Monday, March 12, 2012

My reversed bucket list: 15 things I don't want to do before I die









This was fun but hard. Especially as I was paranoid that anything I put on the list would magically happen… you know, murphy’s law, never say never (outloud) and all that. So, without further ado, here’s the list of the fifteen things I do NOT want to do before I die.

1.     Bungee jumping or skydiving: seriously, I just don’t get it. And there is NO reason for me to get it,  so just leave me to it.

2.     Have twins: this was on my to do list,  and there is a history of twins in my family, but given I already have 2 kids it’s off the table.

3.     Watch old black and white classic films: I know they are great and deep and classics,  I don’t care. There is plenty new stuff for me to watch which feels a lot less over-acted and more relevant.

4.     Go back packing for a year. I’ve lived in 5 continents and done about 13 international moves, yet I  just never saw the attraction to the whole back-pack  for a year thing. I like to be home, I like to wash my clothes  regularly and sleep in my bed. So unless the sofa is moving with me, one month is about as much as I can be expected to stay away, if.

5.     Homeschool my children: seriously, there are people much more qualified than me to do this, plus, I think socialization and learning how to interact in society is a key learning element of school plus, the obvious one, it school gets my kids out of the house,  provides them with new friends and exposes them   to different points of view and, yeah, out of the house.

6.     Run a marathon, participate in a tri, or cycle 100 miles in support of disease research, and more importantly, I will not send guilt ridden emails to my friends to sponsor me while doing it. I support my own causes, thank you very much.

7.    Become a yoga teacher, which seems to be the alternative, burned-out hippie’s solution to mid-life crises.

8.     Climb mount Everest, eat live spiders or any other of those extreme physical challenges, don’t  feel the need to prove myself to anyone, and that includes me. Plus, both me and my body know we can’t handle it, and we are fine with that

9.     Do a PhD: I had this romantic idea that I would do one when I had my kids so that I could stop working but keep growing. I would actually love to go back to take some courses, I love learning, but the idea of staying up late after work to finish papers and the like just does not appeal anymore.


10. Have a baby after 40. Each to their own. I’m not saying other people should not do it,  that is between them, their partner and their doctor. But I feel that is where my personal limit lies. Which leaves me about a year and a half to not-have twins.

11. Stop eating sweets. I know there is a obesity pandemic. I know they are not good for you, and yes, I will try to manage my addiction, but I speak from experience here, I’ve spent the last two months eating super healthy for medical reasons, and it is just plain BORING. Plus, there is no way you can engage on a foreign culture, really, unless you try their food. It says so much about them.

12. Stop being a feminist. I don’t care how much people try to tarnish the “F” word, or argue that it is outdated and empty of meaning. I’ve made a commitment for a better humanity, to human rights, equality and inclusion. A commitment to look out for the most vulnerable, mainly children, and none of those things can happen while 50% of the world’s population continues to be treated as a second class citizen. I mean, why is it acceptable that in some countries women can’t vote, drive, inherit or make decisions? Exchange the word “women” with “African American” or “jew” and you’d have an international row in your hands. It would be seen completely unacceptable. Mainly, because it is.

13. Join a religion which discriminates women. Which as far as I'm aware essentially translates into not joining any religion. Sorry mom.

14. Become PC. I get a lot of slack for this, and I can be trusted to be reasonable and appropriate, but c’mon, aren’t we all bored of hearing “blah blah blah” when we really know people mean something else?  Just look at the elections going on in the US. Can we just talk about the REAL issues please? My experience in a rather delicate area of diplomacy such as development is that –given that respect and tolerance is in place- people are quite grateful to be told things as they are.

15. Become an astronaut. When I was a kid I wanted to die floating in space among the stars. Of course, back then I thought that a) you could just do that and b) you knew when you were going to die. Given that I get dizzy just riding swings I think I am going to skip this one. I will also not become a veterinarian as I’m dead allergic to most animals, nor a ballerina, actress or princess. Gave up on that last one when I saw what options were on offer.


what's on your reversed bucket list?




P.S. thanks to midlife mixtape for giving me this idea, and apologies if some are repeated... we just happen to strongly agree.