30 before 30

As I mentioned in a previous post I would be making a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. Big thanks to Kirsten for the idea. After I looked into this a little I found out a lot of people actually make these lists. The only lame thing is that most of them are girls. Maybe guys are less ambitious or just more content with stuff. I don't know but I don't care, I'm doing it anyways.

I figure if I am going to make a list of things to do in the next year and 4 months, I better have some type of rules for each item to make sure I can actually complete my list.

Rule #1 - Must be realistic
I would love to go to Australia, but the cost and reality of doing that with a family of 4 make it pretty unrealistic.

Rule #2 - Must be within my control
Basically what I mean is that I could say something like "I want to watch the Seahawks win in the Superbowl" but I have no direct control over that, so it shouldn't be on my list.

Rule #3 - Must update my progress monthly
I think this is the most important one. I would hate to get to September next year and still have 20 things left to do, so I figure if I update my progress every month it will help keep me motivating on accomplishing things.

After months, days, a couple of hours of thinking and borrowing ideas from other lists here it is. The 30 things I will do before I turn 30.

1. Write A Letter To The Editor
I don't even care if it gets published; I just think it would be cool to write one. I like reading them and am surprised at some of the garbage that gets published. Surely I can make something halfway decent.

2. Learn Spanish
I think it is sad how few people in the US are fluent in another language. I learned basically 1 year of German and I know a few things in Spanish but that's it. I would like to at least be able to carry on simple conversations in Spanish. Good thing Duolingo is almost available!

3. Donate Blood
Believe it or not but I have never donated blood. I have to get my blood checked periodically for work and it makes me want to puke. Just the thought of someone taking my blood makes me nauseous. Nonetheless it's sad that I haven't given blood and plan to do so.

4. Weigh Under 200
This one might take a little while but it's something I need to do. I think I've been 200 or more since like high school but it will be cool to see if I can get below.

5. Go White Water Rafting
Something I've never done but always wanted to.

6. Go To A Hockey Game
I have absolutely no interest in hockey but I have heard from several people, also without interest in hockey, that the games are tons of fun.

7. Visit Portland
I don't know exactly why I have never been there. Maybe I did when I was young enough not to remember, who knows, but I have always thought it seemed like a cool city to visit.

8. Run A 1/2 Marathon
I thought about putting a full marathon here but I don't think I would do that. 13 miles is enough for me, especially since I've never even done an official 5k.

9. Learn The Thriller Dance
I know parts of it but I'd like to know the whole thing. I'm not much of a dancer but there's no way I wouldn't bust this out every year at Halloween.

10. Take A Dance Class With Sandra
Speaking of dancing and how I suck at it, I think it would be cool to take a dance class with my wife. I don't know which style...Salsa? Swing? Ballroom? The Cat Daddy? I guess it doesn't matter since I don't know anything about dancing but it's still a goal of mine.

11. Start A Fire
I don't mean in a fireplace or a bonfire, I mean starting a fire from scratch caveman style.

12. Go To The Top Of The Space Needle
I have lived in Washington for almost my entire life, an hour away from one of the coolest buildings in America and I have never gone to the top.

13. Go To A Comedy Show
Another weird thing I somehow have never done. I love comedy but have never seen it live. That has gotta change.

14. Go Backpack Camping
I like camping a lot but I am not really into the RV/State Park/power/electricity/showers/buying wood type of camping. To me it really takes away from what I think camping should be about. I'd like to go camping somewhere that you have to hike somewhere hauling in everything you will need.

15. Walk Across The Tacoma Narrows Bridge
When driving across it seems like a pretty cool view, only you are across before you can really appreciate it. If you are busy checking out the view then you are probably seconds away from an accident. I want to check it out without risking death.

16. Ask 10 People Their Favorite Book And Read Them
I recently started reading a little and really enjoyed the suggestions that I got from people on books. I have read an embarrassingly low number of books in my lifetime and am trying to change that.

17. Paint A Picture
Art is a strange thing that is largely just up to the interpretation of others. Some kids make art that is more interesting than famous artists. I sometimes hate how critical I am of everything and I think painting would be a good way for me to just not care and see what happens. Plus I can decorate my refrigerator with it.

18. Attend A Midnight Premiere Of A Movie
I don't even know why I want to do this but I do. I only go to the theaters about twice a year, but I'd like to join those crazy people that go to the first viewing at least one time if for no other reason than to say I did it. I'm thinking maybe The Dark Knight Rises or The Hobbit

19. Read 10 Books To My Kids
I guess I need to be more specific here. I made a list awhile back of 10 good books to read to children that are targeted for ages close to my kids. Aidan doesn't seem to have the attention span to sit through me reading but Alyssa likes it a lot. We have been reading The Hobbit and although it seems like it is taking forever, the kids really look forward to it.

20. Go To A Seahawks Training Camp Practice
Another random thing I always thought would be cool. I didn't even know they let people watch some of their practices until a few years ago and it only costs like a $5 bus ride from where you park to the practice field. They just take reservations on a first come basis, but hopefully this year or next I'll finally go.

21. Eat At A Top Rated Restaurant
I like food but I don't really care for fancy stuff usually. I guess I am just too picky of an eater. I would still like to go waste a bunch of money sometime on a meal at a fancy place.

22. Watch The Top 50 Movies on IMDB
There are a lot of movies on the IMDB to 250 that I have never seen. I honestly have no clue how some of them passed me by. Some were just made before my time. Anyways, I am going to watch/rewatch the top 50 starting at 50 and working my way up.

23. Go On A 5 Day Fast
This one is just something I am curious if I could actually do. I know there are certain rules to fasting and I'm going to figure them out and try it.

24. Make Something With Homegrown Food
Last year we planted some squash and cucumbers because the kids wanted to buy them at a farmer's market. I figured they would die in a few days but the kids kept watering them and they kept growing. They grew enough that we planted them in our yard. Only one of the cucumbers grew big enough that we could have made something with it but we threw it away instead.

25. Go To Canada
.3 I live only a few hours awayfrom it but I've never been to Canada. I've been to Mexico and Germany but not Canada. Just another one of those things I probably won't ever do unless I say I will.

26. Finish My Unfinished Tasks At Home
I am a master of completing 90-95% of a job at home. Whether it's painting a room, building a deck, or remodeling my son's room, I just can't seem to completely finish things. There are always little things that need to be done around the house, but it makes me mad that most of them continue to go undone even though they take less than a day to complete.

27. Read The Bible
Those who know me probably know my thoughts about religion. I do however think it's a bit hypocritical of me to have not read the Bible in forever. I can't remember what age I was when I read it....maybe 10 or so, but I feel like I should read it again now that I'm old enough to hopefully understand it a lot more.

28. Volunteer At A Homeless Shelter
I think this is something everyone should do at least once. I feel bad that I haven't done this or something similar already.

29. Complete A Mud Run
Those just look like a lot of fun. I might consider the Color Run also since it's pretty similar.

30. Bet On The Superbowl Winner Before The Season Starts
I feel like I have a good understanding of football. My Superbowl predictions however are always wrong. It seems like I usually guess the 2 teams that lose in the Divisional Championship games. But anyways, every year I say I'm going to put a bet on the winner before the season starts only to forget about it. It has been a good thing so far considering I have only been right once, the Colts in 2007.

So there it is my 30 things to do before I turn 30. Let me know what you think! And those of you not already 30, I encourage you to make a list also.

ten things i think i think

1. I think I am glad I started reading books again and am actually enjoying it a little. I still don't think I will read unless I have nothing better to do, but it is slowly creeping up the list of things to do when I am bored. In fact it has just surpassed trying to swallow my tongue and trying not to think about polar bears.

2. I think it is interesting how kids come into the world with no biases, no concept of segregation and no thoughts to treat others differently because of their sex, race, wealth, religion, weight, sexual preference, etc. Is it society's fault that this happens? If you took 20 kids that looked like they could pose for a workplace diversity ad and forced them to grow up in an MTV's Real World style environment, would they continue to look like the kids from Captain Planet or would they split up and turn into groups of this, this, and this. What got me thinking about this was a great article I recently read telling a story of a mom who watched her daughter quickly befriend a poor girl with one arm and no shoes. If kids are able to put all things aside, why can't adults?

3. I think I stole this from the same place I stole the title for this post from, but I like it so I'm putting it here anyways. It's part of a commencement speech from Ted Koppel to the University of Massachusetts.

"More than ever before, we live today in a world of instant reaction, constant judgment and corrosive partisanship. Political debate is a wonderful thing; but partisan shrieking is corrosive and destructive. If we are to find solutions to the challenges we face, we have to relearn the virtues of compromise. If we are going to deal intelligently with the problems we confront, we need time to pause, to consider and reflect. But our media, news and social, are intolerant of anything but an instant response ... Rather than using information to illuminate the world, though, we consume it like fuel. The more we burn, the faster we go. The faster we go, the less we see and understand. We slow down only for the accidents along the side of the road; and the biggest accident still lies ahead.

Only, I fear, when that occurs -- only when the combined impact of too many unemployed, too many foreclosures, too much debt, exacerbated by two undeclared and unfunded wars; only when the human and social costs of a crumbling education system and a flawed health care system, leave us wondering where and why we lost our footing as a nation, will we come to realize that WHAT is communicated to us is vastly more important than the medium by which it is conveyed.

... One day, most Americans will point at us in the news media and say: "Why didn't you tell us? Why did you encourage all that bile and venom? Why did you feed us all that trivial crap, when so many terrible things were converging? And no one will be happy with the answer. Least of all, those of us who offer it. "What we gave you," we will say, "is what you wanted."

At this critical juncture in your lives, then, let me urge you -- no, let me implore you to want more. More substance, more real information about important issues, more fairness, more objectivity, more tolerance for views that differ from your own. You have a truly magical array of media at your disposal. Use them well."

4. I think TED talks are great. I found the one below interesting for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it made me rethink my opinions on capital punishment and give more thought to our terrible prison system. The speaker, Bryan Stevenson, describes his views on our current system of punishment and why it needs more attention. He describes our country currently defining the opposite of poverty as justice rather than wealth. The part that struck me the most is when he says that the character of our society will ultimately be judged by how we treat the poor, condemned and incarcerated. I don't know if that is true or not, but it is interesting to me. It is easy to punish someone for a crime without trying to solve the actual problems of why the crime was committed in the first place. The general ignorance that we give to this question of Why? may very well be what defines us.



5. I think I was inspired by someone who was inspired by someone who was probably inspired by someone else. I read a blog post recently about a friend who is approaching 30 and is making a list of 30 things to do before she turns 30. She is doing this based on inspiration from a blog post about someone else that is doing it. So basically what I am saying is that I am going to make my own list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. Inspiration is one of the most contagious things out there. It causes people to do things they wouldn't normally do just because someone else did it and I think that is awesome.

6. Another great TED talk by Peter Diamandis about technology and the advancements and possibilities of our world. I'm sure this guy is making tons of money from books and other crap related to this, but it's hard to argue with his points.

I sometimes wonder about the consequences technology could have on the world, but that is the problem, nobody knows for sure. What are known for sure are the positive results and endless possibilities technology has given us.



7. I think I wish I had listened to Reggie Watts earlier. For those who have never heard of him he is a musician/comedian who spent a lot of time in the Seattle area but now lives in New York. He does the whole impromptu beat box looping song making thing kinda like Beardyman if you have heard of him. The comedy part and complete randomness is what I think sets Watts apart. I like weird stuff, so if you do to then definitely check out Reggie Watts.

8. I think I am getting sick about the stories surrounding the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. They messed up and they got punished, but still there are daily stories about it. Would it be okay to at least wait until football actually starts 3 months from now to talk about the stupid Saints?

9. I think this article on fox news about the extinction of japanese people might be the single stupidest news story I have ever read/seen. I check out Fox News sometimes to make sure that my opinions aren't being created out of reluctance to seek opinions that differ from my own, but crap like this makes me not want to. Side note: I like how it says "fair & balanced" below the Fox News logo but I only go there because I know that it isn't.

10. I think if there were a pill people could take to ensure a great day I might buy it. I was looking at old pictures from when my kids were in the 1-4 year old range and each photo looked like they were having the best day of their lives.....well except for Alyssa crying because she was scared of Santa. My son had a great day yesterday, which paired with the pictures, got me wishing he had those days more often. The movie Brain Candy was made 16 years ago, yet we still don't have this pill. It's time to quit wasting time trying to make bigger, thinner 3D TV's and making 10G cell phones and start making medicines that trick people into being happy. I don't even care if there are a couple of flipper babies.

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm joking, but it's hard having a child who is so easily frustrated by the things most people don't think twice about.