Not a Bucket list

A couple of days, I was chatting with my Mum and my sister Cesca. Cesca was talking about a woman she had met at her bookshop job who had revealed to her that she was dying of cancer and had only a few months to live. I think I would have wanted to crawl into the floor of embarassment, but Cesca simply asked: "How does that feel? Does it change your aspect on life?"

To which the lady responded that it did. It made her cherish every moment with her children and she was spending the last three months with her family and friends, and creating great memories for the ones left behind. I like this because of it's simplicity. There is no massive bucket list to complete, but a wish to be present with the ones she loved. I think that if I knew that I had only 3 months to live, I would travel, but it would be to see people and not things. But I do have a list, of all the things that I still want to see and do. This is not a Bucket List, but simply a list of some cool things I have yet to do with my life. Most of them are connected to travel. It is largely a selfish list of things I want to see, rather than things I want to achieve. I've done a whole bunch of stuff that I wanted to do already, but it's a bit of a neverending cycle. Feel free to tell me things that you want to do and places and things you want to see.

- Ride in a Helicopter
- Hang glide (is that the same thing as Paragliding? If not I want to do both)
- Visit Galapagos Islands (I was so close to going when I was there last)
- See the Kokoda Dragon in Indonesia (this is the coolest thing ever!)
- See the Borneo Orangutans (I would love to volunteer to work with them)
- Learn to Dive (diving in the Great Barrier Reef would be cool)
- Go to India while the Holi Festival is on (the festival of colour)
- See a Bollywood film being made, or watch a Bollywood in India
- Ride on the trans Siberian and trans Mongolian
- Ride on a train in India
- Go to the Edinburgh Festival
- Ride an Elephant
- Learn Spanish fluently
- Go to Carnaval in Brazil and see the Brazillian Rainforest
- Go Sailing
- Go to Burning Man Festival in USA
- Write a novel
- Record an alubum
- Experience Weightlessness
- Grow and eat my own vegetables
- Visit Las Vegas (doing this in a couple of months)
- Visit Grand Canyon (ditto to above)
- Visit the Egyptian Pyramids
- Do an African Safari
- See the northern lights
- Have a big road trip around New Zealand
- Have a White Christmas somewhere
- Become fluent in Sign language

Pretty Ordinary

So I've been a little bit quiet on here lately.

I feel like I haven't been doing anything, because it's not out of the ordinary, but, other than giving myself an ulcer inadvertantly stressing about getting into Grad School (still haven't found out yet, but I'll post when I do) it's been pretty ordinary.

And that's how I feel my life at the moment is.

Both my sisters, Cesca and Tiki have done "lifestyle" posts recently. Posts about their lives and what they do in them. I thought I might do the same. Of course, my life is simplified by the fact that I don't have children. I admire how much both of them do. I feel like a lazy bum in comparison. And I am much "lazier" than I used to be. When I was at university, I also had 3 part time jobs, acted in a play and tried not to fail my courses. I was always out at parties or my jobs, and I never stopped. I got over that. I burnt out, and decided that it was nice on a day off, to just have a day off.

So, let's take a look at the stuff I do:

I have a full time job which takes up roughly 40 hours of my time. It is a pretty cruisy job sometimes, allowing me to check my emails frequently, do quizzes and occasionally write in this blog.

Every Monday I go to a Pub Quiz which I love, and it sorts out the competitive board gamey part of my nature out quite well.

I also do Aqua Aerobics which is heaps of fun, and very occasionally go to the gym.

I love movies and watch LOTS of DVDs. I don't really watch that much TV, except docos and the occasional reality show like The Amazing Race, and so there's not too much mindless drivel being watched. (except for the mindless arthouse drivel I occasionally get out on DVD, because I have heard it is 'amazing daaaaaaling' (speak that in pretentious snobby voice) but I am not fooled and see it for what it is - absolute crap that should be burned. If anyone wants a list of these movies no-one should ever have to watch, I'm happy to oblige. I do watch lots of good ones too.

I play Scrabble, I drink wine with my sister, I go to the occasional movie or show. I belong to a book club which I really enjoy because it isn't too pretentious and we can all choose whatever book we like.

I attend a couple of Couchsurfing events and meeting up with some travellers for a coffee and a chat, but really it's all part of daily ordinary life.

I don't inspire. I don't create. I just do some stuff.

Hopefully soon though, I will create more. I do love taking photos and have recently just bought this camera.



I haven't received it yet, but I am so excited! I am a bit of an ameteur photographer and I made a photo book a while ago which I love it. I hope to take more photos soon!