30 Before 30: Or, In Which I Become Surprisingly Ambitious

I realized the other day that I’m three months from turning 26. I am officially becoming old – at least, that’s according to the youngsters over at 4H. Persnickety little buggers. Anyhoo, 26 is a heck of an age to be saddled with debt, living at home, and having accomplished exactly zero percent on The Scale of Awesome Crazy Things To Do.

So I decided to start a list, which I have called (creatively) “30 Things to Do Before Turning 30”. The list is simple and/or complex, depending on how I’m feeling at the moment. Some days I’m like “heck yeah, move out of the way, I can do this!” and other days I am worried as heck. Comfort zone? Hello, barriers.

But whatever. My list:

1. Go for a hot air balloon ride. I have a ridiculous fear of heights which prevents me from even standing on chairs or mountains. I get a lemming-like urge to run off of cliffs, so I prefer to avoid that feeling by avoiding the situation entirely.

2. Go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef or some other exotic place. Or scuba dive. Or both.

3. Travel to Ireland, and the Isle of Man, and visit the birthplace of my family ancestry. (and drink beer in a real pub and kiss a real Irish boy)

4. Learn one crazy, unique cocktail that I like to drink off by heart. And then drink it.

5. Go on a proper ghost hunt.

6. Visit Salem, Massachusetts, and visit the House of Seven Gables. Also, witches.

7. Lose weight.

8. Learn ASL (American Sign Language) and teach it to one other person on the condition they teach someone else.

9. Travel all over the arse end of Canada, with destinations based not on popularity, but on wackiness and random decisions. Take siblings with you.

10. Learn about finances and pay off car and 1/3 of my student debt. Invest in something crazy.

11. Clear the groundwork for my house and start building.

12. Get a tattoo. Something significant to me.

13. Learn a new language which is not C++, Perl, Quenya, or anything else non-human.

14. Do something incredibly insane and scary, which has the potential to kill, paralyze, or otherwise incapacitate you.

15. Practical skills: learn to change a tire and oil filter, talk my way out of a ticket, learn to shoot, learn to use a fire extinguisher.

16. Take up the pursuit of either archery or sword fighting… or both.

17. Ride either a camel, an elephant, or other exotic animal.

18. Travel to China to see panda bears in their natural habitat. On your way, donate money to cause.

19. Visit your choice of: Alaska, North Pole, Dominican Republic, India, Grande Canyon, or New Zealand.

20. Make peace with those who have angered me and practice forgiveness.

21. Set off either a rocket, a bomb, a firework, or other explosive device. Try not to lose body parts.

22. Live completely by myself. Attempt not to go crazy.

23. Pick up one crazy piece of amazing jewelry for myself.

24. Learn to cook one crazy, wacky dish which tastes amazing.

25. Learn how to freaking compost without screwing it up.

26. Dye hair pink. Get nose ring. Dye hair black. Go emo. For at least week.

27. Attend a proper Opera or Ballet (your choice of which)

28. Attend either Burning Man, the Fringe, or an independent film festival.

29. Communicate with someone whose frame of reference is completely opposite of my own. Suggestions include: homeless person, transvestite, hooker, serial killer, etc.

30. Swim with dolphins, whales, or sharks. (Your choice of which.)

Goal Check-In Week of July 7-14

So far, not doing so good. I’ve been orientating a new guy at work, and that, of course is when my boss decided to go on vay-kay. So essentially I’ve been on my own and stressed out. It’s not suprising that I’m having trouble sticking to my goals, but I am going to get back on track and get after it. Starting later today. Of course. After I get some sleep.

Goal 1: Decrease ice-cap consumption. Started off this week good, no ice-caps until Wednesday. Suddenly spikes to one a day.

Goal 2: 15 minute walk/day. I’ve been walking around in Walmart (finally! the silver lining o consumerism: you get loads of walking territory…) but I meant for this to be “out in the wild”. The wilds of Walmart doesn’t really cut it, but I am getting phyex so that’s good, right?

Goal 3: Reduce water consumption. Success! I’ve been consistent in turning the water off for brushing/soaping up.

Goal 4: Impulse buys to $20.00/week. This week is a big FAIL, thanks to my scarf addiction and wanting some fast food.

Goal 5: Write in gratitude journal on daily basis. This one is also a FAIL. I think I need to pick a different time to write that isn’t “just before going to sleep”, because I ignore it in favour of sleeping. Maybe I could combine goals 1 and 5 and write…. when I want an ice-cap….

5 New Goals for July 2009

These goals have started July 1, 2009. I am working on them on a daily basis, so far doing okay!

Goal 1: Decrease consumption of ice-caps from Tim Hortons. So far I am doing not too bad on this one. I used to drink 1-2 large ice caps daily (I know, right?!?) I haven’t had one until today and it was a large (I justified this because I was working on 2 hours sleep and was stressed to the max). I fell off the horse, I’ll get back on tomorrow.

Goal 2: Go for a walk for a minimum of 15 minutes daily. This is much easier to do when I am working (because they need it too, right?). So far I am having trouble with the heel pain, but I did do this successfully today with two of ‘em.

Goal 3: Reduce water consumption by limiting showers to 1 per day and turning water off to soap up and brush teeth, etc. So far I am accomplishing this goal well.

Goal 4: Reduce financial debt by limiting impulse buys to $20.00, one time per week. Doing well at this too. For the week of July 1-7 I bought, on impulse, two Nic’s Sticks nail polishes, a pack of candy, and nail stickers. So far the total came out to 15.78, so I’m doing okay.

Goal 5: Write one thing in journal that I am grateful for daily. This one has been hit/miss. Some nights I’m not with my journal. I have to improve on this one.

So that’s what I’m working on this month. I’ll be checking back in with you later and give you the update on how I’m doing.

(Who is ” you?” A sort of “Dear Diary” type thing, unless someone actually reads this. Grr, arrg….)