Life List

My list started on a scrap of paper at some point in college when I was probably supposed to be studying, but was instead daydreaming of all the many things I’d rather be doing.  At the time, it was the “List Of Things To Do Before I Turn Thirty.”  That was before I had any idea that my life would soon be lived around a full-time job and thought of in terms of vacation time and holidays, and that thirty would be catching up with me way faster than I could ever be comfortable with.

Anyhow, I’m going to put things from that list on this one as well, and cross them off if I’ve completed them.

Here goes:

Travel outside the country. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

Swim with dolphins.

Ride a helicopter and/or hot air balloon.

Have a vegetable garden.  Bonus points if my backyard has chickens, too.

Adopt a rescue dog. July 1, 2009

See the Eiffel Tower. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

Try sushi. Winter 2007-08 and now I’m obsessed.

Spontaneously change my hair color. December 2007 was the first of many times to come.

Visit 6 of the 7 continents (I’ll go ahead and rule out Antarctica). 2/6

Go skydiving.

Buy my own car.

Run a 5k (while training for a half marathon that I ended up not running, Fall 2008) and then maybe a half marathon.

See the Pacific Ocean (not from a plane). Anniversary trip to the Oregon Coast, April 2010.

Live in at least 5 different states. Virginia, Texas, Oregon… (living in Florida for a summer doesn’t count).

Learn how to knit and/or crochet.

Write something that gets published in print.

Learn to speak a new language (I learned Spanish in high school, but forgot most of it).

Make a friend in another country and actually keep in touch.

Become a regular volunteer for an organization that makes a difference.

Walk the streets of Ancient Rome, touch the Colosseum. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

Tour Pompeii. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

Cliff-dive in Hawaii or in the Pacific Northwest.

Drive through the Redwood Forests.

Drive up (or down) the west coast.  I would say I’ve done this now, but technically we didn’t drive the coast (we drove north through west-coast states, and it was dark so I never saw anything good anyway).  I’m talking about the Pacific Coast Highway, people.

Get an RV and drive it cross-country.

Oktoberfest.  The real thing.

Make a scrapbook.

Give someone the best gift they’ve ever received.

Drink wine at a Tuscan vineyard. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

See the Pope. Post-college Europe trip, Summer 2007

See the Grand Canyon.

See the pyramids of Egypt.

Cruise the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic.

Take a photography class.

Visit every US state.

1. Alabama Spring Break 2007. We stopped at a liquor store on our way to Panama City Beach, FL.
2. Alaska
3. Arizona March 2010. Drove through on the Oregon Trail.
4. Arkansas July 2007. Spent the night in Little Rock at my friend Ashley’s house, on my move to TX from VA.
5. California March 2010. Drove through on the Oregon Trail, but I hope to actually spend some time there soon. UPDATE: San Francisco, February 2011.
6. Colorado June 2006, trip for school.  August 2007, trip for work.  Both times to Denver.
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida Family vacations in 1996 and 2000, marching band trips in 2001 and 2003, that one summer (2004) when I lived in Daytona Beach, plus Spring Break 2006 (Miami) and 2007 (PCB).
10. Georgia Drove through to get to Florida a bunch of times.
11. Hawaii
12. Idaho
13. Illinois November 2002, marching band trip.  September 2006, road trip with college friends. Both times to Chicago.
14. Indiana Drove through on the way to Chicago.
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky Random road trip, Fall 2003.
18. Louisiana September 2007, met my friend Ashley in Baton Rouge for the VT vs. LSU football game.
19. Maine
20. Maryland Several trips to Baltimore as a kid.
21. Massachusetts February 2002, Boston.  High school marching band trip.
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada Las Vegas – October 2007 and March 2008.
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico March 2010, spent the night in Albuquerque on the Oregon Trail.
32. New York
33. North Carolina Over and over again – Nags Head, Emerald Isle, Charlotte, visiting family, etc.
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio Drove through on the way to Chicago.
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon Hi, I live here now.
38. Pennsylvania First time was in third grade, when my family took a trip to the Amish country.
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina Myrtle Beach as a kid, Charleston in May 2007.
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee Summer 2000, family vacation to Pigeon Forge.  Then July 2007, drove through on my move to TX.
43. Texas Lived here July 2007-February 2010.
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia Born and raised.  October 1985-July 2007.
47. Washington So far, all I’ve done is drive across the border just to say I did it.  I got coffee and came right back.
48. West Virginia Snowboarding trips in college, plus driving through on the way to Chicago.
49. Wisconsin
50. Wyoming

(Yes, I just typed all of those in alphabetical order from memory.  My third grade teacher taught us a song to memorize all 50 states, and to this day I have not forgotten it).

Go to Canada.

Go to Mexico. Puerto Vallarta, February 2011.

Live on all 3 US coasts. Grew up on the East Coast, spent 2.5 years on the Gulf Coast, and now I live on the West Coast.

Get a grip on how the stock market works, & use that information to my benefit.

Actually learn how to play my guitar, for real this time.

Buy my own home.

Take a creative writing class.

See the Northern Lights.

Send my parents on an awesome trip to someplace they’ve never been before.

Complete Yoga Teacher Training (when I have the $$ for it).

 

This list will be continuously updated and crossed-off and changing. Because everyone needs a little change.