Things to do before you die

1. Places to see: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bombay, the Himalayas, Moscow, London, Prague, somewhere in Spain, Egypt, South Africa, the Serenghetti, Rio de Janeiro, the Andes, the Alps a couple more times, Sydney, New Zealand, Florence. I'd put Antartica on there, but really how great can Antartica be and if I put that on there it'd just be so I could say I've seen all seven continents.
2. Things to do: sky dive, bungee jump, hang glide, ski the alps and the andes, go for a real long sailing trip in the Pacific Islands, hike somewhere in the Himalayas, visit Paris or Florence with someone I love, follow a band around the country for at least five tour dates, backpack Europe as a celebration of retirement, learn to golf, live in a non-english speaking country for at least 6 months.
3. Things to accomplish: Raise good kids, do some good in the world, grow old satisfied with what I've done, retire on the ski slopes, or a ranch, or an island in the middle of nowhere, be an honest attorney whose goal is to help my clients, stay healthy, keep my main motivation something other than money, be somebody's hero (even if it's just my five year old daughters), become elected to something.

So I was thinking, you can't possibly see all the places you haven't seen before you die. You can't possibly do everything you want to do. Likewise, you're not going to accomplish everything you set out to in a lame list such as the preceeding. If you make out a list, you're surely forgetting something you wanted to see, do, or accomplish. You can't do it all. So I was thinking. If, knowing you can't do everything on your lists, you eliminated one thing at a time until there were just one or two places to see, things to do, and goals to accomplish-what would you come out with? Shouldn't these couple of things be your main priorities in life. Shouldn't the next trip be to the place that you would want to see the most, if you knew you'd never see another place on the list. If someone came to you and told you that your days were limited. You could pick one thing from each list, and when the place had been seen, the thing had been done, and the goal had been accomplished, your time was up-what would you pick? I know this is a morbid thought, but I think, at least for me, it's a good way to figure out what you want out of your life.

Mine would be: 1) New Zealand 2) Go for a real long sailing trip in the Pacific (presumably if I could visit Florence or Paris with someone I loved I could do this with someone I love) 3) Be somebody's hero.

New Zealand seems like such a cool and diverse place to visit that, were I to pick one, I'd wanna pick a place with beaches, mountains and rainforests. Paris and Florence are overrated but to bum around the Pacific Islands for a few months with somebody I cared about would be amazing. And, the last one, I guess being somebody's hero is the only way you're really remembered. If you're never anybody's hero you're just a regular, good person to most people. Being someone's hero means that, in their mind, you are unforgettable.

Lyrics of the Day:

"I got a hand, So I got a fist, So I got a plan, It's the best that I can do, Now we'll say it's in God's hands, But God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?"

Wolf Parade Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts.