30 things in 30 years -- follow up...

Ok so those of you who are actually reading this for the horse aspect of my adventures, you can stop reading here and rest assured you'll not miss anything about life and learning at Tamarack. For those who are reading cause you're my friends, family, bored out of your little mind, or all of the above, feel free to continue :)

As far as I'm concerned the day for reflection and dreams is my birthday -- not one dictated solely by the current calendar. Really, what sense does January 1 have? "In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar. Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary."(Gary Blair) And so, I count MY new year from the date of my birth -- that is, after all, a year for me.

That being said, all the interesting things about resolutions and goals tend to be published around this time of year, so may as well learn what I can... To this effect, I was reading an article about lists, the effect they have on our lives for good or for bad, and the power of them. They had some interesting ideas for lists that I'd never have thought of that are supposed to help you understand yourself etc etc. One thing though that keeps being stressed is to publicize your "resolution" (being new years and all). Tell everybody. Then you'll have that many more people encouraging you to succeed, and conversely, aware if you fail.

I've heard this before, but it's a hard one for me as I'm not one to publicize my goals. Generally I keep them very closely guarded until I pull them off -- perhaps one or two of my closest friends (you know who you are) will know of them but that's about it... I value my privacy too much to share what's truly important.

However, in my traditional go hard or go home style, I've decided to give all the experts' suggestion a shot and instead of keeping it to myself (as I have since I wrote it several months ago) or confiding in only a select few, I'll publish it here. For all the Truly Intelligent People to see (and some who I *know* are out there but haven't fessed up yet!)...

And yes I realize some of these things may change as I do over the next 30 years -- but hey, if we're still friends then feel free to call me on it :)

From the silly to the serious here are my 30 things in 30 years in no particular order. As always, comments welcome :)


1 have something I write published
2 earn PhD
3 run 5k
4 live, laugh, learn (this is only one thing really, not three, cause I intend to do them all together!)
5 repay student loan
6 get (and learn to use!) a serious camera
7 sleep (I'm going to need to after completing this list!)
8 learn enough Latin to be able to read medieval texts
9 let go of past hurts
10 make time for self
11 make time for friends (hmmm do these two conflict?)
12 have serious relationship (definitely conflicts w/ above two!)
13 compete intermediate level eventing
14 learn to cook at least one meal I'd be proud to make for company
15 expand my vocabulary
16 travel: visit Egypt, South Africa, Ireland (is that really 3 things???)
17 see the northern lights
18 change someone's life (preferably for the better!)
19 get a massage
20 buy some fashionable clothes (will need some help w/ this one!)
21 ride Trans-Wales Trail
22 do something w/ genealogy notes
23 climb to the top of a Mayan pyramid
24 go on a Canadian road trip w/ no predetermined destination
25 start riding school and make successful -- successful defined as self-supporting and me not having to work 7 days/wk unless I want to
26 win my fair share of Trivial Pursuit at the cottage (damn pink category!)
27 identify 100 things that make me happy (oh no, another list!)
28 parasail
29 live my imagination
30 do something w/ my photos
* win the lottery (this is a bonus item cause I can't personally influence the outcome :)