101 Goals in 1001 Days Revisited; What I Actually Accomplished

I didn't realize my 1001 days were up!!  March 4, 2013 through November 27, 2015. Wow, how time flies.  So how did I do?  I only accomplished 13 of them, but that's still 13!  Not zero!! 13 out of 101 = 13%, if you round up: 13/101 = 0.1287. And some of the goals I accomplished are filled with incredible memories which I wouldn't have at all if I didn't set these goals.

1. Enter a Music Writing Contest

I entered a music writing contest in 2013 by submitting the song "How Do I Feel the Spirit" to the church music contest under the children's song category.  I didn't win or place, but got a nice letter of rejection in response.  My first rejection letter. I've got to start somewhere.  I do want to expand the song as both a solo piece and full choral piece.  That would be a good project.

2. Get An Original Music Video Online

This was quite the project!!!  And it wouldn't have been possible if I didn't have the help of two of my brothers Robbie and Steven.  I wrote lyric and melody.  Steven and I arranged it, with Steven splashing together all those cool sounds.  Robbie directed and storyboard the video, coming up with cool shot ideas, and then edited the whole thing.  Steven did all the fancy graphics.  My only cringe of complaint is in the chorus where the vocals suddenly get louder then needed; I think we discovered that it was caused by accidentally layering the voice.  It's also why I haven't put the single up for download, because I want to fix it, but Steven and I couldn't figure out how.  I might have to rerecord it, along with finally getting the piano arrangement version out, which would be a good 2016 goal!!!

Here's a behind the scenes video, with arrangement track only.

3. Eat 1 treat or less a day for 3 months

The whole idea of one treat or less comes from the fact that I love treats way too much, and one treat allows the indulgence without the overeating or depriving.  Thing is, I didn't just do the Eat 1 treat or less goal, I went an entire 3 months not eating any sweats, muffins, cereal, etc!!!  At all.  It was quite an accomplishment.

And then I developed bad habits again -_-;;  I'm a work in progress.

4. Do a Ropes Course

 I went camping with some church friends a couple years ago, and this was the first stage in the ropes course.  We had two courses to chose from, and I went for the easier option.  I'm really scared of heights!!!  Like, I hyperventilated the entire time.  Oh my gosh, I was so scared!  You have no idea.  But I did it :0)

5. Ride the Lift at Sundance and Go on a Hike

 

 This last Summer I rode the Sundance ski lift all the way to the top.  I don't know if what I did can count as a hike.  I walked around and enjoyed the AMAZING sights!  That counts.  Heh.  But the views really are amazing.  And anyone who lives here in Utah has to try it.  There's a point on the platform next to the restaurant--they have really yummy nachos and turkey sandwiches--where you can see both Utah Lake and Deer Creek Reservoir, all in one spot, looking left then right.  It's really gorgeous.  Oh, and the cell reception is the best in the valley because there's a cell tower up there.

6. Send a postcard to myself each month for a year

It seemed silly at first when I decided it would be fun to buy postcards, write a note on it, and then mail it to myself, even in the same city.  As in I drove two miles to drop the postcard off at the Post Office and then waited two days to get it back.  Sounds really silly.  But now I have all these postcards from trips and other adventures sitting in a special box.  It's such a fun way to journal, and looking at the postcards and stamps I've collected is really fun.

7. Receive my 100th Postcard through Postcrossing

When I first started Postcrossing the idea of getting 100 postcards seemed like a crazy high number.  By November 27, 2015 I didn't receive 100 postcards.  I've received over 500 postcards!!  From over 40 different countries.  And I'm still getting postcards.

8. Get a passport

I had a passport when I was a kid, but it was expired by the time I graduated High School.  I wrote down this goal because I really want to travel, and this was the first step.  Sometimes the hardest step to take is the first, which is why it's one of the most important steps when achieving a goal.

9. Visit Another Country

 I visited Japan!!!  That was an incredible goal accomplished.

Here's all the blog posts I've written about this trip thus far.  I still have 3 or so more posts I want to write.

Enoshima, aka Tri Force Island, Part 1, Enoshima Sea Candle, Enoshima Island Part 2, Japan, Enoshima Island, Iwaya Caves and Tide pools, Japan, Walking About Shibuya, Tokyo Japan, Day 2, Eating Steak While Standing in Shibuya Tokyo, Ikinari Steak, Tokyo Disney Sea, Part 1, Japan, Tokyo Disney Sea, Part 2, Japan, The Unique Tokyo Disney Sea Rides, Halloween at Tokyo Disney Sea, 2015,  A Japanese Meander and Kamakura, Japan Day 4, Meiji Shrine, Japan, Day 5 Part 1, Asakusa, Kaminarimon gate and Senso-ji Temple, Japan Day 5, Part 2, Tokyo Skytree, Seeing Tokyo City in the Most Amazing Way, Final Stop on Day 5, Japan, The Confusing Trash Situation in Japan, The Contrasting Toilets of Japan

It was amazing :0)

10. Visit Yellowstone

 In 2014 I visited Yellowstone.  Many years before I had visited the Grand Tetons, which are amazing, and only West Thumb in Yellowstone.  I wanted to return so badly, just to see all the natural wonders.  Walking on top a super volcano is really cool.

Watching Old Faithful with my Niece

11. Visit Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde!!  A long time ago, when traveling on another trip, I picked up a collection of brochures.  And one of the brochures was all about Mesa Verde.  As soon as I saw a picture of Cliff Palace I knew I had to visit!  And I'm so glad my brothers, sister-in-law, and I were able to make the trip.

Cliff Palace was amazing.  Petroglyph trail a highlight.  Balcony House scared me to death: That last climb!  It's an amazing place to visit.

On Our Way to Mesa Verde, Petroglyph Point Trail in Mesa Verde National Park, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park, Balcony House in Mesa Verde National Park, Spruce Tree House Tour in Mesa Verde, Mesa Top Loop Road at Mesa Verde

12: Have a Game Night

 Having a Mine Craft LAN party totally counts, right?

13. Ride the Heber Valley Railroad

 Riding the Heber Valley railroad was just a really fun thing I wanted to do.  The train, for this voyage, only went to Deer Creek and back.  I really want to ride it again, but this time to Vivian Park and back.  And try one of their theme nights.  I wonder if they're going to do a mystery train this Summer.  Solving a mystery while riding the train sounds really fun.

And those are the 13 goals I accomplished!  Now I need to plan out another 101 goals, including many I didn't accomplish last time.  If I start the next set of goals on Saturday January 16th, 2015, then it would end on October 13, 2018.  These next few years are going to be crazy.  Got to have some good things to look forward to :0)

Cerulean Jade Update: October 30, 2013

My brother and I, aka Cerulean Jade, is on Spotify!  We've been on there a year with our single Dream Maze, thanks to digital distribution through cdbaby.  But even knowing we paid for the distribution we didn't know our song was on this popular streaming site.  How did we find out?  After months and months we logged into the cdbaby website to see how things were going.  There we saw we'd made about $1.30 in streaming . . . $0.03 from Spotify.  Spotify!!?

When Steven told me, I rushed to the screen to see for myself.  Yes, $0.03 isn't a lot of money, but it's something!  And it means someone other then us found the song and listened to it.  That's really cool.

I just want to personally thank those who have downloaded Dream Maze and Sing We Now of Christmas.  It really means so much.

Right now one of the main things Steven and I are focusing on is getting a piano version together for Done With Gravity.  It's been so hard!  We've struggled at the piano trying to get the song to work.  The transitions have been the hardest, specifically between the verse and chorus, but recently we had a breakthrough and a solid direction of where to take the piece.  The whole mood has changed, and I'm liking the progress and feel of it so far.  Personally I'm aching to get it online!  And then we'll upload the original version, piano version, and instrumental track on Band Camp.  We're holding off putting it on cdbaby and digital distrabution for now, waiting to get together a full album, which is a ways away.  Band Camp is a fantatic place to sale our music until the album comes out. 

I can't wait to get this song up and the video recorded, and then after that we'll start uploading more original songs :0) 

Behind the Scenes with Done With Gravity

My brothers and I put together a behind-the-scenes video.  We went ADHD style, like our payhone cover song, so that the process that went into the video can be viewed at once.  I've been trying to explain what we've been doing through my "Cerulean Jade Update" posts, but sometimes seeing is easier then explaining.   

Box 1, Upper Left: These are behind the scene videos and images.  Pretty much shots we've captured during the process of making the video, and some of the stuff we did to create the final product.

Box 2, Upper Right:  Is the music video itself, complete and unedited, so you can see the final product while watching all the other clips.  Instead of playing the vocal version of the song, this video is the instrumental track.  Personally I love listening to the song this way; it's strong enough to stand on its own.

Box 3, Lower Right:  Is the Original Animatic that my brother Robbie put together.  It's a video representation of the story board he made, and was the blue print that my brothers used to put the video together.  Watching it you can see what we originally envisioned, and how we changed things for the final video.

Box 4, Lower Left:  Are Shot breakdowns.  While Steven was working on the visual effects and graphics, this box shows the layers that went into the final shots, and how they were built.  Really amazing.

Enjoy!

Sarah

The "Done With Gravity" Song Writing Process

 Here's a peek at my songwriting process!  Lyrics don't write themselves, which is fortunate because I get to have fun discovering the words.  For me it's a process, and typically starts with a concept or title.  This song was different.

I still remember walking around my room, brainstorming, my small, silver Olympus recorder in my hand as I sang random phrases, praying to strike gold.  Then I sang:

"No, No, I don't want to cry, cry

I don't want to lie, lie

and wait for the World to fall down"

 

It stuck, through the ending got changed to "World to shatter," which flows better.  The rest of the song went through many revisions, and luckily a lot of it got changed.  Some phrases, though they didn't survive the final draft, would lead to better phrases and ideas.  You can click on the images below to read some of my original thoughts.

What is now the bridge was originally the chorus, and was much longer.  Every now and then, when I sing the song to myself, I hear the original phrasing and melody, and though I really like it, it wasn't right for the song.  The last three lines of the original chorus got knocked off and turned into a bridge when Steven started arranging the song.  The mini instrumental interlude he added was interesting, quirky, and spontaneous.  We had a lot of discussion over it, discussed form and what not, and decided to keep it. During this interlude Steven originally had an instrument I called the "alien sound."  We loved it, but the alien sound never survived the final mixing.  It was too strange.

 Oh, and the song was originally called "Won't Stay Down." That title was around for quite a while until it was replaced with the better "Done With Gravity."  Now Steven and I are working on a piano version of the song, and we're really liking it.

You can read the final lyrics here

And view the video here.

"Done With Gravity" Lyrics

Watch the video here.

(Verse 1)

No, No, I don't want to cry, cry

I don't want to lie, lie

and wait for the World to shatter

No, No, I don't want to give up

I don't want to end up surrounded by all the clatter.

(Bridge 1)

I'm done with gravity

I won't hit the ground

I'm going to touch eternity

(Verse 2)

No, No, I will not stand by, by

I'm not gonna lie, lie

about all my hearts intentions

No, no, I will not surrender

I'm not going under

I've got a new direction

(Bridge 2)

I'm done with negatives

I'm not gonna drown

This is my time to finally live

(Chorus)

I'm done with Gravity

I will not be bound

I'm done with Gravity

I'm not going down

I'm up high

In the sky

In the Stratosphere

I'm done with

I'm done with

I'm done with Gravity

(Repeat Chorus)

~ Sarah Stufflebeam

The Optimistic Fisherman!

I know I said that the video for "Done With Gravity" was coming out yesterday, and this obviously isn't it!  We had a few last minute changes, and we really want the video to be the best it can be!  The wait will be worth it :0)  And the art Steven has been putting together is amazing.  I've been watching it, and I'm blown away by what my brothers have put together. 

It's almost here!

In less then a week the "Done With Gravity" music video will be online!

Cerulean Jade Update March 27, 2013

 

We're finally able to announce when the music video, Done With Gravity, is being released on Youtube:  April 2, 2013, which is this Tuesday!

I'm so happy, and relieved, by this.  And so thrilled to be sharing this video with you guys very, very soon!

Cerulean Jade Update: March 14, 2013

 We've ran into some issues with the "Done With Gravity" music video, in terms of the effects in the scenes, and my relationship to them.  We wanted to zoom in and circle around the ship, only thing is we never video taped myself performing at those angles.  Steven's solution?  3D model!  So Steven made a 3D model of me to put in the ship.  Really cool :0)

 As Steven and Robbie finish scenes, they take the story board they did a video too, and import the finished scene into the mix of unfinished segments.  Watching where it's at now is very interesting; fully fleshed movement mixed with stagnant simple line drawings.  The finished aspects of the video are amazing!  Far better then I even imagined.  And the world Steven modeled is So Cool!  We've got to use it again in another project.

 Robbie working on some scenes.

 My brothers will be the true stars when the video is finished.  What they're putting together is amazing.

Cerulean Jade Update: March 4, 2013

 

The filming portion of the music video, Done With Gravity, is now officially finished!  I was quite nervous about it, but it all went nicely.  I didn't even get the outfit until last weekend, when we finished shooting the video.  Since there is a space theme/futuristic aspect to the world we've created, we didn't want anything too modern, and yet too alien, for the shoot.  Luckily the top I found we got at Papaya for a super reasonable price; that was the first place we looked, and knew we couldn't find anything better.  The earrings, which my Aunt Tam found in the same store, was only $2 and matched perfectly.  Super, super lucky.

 Our fearless leader!  Robbie the director after the shoot.

All we got left are a couple more special effect scenes and getting the song polished in the mastering stage.  So close!

Cerulean Jade Update: 2/25/2013

We are so close to finishing the music video to "Done With Gravity"!  I'm biting at the bit to see it finished.  Pictured above is what the cockpit to the spaceship looks like.  It's a little Tron-esq.  I haven't seen what it will look like when I'm placed inside.  Robbie's working on it.  I just hope it works out!  When he was directing me during the filming he told me where to place my hands, and I had to imagine the spot.  A little nervous to see this bit come together.  Fingers crossed!

Below is an example of what the pit looks like in computer model form.

 

Not nearly as exciting, but it shows the process.

 On February 10th I stumbled upon my Chinese Zodiac, and had a little bit of a laugh over it. It said:

"One of your dearest projects will be delayed. Don't blame the whole world for it. Remain patient and, above all, refrain from spreading yourself too thin; everything will come in time. Water down your conversations if you want to improve your social or family relationships. Your temperament will push you to committing food excesses; this may result in some nervous tensions or an increase in weight. If you want to be loved, just love -- sincerely and wholeheartedly."

Of course that was the week of Valentines, and the whole "committing food excesses" totally happened . . . discovering a fantastic new cupcake place doesn't help.  

We have a goal date in mind when we want to release the music video with an MP3 of Done With Gravity, which will be available for download.  The date is really soon, but I'm not ready to announce it quite yet :0)

Sarah

 

Cerulean Jade Update 01-31-2013

 We filmed some more scenes this last week.  It's a group of scenes where I'm piloting a ship into space.  Looks a little crazy, right?  There's a method to our madness!  For these scenes what's important is my silhouette, 

so the clothes I'm wearing is for shape.  

Robbie showing me what floating in space looks like.

  The jet pack scene that I mentioned in the past got thrown out, much to my dismay, jet packs are retro cool, but the scene was proving too difficult for what we have.  It was a wise choice, and I got my ship back! Now I get two space ships: One, the ship taking me to space is of the old fashion classic 60's sci-fi variety, and two, the ship I originally picked out that got swapped with a possible jet pack scene. When we threw out the jet pack, I got my personal ship back.  Can't complain about that.  And I've got to say it's looking really cool.

Steven's finishing up and polishing assets today, which is really exciting, and then the composting begins, and fingers crossed it all fits!

Cerulean Jade Update 01-24-2013

 I haven't had an update for a while!

 Our next song and music video, Done With Gravity, is coming along nicely.  We've done our first set of videotaping, and Robbie's been working with the video recordings in one of those fancy computer programs of his.  For the record all computer programs are fancy . . .

 Steven's been modeling a working 3D digital city, which looks amazing.  He's got some texturing left, but this stage is almost finished.  I can't wait to see how this works into the music video.  What's even cooler is that he can move around the buildings, zooming in and out at different angles.

I'm getting more and more excited about sharing this video with everyone.

Cerulean Jade Update 01-03-2013

Robbie, Steven, and I are hard at work!  Our real good friend Josh, who is working on a film/television degree from UVU, which is the same degree Robbie is working on, came over and taught us some really important tips for creating our music video.  Namely he showed us proper lighting techniques (it's just as important to light the green-screen as it is to light the person standing in front of said screen.)  And he showed us the importance of using the right lens: Wide angle vs. Telephoto. 

Last week I posted the above photo on twitter and facebook as a hint towards the latest song were working on and creating the music video for.  If you've been keeping up with the Cerulean Jade posts you'll realize there's a space theme to the music video.  This apple, surrounded by snow, provides the clue.  (The snow has nothing to do with the clue; I was being artistic, and taking advantage of the snow storm.)  Newton!  Newton's apple, which has to do with gravity.  (As a note I used to watch Newton's Apple on PBS.)  So apple = Newton = gravity = Done with Gravity!  "Done with Gravity" is the title of the song, and that's all I'm going to say about that for now.  I no longer have to refer to the song and "that song," which will make writing about it so much easier.

A couple weeks ago I was lamenting over the fact that I may not get a jet-pack for the music video, because we didn't know how to create the effect.  Well, one morning when I was going through my taped NHK World shows, I saw this!  Kentaro Kobayashi, known for his solo stage show Potsunen P, was coming up with ways on how to look like he was swimming underwater.  Then I thought, "Hey!  That could work in space too!  And the cloth can be the green-screen!"  I showed the segment to my brothers and they liked the idea, so we're playing around with it.

Above is a sampling of space ship sketches Steven presented to me.  He asked, "Which Spaceship do you want?"  So I got to pick my spaceship!  You'll have to wait till later to see what I choose :0)

More to come next week!  It's all coming together.

Sarah