40 For 40: Year 3
Well, I'm officially 33. Which I guess makes 2016 my Jesus Year? I'm getting depressingly close to being halfway through my third decade of life (and therefore, that much close to death, which is always a cheerful thought.) How's it going? I honestly can't complain about most of it. I have two beautiful kids, wife that loves me, beautiful new house. Life is good. A little sprinkle of change could make work a lot more bearable right now, but failing a sprinkle of change, there's always the tantalizing possibility of another chapter in my career.
How's the list coming? I've got a couple of more years before the big 3-5 gives me the opportunity to change anything on the list, but so far, so good. There's been progress and I think I can get more done this year. Here's where we are:
1. Publish my novel.
2. Get another tattoo
3. Finish all 4,532 pages and 12 volumes of Winston Churchill's 'The Second World War.'
4. Run a 5k
5. Visit All 50 States
6. Get ripped and get myself in shape.
7. Pay off every single dime of my student loans.
8. Write more novels, publish them.
9. I would like to ride a mechanical bull.
10. Go on a Caribbean Cruise with the Missus.
11. Drive to Alaska.
12. Find out if St. Louis and Kansas City are pretty cool, since people keep insisting that they are.
13. Have at least one culinary adventure a year.
14. Vikings/Packers at Lambeau. 'Nuff said.
15. Read one fiction book a year that's well outside my usual genre preferences.
16. Work on my backlog of non-fiction and history books, my Fraser biographies of Charles II and Cromwell, The Steel Bonnets and my Jenkins bios of Churchill and Gladstone are at the top of the list.
17. Read Wuthering Heights and understand/appreciate it.
18. Re-read and finish The Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire
19. Read Pride and Prejudice and understand it/appreciate it.
20. Master my ukulele!
21. I would like to shoot a gun. Because I've never done that before.
22. Be the best Father I can be.
23. Be able to buy a really rare bottle of whiskey for my 40th Birthday.
24. I'd like to visit Kentucky and check out the Bourbon Trail.
25. I'd like to visit NYC.
26. Ride a day of RAGBRAI.
27. Ride the whole week of RAGBRAI.
28. Learn how to make bread from scratch.
29. World Travel Wishlist: Brazil, India, China, Europe.
30. Brush up my foreign language skills and achieve moderate fluency in Chinese and Hindi.
31. Get something pierced again.
32. Go skydiving.
33. Go to Trekfest.
34. Take the family back to the United Kingdom for a vacation.
35. Make our house perfect (or move to a bigger and better house.)
36. Be able to afford subscription to The Economist.
37. Road trip it up to Winnipeg for Jets game.
38. I'd like to see an Iowa away game somewhere. (Football and Basketball.)
39. Go to a Major League Soccer Game
40. Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley
Okay, so not a lot of progress with the list this year. I have to step up my game a little bit- but I also know that I'm close on a lot of these things. I just have to find the willpower (the time and the money) to do some of them. What's reachable this year?
#2, #3, #16, and #26 are probably the closest. #25 is a tantalizing possibility- maybe for the Missus' birthday next spring? #34 we both keep talking about, but we just need to go. #36 might go on my birthday list. In fact, you know what? I think it will go on my birthday list.
Hopefully I can get a few more things done this year. We'll see.
How's the list coming? I've got a couple of more years before the big 3-5 gives me the opportunity to change anything on the list, but so far, so good. There's been progress and I think I can get more done this year. Here's where we are:
2. Get another tattoo
3. Finish all 4,532 pages and 12 volumes of Winston Churchill's 'The Second World War.'
4. Run a 5k
5. Visit All 50 States
6. Get ripped and get myself in shape.
7. Pay off every single dime of my student loans.
8. Write more novels, publish them.
9. I would like to ride a mechanical bull.
10. Go on a Caribbean Cruise with the Missus.
11. Drive to Alaska.
13. Have at least one culinary adventure a year.
15. Read one fiction book a year that's well outside my usual genre preferences.
16. Work on my backlog of non-fiction and history books, my Fraser biographies of Charles II and Cromwell, The Steel Bonnets and my Jenkins bios of Churchill and Gladstone are at the top of the list.
17. Read Wuthering Heights and understand/appreciate it.
18. Re-read and finish The Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire
19. Read Pride and Prejudice and understand it/appreciate it.
20. Master my ukulele!
21. I would like to shoot a gun. Because I've never done that before.
22. Be the best Father I can be.
23. Be able to buy a really rare bottle of whiskey for my 40th Birthday.
25. I'd like to visit NYC.
26. Ride a day of RAGBRAI.
27. Ride the whole week of RAGBRAI.
29. World Travel Wishlist: Brazil, India, China, Europe.
30. Brush up my foreign language skills and achieve moderate fluency in Chinese and Hindi.
31. Get something pierced again.
32. Go skydiving.
34. Take the family back to the United Kingdom for a vacation.
36. Be able to afford subscription to The Economist.
37. Road trip it up to Winnipeg for Jets game.
38. I'd like to see an Iowa away game somewhere. (Football and Basketball.)
39. Go to a Major League Soccer Game
40. Go to a Cubs game at Wrigley
Okay, so not a lot of progress with the list this year. I have to step up my game a little bit- but I also know that I'm close on a lot of these things. I just have to find the willpower (the time and the money) to do some of them. What's reachable this year?
#2, #3, #16, and #26 are probably the closest. #25 is a tantalizing possibility- maybe for the Missus' birthday next spring? #34 we both keep talking about, but we just need to go. #36 might go on my birthday list. In fact, you know what? I think it will go on my birthday list.
Hopefully I can get a few more things done this year. We'll see.
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