How's Your Bucket List Coming?

[kumquat]

Really nords, If you want to quote me (and edit the quote), do so in context. That means don't quote what I have done and then put in place what I have yet to do. Bad for an author.

I never said I'd like the before or after, just the "then".

 

[Nords]

Really nords, If you want to quote me (and edit the quote), do so in context. That means don't quote what I have done and then put in place what I have yet to do. Bad for an author.

I never said I'd like the before or after, just the "then".

Sorry, that's a cut&paste typo. Fixed. Thanks for so graciously calling my attention to my egregious error.

I don't see how one gets to stand in the eye without the precursor & aftermath-- and I was hoping that you'd explain it. But maybe it's no longer a question worth pursuing.

 

[flyfishnevada]

Yep. I'm 25 pounds heavier than when I ran Boston in 2004, but I still ran a marathon this year--very slowly, but I did it. At least I'm down 22 pounds from my high two years ago and down 35 pounds from my highest lifetime weight (February 2000). I was plump as a kid and I've battle my weight since age 20.

Join the club, brother! Congrats to you. I am fighting the good fight, but I tell you it's a lot of 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. Still, I am not adding run a marathon to my list. Sounds too much like w*rk.

 

[ronocnikral]

- hoax the American public that I have landed on Mars

my congresswoman wouldn't fall for this, as she thinks there is already an american flag on [-]the moon[/-] mars. can't get anything by old sjl.

being young, my bucket list is vague and probably overly ambitious:

-finish the pbp (attempting 2011).
-hike the Appalachian trail
-bike across the US
-bike from china to europe
-sail around the world (including to antarctica).
-serve missions for my church (hopefully overseas).

 

[nun]

my congresswoman wouldn't fall for this, as she thinks there is already an american flag on [-]the moon[/-] mars. can't get anything by old sjl.

being young, my bucket list is vague and probably overly ambitious:

-finish the pbp (attempting 2011).
-hike the Appalachian trail
-bike across the US
-bike from china to europe
-sail around the world (including to antarctica).
-serve missions for my church (hopefully overseas).

PBP (Paris Brest Paris) is one of my goals, but I don't think I have the endurance. I rode the BMB route back in 2008, but it took me 4 days one way. I'd have to go at more than twice the pace to do it for real.

I will do the Appalacian trail when I ER
I am deep into planning biking across the US on the Northern Tier
I will move back to the UK
I would love to do what these guys have done for the last year

The Path Less Pedaled

 

[HFWR]

Ditto. I got exhausted just reading.



heh heh heh - I did get the ole chloresterol down from 400 to 172, lost 30 lbs and hit the gym 2-3 times a week - no list just nagging by my doctor.

Agile, mobile, hostile!

 

[NW-Bound]

As I have posted here before, I only have one thing on my list: RV'ing to Alaska. And the only reason to do that is simply because a guy must have something to look forward to. After that, I will think of something else. But not now.

Wait! I cannot start on that trip for quite a few months. What do I do until then? How about something down to earth like reading and finishing some classics that I have intended to do since adolescence and never got to it. War and Peace? Or The Brothers Karamazov?

Hey, I just remember that I bought August 1914 nearly 20 years ago, and have not read it. In fact, I do not know where it is in the house. Finding it shall be my immediate quest.

 

[Sarah in SC]

As for Kumquat's hurricane, I've actually stood in the eye of a hurricane on land (Hugo) and all I can say is that it was a blessed relief to get some quiet from the constant noise, for the 20-30 minutes or so until the other side kicked up. A long and terrifying night spent in a converted trailer/fish camp that we thought was safe because "storms never turn inland".

As a lifelong coastal resident, I've had a fascination with storms, reading up on all the "old" storms and the detection methods that were used back in the day. One of my dreams is to land a seat on a hurricane hunter going out to measure a storm. To be in one of those planes and fly through the eyewall of a storm would be just unbelievably awesome. Just the pictures alone are incredible.

 

[Nords]

One of my dreams is to land a seat on a hurricane hunter going out to measure a storm. To be in one of those planes and fly through the eyewall of a storm would be just unbelievably awesome. Just the pictures alone are incredible.

You could sit in a metal dumpster clutching an airsickness bag while crazed gorillas beat on the outside of the dumpster with aluminum bats... but I'm not sure how to safely simulate the effect of being dropped off a four-story building.

 

[ronocnikral]

PBP (Paris Brest Paris) is one of my goals, but I don't think I have the endurance. I rode the BMB route back in 2008, but it took me 4 days one way. I'd have to go at more than twice the pace to do it for real.

I will do the Appalacian trail when I ER
I am deep into planning biking across the US on the Northern Tier
I will move back to the UK
I would love to do what these guys have done for the last year

The Path Less Pedaled

2015 is the next opportunity to do pbp, and no bmb was done this year...the french are doing what they do best, adding more bureaucracy. more hurdles to come in 2015.

thanks for sharing that link.

 

[Stevewc]

Wait, Are you guys suggesting I can actually make up my own list !!!
I thought I was doomed to a honey do list.
This could be a life changing revelation.
Did you all relocate to another continent to start yours?
Steve

 

[obgyn65]

I do not have a bucket list. After reading the posts under this thread, I am thinking about writing up a list of things I'd like to do before dying. Thank you to everyone who posted.

 

[haha]

The most down to earth bucket list I ever heard was my BIL's, after he had been taken apart by my sister.

"I sure would like to get some more p**** before I die!"

 

[kumquat]

The most down to earth bucket list I ever heard was my BIL's, after he had been taken apart by my sister.

"I sure would like to get some more p**** before I die!"

Sounds like 50% of the world have this one, too common to mention.

 

[Moscyn]

I usually keep my bucket list to 3 items a year and at the end of the year, I just review and see what additions I have achieved. Makes me feel happier and stress-free. Should I expand the 3 items to more? Don't think so, otherwise it would be too much for me to handle in my retirement life.

 

[travelover]

I guess I'm an exception, but one of the main reasons I retired was so that I didn't have to live to a list.

But each to their own.

 

[Orchidflower]

Re: Kumquat's bucket list "Stand in the eye of a hurricane"

Been there. Done that. To me it was an "eh" experience.

 

[DangerMouse]

No bucket list here. I have come to realise that me making a list normally results in nothing getting done beyond making the list.

The only thing I do want to do before I die is learn to dance. I have two left feet and I believe I am still traumatised from my grade 7 end of year dance when I was left on the sidelines. I think the only dance I can do is the handbag shuffle, all girls must remember that. You go to the disco, stick your bags in the centre of the dancefloor and all shuffle around them moving your feet from side to side with a bit of arm action.

So before I die I would like to learn to dance ala Dancing with The Stars. The thought of being graceful instead of stomping across the dance floor brings a smile to my face. Of course me being me, I plan on my dance lessons starting in Buenos Aires learning the tango for a few months.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Danger, or you could go take lessons from Ha! That's what the rest of us are planning to do when we want to learn the tango.

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

What do 'I Hope I try before get old?' (with apologies to The Who). Until a few years ago I'd never written down a bucket list, either as things to do or things done. I spent most of my life collecting experiences and always knew what the top items on the unwritten list were. Finally wrote it down to see what, if any, I can still do, given present finances, location and fitness.

Being a Nerd, one of my first thoughts was how to organize the list. I considered and rejected: Alphabetical, Chronological (by when added to list or when completed), Rating (1 to 5 stars as to how totally awesome it was), Degree of injuries (wounded pride and broken hearts count) and How long it took the glow to wear off Anyway, here is the current version.

==== To Do ====

-- Permanent items, that is, to be repeated as often as possible or necessary.

• Fall in love one more time.
• Learn to cook another cuisine or style.
• Dance along the edge of physical danger after becoming competent in a new sport. (I'm too old for this unless something like 'Extreme Birdwatching' exists.)
• Make a positive difference in someone's life.

-- Do

• Visit Hong Kong. Leave just before I run out of allotted money or look like the Michelin Man.
• Get a decent camera, post images to photo critique sites, repeat until I stop learning.
• Travel through Latin America and turn my passable Spanish into conversational Spanish. Do everything else on my Latin America To Do list.
• Visit all the places on my 'Thailand To Do' list before the beginning of the next rainy season (I live in Thailand now.)

-- Could have done by now, which probably means I'm just not that into them

• Visit Yellowstone, summer or winter.
• Visit Banff, summer or winter.
• Eat my way through Italy, following spring northward.
• Run Colorado river in a raft.
• Carnival in Aruba (2nd best to Brazil but not as dangerous - or crowded).
• Watch Samba School 'tests' on the weekends preceding Carnival in Rio
• Chill out in a Dutch hash bar. Leave the country before I first realize that I need to go to a hash bar. (No, I'm not sure if this is a joke or not).
• Race a car on a racetrack.
• Take at least one flight lesson in a powered plane.
• Go helicopter skiing in Utah.
• Vacation on a converted barge in the European low countries. The appeal is that the barge keeps moving. Get off during the day then use foot, bike or public transit to catch up and get back on.
• Learn to shoot clay pigeons, i.e., trap, skeet, etc.
• Restore / rebuild / bring back to life a car I longed for in my younger days. Datsun 240Z heads the list.

==== Completed ====

-- KNEW I was going to do it upon first realizing what it was.

• Hang Glide. Logged 200 hours before shoulder problems forced me to give it up.
• Fly Sailplane. Logged 40 hours before giving it up because it wasn't as much fun as hang gliding.
• High Performance 3 day driving school on a race track in race prepared cars. Half the guys in class thought it was better than sex. The other half, of which I was a member, disagreed but, holding thumb and forefinger 1/4" apart, 'it was this close'.

-- Became obsessively involved.

• Surf Hawaii. Spent 6 weeks on the south shore of Kauai when I was 16.
• Rock Climbing. Bouldered 5.10. followed 5.9, led 5.8
• Off-road motorcycling. Won some trophies on a Husky 250 XC.
• Mountain Biking
• Autocross
• Downhill skiing
• Learned how to dance. Danced in public. As the only couple on the floor. (Swing, Ballroom, Latin, Country for 17 years).
• Became a damn good software developer.
• After I quit a programming job, had a co-worker who was maintaining something I'd written contact me just to: 1) Compliment me on how I solved the problem, or 2) Thank me for leaving something that was so easy to maintain.
• Learned black and white darkroom technique.
• Bought a SLR (film) camera system, make good photos. Sold two of them.
• Backpacked from Tahoe to Yosemite. (It rained every bleeping day and the possible food resupply was as bad as all the published reports said it was - I thought they were exaggerating).

-- Just did it

• Flew Cross Country in a hang glider (that is, land somewhere other than the known landing zone associated with the place I launched from).
• Took Evolution Autocross School
• Made positive difference in somebody's life.
• Am a published author (second and third author on some scientific journal articles).
• Wind Surf. Took a class, never got into it.
• Learned Improvisational Acting. 60 hours in three different classes.
• Cooked Tempura well (It's tricky. Took me more tries to get right than anything else I learned to cook.)
• Visited Yosemite Valley. Many times.
• Flew hang glider off Glacier Point in Yosemite.
• Saw U-505 submarine at Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (Read book of it's capture while in High School, learned it was at the museum when I lived in Illinois.)
• Snorkeled someplace with 100' visibility
• Owned a sports car. Toyota MR2 Spyder.
• Learned how to snowboard. Only dabbled in it because local conditions were too icey to make it fun.

-- Things that never would have happened if I had them as a goal, but I'm sufficiently egotistical or arrogant to put them on the list so I can say 'Ain't I Somethin'!'

• Had a spontaneous wit such that some reacted by thinking I must have memorized a huge pile of material to be able to bring out something appropriate in so many different situations.
• Said something my girlfriend found so funny that she literally lost the ability to remain standing, and slumped helplessly to the floor. Then did it again to her, this time in public. Neither her nor I can remember what I said the first time. As for the second ... you had to be there and have our history.
• Earned a nickname from my sports buddies that I'm proud of ('Dr. Death' for off-road motorcycling, if you must know).
• Had someone think my postcard sized photographs of Yosemite were, in fact, postcards.

 

[Sarah in SC]

ItDon't, that is a rockstar list of completed and yet to be completed things--I think I like your "Ain't I something" ones the best of all. Thanks for sharing!