Men's Journal's Life List

Men's Journal recently put out a "Life List". A Life List is a list of things you must do before you leave this big blue marble. In the case of Men's Journal, they listed 45 things. Surprisingly, I have accomplished some of these things, though this is not necessarily my Life List. I thought I would list these "must dos" on this blog.

1. Climb an Active Volcano - Check! I have not done this, though I have walked through an Active Volcano in St. Lucia. The active volcano they show in the magazine was spewing molten lava, where as the volcano I walked through in the Caribbean only smoked and smelled of rotten eggs.
2. Drive a Ferrari in Italy - Does driving an Alfa Romeo in American Fork count?
3. Record Your Own Record - For the sake of those with ears, I doubt this will ever be done.
4. Build Your Own House - Check! Sortof. I just finished my basement. That was an experience that I am happy is over.
5. Get Shipwrecked - No thank you.
6. Witness a Revolution - Sounds fun....
7. Gamble More than You can Afford - Check! Been there, done that, took the 12 step program. Just kidding, but I have done this and will never do it again.
8. Go Winter Camping - Check! Several times. The last time I went was with the young men in my ward. I have never heard such sniveling in all my life. I think the further we go along, the less tough our young men are. I hope none of them read this....I love you guys anyway!
9. Drive From Monaco to Nice in a Convertible - Again, Does American Fork to Sundance in a convertible Alfa Romeo count?!
10. Raft the Grand Canyon - Check! One of the most fun things I have ever done.
    
11. Touch an Elephant - Check! At a zoo....this one surprises me it is on a life list.
12. Try the Blowfish - Gross.
13. See the Sunset from Key West - Check! I haven't really seen it from Key West, but I have from the Bahamas, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, West Indies, Virgin Islands, California, Florida as well as never seeing it set in Alaska!
14. Hike the Appalachian Trail - I would love to do this.
15. Learn a Language - Che! That was not a typo. I have learned half a language. I was forbidden to continue you my French classes in High School.
16. Go Vegetarian for a Month - I am saving this one for when I get shipwrecked.
17. Try Yoga for a Week - Check! The trainer I worked with this year always had me doing Yoga moves to strengthen my core.
18. Machu Picchu, Great Wall and Pyramids - I wish I could check these off. Those are dream spots!
19. Heli-ski Valdez - How about taking my weak knees down a black diamond run at Whistler/Blackcomb?!
20. Climb from Yosemite Valley to Toulumne Meadows - We are heading to Yosemite in 2008.
21. Sleep in a Tropical Rain Forest - Hmmmm....I have slept near a tropical rain forest in several places, but in hotels with TV and air conditioning.
22. Work for What You Believe In - Check! I do this now. I personally believe we each are responsible for our own failures and/or successes. If more people believed this, we would be in a better place, all of us. Ultimately, it has always been a dream to organize and manage a truly charitable foundation.
23. Eat a Living Thing - I don't see this happening anytime soon....not even yogurt!
24. Explore the Far East by Private Jet - I can only wish.
25. Make Your Child's Life List Your Own - I hope we can begin doing this soon.
26. Rescue a Dog - Check! Rush Konahiki is our dog and I love him so much.
    
27. Forgive Your Parents - Check! I have recently learned that this is not always an easy thing to do or understand.
28. Make Front Page News - Check! When I was a kid I was on the front page of the Chino Champion. The paper listed my name as Bart. My uncle Brock has called me that ever since!
29. See the Night Sky in the Southern Hemisphere - I hear it is beautiful. I have seen it in the Northern Hemisphere.
30. Learn to Sail - Check! I learned on a 19' Prindle Catamaran. What a hoot. I also had the privilege to ride the support yacht for the Kiwis in the 92 America's Cup.
31. Go 12 Days Without Checking Your Messages - Check! Easy! That is business as usual for me. I try hard not to be a slave to the cell phone.
32. Volunteer - Check! I can always do more.
33. Savor a 1947 Pauillac - I assume this is a wine or sherry of some sort?
34. Savor a 2000 Pauillac - Yep, I just checked on Google and it is a wine that goes for 2-8 thousand dollars a bottle. I am content with my $.99 Coke.
35. Teach a Kid to Ski, Ride or Swim - I am looking forward to this some day.
36. Learn to Cook a Meal Other Than Breakfast - Check! I even have formal training, but don't tell anyone.
37. Scuba Dive - No thanks...major gag reflex.
38. Crash a Black-tie Party - Okay.....
39. London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona - This would be one of the first things on my life list, but I would add Prague.

For those keeping score at home, that is 15 and 1/2 out of 45. Better than I would have imagined before reading the article. It just donned on me that this 45 list of things to do is actually 39. I wonder if they counted numbers 39 and 18 individually. Sarah had a list of things to do before she turned 30. We were able to go hot air ballooning sometime around her 30th birthday. That was fun and I was impressed she had this list thing going on. We should all think about this and post our life list. Then we could help motivate each other to accomplish the list and hold each other accountable. The New Year's a perfect time for making goals and lists.

Happy Listing!