100 Things
I was reading Body + Soul and they had an article all about life lists, those lists people make of things they'd like to do before they die. I realized I'd never made one of those lists, so I was inspired to try. Here's what I came up with.
Already accomplished
1. Play piano in a public recital.
2. Write a paper that’s praiseworthy and prideworthy.
3. Present that paper in a conference.
4. Take modern dance classes.
5. Teach people to read.
6. Work for a nonprofit.
7. Take a creative writing class.
8. Go to grad school.
9. Volunteer.
10. Travel alone.
11. Take a homeless person out for a meal.
In progress
12. Be able to do a yoga handstand without any human help (the wall is okay).
13. Be comfortable doing yoga arm balances.
14. Meditate, if not every day, at least somewhat regularly. It’s okay if that means only when I’m upset or out of sorts.
15. Create and maintain a nice website.
16. Eat at Ubuntu. (We’re going to do this this summer.)
17. Get fit enough again that I feel ready to strut my stuff anytime, wearing anything (or nothing).
18. Work my way through my cookbook shelf!!
19. Get through Jason’s must-see movies list. (We watch one every Thursday.)
20. Never stop feeling like I’m making a difference in the world.
21. Have a happy marriage.
22. Do whatever I can to help my sisters and closest friends realize their full potential.
23. Make a habit of visiting friends who live in other places. (So far we do this only occasionally.)
24. Put my correspondence and event programs into scrapbooks that I then actually look at.
25. Get more massages.
26. Give more massages.
27. Fear nothing, including (and especially) death.
28. Write, write, write, and own it and love it.
29. Learn to truly live in the present moment.
30. Care not for material things. Mostly.
31. Eat more like a vegan, but also eat really good meat if the time is right (and this should not be often). Find a balance here that I’m not embarrassed to explain to people who think you have to be either vegetarian or carnivore, or people who all too readily embrace the term “flexitarian”.
32. Meet lots of people. Have parties I can invite them to.
I could do this now, I guess, but I don’t want to or haven’t yet
33. Live in a different state.
34. Hike/walk a mountain in another country. This is more about the scenery and experience than the mountain or the exercise, so it doesn’t have to be Everest (or even close to it)!
35. Write a book. Or write and draw one.
36. Make a painting that is really beautiful (to my taste and no one else’s).
37. Make creative work my livelihood, or at least be able to call it my profession (part-time is okay).
38. Have a house in which the indoor (kitchen) and outdoor dining space are so connected that we think nothing of moving easily between the two for meals.
39. Find a beach I really love, and go there regularly. This can mean every day, or every few summers.
40. Be able to sew my own clothes (even if I don’t end up doing so).
41. Be outdoors and in nature regularly.
42. Not live in Los Angeles, which will make #41 a lot easier!!
43. Do something that seems impossible right now. Lots of the things on this list qualify!
44. Have the kind of home my parents have, where people come over all the time, and the house always feels lively and full of laughter.
45. Take a sunrise hike… or just go someplace special to watch the sunrise.
46. Go to the desert in the early morning with Erik, and take pictures.
47. Learn to sing in a way that pleases me.
48. Re-learn to dance, though it doesn’t have to be modern.
49. Learn to sing folk songs, chants, and old old songs.
50. Sell cards that I draw, in however tiny a way.
51. Write a fan letter to an author.
52. Take Mommy to Chez Panisse Café, or equivalent.
53. Take Erik to Alinea, or equivalent.
54. Articulate my ideas on TSVW (note to self, not yet for public consumption!).
55. Own a pair of shoes I really love that I can actually walk in.
56. Learn how to sculpt or make pottery.
57. Get good at watercolors.
58. Firm, love, and show off my butt. Not in a vulgar way.
59. Learn to like swimming.
Craziness I’ll save for the future, or don’t foresee happening anytime soon
60. Travel somewhat regularly.
61. Have a dog.
62. Raise children. Adopted kids count.
63. Be friends with someone who makes movies I like.
64. Plant/maintain our own fruit trees, especially lemon and orange.
65. Have a garden, however small. One that doesn’t die or look pitiful!
66. Vacation in a place that feels secluded and unspoiled, like a little hut on an island, or a cabin in the woods in some remote place in Canada.
67. Write and illustrate a children’s book, if only for my own kids (or my sisters’).
68. Live with Shra and Devin, either in the same (big) house or next door.
69. Paint the interior walls of my living space.
70. Work from home in a beautiful light-filled studio with flowers.
71. Keep chickens, unless I find out they’re smelly and gross and I don’t want them anymore.
72. Bake regularly for my kids and grandkids.
73. Visit Greece.
74. Visit Japan.
75. Travel throughout China.
76. Visit Prince Edward Island, just because I’ve always loved Anne of Green Gables. I guess this isn’t a must, but it’d be fun.
77. Be friends with someone who owns a bakery, store, café, or restaurant I like, so I can hang out there!
78. Really, really splurge on something material but not silly (so: house but not sports car, coat but not strappy shoes).
79. If he still wants one by the time I can afford one, buy Daddo a houseboat. When we were kids Shra promised to someday buy him a house, and I promised a houseboat.
80. Go on a rollercoaster that scares me but doesn’t terrify me. Splash Mountain will work, but none of those horrible drop-straight-down things.
81. Be able to identify lots of trees and plants.
82. Live in a place that fills me with joy. I mean a geographical place, not the house itself.
83. Do something crazy and lasting on a whim, and never regret it.
84. Have a bathtub big enough for two, preferably next to a window.
85. Live someplace where I can go to the farmers’ market (or its equivalent) multiple times a week, so I can eat local, seasonal, super-fresh food almost exclusively.
86. Host another party like our shindig, but this time for no “official” reason.
87. Learn more Shanghainese.
88. Learn more Cantonese.
89. Improve my French.
90. Visit Ireland.
91. Visit Denmark.
92. Invent something, maybe.
93. Invest time and work into something, and then be officially celebrated for it (on however small a scale, but not just within the household or something like that).
94. Learn to do really good portraits, preferably in paints, but in pen and inks if that’s what it takes.
95. Take a cool train trip with Jackie on a classic line, like the Orient Express or Trans-Siberian Express.
96. Row/paddle a boat across a lake. Even just those little paddleboats at Vasona Lake will do. WITH SUN PROTECTION!!!
97. Do something (on this list perhaps?) I’ve always wanted to do “but it’s just too crazy.” Even the thought of this makes me feel light and liberated.
98. RV road trip! And there must be the kind of sandwiches I ate on our family RV road trip when I was four: white bread, Kraft Singles, ham (or veggie ham), mayo, tomato, and iceberg lettuce. Ugh, but yes.
99. Visit Antarctica.
100. Make a family tree or in some other way delve deeply into my family history.
Already accomplished
1. Play piano in a public recital.
2. Write a paper that’s praiseworthy and prideworthy.
3. Present that paper in a conference.
4. Take modern dance classes.
5. Teach people to read.
6. Work for a nonprofit.
7. Take a creative writing class.
8. Go to grad school.
9. Volunteer.
10. Travel alone.
11. Take a homeless person out for a meal.
In progress
12. Be able to do a yoga handstand without any human help (the wall is okay).
13. Be comfortable doing yoga arm balances.
14. Meditate, if not every day, at least somewhat regularly. It’s okay if that means only when I’m upset or out of sorts.
15. Create and maintain a nice website.
16. Eat at Ubuntu. (We’re going to do this this summer.)
17. Get fit enough again that I feel ready to strut my stuff anytime, wearing anything (or nothing).
18. Work my way through my cookbook shelf!!
19. Get through Jason’s must-see movies list. (We watch one every Thursday.)
20. Never stop feeling like I’m making a difference in the world.
21. Have a happy marriage.
22. Do whatever I can to help my sisters and closest friends realize their full potential.
23. Make a habit of visiting friends who live in other places. (So far we do this only occasionally.)
24. Put my correspondence and event programs into scrapbooks that I then actually look at.
25. Get more massages.
26. Give more massages.
27. Fear nothing, including (and especially) death.
28. Write, write, write, and own it and love it.
29. Learn to truly live in the present moment.
30. Care not for material things. Mostly.
31. Eat more like a vegan, but also eat really good meat if the time is right (and this should not be often). Find a balance here that I’m not embarrassed to explain to people who think you have to be either vegetarian or carnivore, or people who all too readily embrace the term “flexitarian”.
32. Meet lots of people. Have parties I can invite them to.
I could do this now, I guess, but I don’t want to or haven’t yet
33. Live in a different state.
34. Hike/walk a mountain in another country. This is more about the scenery and experience than the mountain or the exercise, so it doesn’t have to be Everest (or even close to it)!
35. Write a book. Or write and draw one.
36. Make a painting that is really beautiful (to my taste and no one else’s).
37. Make creative work my livelihood, or at least be able to call it my profession (part-time is okay).
38. Have a house in which the indoor (kitchen) and outdoor dining space are so connected that we think nothing of moving easily between the two for meals.
39. Find a beach I really love, and go there regularly. This can mean every day, or every few summers.
40. Be able to sew my own clothes (even if I don’t end up doing so).
41. Be outdoors and in nature regularly.
42. Not live in Los Angeles, which will make #41 a lot easier!!
43. Do something that seems impossible right now. Lots of the things on this list qualify!
44. Have the kind of home my parents have, where people come over all the time, and the house always feels lively and full of laughter.
45. Take a sunrise hike… or just go someplace special to watch the sunrise.
46. Go to the desert in the early morning with Erik, and take pictures.
47. Learn to sing in a way that pleases me.
48. Re-learn to dance, though it doesn’t have to be modern.
49. Learn to sing folk songs, chants, and old old songs.
50. Sell cards that I draw, in however tiny a way.
51. Write a fan letter to an author.
52. Take Mommy to Chez Panisse Café, or equivalent.
53. Take Erik to Alinea, or equivalent.
54. Articulate my ideas on TSVW (note to self, not yet for public consumption!).
55. Own a pair of shoes I really love that I can actually walk in.
56. Learn how to sculpt or make pottery.
57. Get good at watercolors.
58. Firm, love, and show off my butt. Not in a vulgar way.
59. Learn to like swimming.
Craziness I’ll save for the future, or don’t foresee happening anytime soon
60. Travel somewhat regularly.
61. Have a dog.
62. Raise children. Adopted kids count.
63. Be friends with someone who makes movies I like.
64. Plant/maintain our own fruit trees, especially lemon and orange.
65. Have a garden, however small. One that doesn’t die or look pitiful!
66. Vacation in a place that feels secluded and unspoiled, like a little hut on an island, or a cabin in the woods in some remote place in Canada.
67. Write and illustrate a children’s book, if only for my own kids (or my sisters’).
68. Live with Shra and Devin, either in the same (big) house or next door.
69. Paint the interior walls of my living space.
70. Work from home in a beautiful light-filled studio with flowers.
71. Keep chickens, unless I find out they’re smelly and gross and I don’t want them anymore.
72. Bake regularly for my kids and grandkids.
73. Visit Greece.
74. Visit Japan.
75. Travel throughout China.
76. Visit Prince Edward Island, just because I’ve always loved Anne of Green Gables. I guess this isn’t a must, but it’d be fun.
77. Be friends with someone who owns a bakery, store, café, or restaurant I like, so I can hang out there!
78. Really, really splurge on something material but not silly (so: house but not sports car, coat but not strappy shoes).
79. If he still wants one by the time I can afford one, buy Daddo a houseboat. When we were kids Shra promised to someday buy him a house, and I promised a houseboat.
80. Go on a rollercoaster that scares me but doesn’t terrify me. Splash Mountain will work, but none of those horrible drop-straight-down things.
81. Be able to identify lots of trees and plants.
82. Live in a place that fills me with joy. I mean a geographical place, not the house itself.
83. Do something crazy and lasting on a whim, and never regret it.
84. Have a bathtub big enough for two, preferably next to a window.
85. Live someplace where I can go to the farmers’ market (or its equivalent) multiple times a week, so I can eat local, seasonal, super-fresh food almost exclusively.
86. Host another party like our shindig, but this time for no “official” reason.
87. Learn more Shanghainese.
88. Learn more Cantonese.
89. Improve my French.
90. Visit Ireland.
91. Visit Denmark.
92. Invent something, maybe.
93. Invest time and work into something, and then be officially celebrated for it (on however small a scale, but not just within the household or something like that).
94. Learn to do really good portraits, preferably in paints, but in pen and inks if that’s what it takes.
95. Take a cool train trip with Jackie on a classic line, like the Orient Express or Trans-Siberian Express.
96. Row/paddle a boat across a lake. Even just those little paddleboats at Vasona Lake will do. WITH SUN PROTECTION!!!
97. Do something (on this list perhaps?) I’ve always wanted to do “but it’s just too crazy.” Even the thought of this makes me feel light and liberated.
98. RV road trip! And there must be the kind of sandwiches I ate on our family RV road trip when I was four: white bread, Kraft Singles, ham (or veggie ham), mayo, tomato, and iceberg lettuce. Ugh, but yes.
99. Visit Antarctica.
100. Make a family tree or in some other way delve deeply into my family history.