The Life List

I wrote me a life list!



This is a list of 100 things I'd like to accomplish. As I grow and change, so might this list, so I am less beholden to each item and more endeared for the time being.

1. Write a short story.
2. Get an article published in a print magazine.
3. Publish a book of non-fiction.
4. Publish a book of poetry.
5. Publish a book of fiction.
6. Get a new mattress that kicks all the other mattresses' asses.
7. Sleep overnight in a big museum.
8. Invent the best chocolate chip cookies of all time.
9. Accrue living room furniture I enjoy.
10. Ride in a hot air balloon.
11. Pay off my last outstanding debt.
12. Garden my own vegetables.
13. Get all my laundry completely done at the same time.
14. Drive a paddle boat with the Palinode at Waskesiu.
15. Add to my Kiva donations until I have $1000 in continual circulation.
16. Ring a real bell in a real belfry.
17. Be an extra in a Hollywood movie.
18. Create a reading corner for myself that is not within eyesight of a television.
19. Live in another country for at least six months.
20. Go through my mother's photo albums and scan my childhood photos.
21. Fire a gun.
22. Have all my leg hair lasered off.
23. Build a really cool kite and fly it.
24. Visit or go so far as to move to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
25. Learn to bake great savoury bread.
26. Knit myself a pair of armwarmers.
27. Make homemade cheese.
28. Interview and photograph 1000 strangers.
29. Witness the ins and outs of a crematorium.
30. Climb a tree.
31. Take up yoga as a regular practice.
32. Design my own small house.
33. See fireflies while sober.
34. Go to a Jewish synagogue.
35. Spay our cat Lula.
36. Have sex outside again (and it doesn't count if I'm inside a tent).
37. Stay in an underwater hotel.
38. Guest star in a soap opera.
39. Stay sober for a minimum of five years.
40. Move to a new city.
41. Go to outer space.
42. Hear my nephew, born on 10 August 2011, call me by name.
43. Witness and photodocument the birth of a baby.
44. Be able to do 50 push-ups in a row.
45. Finally go on a honeymoon with the Palinode.
46. Hone my tarot reading skills.
47. Be on television.
48. Own a collection of fabulous eyeglasses to choose from.
49. Sleep in a yurt.
50. Go to Portugal.
51. Write and perform a song.
52. Explore my end of the metaphysical/paranormal activity that apparently populates my life.
53. Learn to paint.
54. Have a font made of my handwriting.
55. See the inside of a stone castle.
56. Use my skills to help others realize their abilities and possibilities.
57. Go through a corn maze.
58. Hold a live chicken.
59. Attend the World Domination Summit.
60. Attend a huge celebration like Holi in India.
61. Post a photograph every day for a year.
62. Have enough money to live without financial worry.
63. Take a road trip around North America.
64. Learn to make stop-motion videos.
65. Own and learn to play a theremin.
66. Learn to play the ukulele.
67. Never get cancer again.
68. Go on a cruise.
69. Start smoking again when I'm 85 years old.
70. Change a stranger's life.
71. Get an in-person psychic reading.
72. Go on a small retreat with other bloggers.
73. Photograph my parents' hometown where I spent time as a child.
74. Go on a ride-along with a police officer.
75. Finally get my second tattoo.
76. See the east coast of North America in the fall.
77. Write a personal manifesto.
78. Ride a train.
79. Cancel our cable and give up commercial television.
80. Deliver a TED Talk.
81. Cook a traditional turkey dinner with stuffing and mashed potatoes.
82. Attend a slam poetry event.
83. Ride on a float in a parade and wave at all the people.
84. Learn how to shoot and edit my own videos.
85. Win a trophy.
86. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity.
87. Speak in front of 500+ people.
88. Learn to make homemade ice cream and invent my own flavours.
89. Ride in a real submarine.
90. See Big Muddy.
91. Go to the dentist.
92. Have tea with royalty.
93. Eat turducken.
94. Read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, the first book the Palinode ever told me to read.
95. Watch Daniel Johnston play a song live.
96. Set up an office/creative space for myself that I love.
97. Find a good full spectrum lamp and test it out to see if it helps with my winter depression.
98. Own a little shop that sells whatever I happen to like at the time.
99. Save a life.
100. Invent a self-cleaning house.

What's on your list?

Comments

[AnnMarie]

What a wonderful post! I'm inspired and might have to go off and make my own list!

1. Take up more space (not physical)...

[snozma]

This is the BEST LIFE LIST ever!

I have way too many things to say here. I will probably haunt this for weeks.

Give up commercial television? What does that mean? You mean: No shows of any kind? Or just TV through the internet. I can vouch for the fact that no matter how much you like TV you won't watch *that* much TV anymore if you just use the internet as your television delivery device.

If I have another baby will you document? Oh PUH-LEEZ?

I do not recommend having sex outside in a mosquito-prone area. Lesson learned!

50 pushups in a row!

The thing is that it kills me that I want to steal half your life list. It is SO GOOD. But the other thing that kills me is knowing you, you'll do these things. I wouldn't!

Top #1 on life list: Do the other things on this life list.

Your life list requires careful study.

[Loukia]

This was awesome. I love the "start smoking again at 85" one! And well, many more on your list. Must not hdve been the easiest thing to complete, writing this. Good Luck getting all this done! :)

P.S. I may have to do this post, too!

[momKat9090]

Fantastic list! I want to write my story. Do rollerderby. learn to play guitar. Find my biological parents. Finish reading AnnaKarenina (it bores me to death...might be what I die of).
I want to take up less space.

[frelle]

awesome life list. love the things you came up with, both the clearly attainable and the whimsical and outlandishly fabulous. Love. :)

[Natasha]

What an amazing list! For #6-I highly recommend the Tempur-Pedic one! #13 Will NEVER happen-at least not in my house! #72 Can I come please? #80 I will so be there for that!
...and now I want to go make a list of my own.

[Stereo]

I am completely enamoured of numbers 5, 6, 36, 40, 54 and 96.

[Mrs. Wilson]

There are so many things I love on this list that I can't comment on them all, but I wish I'd known about #43 about 6.5 months earlier, I totally would have let you witness and photo document Preston's birth!

[Debbie Rodgers]

Fantastic list - and when you manage #100, I'll be in line to buy the secret! (of the self-cleaning house, not of how you accomplished the list - although if you did THAT, I'd like that secret, too!)

[Mrs. Wilson]

Also, I'm going to write me one of these.

[Liz]

Hey Schmutzie - you can go ahead and mark off #70! Because, here's the thing, I'm reading through your list this morning and I am realizing all of the things I have done that I have taken for granted. Small things, but things that someone out there may have never done and may want to someday.

I grow vegetables regularly, have held chickens (and, ewww), have fired a gun, watched fireflys from my front porch, ridden a train, climbed many trees (though not recently), ridden on a float in a parade, and made a full thanksgiving dinner. And, I have many, many nieces and nephews who call me "AUNT LIZZY."

So now I am crying a little. Thank you, Schmutzie - I needed your list this morning. (And I also need that self-cleaning house, so if you could get cracking on that, that'd be great!)

[magpie]

Theremins, turducken, gardening, cremation?

I just love you.

[Kizz]

I have been yearning to go back to my life list and rework it. Thank you for the step in the right direction.

[Heather B.]

You just reminded me that I forgot to add 'fire a gun' to my list. I'll add it now.

Also; your list is way more interesting than mine.

[eaglecrowowl]

I love your list entries. It seems both fun and scary to do something similar. I am always doing it in my head but when it's out - you have to take it a little more seriously. I was writing in a little notebook yesterday that isn't filled up but I hadn't used in a months (because a different one is dominant, not due to no activity) and there were several lists from last year. It was satisfying to put x marks next to the things I had accomplished. But equally frustrating to not be able to put x marks on everything. It takes so long! But hey, I need things to keep me busy or I get anxious, so what am I complaining about. Cheers!

[ats]

what a fabulous list. GO YOU! I love this. With all my heart.

[Cheney]

Ha! Ok. So, you have an interesting life list, I've been working on one myself. However, I got a laugh at how many of the items on your list I could TOTALLY help you out with. Let's hope my links here work:

If you take your road trip across America, you can visit me in Connecticut and stay on my couch to see the East Coast in the fall. While you are visiting, we could ride a steam train which will take us directly to an old stone castle, we can go to a corn maze where we can also get the live turkey for the turducken we'll dine on (you can totally hold the turkey -- it's no chicken, but we can do that, too) and finally, you can ride float in a real submarine.

And not for nothing, meeting a blogging friend is on my 30 Before 30 list. Connecticut and I welcome you anytime! And you might even change a stranger's life.

[Cindy]

There's a place here having a sale on laser hair removal. When we heard about it on the radio this morning, I mentioned to Chris that I'd like all my hair zapped from my body. I wrote my list forever ago and I'm slowly marking things off. I think it's good to not be attached to things on the list. I went through this year and made some edits. I was never going to run that marathon. I don't like to run.

Thanks to number 69 (snort), I kind of want to put "take up using cocaine at age 85" or acid. I've never done acid.

[Redneck Mommy]

Terrific list. After reading it, you helped me realize I accomplished quite a few of YOUR list. 2,6,9,12,13,16,18,21,23,26,29,30,47,48,50,55,58,66,71,75,78,81,85,87,88,89,91,94,99.

If you ever want to shoot a gun, hold a chicken (or not on your list) ride a pig, come visit me. Stay long enough to grow your own vegetables. We can plan a bloggers retreat and work on your TED talk. (Also a dream of mine.)

Keep crossing those items off Elan. And enjoy every one.

[Julie]

Ok, I did it. http://wp.me/pmbGc-2I When I get my chickens, you can come hold one. I will teach you how to rock it to sleep. An old neighbor man taught me when I was a kid.

[Kara]

Awesome list! I can help you scratch one item off you list - #25. No skill required, no mess, and it's so easy, it's almost beyond belief. Trust me. You'll going to love this.

http://scattered-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/food-love.html

[Issa]

It's neat to read other peoples lists and know that I've done some of those things.

[alison kramer]

I love this. I hate making lists, but i love this
Maybe i should write one?
thank you.

[Tish @ Postcard Printing]

i love your top 5, makes me hear me...i've been pushing it to far end of my list though.. ahh! #33 i hope to accomplish early next year when the fireflies dance... great list you have!

[Robin@Farewell, Stranger]

This is a seriously awesome list. I made mine earlier this year but don't have 100 things yet - might have to steal some from you! Sleeping in a museum, changing a stranger's life - those would be awesome additions. (What on earth is an underwater hotel?)

Give a TED talk is on my list too - I did a TEDx talk last month, which I don't count, but it was great all the same (even though I cried on stage...)

Here's my list: http://www.farewellstranger.com/2011/03/23/my-life-list/

You can have the turducken all to yourself. ;)

[Julia Roberts]

I want to make one now!

[FireMom]

Aren't you 12 kinds of inspiring? (The answer is yes.)

I wonder what's on my list...

Certainly #100 is. Or, at the very lease: Build or buy the self-cleaning house that Schmutzie has invented. Right?!

[Nichole]

Great list! I can offer you lodging for part of your east coast fall tour, my husband also recommends "Blood Meridian," and David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop" is the very best resource for learning to make your own ice cream. I'm adding a cheese-making goal to my list!

[the muskrat]

Cool! Life goals are cool.

[Kristina]

This was a great idea and such inspiration. I've been working on my list and am frankly shocked at how liberating and how clarifying it is. It's like tapping into a secret, true self, beyond all the crap of who we're supposed to be. Nice work, friend. As usual.