Sunday, February 10, 2013

In Which I Begin the Reverse Bucket List

I have never made a bucket list.  You would think, loving list-making as I do, that I would have jumped all over that bandwagon, but there are two things that stop me: 

1) Everything on my list would be completely impractical, never-going-to-happen stuff like "touch Mary McDonnell's hair" and "yell 'So say we all!' at Edward James Olmos" and other (non-Battlestar) things.  

2) Since Drewbles and I got married, I'm pretty sure I have cried more about not accomplishing "enough" than any other issue.  This is why I stopped making daily to-do lists, and we are both better off for it.  

Don't get me wrong, I like making goals. I make a list of those for every year, but that's a teaspoon list.  Why would I want to set myself up for disappointment at the end of my life (and stress all through it) by making a list full of stuff I never had a chance of achieving? 

BUT.  I had a realization.  Why make a bucket list of things I WANT to do when I could make a bucket list of things I HAVE done?  Wouldn't that be so satisfying to look back on, at any point in my life?  (Plus it is a good remedy for those times when I insist on crying over not doing "enough")

So I'm going to start my Reverse Bucket List now and I'll add to it as things of note happen.  This list isn't meant to be braggy at ALL, by the way, and if it makes you feel jealous at all, for whatever reason, make your own RBL!  I am only friends with accomplished people so I know you can all make great ones.  And of course you have the rest of your lives to add to it. 

Countries I've been to: England, France, Spain, Italy

States I've been to*: California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Washington D.C., New York, Florida, Virginia

States I've lived in: California, Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, Utah.

Landmark cities I've been to: Chicago, Seattle, New York, St. Louis, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome, Florence, Naples, San Francisco.

Iconic things I've seen: The Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon (from an airplane), Old Faithful/Yellowstone, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Platform 9 3/4, Muir Woods/Redwoods, Alcatraz

Iconic buildings/structures I've seen: the Gateway Arch, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, the White House, the U.S. Capitol Building, the Colosseummmmm, the Roman Forum, the Circus Maximus, the Vatican, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Globe Theater, Golden Gate Bridge

LDS church sites I've been to: Nauvoo (pre- and post-temple), Carthage Jail, Far West, Temple Square (duh), Sacramento, Nauvoo, St. Louis, Mt. Timp., SLC, Provo and Logan temples

Tall buildings I've been up: Sears Tower, Empire State Building, Gateway Arch, Space Needle

Significant bodies of water I've been in: Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Mediterranean Sea

Cakes I've made: chocolate mayonnaise, red velvet (x3), chocolate peanut butter (x3), strawberry (x3), lime cream and strawberry (x2), summer strawberry (x3), Southern coconut, chocolate quake (x2), orange chocolate chunk bundt, chocolate fudge coconut, ginger chiffon cake with lime curd and lime buttercream

Concerts I've seen: Snow Patrol, Keane, Harry and the Potters (yep, that's it)

Shows I've seen: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (x1000), Cats, Starlight Express, Phantom of the Opera (x2), Love Never Dies, Les Miserables, Wicked, Scarlet Pimpernel (x3), Jekyll & Hyde, Beauty and the Beast (x3), The Lion King, Mary Poppins, 42nd Street, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Urinetown (x2), Seussical, Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd (x2), Civil War

The Mousetrap (x2), Twelfth Night, A Comedy of Errors, As You Like It.

Celebrities I've seen and/or met: Simon Pegg (LAX), Frank Langella (Monte Carlo), Bill Nighy (London), Ken Page (St. Louis)

Authors I've seen/met: Brian Jacques, Shannon Hale, Stephanie Perkins, Margaret Stohl

Misc. things that are cool to me: ridden the train, ridden ferries, touched a ray, touched a (little) shark, gone fishing, hiked the Y, done a 10K, got a Bachelors and a Masters, seen Alfie Boe live, gone jet skiing, got married, had a gerbil, heard Mandy Patinkin say "Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die." in person, had surgery, had a baby

Okay okay, just for fun, here are few things I hope to see in my lifetime: a whale in the wild, the California redwoods, Maine, Alaska, the Northern Lights.  Maybe I'll run into Mary McDonnell in one of those places...

*"been to" requires at least having used a bathroom in that state

3 comments:

  1. Very impressive! There are lots of things on your reverse bucket list that are still on my regular bucket list (and I just added a few from your "Cakes I've made" section). It feels good to lay out what you've done on paper and see those things added up...we should all do it more often. Way to go!

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  2. This is such a great idea. It makes life so much less (much less?) stressful. And it makes you feel so acomplished!

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  3. You should add Massachusetts to your list!

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