Life List

Ten years ago, when I was living in the Philippines, I was given a sharp lesson in the "life is short" school of thought when I was in a fatal boat accident. The boat capsized in a storm and eight people (of twenty-six on board) drowned. We were all just people getting on with life, on the way home from a nice beach resort, and some, including a couple who had been there on their honeymoon, just died in a few tragic minutes. Later that day I was on a boat home with the other survivors and as we came into Batangas port suddenly the storm cleared, the sun came out and a pod of dolphins swam alongside us, seemingly guiding us back to the safety of the mainland - an "I'm alive!" moment!

Life really can be short and everyone should make the most of it. Admittedly I'm a far too sensible accountant-type person to take that to the extreme "live every day as if it were the last" philosophy, since in reality it probably won't be. However, my current diagnosis has got me thinking of my "life list" - things that I would really like to see / do / experience during my lifetime.  I've realised that I've been very lucky and have already done some amazing things, so I am going to include these on my list and just cross them off - if I've already been skydiving and swum with sharks, I really don't think it is cheating to count it :)

So, I am going to create my list here and cross items off as I do them or add to it as I think of new ones. Hopefully over the next six months I'll be able to do a few of them and put plans in place for completing a few more once my treatment is done...

1. See all of Shakespeare's plays (theatre, movie, DVD, BBC adaptation, etc)
2. New York: climb the Statue of Liberty, walk through Central Park, visit the 5 boroughs, drink a Cosmopolitan in a SATC-style bar
3. Eat sushi and sushimi in Japan
4. Drink a Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel Singapore
5. Taste wine in:
• Penfolds Magill Estate & Barossa Valley, SA, Australia
• Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia - 2005
• Yarra Valley, VIC, Australia - 2001
• Margaret River, WA, Australia - 2003
• Champagne, France - 1991
• Napa Valley, California, USA - 2009
6. Ride a gondola in Venice
7. Do one of Wainwright's walks in the Lake District, UK
8. Ride a cable car in San Francisco - 2009
9. Get the Eurostar from London to Paris
10. See a show at the Moulin Rouge
11. Ski in Banff - Sunshine & Lake Louise, 2009/10
12. Drive from LA to Las Vegas in a convertible
13. Go to a baseball game at Wrigley Field, Chicago - 2006
14. Go to a basketball game at Madison Square Gardens, New York
15. Go to a football game at Wembley Stadium, London - Luton Town, 1992
16. Go to an ice hockey game in Canada - Calgary Flames, 2009
17. Watch my team win a premiership - St George Illawarra Dragons, NRL Major (& Minor) Premiers 2010
18. Helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon
19. See the Taj Mahal - 2009
20. Walk on the Great Wall of China
21. Look for the Loch Ness Monster - Loch Ness, Scotland, 2004 (didn't find Nessie, but I looked!)
22. Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge - with WorleyParsons overseas finance team, 2008
23. Fly international first class - Emirates Sydney-Auckland-Sydney, 2004
24. Helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef - Campbells Sales Conference, 2005
25. Hold a tarsier monkey in my hand
26. Go on an African safari
27. Swim (scuba dive) with sharks - 3-4m Thresher sharks, Malapascua Island, Philippines, 2000
28. Swim with a whale shark
29. See a koala (not in a zoo) - Noosa Heads, Australia, 2010
30. Skydive - Townsville, Australia, 2001
31. Bungee jump - Cairns, Australia, 2001
32. Scuba dive - Padi OW: Red Sea, Egypt 1998; Divemaster: Great Barrier Reef, Australia 2001
33. Make a cuddly toy
34. Run City to Surf - 105 minutes, 2004
35. Learn to pole dance - "Kaz's 40 things before 40", Surry Hills, 2010
36. Learn to trapeze
37. Learn to roller blade
38. Learn to water ski
39. Be able to locate every country in the world on a map and name its capital city
40. Learn a language
41. Write a song
42. Ride in a hot air balloon
43. Fly in an open cockpit plane
44. Drive a ferrari
45. Ride on one of the biggest/fastest roller coasters in the world
46. Have dinner at Tetsuyas
47. Learn to play poker
48. Solve the Rubik's Cube
49. Grow a Bonsai tree
50. Design and make a necklace
51. Do charity volunteer work - Sydney Cats & Dogs Home, 2010
52. Spend a day at a luxury spa - The Observatory Spa, Sydney, 2006
53. Find and marry the love of my life - Sydney Harbour, 2007
54. Get a tattoo - my 19th birthday
55. Drink absinthe - The Imperial Hotel, Newtown, 2005
56. Ride a Harley
57. Climb an active volcano
58. Experience weightlessness
59. Go to a film premiere, preferably wearing a glam Alex Perry frock