27. watch the AFI's Top 100 Movies (31x31)

This item made the list on December 22, 2010. Up until that day, I had seen 38 of the films, indicated by an emboldened title. I have kept track of the movies I've seen since then by adding the date next to the title.

1 CITIZEN KANE (1941) - December 22, 2010
2 THE GODFATHER (1972)
3 CASABLANCA (1942) - January 28, 2011
4 RAGING BULL (1980) - December 27, 2010
5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) - July 11, 2011
6 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) - January 26, 2011
8 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
9 VERTIGO (1958)
10 THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

11 CITY LIGHTS (1931) - January 25, 2012
12 THE SEARCHERS (1956)- July 11, 2011
13 STAR WARS (1977)
14 PSYCHO (1960)
15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) - January 26, 2011
16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950) - January 12, 2011
17 THE GRADUATE (1967)
18 THE GENERAL (1927) - July 10, 2011
19 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) - January 6, 2011
20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

21 CHINATOWN (1974) - December 28, 2010
22 SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
23 THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) - January 18, 2011
24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) - June 7, 2011
27 HIGH NOON (1952) - July 12, 2011
28 ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) - January 22, 2011
29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) - January 26, 2011
30 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

31 THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) - September 8, 2011
32 THE GODFATHER PART II (1974) - January 4, 2011
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
35 ANNIE HALL (1977)
36 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) - July 8, 2011
37 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) - August 12, 2011
38 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) - January 26, 2011
39 DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) - January 30, 2011
40 THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)

41 KING KONG (1933) - July 7, 2011
42 BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) - January 22, 2011
43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) - January 26, 2011
44 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
45 SHANE (1953) - July 17, 2011
46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) - December 24, 2010
47 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
48 REAR WINDOW (1954) - August 12, 2011
49 INTOLERANCE (1916) - January 24, 2011
50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)

51 WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
52 TAXI DRIVER (1976) - December 25, 2010 (this is NOT a christmas movie, btw)
53 THE DEER HUNTER (1978) - January 23, 2011
54 M*A*S*H (1970)
55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) - June 8, 2011
56 JAWS (1975)
57 ROCKY (1976)
58 THE GOLD RUSH (1925) - July 12, 2011
59 NASHVILLE (1975) - July 25, 2011
60 DUCK SOUP (1933) - July 26, 2011

61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941) - February 5, 2011
62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) - January 28, 2011
63 CABARET (1972)- July 10, 2011
64 NETWORK (1976) - January 22, 2011
65 THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951) - September 7, 2011
66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) - February 9, 2011
68 UNFORGIVEN (1992)
69 TOOTSIE (1982)
70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)

71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) - December 30, 2010
73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) - December 24, 2010
74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) - January 23, 2011
76 FORREST GUMP (1994)
77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
78 MODERN TIMES (1936) - December 26, 2010
79 THE WILD BUNCH (1969) - July 11, 2011
80 THE APARTMENT (1960)

81 SPARTACUS (1960) - July 21, 2011
82 SUNRISE (1927) - July 21, 2011
83 TITANIC (1997)
84 EASY RIDER (1969) - July 6, 2011
85 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) - August 8 , 2011
86 PLATOON (1986) - February 3, 2011
87 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) - January 25, 2011
88 BRINGING UP BABY (1938)- July 9, 2011
89 THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
90 SWING TIME (1936) - June 8, 2011

91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982) - August 9, 2011
92 GOODFELLAS (1990)
93 THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) - July 18, 2011
94 PULP FICTION (1994)
95 THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) - June 9, 2011
96 DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) - February 3, 2011
97 BLADE RUNNER (1982) - January 26, 2012
98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) - August 10, 2011
99 TOY STORY (1995)
100 BEN-HUR (1959) - January 11, 2011

16. Fold a 100 origami cranes and give them to someone special (32x32)

This winter has brought major changes to my environment already; and also a change to the underlying motivation for existing. That sounds ridiculously dramatic, but there it is. I made a choice to move back in with my family in Arlington, VA. There was the beautiful apartment in DC which was just as huge as the last one in Delaware and it had parquet floors and southern facing windows, looking out onto a little bit of park and graveyard. utilities included. cat-friendly. wonderful art-deco foyer. I had all the papers in order and had guarantors for the rent, seeing as I am not fully employed.

But it didn't feel right.

Something in my insides knew it wasn't the right move to make. So I asked myself, what would my abnormally ultra-fiscal-responsible sister do in this situation? She would move where the rent is cheap and where I don't incur MORE debt. She wouldn't really see it as a strike against her pride or independence, because in the long run, debt-free is independence. I am shifting. The past couple of years has been driven by seeking the next scheme, the next beautiful place to live, the next sexy opportunity to write about on facebook, all for the sake of doing it while I can, while I'm young, while I'm single, while I'm childless. Now, I am staying put. I'm nailing my fins to the floor. It's been accepted by all my immediate family that I am not moving again until one of three conditions is met: a) I get an amazing professional position somewhere outside of commuting distance, b) I pay off all my debt, c) I get married. oi.

This is pretty heavy stuff to acclimate to, but I've been lucky that there are so many things to do in DC that I have been able to stave off the depression which I assumed was coming. I mean, I just thought, moving back into Mom's basement, I am going to get into a deep funk. But holy shit the weather this winter has been fabulous! I have gone on a few long rides, have been getting to yoga, reconnecting with friends from college, helping my family re-organize the house, work some temporary jobs, go swimming. All excellent things which naturally keep my sads from appearing. Here's where they did show up: gift giving. This year I was so totally uninspired for making holiday cards or what to knit for people. I didn't have anything to give to my family on Christmas other than apologies. I tried to excuse the shame by saying that it's unreasonable to have ONE DAY of gift giving in the whole year (which it is, mind you, just not something which excuses empty hands on that particular day. I think this philosophy also applies to my general dislike of birthdays, new years eve, and mother's day.)

Finally, inspiration struck. I would fold 108 origami cranes and send them out for the holidays. I used scrapbook paper collected from Delaware FreeCycle when Cara, Gundry, and I were putting together Nora's baby book, and the bingo paper collected when I went to bingo with Rachel, Adam, and Jude last Spring.



I did some research on the significance of crane origami and the japa mala (the string of 108 meditation beads). I folded them in Sarah's nearly empty apartment in Beverly Hills, on the 704 bus to Silver Lake to have lunch with Gretta, at Tiffany's after yoga in the park at Runyon, on the airplane from LAX to IAD with Sarah, Tiny, and Guillome.



Finished up the rest at Cara's with her lovely cat, Tea Bags, while watching the UK version of Being Human (which is SO much faster than the US version. also, the werewolf is WAY better in the US version, just sayin).



Sent them out today, not to just one someone special but 108 special someones.

4. close out corporate bank account, open up checking at a credit union (32x32)

Last year, I believe, Wachovia Bank, was sold to Wells Fargo. I had banked with Wachovia for at least ten years, never really had any difficulties with them. They let me set up my online bill pay, all of my statements were emailed to me, not wasting lots and lots of paper. I have banked with Suntrust, PNC, First Virginia, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Capital One at some point in time since I was 12 years old. I am not the most responsible person when it comes to money and have had to close out accounts due to mismanagement with nearly all of them.

After the 2008 bailouts more people started talking about the way to show displeasure with the banking institutions was to put your money in credit unions. There was a Facebook event to boycott banks and it had the V for Vendetta mask and I found it very compelling that so many others were acting against for-profit banking institutions. My parents set up an account with Navy Federal Credit Union when I was born to save money for college (which I quickly drained as soon as I was in school). They both worked for the Navy at the time, which is how it was set up back then. Now you can pay a $20 fee and open up an account with them even if you have no affiliation to the Navy. Consumer Reports circulated an article recently on the subject of for-profit versus non-profit banking institutions. I found a few points cogent and interesting.

1. 650,000 new accounts were opened in credit unions shortly following the Bank of America $5/mo checking account fee proposal.
2. To maintain an annual checking account, it costs the big banks $350-$450; but $175-$240 for the smaller community banks and credit unions, due to the lack of economies of scale.
3. This is the tip of the iceberg regarding fees. Megabanks (Chase, Bank of America, Citibank) are so inefficient that they have to pass the lack of interest revenue onto their account holders.

And so, today, I transfered most of my money into NFCU and will start to do the pain-in-the-ass business of setting up my bills there, setting up the bookmark on my laptop, etc. I don't know how to do it exactly, but I know that I have the capability of doing banking from my phone too. It took me years to trust ATM deposit transactions so, we'll see how long it takes me to work it on my phone.

UPDATE:
October 27, 2012 I paid off the balance on my Wells Fargo account (because there was an automatic withdrawl from the U.S. Department of Education which I forgot about) and closed out that account permanently. I now only bank with Navy Federal Credit Union which has a mobile app for my phone and so far, so good, so easy!