My New Bucket List

For almost a decade, I haven’t had a decent bucket list that covers the rest of my life. The original document I drafted in high school is nearly completed and some items were obsolete; age and career moves placed me far away from some of the goals set by 18 year old me. Although I can’t guess when I’ll kick the bucket – the proverbial metaphor for dying and passing into the great beyond – the list keeps me focuses on all the promises I made to myself.

Why make it public? To inspire others to follow their dreams and to name the subjects that future readers will find under this category. Life is too short to not share the good ideas. Feel free to share yours in the comments section!

1. Attend a F1 Grand Prix in Monaco.
2. Visit all 7 continents of the world.
3. Meet a famous author. See The Day I Met Isabel Allende^
4. Meet a race car driving legend. (Jeff Gordon would be ideal, Petty and Schumacher a dream. I was 10 ft away from Dale Earnhardt once and he waved at me!)
5. Visit Athens, Greece.
6. Walk the Hoover Dam or any dam for that matter.
7. Ride the Shinkansen (bullet train). Sept 2019*
8. Visit Cannon Beach from The Goonies. (It’s in Portland, Oregon.) July 2017^
9. See the Taj Mahal.
10. Walk the Great Wall of China.
11. Take a Mediterranean Cruise. (Completed August 2015)^
12. Visit the set of a popular movie or TV series. (Universal Studios Hollywood, April 2016.)^
13. Attend a World Cup, Olympics or World Wide Sports event.
14. Apply for or earn a patent.
15. Start my own company or LLC.
16. Fund a scholarship.
17. Own or drive a Nissan GTR or Skyline. (2017, technically a Q50 Red Sport)*
18. See the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.
19. Go to a concert as a VIP.
20. Fly First Class on Emirates.
21. Ring in the New Year in a place other than the USA.
22. Pay off my house before retiring.
23. Retire at 55* or earlier.
24. Own a billiard table.
25. Write a book.
26. Win a professional award.
27. Visit all basketball, baseball and football professional sports stadiums and arenas.
28. Go to Cedar Point (amusement park) and/or ride the tallest, fastest and meanest rollercoaster in the world.
29. Fly on a 787, A340^, A380 and 777X.
30. See a Broadway musical or a London musical (in NY or London).
31. Get more than 1,000 hits on a blog post. (2016)^
32. Ride the London Eye. (Feb 2016)^
33. Become a million miler.
34. Survive a pandemic. (Added in 2021 for good measure.)*

I may not get to cross it all off, and other opportunities might present themselves. For now, we shall focus on the positives, on welcoming the mid life crisis, and on loving to the fullest. Keep climbing!

Revisions:

^2017: Crossed off multiple items. Corrected grammar. Updated date stamps.

*Jan 28, 2021: Crossed off multiple items. Corrected grammar. Updated date stamps. Added #34. Added closing note.

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My original list included items like graduating from high school without having children and getting a B.S. and Masters (of which I have 2 now), learning to drive, and making a million by age 30 (got super close but didn’t make it prior to the deadline). The last item I crossed off my original bucket list was seating courtside at an NBA game (saw Portland play OKC row 2, 2017). As W and I grow as people, our dreams and goals continue evolve, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t update the list or start over. Everything can be achieved if we save, plan well and persevere…one step at a time!