Putting checks in boxes

Every once in a while I peruse my old blog posts for a dose of nostagia. So today I was cruising back to February of 2005...February 17th to be exact and I found this:

EIGHT Things I want to do before I die:

8. Have a baby
7. Sing in a band
6. Go to Laos
5. Be a teacher (a real one, not an ALT)
4. Speak 5 languages
3. Look good in a bikini
2. Run a quarter marathon (I'm being a realist here...10km is my limit)
1. Make a difference no matter how small

So there you have it, the list of things I wanted to do before I died circa Feb. 2005.
Re-examining this list from a 2009 perspective I found it quite interesting. Let's look at it again shall we...

EIGHT Things I want to do before I die:

8. Have a baby --- uh..this is most defintely no longer a goal. I think I could probably switch it to "not have a baby". Apparently back in 2005 my biological clock was still praying to the God of social programming. Must have baby, that is the proper and normal thing to do...fuck that.

7. Sing in a band - hmm still haven't managed this one. I had a few musical buds that never quite made it to flower. This one is still on the list.

6. Go to Laos - My ticket is booked for December 16th! Check!

5. Be a teacher (a real one, not an ALT) -and Check!

4. Speak 5 languages - uhh...I think I'm regressing on this one. Back in 2006 I was good on 3 (English, French, Japanese) with 2 partials (Italian and Portuguese) but since then my Japanese has gone to shit and my Portuguese didn't really continue on the upward path it was on once I left Brasil. And I can very confidently say that Thai is not going to be a language that I can add to the list. Definitely not. I can barely count to 10 after almost 4 months. ...so I guess this one is still on the list.

3. Look good in a bikini - the older I get the farther away this goal gets. I have never owned a bikini in my life (because I've never had a body that would look good in one) and I don't see myself getting any closer. Maybe board shorts and a bikini top. Ya, we'll alter this goal.

2. Run a quarter marathon (I'm being a realist here...10km is my limit) - Check! Ran the Sun Run...that was 10km. I have also commited myself to doing the Kanchanaburi Adventure race in March which is...gasp...about 65km of running, swimming, kayaking and cycling. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I may have finally lost my mind. I am aiming for a goal of 6.5 hours.

1. Make a difference no matter how small - I'm sure I've made a difference on some level. Not sure what it is but I'm sure I have and will continue to so we'll put a check beside this one..but a small one.

So now I guess I have to make a new list considering this one is out of date so here we go:

8 things I need to do before I die (2009 version):

1) Become a divemaster
2) Sing in a band
3) Find the perfect country to live in and live there for more than my usual 3 years
4) look good in half a bikini
5) Learn 5 languages
6) get a Master's Degree in something I am passionate about (not just to getthe pay raise)
7) dive the Red Sea
8) Own a house is a lovely country
9) live in at least 4 more countries

O.K...I'll check back to this 4 years down the road and see how many more I can check off the list.

Cheers from checkbox
J