Bucket List (Recap)

Back in January 2008, I posted a list of 25 items that I called a "Bucket List." In my original post, I referenced this article at the New York Times. The title "Bucket List" comes from the movie of the same title starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman and is a reference to the idiom "kick the bucket." In other words, the items on a "Bucket List" are those things you wish to do before you start pushing up daisies, to use yet another idiom.

One of my goals for this year was to accomplish one of the things on my "Bucket List," so it only seemed appropriate to recap the list. To wit:

1. Get a novel published/make my living as a writer.
   Technically, "get a novel published" is a dream, not a goal, as it involves something I have no control over. But "make my living as a writer"? I have some measure of control over that, as there are things I can do to move in that direction.
   


2. Learn to fly a plane.
   I've always wanted to learn to do this.
   


3. See at least one Formula 1 Grand Prix.
   I'm a fan of racing, especially Formula 1, yet I've never been to one. There are two here in North America that I could easily see, one at Indianapolis, Indiana, and one in Toronto, Canada.
   


4. Drive a single-seat race car.
   The sort of car found in Formula 1. There are places where you can do this . . . for a price.
   


5. See, in person (not on television), all four tennis Grand Slams.
   U.S. Open in New York. French Open in Paris. Australian Open in Melbourne. Wimbledon in England. Those tournaments. The 'majors.'
   


6. Finish visiting all 50 States.
   I’ve currently been to 39 of the 50 States in the US, which leaves only 11 for me to visit. They are, in alphabetical order: Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington.


7. Visit all the countries in the European Union.
   I’ve already been to several, so why not the whole lot? There are currently 27 member states, of which I’ve already visited 8: France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The remaining 19 are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. Since there are other countries seeking to become member states, the above lists will change as the list of states grows.


8. Visit any countries in Europe that do not become member states of the European Union.
   In other words, I want to see all of Europe.


9. Visit all seven continents (North America [to include Central America], South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica) and the Arctic Circle.
   I’m naming and numbering the continents as I learned them when I was in elementary school. I believe they’ve changed this in the intervening years. It doesn’t really matter how they are delineated insofar as I’m concerned.


10. Travel to at least 100 countries.
    Of course, I want to see more, but I want to set a specific number so that I know when I’ve achieved this goal. I’ll modify it once I hit 100.


11. Learn to speak at least three languages fluently.
    This does not include English. Since I’ve already started learning French and Portuguese, they are two of the three. As for the third, I’m inclined to learn German, although Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish have risen up on my radar recently.
    


12. Go shark-diving off the coast of South Africa.
    What better way to go shark-diving than with a shark, right? That’s what I’d like to do. :P Submerge myself in a cage, with toothy-monsters all around me. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Included with this is a desire to visit a certain shark in her homeland. Now I’m talking about a landborne shark, the sort about whom Shakespeare said, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” :P


13. Experience zero gravity.
    This is cool, and very, very doable! It involves experiencing zero gravity in the same way astronauts do before they actually go into space, in a plane that is flying in what could be called a sine-wave pattern (or, technically, parabolic flight), to simulate zero gravity. You can learn more about it at http://www.gozerog.com/. At the moment the price of this is $4,950 (+ 5% tax), but it’s also the closest you can currently come to experiencing what space flight is like without the astronomical cost of actually going into space.


14. Actually go into space (a low-Earth orbit, at the least).
    If commercial space flight becomes possible and affordable before I kick the bucket.


15. See the Grand Canyon.
    And now I come to the most ‘touristy’ of my goals, which entails visiting — in person, obviously — significant tourist sites and natural wonders. I start with the Grand Canyon, in Arizona.


16. See the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
    


17. See the Great Pyramids.
    


18. See Stonehenge.
    


19. See the Taj Majal.
    


20. See the Great Wall of China.
    


21. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
    I accomplished this in 2008.
    


22. See the Colosseum in Rome.
    


23. See the Mayan Ruins.
    


24. See Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe.
    


25. See the Great Barrier Reef.
    

As I noted in my original post: "This list is by no means comprehensive. It's more like a start. I've actually started coming up with more items to add, but I wanted a minimum of 25 to put in this post." This now gives me a post tied to this new blog template that I can reference for when I accomplish this goal.