Sunday, March 1, 2015

My 20s: A reverse bucket list

A couple of years ago, a dear friend of mine turned 30 and created a 'reverse bucket list' of all sorts of things she'd done in her 20s. I loved the idea as a way to commemorate and celebrate the end of a decade and all the crazy and fun things she'd done during her 20s. So I decided to do the same thing. Of course, my list is nowhere as crazy, hilarious, and unbelievable as hers, but if you know both of us, that is to be expected. But alas, I made a list none-the-less - even if it's not as cool :D

So, without further ado - and in no particular order - I give you My 20s: A reverse bucket list!

-Push a greyhound bus out of the snow
-vomit in a garbage can on the street
-plunge into a frozen river (into a hole cut in the ice)
-ride the Wonder Wheel and Cyclone
-go snowboarding
-visit the Canadian parliament
-buy genuine cowboy boots and hat
-dance the night away with girlfriends at a club you frequented in your late teens (and feel really old)
-try punting in Cambridge
-attend a fancy Cambridge college dinner
-birth 2 beautiful (big) babies
-marry my college boyfriend
-eat haggis
-learn how to pronounce and spell ceilidh
-dance in a ceilidh
-evacuate a German hotel at 3am...with a 6 month old baby
-dance at a wedding until 4am...
-...with a 6 month old baby
-raft down a glacier-fed river
-drive over a median in a blizzard you didn't know was there
-witness the Montreal Fire Department set up a rope to cling to to avoid slipping while crossing an icy street
-learn the true meaning of bored to tears
-spend 8 weeks collating and binding reports
-work in NYC's financial district
-rock a sick baby to sleep
-see the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth
-see U2 and Arcade Fire live
-watch bulls get de-horned
-run through the streets of Coney Island in the winter at 2am looking for homeless people
-be so broke you can't even buy a pair of earrings at Claire's
-throw a karaoke party
-attend a temple dedication
-go to Hogmenay...and convince drunk men to give you their toques
-go snow tubing
-play laser tag
-eat at Junior's innumerable times
-visit more than 1/2 of Canadian provinces (AB, BC, MB, QC, ON, NL)
-invite a stranger from a flight to your parents' house
-go to Disney World
-wear a white (faux) fur cape
-witness a real live NYPD chase that ends with a small female cop throwing a large man to the ground
-call the cops on two thieves in a car plotting their next robbery teenagers getting frisky in their car behind our house
-take 2 small children on a non-direct flight by yourself
-take a tour of NY harbour on a 15' sailboat
-leave my 2 kids for a solo trip to NY
-learn to make chicken tikka masala
-spend over $5000 in one day at the dentist
-buy a house
-spend more money than you want to think about at Ikea
-fall in love with south Florida
-learn to drive
-learn to drive stick
-invest in a pair of Spanx
-make my own Junior's cheesecake
-learn how to cook an egg over easy
-Get stranded at a Wal-Mart in Edinburgh
-stay in a hotel room truly unfit for human habitation (I'm looking at you, Sigiorno Pitti)
-give in and get a Costco membership
-go on a road trip solo (twice)
-work in the same building as my husband
-experience -40* and live to tell the tale
-live and work in 3 countries
-become a Canadian citizen
-travel to the UK, France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Austria, the Vatican, Mexico, Haiti, the Bahamas
-present data at NYC's city hall
-organize 3000+ volunteers, hundreds of police officers, and hundreds of DHS employees for an overnight homeless count
-survey drivers in the rural midlands (England) for a week
-buy a car
-finish my BA
-get a master's degree
-go skating at Rockefeller Center
-see the Metropolitan Opera perform
-go to a Messiah sing-along (and laugh hysterically through half of it due to your own poor singing)
-live with best friends in a "Friends"-style apartment (5 girls across the hall from 5 guys)
-get a custom-made wedding dress
-figure out how to get from EWR to Carroll Gardens for less than $5
-Go to a real live rodeo (twice)


Well, my 20s were great and I definitely have my work cut out for me in my 30s. It may be a few months late, but here's to the next 10 years!