30 for 30

While I’m out of commission this week, post-surgery, I’m hoping to blog a little more and catch up on some posts I’ve wanted to write for a while. In that vein, I’ve really abandoned my personal blog in favor of putting more effort and time into this blog. I don’t regret it whatsoever – talking about my non-existent dating life and my work life and my family and my friends can be exhausting, especially when there isn’t much to say (publicly anyway). But one thing I’ve figured out that I miss is having a place to talk about my non-reading goals. I’m not going to move any of that here, except for my newly created life list – 30 for 30. My 28th birthday is quickly approaching in less than two weeks, and I decided that there were a few things I want to accomplish before I hit that big milestone. I was partly inspired by Kerry at Entomology of a Bookworm. We’ve got a few of the same things on our lists, so I thought I’d post my complete list here, under the Challenges section.

Before I do that though, some explanation. The idea of a “life list” – things I want to do before I die – feels kind of morbid and also completely overwhelming, but a list of things to cross off my list in the next two years is doable and exciting. Of course, because I am me, there are book goals on my list as well. Two years sounds like a long time; it’s not, especially when you consider that some of these goals are year-long adventures, and that some of them are traveling goals, which require planning and money. Some are easy, some are hard. Some are a little bit out of my control, no matter how hard to work at them. I originally had more than 30 on the list, but I managed to narrow it down to these:

Throw a dinner party
~~Learn how to make homemade pasta~~
Live alone
Take a spontaneous road trip with no planned destination
Get a job in book publishing
Start saving for and do research into having my eggs harvested and frozen
Run a marathon
Do an Olympic triathlon
Take a photo every day for a year
Ask a stranger out on a date
Go alcohol-free for a month
Knit a scarf as a gift for someone else
Donate $50 to a different charity once a month for a year
Take my parents out for a really nice dinner
Eat only local for a week
Set up my freelancing services (i.e. hang out my shingle)
Take a vacation with my friends – no weddings allowed!
Read all seven Jane Austen novels
Go sky-diving
Read Anna Karenina
Eat crabs on the DC waterfront
Volunteer with the Obama 2012 campaign
Start writing fiction again
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
See every movie on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list
Travel internationally at least once a year (Canada doesn’t count!)
Read all seven Harry Potter novels back to back
Learn Photoshop, InDesign and HTML
Get kissed under mistletoe
Be happy

I managed to cross off #2 on my list on Sunday night. My mom taught me how to make homemade pasta and I can’t wait to try it out myself. I’ve totally got the bug and I want to teach myself how to make ravioli now too. I also realized – even though it’s not officially on my list – I did something else pretty cool (and it’s on Kerry’s list!): I learned how to shoot a gun!

Do you have a similar list? Any tips for getting some of the things on my list accomplished?

For one of the book goals, I’m going to participate in Unputdownables’ Anna Karenina read-a-long this fall/winter which I think will make me more motivated to finish it. Is anyone going to join me for this one?