The next 10 years....
I attended my wife's 10 year high school reunion this past weekend and it got me thinking about how little I've accomplished thus far. Yeah, I met the usual benchmarks of moderate success - degree, marriage, house, career - but I'm still the same, lackluster individual. There's almost nothing that my 28-year-old self can do that my 18-year-old self couldn't do just as well, if not better. Ok, so I can snowboard and sustain intercourse for more than a half minute, but that's about it. I haven't added any significant skills, trades, crafts, or arts to my bag of tricks in ten fucking years. Also, I never seem to do the things I say that I want to do, or should do, or must do. (For example, I picked out a bunch of movies to see at SIFF this year and then didn't go to any of them). So I've come up with a list of all the things I want to do over the next ten years, starting with those nagging chores that I'm always putting off. Once those are out of the way, I'll be free to work on the sorts of things that will give me a definite edge over my former self.
By August 31st, 2008:
Go to the dentist. Also, schedule regular follow-up appointments.
Go the optometrist BEFORE I run out of contacts.
Finish re-ripping my CD collection, creating DVD back-ups as I go.
Sell that microscope that I keep tripping over in the garage.
Clean out the garage and park my eyesore of a truck inside.
Set up the home theater system.
Fix the chimney.
Attend a beer festival.
Increase the “emergency fund” back to what it was before we bought the house.
Increase the number of push-ups that I am able to do to at least 50.
Maintain a thrice-weekly aerobic workout routine for a minimum of 45 days. To make this even easier on myself, mowing the lawn will count as exercise -- but only for the first 45 days.
By December 31st, 2008
Go to the doctor. If still necessary, take immediate steps to resolve hypertension and persistant eczema.
Consult a financial planner (to figure out how to pay for the rest of this list).
Buy (or beg) a pocket-sized digital camera to carry with me most of the time. Alternately, get a cell phone with a decent camera.
Enroll in Spanish (or German) classes and begin studying in earnest.
Purchase stock in a public company (not a fund).
Increase work-out routine to four days (snowboarding counts).
By February 21st, 2009 (my next birthday)
Begin a weight training routine. I know that I won't be able to do this on my own, so I will swallow my pride and hire a personal trainer.
Go snowboarding locally at least five times at three different hills.
Go snowboarding at Whistler.
Seek an honest, unbiased appraisal of my attempt to learn the guitar (and, chances are, start taking lessons).
By February 21st 2010
Increase overall strength 50% above last year's values.
Buy (or beg) a new laptop.
Buy a pair of kayaks and take a course in advanced paddling techniques.
Drink a $100 bottle of wine (that's retail value, not restaurant markup).
Spend a minimum of three days touring Washington, Oregon or California wine country.
Increase CD collection to 750 and collection of cartoon DVDs to 50.
Take a course in digital photography and purchase a kick-ass camera.
Buy a bike and ride it at least once a week.
Watch every film on the AFI's 1998 list of the top 100 films.
Attend a least 10 films at one or more festivals.
By February 21st 2015
Visit the following: New York City, Spain, a tropical island (other than Hawaii).
Attempt surfing.
Explore at least one of my three, primary kinks.
Purchase an all-electric vehicle.
Watch all of IMDB's top 250 (as compiled on January 1st, 2015).
Remodel the kitchen, basement, and bathroom.
Buy a pool table.
Take up woodworking.
Run a half marathon (if not a whole one).
By February 21st 2018
Visit at least 20 states
Visit Asia, at least two Scandinavian countries, five EU countries, one Muslim country, and South America.
Certify fluency in a foreign language.
Have one child (unless I happen to already have two nieces/nephews or eight second cousins or some combination thereof totaling at least ½ of my genome).
Write an awful book (check stand or airport-quality).
Change careers and/or go back to school. I'm serious - If I'm still working in biotech, my friends must conspire to have me fired.