(50?) Things to do before I die

Edited from notes made on 12/28/05:

Ok. Firstly, 50 seems to be "the" number in fashion. I don't know if I have 50 or less or more things. We'll see as we go along making up the list.

Secondly, some of the following have been picked from http://www.my50.co.uk/50list.php. I got routed there from www.theintellectualviewpoint.com. I don't know how I reached there though. Probably via reddit.

Thirdly, the my50 suggested list has some of the things I had dreamed of as a teenager but had since forgotten. I am thrilled to see "Ride a hot-air balloon" as a suggestion. I used to think this was one of the most romantic things to do. With the right partner, of course. Riding a hotair balloon hasn't crossed my mind in years.

On to the list. All suggestions taken from my50 are acknowledged in brackets. A lot of my50's suggestions are something I would like to do and have thought about doing and making a habit of. Those,like "Visit a health spa", I will not include in this list. There are a couple that I am iffy about, but still have chosen to put them on the list and mark as "iffy". Just in case I ever need a refresher course on living life :-)

1. Climb a mountain (my50. Mine would have read "Hike up Machu Pichu" or "Visit the Himalayas" or something)
2. Christmas in New York (my50)
3. Go horse riding(My own + my50)
4. Take a hot-air balloon ride(My own + my50)
5. Become a parent(My iffy, my50)
6. Visit Paris(my50. I'd like to make a habit of "Travel" but this one was too specific to not be on the list. Paris would certainly have been on my Travel list.)
7. Pass on a nugget of knowledge(Yes, teach was on my list too, my50)
8. Grow something (One of those things I am not sure is a hobby or a 50-candidate. Mine, my50)
9. Go scuba-diving(My own, my50. This I would like to refine and perhaps redefine. I will use this as a placeholder for "adventure sport". I might change it to bungee-jumping or something else once I am sure.)
10. Go to a sporting event(My own, my50)
11. Do a parachute jump(My own, my50. My sentiments on this one are similar to those on No.9)
12. Take a walk in the rain(my50. A desire that is not new. Something I associate with romance. Perhaps I should classify my list.Maybe later.)
13. Sleep under the stars(My own, my50. An idea that is not new. A hope that was implanted a long time ago. I would have put this under Romantic Date and Camping with Children.)
14. Visit the pyramids(My own, my50. Again, one of those "Must See" places. Travel-related)

15. Have a fun bet(my50)
16. Go whale watching(my50)
17. Get tipsy with good company(my50. I have not touched alcohol in my life. Well, except in medicines and such)
18. Visit Machu Picchu(my50. Well, would have been on my Travel, Hike up a mountain list)


Update on 9/16/07:

1. I am no longer iffy about 5. I most definitely want to become a parent.

The Importance of Blogging

12/28/05:

The importance of journalizing, rather. Every time we are in trouble, or we forget lessons learnt, we can go back to the good stuff and revitalise ourselves. It helps regain perspective, it helps in remembering what matters.

Even as a child, pre-teen teen and an adult, I had not thought much of having a diary. Even though some of my friends and classmates did it religiously, teachers suggested that it was a good thing to do, I scoffed at the idea. When I turned 29, R, amidst teasing me about turning 30 and old, suggested that start a blog chronicling my life till I reached the ripe old milestone age of 30. (I recall we had this conversation on my birthday or on a day that was close to my 29th birthday). I brushed the idea aside saying I am not the blogging/recording kind. Besides, up until now I had an active distaste for and flouted the mundane happenings of life. Because they were unexceptional, they were not noteworthy.
Perhaps there is truth and justification in my stance considering how unremarkable my life has been(well, from a different vantage point, it could be argued otherwise). Not just mine. Everyone's everyday life is somewhat routine and ordinary. I never saw the merit in recording "I had this for lunch today. I went to the bathroom more than once yesterday". Or maybe it was my painful sense of modesty which impelled me to undervalue my life and my learnings and my observations. Or maybe it was my excessive high standards which did not put sufficient premium on my life and learnings. I don't know. One way or the other, I was not huge on personal diaries and chronicling day-to-day events.

May be it was my habit of living more in my head than in reality that precluded me from having a vantage point on life. Sometimes it was just sheer laziness though. More than once, I have bemoaned the fact that I had not written down original ideas and worked on them only to find a couple of years later that someone has come out with something very similar and is famous for their work. One of my friends is a big believer in blogging and says I should blog too. For this reason alone, if nothing else.

But now, I realise how valuable a diary can be. It is a security blanket. It is a trusted confidant. It is a wise friend. In times of trouble, it reminds us of the positive and puts us back on the rails. I had asked on this site for tips on sustaining the flashes of happiness and wisdom we sometimes receive- http://dirtsimple.org/2005/11/refactored-self-part-1.html. I have discovered that recording the event, the triggers, the stimulants and the reactions is a good way to regain it when we feel it is lost. Making a habit of it can provide sustenance and consistency and not just help recover what is lost. Life is lived in the quotidian as well as the portentous moments. Wisdom is as much gained through phenomenal experiences as it is through the banausic. I am a convert.

Hmm!

A man never tells you anything until you contradict him. - George Bernard Shaw