Bucket list

Some of the things that I want to do before I die are silly and trivial; others are virtually unfeasible. Still, all of them have crossed my mind and captured my imagination.

This list is constantly being updated with new ideas, which I’m listing as they come to me (rather than by category or order of importance, so that I can see how my dreams evolve over time), with a few comments as needed. Naturally, I’m also updating this list every time an item gets checked off.

1. Attend an opera at La Scala. On opening night.

2. Learn a completely obscure foreign language. Something far more obscure and far less useful than French, Italian, and German.

3. Skydive. Fall 2008. I went to Skydive Chicago with a group of friends…and got completely hooked. Next goal: see #30.

4. Learn how to take a compliment. How to actually take it, not how to pretend that I took it.

5. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

6. Appear on Jeopardy. I auditioned for College Jeopardy and will definitely try my luck at the real thing.

7. Really learn how to ballroom dance…and then go to a ball. June 2010: In progress! I’m currently learning how to dance, albeit “competitively” rather than socially (I say “competitively” because I never intend to compete, but the distinction is important nonetheless). However, I am not yet ready to take things outside the classroom.

8. Fall in love. The real kind. The kind that I’m proud to call what it is, instead of hesitating every time I say the word.

9. Write a book. June 2010: A scholarly work, not a work of fiction.

10. Build a raft and use it.

11. Return to Perugia for the chocolate festival.

12. Solve a mystery. June 2010: Not the mystery of where I put my keys. Not figuring out a complex case at work. The kind of mystery that makes for a great story.

13. Fly first-class.

14. Give things a shot in Vegas. The stakes don’t have to be big.

15. Scuba dive off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

16. Go up in a hot-air balloon.

17. Attend a major live concert. May 2009: I went to see Elton John and Billy Joel with Kiley at the Kohl Center. I refuse to count seeing Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw live at Summerfest 2005.

18. Take a trip to Antarctica. June 2010: I better go soon, before it melts into oblivion. Perhaps as a graduation present to myself?

19. Run a marathon.

20. See everything on display at the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the Prado. I’ve got a great head start at the Hermitage.

21. Go around the world — in more than 80 days.

22. Make a difference in someone’s life. June 2010: I’m sure (or I at least hope) that I have made a difference in the lives of my friends and family. But that could be said of anyone. I’m talking about a more concrete, specific difference. A Teach for America, Peace Corps kind of way.

23. Fall asleep outside while stargazing.

24. Buy original editions of my favorite books.

25. Give a meaningful speech.

26. Ride a motorcycle on my own.

27. Take an African safari.

28. Fly a plane.

29. Watch — really watch — a sunrise/sunset.

30. Get a skydiving license. See #3.

31. Go bungee jumping.

32. Go zip lining.

33. Do a bike tour. And I’m not talking about a touristy bike tour of the sights. It doesn’t have to be across the whole country, but I want it to be a considerable distance nonetheless — with sightseeing along the way, of course.

34. Hike at least a part of the Appalachian trail.

35. Do a century ride.