Sunday, September 09, 2007

The Life List

A couple months ago on this blog I posted a list of places I wanted to travel to before I expired. That post was part of a larger internal list of things that I'd like to accomplish during my lifetime. I was reminded of it the other day because NPR had an article of the new "life list" fad that is popping up, partly thanks to various life list websites. I actually like the exercise of sitting down and thinking about the things (large and small) that you'd like to accomplish. That part is almost more important than the actual list. So, here are a couple (seriously!) of my life goals:

Sonja’s Life List

black box = accomplished

□ Dive with Whale Sharks in Belize

□ Restore a Riparian Habitat with Native Plants

Ride in an hot air balloon

□ Visit McNeil National Park in Alaska and watch the grizzly bears fish

■ Travel around Europe with a backpack

□ Build a rammed earth house

□ Dive the Great Barrier Reef

□ Use solar energy and give back to the power grid

□ Go watch a hamster race (According to my co-worker Heather,

hamster races are hilarious and they have them frequently at PetSmart. )

□ See a blue whale

□ Dive with Great White Sharks

□ Read the Bible (all of it) and the Koran

□ Design and implement a gray water system

□ See the herd migration in the Great Rift Valley

□ Grow an organic garden

■ Surf

□ Bicycle at least 100 miles in a race

□ Design a water garden with koi, turtles, and frogs

□ See one really great concert

□ Own at least two live chickens

□ Go to the Olympics (summer or winter)

□ Take a bicycle repair/maintenance class

■ See a turtle lay eggs on the beach in the middle of the night

□ Ride an elephant

□ Take a trip with the Nature Conservancy

□ Renovate a home

□ Take a pottery class

□ Perfect a 5-course meal

□ Have lots of dogs

■ Plan my wedding

□ Paint a house

□ Give blood 10 times (1 down)

□ See molten lava

■ Go horseback riding on the beach

■ Have my own website