30 Things to do Before I Turn 30

Image via .sanden.'s photostream

Today I had something of an epiphany. I was sitting in a daze while waiting for my Bikram Yoga class to begin, and I started thinking about all these things I'd always wanted to do but for some reason hadn't gotten to just yet. Take skydiving, for instance, which I've been dying to do since my friend Tisha jumped off a plane in Long Island back in 2006. Or swimming with whale sharks, which was on my to-do list even when I was still living in the Philippines. Somehow, all these plans got lost in the shuffle while I concentrated on ... well, life.

It hit me. What exactly am I waiting for? Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger. In fact, 29 is just around the corner ... which makes 30 just a little over a year away! *dum dum dum duuuuum* I am thisclose to becoming a bonafide adult, and the allowance for effing around is getting slimmer by the day. If now's not the time to do everything I've always wanted to do, then when's the right time exactly?

So I decided that I'm gonna make up a bucket list of sorts that I intend to finish before May 21, 2011—"30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30." I will chronicle this project on this blog because shame is great motivator to not fail or flake out midway. That said, I realize that I have to be realistic with my goals because there are constraints to my little project (i.e. I am not made of money and I have a day job that I'd very much love to keep). But it has to be meaty enough to actually keep me (and ye readers) intersted. I envision a list comprised of trips I've been putting off, challenges I've been procrastinating on, skills I've been waiting to acquire, roadblocks I need to overcome, and plain old amazing things that I've never even thought about doing before.

I've hit one wall, so far. I've only gotten my list up to 13:

1. Swim with the whale sharks in Donsol, Philippines.
2. Party at carnaval in Brazil.
3. Dance my ass off in Ibiza.
4. Run a marathon.
5. Skydive.
6. Master preparing a gourmet, fancy-schmancy 5-course meal 
7. Learn how to surf.
8. Bungee jump.
9. Do the 30-Day Bikram Yoga challenge.
10. Go on a cross-country road trip.
11. Eat the worm in the mezcal. In Mexico.
12. Record a song. I don't care if the one line I sing gets synthesized to the point of sounding like a pre-op. I just want to one day be able to say, "Hey, that's MY song!"   
13. Learn how to pole dance. Before any family members hyperventilate, let me clarify that I intend to learn in a class and do it recreationally—no "on the job" training here.

I fully intend on begging/conning/stalking friends into helping me tick items off my list. Marathon runners, surfers, adventurers, chefs, DJs, people with spare couches in distant locales, and those infected with severe wanderlust, I am talking to YOU.

I am also hoping to hear some very interesting suggestions on what else to add to the list. See, I've only gotten up to 13 and as badly as I suck at Math, I do know that's a long way from 30. I need help.

Finally, I would love it if you'd join me in my madness and come up with your own lists—25 before 25, 35 after 35, 11 before 2011, whatever floats your boat. I would love to hear from you. I hope that with this little project, we'll inspire each other to stop putting things off and seize the day.

And so it begins!