30 For 30

I had one of these lists somewhere, I swear... I've been fruitlessly searching my Facebook notes to find it, but haven't come up with it yet- it's probably vanished into the cyber-ether or is currently being stored in Mark Zuckerberg's super-duper secret cyber vault somewhere in Facebook's headquarters in California. Either way, I think I need to generate another one of these lists- and this time, keep it safe on my blog!

The idea is simple- 30 personal milestones and goals that I'd like to achieve before I turn 30!

1. Finish My Novel
2. Get Another Tattoo
3. Publish My Novel (conventionally would be preferred, but I might be open to Kindle.)
4. Get Something Pierced Again... (I'm thinking labret. Thoughts anyone?)
5. Get Contacts Again (Eye appointment on Monday! Hopefully this will be done SOON.)
6. Go Skydiving
7. Go to a Twins Game
8. Kick-ass Road Trip to Canada to see the Winnipeg Jets (or whomever they're going to be) play...
9. Visit All 50 States (or failing all 50, get to the lower 48 at least.)
10. Lose 30 to 40 pounds... (whatever gets me back down to the 190-200 range- and maintain it!)
11. Train for a Triathalon. I know that seems totally nuts, but I love cycling, I can run and I could learn how to swim better.
12. Attend the Brainerd Ice Fishing Extravaganza
13. Go to a Music Festival... (either 80/35 or Lollapalooza? Farm Aid?)
14. Attend the Iowa Caucuses. (I've never actually done this. I did it in Minnesota, but not Iowa.)
15. Read Ulysses by James Joyce- and understand it.
16. Read something by Faulkner- and understand it.
17. Re-read The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby- and try and appreciate them.
18. Watch, understand and appreciate a rugby game, a cricket game and an Aussie rules football game.
19. Attend a Premier League game... (this would involve going back to the UK. Excellent!)
20. If number 19 falls a little short, attending a Major League Soccer game would be awesome.
21. Attend a Civil War Re-Enactment/Commemorations of the 150th Anniversary of the War
22. Expand our backyard patio, put in a pergola and a fire pit
23. Finish off our bathroom, re-floor and repaint our master bedroom
24. Go back to Europe- Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Greece and Cyprus are all on my wish list.
25. Become a father- I know this is dependent on any number of factors beyond my control, but I think trying should be a lot of fun... ;-)

26. Learn How To Make Bread from Scratch
27. Become a good amateur bartender
28. I'd like to take my wife on a real honeymoon
29. Improve my foreign language skills
30. I'd like to save up and get a subscription to The Economist. Probably the best news magazine out there.

My 30th Birthday is 812 days away... stay tuned to see how many I can scratch off this list. I think most of them are pretty attainable.