I'm still behind on this, I really want to catch up.  I really enjoyed working on this challenge last (calendar year)!  I need to stop watching junk and focus on checking out some lady directors again.  I should have watched 6 films by women since the last report.  I've watched two: Pelican Dreams and The Lifeguard.  I enjoyed both.  At the time I watched Pelican Dreams I was really depressed about the state of the planet and I was hoping that the film would cheer me up and although it really wasn't a depressing film it didn't make me feel any better.  I also watched the final cut of the documentary film about women's education I've been working on which was directed by June Cross . . .  I've got 3 films to catch up on! . . . I also watched The Girl on the Train, which I really liked and felt like it was directed by a woman but it wasn't HOWEVER it was shot by a woman (who also did Far from the Madding Crowd)!

2. Collect the rest of the state quarters I am missing (I am missing Hawaii, Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa) 

No Progress

3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter

No Progress

4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah

PROGRESS:  I finished Americanah!  I really really liked it a lot!

5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In

No Progress

6. Visit Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ

No Progress

7. Get my passport

No Progress

8. Get involved in local alumni film festival or environmental film festival

TINY PROGRESS:  I emailed the local environmental film festival about getting involved, but I've yet to hear back.

9. Finish off another student loan

COMPLETE!  I completed this on a bit of whim!  Originally planning on pay this off in January, I got frustrated trying to sort out a technicality and just paid it off three months early! Surprise!  Now I just have one loan left and it is not very large, I plan on ridding myself of that one very soon as well!

10. Start to learn to play the drums

No Progress

Next Step - Find the drum sticks in the garage

11. Complete a serious outline for a screenplay

No Progress

12. Write a song

No Progress

13. Move  COMPLETE 

28 Things: Progress Report Week 8

Work and school has been running me down a bit.  I've been forgetting to think about a lot of these.

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS - I should have watched 5 films in this time, but I haven't quite reached that goal.  But I watched two!  I watched The 13th directed by Ava Duvernay, and also Bridget Jones' Baby directed by Sharon Maguire.  I also watched the fascinating The Fits directed by Anna Rose Holmer.

2. Collect the rest of the state quarters I am missing (I am missing Hawaii, Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa) 

No Progress

3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter

PROGRESS - I watched The Fits.

4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah

No progress

5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In

No Progress

6. Visit Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ

No Progress

7. Get my passport

No Progress

8. Get involved in local alumni film festival or environmental film festival

No Progress

9. Finish off another student loan

No Progress

10. Start to learn to play the drums

No Progress

Next Step - Find the drum sticks in the garage

11. Complete a serious outline for a screenplay

No Progress

12. Write a song

No Progress

13. Move  COMPLETE 

28 Things: Progress Report Week 5

I decided that I did not like that format I tried out on my last progress report, so I'm going back to the old format.

Also, I feel like I say this all the time, but September has been a bit crazy and tumultuous!  Lots of changes and drama happening at work, plus I moved, started class again for the semester, and am finishing up work on a documentary project that will finish in October.  I haven't been really consciously focusing on my goals for the last several week!  And I have been watching The Office and Penny Dreadful too much on Netflix.

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

PROGRESS - I have sadly fallen behind on this again!  I have watched only one film that I know of that was directed by a woman since Week 2 - Trudell, a documentary about Native American activist, John Turdell who was very active in the American Indian Movement and became a well-known poet.  I still have to catch up on two films though!

2. Collect the rest of the state quarters I am missing (I am missing Hawaii, Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa) 

No Progress

3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter

No Progress

4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah

TINY PROGRESS - I got Americanah on audiobook!

5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In

No Progress

6. Visit Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ

No Progress

7. Get my passport

No Progress

8. Get involved in local alumni film festival or environmental film festival

No Progress

9. Finish off another student loan

No Progress

10. Start to learn to play the drums

No Progress

Next Step - Find the drum sticks in the garage

11. Complete a serious outline for a screenplay

No Progress

12. Write a song

No Progress

13. Move

COMPLETE - I am basically done with this.  I still have a few odds and ends I need to do like purchase a few more things and paint a bookcase but I'm moved in and living in my new apartment!  I even had the family dog over for the weekend!

28 Things Progress Report: Week 2

Two weeks into a new year of goals!  Let's see how I've done.  I feel like I haven't yet been as focused on this list as I'd like to be.  I am experimenting with a different format . . .

PROGRESS!

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)

I fell behind for one week so that means I had to watch 3 things.  So I watched Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which I was very excited to learn had just come onto netflix!  Then last week I watched a unexpectedly gripping documentary called Secret Daughter, by a director with whom I am currently working on a documentary project.  Then finally I also watched several short films by Yulin Kuang, namely her wonderful Tiny Feminists films.

3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter

I was very lucky to be able to accomplish 2 goals at once by watching Songs My Brothers Taught Me. I hope to watch The Fits very soon.

4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah

I have The Feminine Mystique on audiobook and have listened to a few hours of it.  It is very interesting, and also very white woman-centric so far.

5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In

I am technically now approximately 6 pages into We Were Feminist Once, so that counts!

13. Move

I sort of started out ahead on this one as in very early August I found an apartment!  I will basically be moving in very very soon.  So this week I am starting packing, purchasing a few things I need (like lamps, shower curtain), and getting renters insurance sorted.

24. Start a short, daily journal

I found the perfect journal for this.  It is a five-year journal with only a few lines for each day.  It works really well because there isn't pressure to write loads, but rather the perfect amount of space to jot down the major things that happened that day.  I've gotten 1-2 days behind a few times but so far I have been able to record something for each day.

28 Things Before 29

29!  That number is a bit scary!  It's a reminder that 30 is coming so soon!  There are so many thing I want to get off and running before 30! Luckily, the good news is that I am not there yet!  I'm not even at 29 yet.  So this year is an important year to keep making progress.

Here are my goals for this new year:

1. Finish #52FilmsByWomen challenge (goes until end of 2016)
2. Collect the rest of the state quarters I am missing (I am missing Hawaii, Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa)
3. Watch these 12 films : The Darjeeling Limited, Wild, Trainspotting, Equity, Carol, Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, 8 1/2, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Day for Night, The Fits, Brief Encounter
4. Read these 4 feminist reads: To the Lighthouse, The Feminine Mystique, The Beauty Myth, Americanah
5. Read 3 of these books that I own or have started reading: Shrill, We Were Feminist Once, Savage Grace, Anna Karenina, Lean In
6. Visit Lambert Castle in Paterson, NJ
7. Get my passport
8. Get involved in local alumni film festival or environmental film festival
9. Finish off another student loan
10. Start to learn to play the drums
11. Complete a serious outline for a screenplay
12. Write a song
13. Move
14. Put together an anthology of my Grandmother's poems
15. Lose a bit of weight
16. Put together a collection of poems (30 poems, assuming that I have a solid 10 poems already that means approx 2 new poems each month)
17. Learn to use a sewing machine
18. Go to see the Lion King on Broadway
19. Get a new doctor
20. Keep blogging & try to write for a new blog
21. Produce a short film (either my own film or for someone else)
22. Go on a date
23. Get something tailored
24. Start a short, daily journal
25. Write one of the articles/think pieces I've been contemplating (Snow White & the Huntsman, Bones, Pretty Little Liars, loud women)
26. Learn either InDesign or Photoshop from Adobe Creative Suite
27. Begin research & development for documentary project at work
28. Write fan letters to writers Fraser McAlpine and Brian Jay Jones

Bonus Goals:

• Practice changing a tire
• Start a scrapbook for life events
• Create postcards from friends' art or photos
• Write a draft of my practicum paper (not due until end of 2017)