2012: 100 Firsts
In 2012, I Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â for the first time ever.
01. celebrated a wedding anniversary
02. witnessed Nik make an entire tent full of people laugh as he gave a Best Man Toast
03. drove the Vespa
04. have a California driver’s license
05. voted in California
06. attempted (and partially failed) to complete a daily photo project – 366 Objects
07. listened to a classical radio station for hours and hours most days
08. tried (and failed) to sell clothes at a consignment shop
09. wore skinny jeans
10. went suit shopping with Nik
11. sang duets with Nik while he played the guitar (in the comfort of our own home)
12. finished reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy
13. installed a legitimate version of the Adobe Creative Suite onto my computer (Thanks, Wayne!!)
14. dyed fabric with beet juice
16. gave a quilt I made as a wedding gift
17.taught myself embroidery techniques
18. altered a man’s sweater to fit me
19. bought an entire bolt of fabric
20. designed and tested a quilt pattern
21. performed a semi-significant kitchen upgrade project
22. hosted a dinner party for 8
23. grew strawberries in our living room
24. grew mushrooms on our kitchen table
25. made polenta
26. made home-made biscotti
27. made home-made granola
28. bought and used taper candles
29. used a salad spinner
30. used a feather duster
31. attended a professional conference, and did not like it very much
32. helped launch an online shop, Urban Burp
33. was hired as the only employee in an architecture firm
34. attended the opening of my first built project in San Francisco (the Andrea Schwartz Gallery)
35. designed a friend’s apartment
36. felt like the moon was smiling at me (on the day I passed the final test to become a licensed architect)
37. had multiple conference calls with my siblings
38. had my hair cut by Nik’s sister
39. visited my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in their new Atlanta, GA home
40. was told by my nephew, “Auntie Jamie, I love you” at least 10 times in one day
41. threw a huge party for my parents with my siblings
42. rented a vacation house with the Sinz family (in Guntersville, AL)
43. jumped off a boat dock with my nieces
44. surfed across the water on a wake board
45. saw thousands of lightning bugs in the trees at night from a canoe
46. witnessed my cousin marry her true love
47. went out to drinks with both of my siblings and their spouses (it was awesome)
48. was the first to sleep in “Grammi & Papa’s room” in my sister’s new home in Paducah, KY
49. sewed with my nieces
50. witnessed my niece take her first no-training-wheels bike ride
51. walked my other niece to school
52. did not spend either of the two major holidays with the Sinz side of the family
53. spent Christmas in Santa Fe with the Daum side of the family
54. walked along Canyon Road in the snow on Christmas Eve to see the Farolitos in Santa Fe
55. slept in a light house on an island (East Brother Light Station, Richmond, CA)
56. crowd-sourced travel recommendations (for New York & Japan)
57. rode a bike in New York City
58. ate noodles at Momofuku in New York
59. rode a bike in Brooklyn
60. stayed with my best friend from college in her precious Atlanta, GA home
61. met up with a friend after posting photos of her Atlanta neighborhood on Instagram
62. vacationed in Mexico City while Nik “worked” there
63. rode the Mexico City Subway
64. slept in a St. Regis Hotel
65. drank beer on a boat in Xochimilco
66. ate worms and bugs, and did not like them (in Mexico City)
67. went to a pretty big work dinner with Nik (10 handsome American dudes and me)
68. vacationed in Japan
69. rode a Japanese bullet train
70. rode a bike in Kyoto
71. rode the Tokyo & Kyoto Subways
72. ordered ramen from an automated machine in Tokyo & Kyoto
73. ate rice triangles from 7-Eleven and Family Mart in Japan for breakfast, lunch and dinner
74. ate cow tongue, and liked it (in Japan)
75. held a clear plastic umbrella over my head in the rain
76. slept in a capsule hotel (9hours, Kyoto, Japan)
77. walked under hundreds of orange gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine
78. had dinner on the 14th floor of a department store
79. rented a movie on iTunes to watch on a plane
80. went to the Antique Archaeology store in Nashville
81. rented an apartment through AirBnB
82. went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
83. rode the ferry to Larkspur
84. ate oysters at the Marshall Store outdoor bar
85. spent a day in San Francisco with my 2nd year college roommate that I haven’t seen since college
86. spent a day in San Francisco with my Uncle Don, Aunt Kim and cousins
87. had a crowd-based panic attack while attempting to watch Flugtag
88. listened to the choir sing at the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral
89. volunteered at an AIA Home Tour
91. sat in a booth at the renovated Louis’ Restaurant for breakfast
92. went to an event at the Internet Archive
93. watched skeet shooting (at Lake Merced)
94. walked through the Bay Model in Sausalito
95. dressed up fancy just for the fun of it to go on a double date to Frances on Halloween
96. had drinks at the Tonga Room
97. drove 1-1/2 hours each way to the Boat Shack in Marshall, CA for a dinner date with Nik
98. attended an Outstanding in the Field dinner as a guest
99. hiked in Yosemite National Park
100. camped in Big Sur with a view of the ocean from our tent
