My List

It all started with Andrea's List of "38 Things to do before I Turn 39".
It got me thinking, it stayed with me, it was inspiring.
I tend to be introspective anyway, but having had a recent birthday (a significant one) has my brain doing backstrokes.

I never thought I'd be the type of person to hide my age.
I used to have a friend who started doing that in her 20's (!) and I found it vain.
I find myself, however, doing it now.
Most of the people I work with assume I'm a decade or more younger.
Let's hope the trend (and the good genes) continues.
Maybe it's just that I'm in denial or something.
Like my mind still thinks I'm 29.
Yesterday I was talking to a hot guy, asked his age, and cringed when I realized I could be his mom.
Sigh...

Maybe it's just that I feel that I haven't accomplished anything.
I almost feel as if I'm on the highway of life in a traffic jam, or my car is stalled, and the rest of the world is zooming past.
The idea of completing a list, then, becomes compelling.
A kick start forward, if you will.
Besides, I like lists.

Then, in a stroke of serendipity, I came across the book "The Next Thing on my List", by Jill Smolinski.
The plot revolves around a woman completing a list of "20 Things to do before I turn 25"
The list in the book:
lose 100 pounds
kiss a stranger
change someone's life
wear sexy shoes
run a 5K
dare to go braless
make Buddy Fitch pay
be the hottest girl at Oasis
get on tv
ride in a helicopter
pitch an idea at work
try boogie boarding
eat ice cream in public
go on a blind date
take mom and grandma to see Wayne Newton
get a massage
throw away my bathroom scale
watch a sunrise
show my brother how grateful I am for him
make a big donation to charity

All this has me making my own list.

I would want to put substantial goals on the list, such as travel ideas, but I'd need plenty of time to complete them.
I'm not sure how far in the future I should make my list.
50 Things to do before I turn 55? 60 Things before I turn 65???

Here is the start of my in-progress list.
It's more difficult to write this than I had anticipated.

My list
1. learn to knit
2. sing karaoke (the thought terrifies me)
3. update my passport
4. take a cooking class in Italy
5. see Tahiti
7. walk out of my current job and never look back (celebrate)
8. get married
9. have sexy photos of myself taken wearing a man's white shirt
10. make homemade ice cream
11. look hot in a bikini
12. since I never went to the prom, throw my own senior (wink) prom party. Have all the guests wear prom-type dresses!
13. pay off my student loan (that means getting a new job and making more money)
14. go on a cruise
15. ride the ferris wheel at the Santa Monica pier
16. see the changing of the leaves back east (Vermont?)
17. walk the Quince Street Trestle footbridge
18. walk the Spruce Street suspension bridge
19. paint and multimedia a seagull head on a big square canvas (like the bird head in Sundance Catalog)
20. take a class to learn to speak Italian
21. lose 50 pounds
22. raise my own chickens for eggs/pets
23. hear Ruth Reichl speak
24. take a cake decorating course
25. finish my necktie quilt
26. finally buy a digital camera, but get one with a manual settings, and take some amazing shots
27. take a workshop from Andrea (at Squam?)
28. obtain a bachelor's degree

to be continued....
(update: part two)

other people's lists:
The Day Zero Project (101 tasks to do in 1001 Days)

Kristen McCraken's book "101 Things to do before You Turn 40"

Kumalata Kumalata, 33 Things to do before my next birthday

Up Mama's Wall, 39 Things to do before my next birthday

Treppenwitz' 100 Things to Do Before I Go

J Meadows' 101 Things to do before you die

Crazy Aunt Purl's The Big List

Do you have a favorite list that inspires you?
What's on your list?