Barcamp Bradford and Captain Scott's Flag

Hi all,

I'm away with work again. I'm in Exeter, down on the south coast of England. It's a medieval town with some gorgeous churches and a cathedral as well as just about every chain store crammed into it's shopping streets. I'm only here for a couple of days but so far I've listened to the choir prepare for Evensong in the cathedral (and be chided by the choir master very gently indeed), taken photos of historic markers related to the American Revolution, 14th century taverns and an Elizabethan priest and I've seen one of the sledge flags carried by Captain Scott to the Antarctic. You know me, always curious, always off investigating. :)

I'm back in Leeds with a decent web connection for a couple of days later this week and I'll share some of the photos I've been taking. I'll also write up Barcamp Bradford which I attended and spoke at on Saturday, it was a fun day and I got some great feedback about my 101 goals adventure.

Until then, hugs and cream teas,

Ms Alex
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

The Eye Of The Storm

Hi,

Forgive the lack of updates. It's been a hectic couple of weeks. :)

Over the last three weeks I've worked in Glasgow (2 days) and Edinburgh (6 days) and spent a weekend in Whitby as a tourist at the Goth weekend (I like the music but I'm way too chipper to be a Goth!). Edinburgh is being counted as the E in my travel A-Z goal.

So far this week I've been planning two more work trips, filling in visa applications etc, had a bunch of travel jabs, worked late night shifts at Leeds Film Festival as a volunteer (I'm finishing tonight at 02:00) and planned a session for Barcamp Bradford on Saturday.

The two work trips need details confirming but I'm off to Addis Ababa at the end of November and Tacoma in December.

Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia (just in case your geography's rusty) and organising to work out there has involved lots of emails, phone calls and paperwork. I've never been to Africa so I'm wild with excitement at the prospect. I'm also looking forward to a day down in London as I need to collect the visa from the embassy in person because the timings are too tight to do it by post. A day in London definitely means a visit to the British Museum (I'm a confirmed history geek).

The Tacoma trip has morphed from being a straight forward there-and-back trip to one where I can play tourist more. Again it needs confirming but right now I'm planning to fly to Seattle, work in Tacoma for 2 days, spend a day in Vancouver, spend a day in Seattle and fly back via a 13hr stopover in Amsterdam.

If it all gets confirmed then that's three more letters for my travelling A-Z goal (Addis Ababa, Tacoma, Vancouver). Hyper and happy am I.

If the flight times are right it also means that I'll be able to see It's A Wonderful Life at the Hyde Park Picture House when I come back from the Tacoma trip. I love that movie and that cinema something fierce. :)

I should say *this* cinema since I'm actually at the HPPH now as I type this on my BlackBerry. As I mentioned above, I'm working as a volunteer at the film festival and I've been lucky enough to be rota'd to work here in my favourite location for all my shifts. Combining the film fest with regular work hours is a little tiring but worth doing. Seeing the audience reactions is almost as much fun as the films themselves. ;)

Right then, enough jabber. Back to doing things.

Hugs and passport photos,

Ms Alex
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Plans For Days 0300-0400

Every hundred days I do a round up of all my goals, broken down by theme. I started my 101 goals challenge on 01JAN2009 so 27OCT2009 was Day 0300 in my challenge. Below are links to all my Day 0300 round ups. Each post tells you what goals are covered in that theme, what progress I've made with those goals between Days 0200-0300 and explains what my focus is going to be on between Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB).

Adventure

Blogging

Book Related

Creative

Donating

Experiment

Learning

Leeds

Misc

Photography

Random Days

Sharing The Experience

Travel

I've completed 17 goals and 34 series/ongoing goals have been started. I'm aiming to complete another 11 goals by Day 0400 and change 2 that are no longer relevant (I'm not interested in trying to sell a magazine article or photo any more and doing them just to cross items off a list is not the point of this adventure). It'll be a very busy 100 days!

Comments and suggestions on any of the goals is of course, always very, very appreciated. :)

Day 0300 - Travel Goals Check In

Completed goals in this category:
008. Visit the British Museum (More info)
088. Create a list of 100 things I want to see (More info)

Oustanding goals in this category:
002. Spend a night in a lighthouse (More info)
027. Go on a distillery tour (More info)
029. Travel on a steam train (More info)
044. Explore a ghost town (More info)
053. Go to 3 places mentioned in the book, Bollocks to Alton Towers (More info)
056. Do the A-Z challenge (More info)
060. See 3 of Anthony Gormley's pieces out in the wild (More info)
075. Visit bookcrossing meets in 10 different towns (More info) (Tracked under Book Related Goals)
084. Go on a School Of Life holiday (More info)
087. Visit a English vineyard (More info)
089. See 20 of the 100 things (More info)
099. Be a tour guide (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:

+ Write up the Bletchley Park trip

+ Go to Wharram Percy

+ Travel to another 4 letters in my A-Z goal

+ Put up a series of posts on 101 Strategy about the A-Z goal

+ Stay a night in a lighthouse

Link To Day 0100 Summary

Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:

I wrote up the trip to Bletchley Park. I managed to go to three new places for my travel A-Z goal (Krakow, Wroclaw, Edinburgh). I didn't manage to get to a lighthouse in October - far too many other things going on!

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Post those 101 Strategy summaries for the A-Z goal
+ Get to another 2 letters for the A-Z goal
+ Go see another Gormley sculpture
+ Seek out at least 2 things on my I-Spy list

I over-estimated what I could do over the summer and got distracted by life so I'm being more realistic about what I can achieve in this category over the winter. I'll focus more fully on this category in the spring/summer.

I've come across loads of interesting places while trying to work out where I can visit for the more unusual letters (like X and Z) so I'm going to pull these together into a series of posts on 101 Strategy, places you can go in the UK and then places further afield.

Day 0300 - Sharing The Experience Goals Check In

Outstanding goals in this category:
064. Give 1001 non-business cards out (More info)
092. Ask for help (More info)
094. Write an e-book on 101'ing (More info)
095. Plan a Mission 101 talk (More info)
096. Give a Mission 101 talk (More info)
101. Throw a party at the end of the 1001 days (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:
+ Get to 300 business cards passed on or scattered by Day 0300
+ Keep asking for help and actively looking for opportunities/contacts
+ Keep writing notes
+ Get more talking experience
+ Put my slides from my Three List Bliss talk up on 101 Strategy

Link To Day 0100 Summary
Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:
I'm up to 300 non-business business cards. I spoke at Northern Bloggers and Photocamp Bradford. I didn't get my Three List Bliss slides up, mostly because I didn't get my notes sorted out. I've had some really odd conversations about my 101 adventure recently which have led to some interesting possibilities and shared ideas. Lots of fun. I'm still writing notes, the train journey up to Edinburgh this week was great for just thinking through what I've learned/gained from the experience.

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Continue asking for help, making notes, giving out non-business cards

If you want a business card to help me out on this goal then see here. If you send me a photo of the card being scattered somewhere interesting I'll post it here on the blog like I did for @garethness.

I'm thinking of talking about the art of making goals at Barcamp Bradford next weekend which would be fun, not quite a Mission 101 talk but building up to it. :)

Day 0300 - Random Day Goals Check In

Completed goals in this category:
015. Talk like a Pirate on Talk Like a Pirate Day (More info)

Outstanding goals in this category:
014. Spend a day on an archaeology dig (More info)
048. Once a year go compliment crazy (More info)
013. Spend an entire day in a game (More info)
057. Stay out of the house for a full 24 hours (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:
+ Talk like a pirate on International Talk Like A Pirate Day (19SEP2009)
+ Spend 24 hours in a game

Link To Day 0100 Summary
Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:
I did spent ITLAPD speaking like a pirate, it was a frustrating experience. I didn't manage to spend 24 hours in a game but plan to in the next month or so, after the Leeds Film Festival is over.

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Spend a day in a game

A carry forward, it'll be a weird day out of reality to totally immerse myself in a game but it will at least be something I do indoors, in the warm over the winter.

Day 0300 - Photography Goals Check In

Completed goals in this category:
042. Get a paid Flickr account (More info)

Outstanding goals in this category:
001. Take a photo every day (More info)
005. Document Leeds in photos, postcode by postcode (More info) (Tracking under Leeds Goals)
006. Participate in Self Portrait Thursday for 52 weeks (More info)
031. Take pictures of 100 strangers (More info)
061. Sell a photo (More info)
067. Snarf (More info)
074. Ett Foto I Timmen (More info)
082. Do a photography course (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:
+ Upload all outstanding photos to Flickr
+ Be more active in the SPT communities on Flickr to stay motivated
+ Get all the new-to-Markeroni Leeds snarfs registered
+ Make sure that all my snarf photos on Flickr link to the snarf record on Markeroni
+ Go on a 60 minute Snarfari round Leeds
+ Get up to 100 snarfs logged by Day 0300
+ Re-do EFIT pictures if they've been lost on the broken memory card
+ Set aside time *every week* to upload photos to Flickr
+ Give self stern talking to about let Flickr account languish so

Link To Day 0100 Summary
Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:
I got the Flickr account up to date back in September but it is drifting again. I have been snarfing but my Markeroni account needs to be brought up to date again as well. This is one of the categories I am focusing on in the next 100 days to make sure all the photos are uploaded, something which seems to take far longer than the actually photo-taking does! I'm still working on a project mixing up geo-tagging data with Leeds maps and photo archives, hopefully I will be able to post more about this later in the year. In September I went to Photocamp Bradford at the National Media Museum... and somehow wound up putting myself forward to organise next year's event. Exciting stuff.

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Get all Flickr collections/sets up to date
+ Get Markeroni up to date
+ Blog about recent snarfs
+ Blog about EFIT
+ Complete the Self Portrait Thursday series (and post them to Flickr)
+ Replace Goal 061

As I said, I'm focusing on getting all my records up to date over the next 100 days and this category should benefit more from this drive than the others. I'll also be working on Photocamp Bradford 2010 and the Leeds photos/maps project so this category will be busy over the winter. :)

I will complete my SPT series at the end of the year, it seems to have been one of the toughest goals and I have really had to force myself to work on it each week. I do feel I have learnt from doing it though. I need to replace Goal 061 as I am unlikely to sell a photo and to be honest, I'm not sure what I'd get out of completing the goal if I have to bend the rules to sell it to a friend etc. So I'll replace the goal with something more relevant.

Day 0300 - Misc Goals Check In

Completed goals in this category:
017. Attend a Quaker meeting (More info)
018. Throw a message in a bottle into the sea (More info)
036. Collect shells on the beach (More info)
090. Go to a service at the Unitarian church (More info)

Outstanding goals in this category:
009. Plant a tree (More info)
026. Be part of the audience at a tv or radio recording (More info)
051. Buy an original piece of art (More info)
062. Scrobble 50,000 tracks (More info)
072. Have a go at archery (More info)
076. Host a dinner party (More info)
077. Buy a trilby (More info)
081. Do the Simple Dollar's money review (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:
+ Collect sea shells
+ Throw a message in a bottle
+ Get my total scrobbles up to 23,000 tracks
+ Go to a Quakers service

Link To Day 0100 Summary
Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:
3 out of 3 goals completed. :) I collected sea shells in Whitby on Sunday (01NOV) which was a nice goal to cross off my list at last. I threw a message in a bottle into the sea at  Queensferry back in September. I went to a Quaker meeting in October. I'm at 22,500ish scrobbles but I have been travelling a lot recently so I'm happy to be so close to a target I set to be hard to achieve.

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Get my total scrobbles to 27,000
+ Get my blog posts up for the completed goals

I'm focusing on completing goals in other categories over the next 100 days but I'm going to make sure I get all my outstanding posts about completing goals up on the blog.

Day 0300 - Leeds Based Goals Check In

Outstanding goals in this category:
005. Document Leeds in photos, postcode by postcode (More info)
023. Figure out where my square mile is (More info)
024. Investigate my square mile thoroughly (More info)
065. Actively seek out guided walks in Leeds and York (More info)
069. Visit every library in Leeds (More info)

Targets I set myself between Days 0200 - 0300:
+ Buy a map, damn it.

+ Get the LS1, LS2 and LS3 posts up
+ Find two guided walks in Leeds or York and go on them
+ Document LS4, LS5, LS6 and LS7, libraries in those postcodes as well
+ Figure out where my square mile is

Link To Day 0100 Summary

Link To Day 0200 Summary

Progress:
I bought a map, but I still need to mark out my square mile on it! The Leeds postcodes posts will be going up soon, they're part of a huge backlog of posts I have currently. I went on a guided walk around Leeds as part of Light Night, an event I need to write up for this blog. I'm still exploring Leeds and its libraries.

Actions for Days 0300-0400 (27OCT-04FEB):
+ Get all my Leeds-focused posts up on the blog
+ Mark out my square mile on my map

I'm going to focus on getting the backlog of blog posts cleared and my Leeds photos up on Flickr over the next couple of months while it is cold, dark and wet. By the time spring comes around the blog should be up to date and ready for me to start exploring the city's neighbourhoods again.

There now follows an intermission...

Hi folks,

First of all, thanks for the comments on recent posts, I've not had a chance to answer many of them but they've been very motivating and gratefully received. I still can't quite believe I am nearly 1/3 of the way through this crazy adventure. It's been amazing.

This week I've been in Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hectic but fun and I'm claiming Edinburgh for the E in my A-Z as I am back there next week and starting to be able to find my way about. :)

This morning I am heading over to Whitby. This is at the request of my co-conspirator who is already over there enjoying the Whitby Gothic Weekend. Goths' are not my scene but I said I'd give it a try. Afterall, a weekend of carousing is a weekend of carousing, regardless of the scenery. ;)

The Day 0300 posts will be briefly paused while I am away but will resume on Monday night when I return home to my laptop.

Have a great Hallowe'en. :)

Hugs and broomsticks,

Ms Alex
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device