Things to Do Before I Die, Living To-Do, the Dream List - Whatever you call it, we invite you to post your list, suggest things for others to do, and most importantly, have fun living to do!

Dedicate a Period of Your Life to... Something

By sarajean on 8/30/09 8:24pm
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I realize that these last few posts have been rather vague, but the point of these activities is to make them as personal as possible while still providing ideas to add to your own Bucket List—and how to carry them out.

Like the last bunch, this one is again, highly personal. This task is to dedicate a period of your life to something important to you. The time period and the item of importance are both totally up to you. Perhaps you could give a moment of silence once a week—or even once a day—for someone you miss, or for world peace. Maybe you’ll give two years in service to the Peace Corps or to the military. Whatever you choose, make it something that’s important to you.

Including a few of my own picks, plus others, here is a list of ideas you might be interested in:

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See (Insert Aweseome, Awe-Inspiring Location) Before I Die

By sarajean on 8/30/09 7:25pm
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The Taj Mahal. The Coliseum. The Pyramids of Giza. The Great Wall. Everyone is entranced by some place—or many places!—that just calls to them, that makes them want to embark on a pilgrimage—or at least the next flight—to simply say they’ve seen it.

Maybe it’s something in your roots; perhaps your family is from Ireland and you want to kiss the Blarney Stone. Perhaps your native tribe heritage makes you want to visit some sacred landmarks in the U.S.

Or maybe you’re simply a history buff interested in different things. My husband wants to see Alcatraz, for example. Or maybe you just yearn to see something majestic, like the ocean, or Stonehenge.

For me, it’s the Neuschwanstein castle. I know it’s a product of such squandered resources, but damn if I don’t wish to see its marvels every day.

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Complete All X in X

By sarajean on 8/30/09 8:48am
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That sounds rather vague, but most people have a very specific interest here. For example, I want to visit all of the states in the U.S., read every work by Neil Gaiman and Shakespeare, complete a full Wiccan Year and a Day (without breaks, no excuses!), read all of the books in several different series (Chronicls of Prydian, Septimus Heap, and others), and see every Goren (Vincent D’onofrio) episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

In short… do all x in x!

What is your x in x list? Do you have one? You probably have a lot of ideas for one whether you know it or not. Maybe you want to read every book by a certain author, or see every film a certain actor has played in. Perhaps you want to try all of the flavors of Baskin Robbins, or every kama sutra position. Whatever you want to do, you can do it with a plan!

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Meet (Insert Famous Person Here)

By sarajean on 8/20/09 5:36pm
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Odds are that you’ve got “Meet Angelina Jolie/ Barack Obama/ Bob Dylan” or something similar on your Living To-Do List already. And if you don’t—why not? Surely there’s somebody out there who tickles you fancy and is just famous enough to remain out of your reach (for now).

Meeting a famous person is something that anyone can add to their list, and something pretty much anyone could accomplish. Take a look at my famous person-I-would-give-a-foot-to-meet—author Stephen King. While I don’t live near him and have no idea where he shops, I could probably meet him easily enough at a book signing if I simply paid attention.

(Of course, I’d only be able to murmur baby gibberish as I’d try to get him to sign my book, but a checkmark on your bucket list is a checkmark no matter what.)

Here are some other ways to meet the famous person on your list.

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100 Things To Do Before Kindergarten

By sarajean on 8/15/09 10:26am
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Who says your Living To Do list has to be for when you’re on your death bed? Why not start one earlier—say, when you’re in training pants? Okay, you don’t want your kids battling for Ivy League educations or aiming to climb Everest just yet (I get sick just when my daughter climbs the giant rock at the local playground), but you can still start a fun, lighthearted and no-pressure list for them to have as children.

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Live the Life of Luxury (If Only for a Day)

By sarajean on 8/14/09 3:00am
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Living “the life of luxury” isn’t just hard to do for most people these days—it’s also unsustainable. Personal jets, million-dollar mansions and Vegas vacations are all costly on both the pocketbook as well as the environment. Not living such a life, whether you can afford to or not, is probably one of the best things you can do to help the planet.

That said, if you want to live like a millionaire and have it listed in your Living To-Do, you can still live like the rich and famous without the huge expense and environmental footprint. Even if only for a day—or even a few hours!—you can live your own life of luxury. Try some of the following ideas.

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Don't Forget the Sexy Stuff!

By sarajean on 7/30/09 12:25am
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Almost everyone’s bound to have something sexy on their Living To-Do List. And why not? Sex is a healthy part of life, if taken seriously and responsibly, and there are plenty of things out there to satisfy anyone’s cup of tea.

I have a smattering of sexy things sprinkled throughout my own list, and while I’m not going to specifically mention them out of respect for my hubby, I am going to list a few suggestions that you may want to have on your own list. (Yes, it’s safe to say that at least a couple of these are on my list!)

Please don’t be offended if this list seems to be directed at only monogamous relationships, as I’m writing from my own perspective and experience (in some cases). If you have any other experiences you’d like to share please feel free to do so.

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See a 100, Read 100, Do 100

By sarajean on 7/26/09 11:15pm
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One of the most popular items that seems to be showing up on Living To-Do Lists everywhere is the “100 List.” I have a couple of these on my own Living To Do List—see 100 Oscar-nominated films as well as read 100 pieces of great classical literature. Though these seem like huge items—as if they are 100 things on your list rather than a single item each!—in reality, they’re both things that you’ve probably already completed at least partially.

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The Wish List

By sarajean on 7/14/09 12:13pm
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Now that I’ve seen The Bucket List and subsequently seen dozens of people’s bucket lists popping up here and there, I’m now noticing another format to the Living To-Do List—the Wish List. My aunt, who was reading a fictional book by the same title, told me about her own Wish List.

“Your wish list?” I asked, thinking it would be things to buy at Wal-Mart or things for my husband to do, like rearrange furniture. “Things to buy or things to do?”

“Things to do,” she told me, and showed me a list of twenty things she’d like to do—ranging from picnicking at the local park to seeing so many movies in a theater.

Ahh. A Living To-Do List! I was pretty excited to see that she’d started her own—I’m a bit proponent of people making their own lists—and it got me thinking about a book I’d bought when I was in the hospital called The Wish List.

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Go Swimming with… Something

By sarajean on 7/12/09 2:32pm
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A lot of people have “Swimming with Dophins” on their Living To-Do Lists, and I don’t blame them; dolphins are gorgeous, intelligent creatures that seem to like to have fun on their own. (How many other animals are famous for using orgies to bond?)

Having visited Sea World, I had the chance to pet a dolphin, and I felt more pity than awe. There were just droves and droves of people surrounding this aquarium, which made the dolphins seem more like they were trapped in cages than anything else. And perhaps they were.

So that killed my dream of swimming with dolphins right there—but that doesn’t mean that it should necessarily kill anyone else’s. I’m sure there are plenty of establishments where dolphins are given more room to breathe—and to swim.

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