Day 174 – September 28, 2014

Bucket list

Many years ago, I wrote a bucket list. I expected long pages of wishes, but the list totaled a mere 53 items. Since drafting the bucket list, I have accomplished some items and plan for more.

On my 42nd birthday, I reconsider that bucket list and draft a new one. Have my intentions changed in six years? Not really. For the list below, I put a “+” by the unfinished items I still want to complete and a “-“ by the goals accomplished.

What I Want to Do With My Life (the new list):

Family

  1. (+) Get married
  2. (+) Have/take care of a kid
  3. (-) Surprise my parents for their birthdays
  4. (-) Make furniture with my Dad
  5. (-) Bake a birthday cake
  6. (+) Take my nieces out for dinner unaccompanied
  7. (+) Take my brothers to Burning Man

Career / Money

  1. (+) Be someone’s boss
  2. (+) Direct a project
  3. (-) Invent something that goes into a product
  4. (+) Buy property

Side Jobs

  1. (+) Teach a course
  2. (+) Volunteer with the Peace Corps, Americorps, or Habitat for Humanity
  3. (+) Be a park ranger
  4. (-) Be a tour guide
  5. (+) Own a coffee shop or bar
  6. (-) Chef at a restaurant
  7. (+) Sell something I made
  8. (+) Work on a farm

Athletic / Experience

  1. (-) Run a marathon
  2. (+) Race a triathlon
  3. (+) Skydive
  4. (+) Scuba
  5. (+) Surf
  6. (-) Snowboard
  7. (+) Ride a horse
  8. (-) Go up in a hot-air balloon
  9. (-) Ayahuasca
  10. (-) Go on a silent, overnight retreat
  11. (-) Get in a sensory-deprivation tank
  12. (-) …
  13. (+) …

Travel

  1. (+) Visit 6 of 7 continents. I’m missing Africa and Antartica.
  2. (+) Visit all 50 states. I’m missing 6: Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alaska.
  3. (+) Visit the scenic splendor of the Galapagos or Costa Rica35.
  4. (+) Visit the spiritual centers of Nepal, Tibet, or India
  5. (+) The Pyramids
  6. (+) The Taj Mahal
  7. (+) The Great Wall
  8. (-) Rio
  9. (+) Hike the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trail
  10. (+) Take an overnight cruise, even if on a sailboat
  11. (+) See the Northern Lights
  12. (+) Attend the Kentucky Derby
  13. (+) Attend the Olympics
  14. (+) Attend a Presidential Inauguration

Art / Skill

  1. (+) Slam poetry
  2. (-) Weld
  3. (-) Make a fire sculpture
  4. (+) Be a VJ
  5. (+) Brew beer
  6. (-) Write a book.
  7. (+) Build furniture. Learn how to work wood.

Community

  1. (+) Play in a small band
  2. (+) Throw a large party
  3. (+) Start a monthly/weekly event
  4. (+) Plant a tree
  5. (+) Give a speech in a public forum