I know this may seem a bit premature or morbid but I believe that it is never too early to start The List. It just wouldn't do to wake up one day 60 years from now and say, "Golly, I've never gone sky diving!" or to be telling my grandchildren, "When I was your age I always wanted to learn to fly a plane. But...well, I guess you can't do everything you want. sigh." So, I have decided to that I will do everything I want or die trying. The following are in no particular order, I just wrote them down as they came to my head and I'm sure that I will forget a lot of things.

20 Things To Do Before I Die

1. Learn to fly a plane
2. Go to graduate school
3. Write a book
-it may be boring and no one may read it but at least I'll have done it
4. Get married, have kids...
-of course, the above mention of my grandchildren should have implied this but I thought I'd reiterate
5. Learn Korean
-I am currently studying but my level is embarrassingly low and I have only my own poor study habits to blame
6. Float on top of the Dead Sea
-I don't know why, it just seems fun
7. Take the Trans-Siberian Railroad from start to finish stopping here and there along the way
8. Do something that makes someone say, "You know, I really admire what you did!"
9. Spend some time in a nudist colony
-come on, who can honestly say that they have never been curious?
10. Cook 'weiners', sit on my 'zofa', drink 'zoup', and play cards with my grandchildren
11. Run a marathon
-I've done this once but I would really like to do it again and beat my time. Besides, at the time I was doing it to fulfill a short-term goal. Since I decided to add it to my life goal, I feel that I should do it again.
12. Sew a quilt
13. Travel through Africa
14. Live in Alaska
15. Backpack through Europe
16. Go skydiving
-ok, so I don't know if I actually have the courage to do this or not but I'd
like to give it a shot
17. Learn how to work computers with minimal pain
-I have managed to tackle email and word but I'd like to do the more
detailed, in depth things
18. Learn to cook
-I am currently on a rice, fish, and soup diet...not by choice
19. Win an award
-any award will do, I'd just like to know that I was the best at something
20. Learn to play an instrument
-I took 4 years of piano but it has been years since I last played so I
don't know if I can honestly say that I know how

Now, the only problem with 'To Do' lists is that they will never end. Once I cross one item off, a new one quickly fills its place. For instance, all my life I have wanted to take pottery classes. I finally got the opportunity to learn Japanese pottery and am currently taking classes. No sooner had I crossed it off my list than I decided that I really want to go to graduate school whereas a year ago, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I guess the only thing to do is to keep crossing things off and to keep adding new ones. Isn't that what life is all about? I just hope that when it comes to my time to die, I can honestly say that I am satisfied at the number of things I was able to cross off. And, maybe if I am lucky, the crossed offs will outnumber the uncrossed offs.

Anyways, I'm not trying to be all deep or anything. I was just thinking about these things last night and thought I'd write them down. I figured it beats telling stories about my turtle, who may or may not have died...a week ago.