I had always planned on blogging about my “30 before 30” list once I turned 30. I figured I would want to debrief on how it all went, how many items I was able to cross off, and which tasks I didn’t complete. That said, I never did debrief about my list. Does it mean that I forgot about it and tossed it aside? On the contrary: the list did exactly what I was hoping it would do.
I can recall a time in my life where I felt consumed by work and stress. This was right after completing my degree, and I spent most of my off-time thinking about work. I let work get to me. I put my mental well-being, physical health, and social life on the back-burner. There were things I always wanted to do and thought: “I’ll get to that someday”. I knew I needed a change.
Moving to Calgary was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It gave me the change I was seeking and a sense of independence, but more importantly, it allowed me to think about aspects of my life on which I wanted to place high importance. I always knew I wanted to be more physically fit, but could never get myself to exercise. I always wanted to enjoy the outdoors more, but just never seemed to make the effort to do so. When I decided to start P90X, focus on achieving some of my goals, and ultimately, create my “30 before 30” list to help me stay on task, I never knew it would instill in me the sense of adventure, possibility and momentum that I now feel. So I never debriefed about the list simply because there were many mountains to climb and fun adventuring to be had. Nothing really stopped after I turned 30. In fact, right after turning 30, the list of “31 before 31” was already shaping up nicely!
Today I finally finished thinking of 31 items to tackle before I’m 31. Now that I do the math, that is only 9.5 months away, and I think the list is a bit ambitious! NBD, No Big Deal, I’ll just do my best and see how it all goes :). Here it is…
Adventure
1. Go white-water rafting at Kicking Horse
2. Try paragliding (or hang-gliding)
3. Go caving in Canmore
4. Hike crypt lake in Waterton
5. Try ice climbing
6. Go kayaking or canoeing in Glenmore Reservoir
7. Go overnight camping (Egypt Lake?)
8. Go zorbing at COP
9. Try cross-country skiing
10. Do the CN Tower Edge Walk
11. Go dog sledding
12. Go zip-lining at Elora Gorge
Career/Education
13. Write the GMAT by the end of March
14. Complete my Certificate in Relational Databases by June
15. Get my SAS Advanced certification
Fitness
16. Complete one round of P90X2
17. Complete a 30 day yoga challenge
18. Run another half-marathon (Hopefully Vancouver!)
Fun/Social/Just ‘Cause
19. Float down the Bow
20. Go to the water park at West Edmonton Mall
21. Buy a bike
22. Watch Casablanca
23. Watch the original version of The Shining
24. Watch until the end of How I Met Your Mother Season 3
25. Watch all 4 seasons of Battlestar Galactica
26. Take a cooking class
27. Make Trinidadian pelau, macaroni pie and eggplant dip dishes
28. Have a lobster dinner with Marie (for real this time!)
29. Bake a chocolate cake from scratch
Travel
30. Take a wine tour in the Okanagan
31. Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 