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I'm not quite sure why but being 42 (and now 43) has been more about proving things to myself than when I was younger. There are things I've wanted to do much of my life but never did. Recently I guess that I've decided it was time.
I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the realization that the time I have left is finite and I want to make the most of it. Maybe it is because I've come face to face with the fact that the saying "it's never too late" just isn't true sometimes.
Here are a few things from my "to do" list (or maybe "bucket" list):
1) Visit my birth father in Alaska - He passed away in 2010 about a year before I was going to take a cruise up there.
2) Meet my sister (birth father's daughter - neither of us knew him while growing up) - Check - We finally met at our father's memorial.
She's great and we keep in touch pretty constantly. If every cloud has a silver lining, getting to know my sister was probably it.
3) Visit my aunt in Alaska - She passed away in early 2012... about eight months before I was hoping to make the trip. This, perhaps more than anything made me realize that planing to do something "someday" is often the same as "never".
4) Visit Alaska - Still on the list.
5) Visit Europe - Check (See #6)
6) Visit my uncle in Germany - Check - There was a standing invitation since I first met him when I was 18 or 19. After my aunt passed last year, I realized that I had to just do it... not plan to do it, but do it. A couple of weeks later I learned that he had cancer and treatment wasn't effective. A couple of months later (spring of 2012) I went over with my aunts and stayed with him for two weeks while he played tour guide for us all.
The food there was awesome. (I grew up with quite a bit of German food.) The beer was awesome too. Interestingly I didn't gain any weight there.
7) Visit Europe again - Working on it - Alas the soonest I can afford to return is 2015. I will be going to Poland, Austria and Germany in 2015 with a friend and his parents. The reality is that it will be too late by then to see my uncle again.
I'm actively working on this one. I have a few $ being put aside each paycheck. (Also see #9)
8) Visit my sister in California - Still on the list. I'm thinking maybe this coming summer though.
9) Learn a foreign language - Working on it - I started a couple weeks before going to Germany. Now I'm on lesson 46 of 90. One of the people I'm traveling with in 2015 speaks fluent German. I still hope to not need (or barely need) him to interpret while we're there.
10) Get fit. - Working on it - 26 lbs lost so far. At this point, it is as much about quality of life as it is about quantity. There are so many things I'd like to do that either require you to be fit or at least are difficult if you aren't.
During my 2015 trip, there will be days that we'll be walking as much as 10 miles sightseeing and to reach public transportation. Assuming I could even do it now (probably not) I would probably have to stop and rest often. By the end of the day I doubt I could even enjoy the sites anymore since I'd be so worn out.
Diet Calendar Entries for 30 December 2012:
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3178 kcal
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Fat: 122.57g | Prot: 159.92g | Carb: 305.46g.
Breakfast: Grape Nuts, Fat Free Skim Milk. Lunch: 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, Barilla PLUS Thin Spaghetti, Onions, Ground Beef Sirloin 90/10, Minced Garlic, Organic Marinara Pasta Sauce. Dinner: 100% Pure Orange Juice, Sauteed Onions, Sauteed Mushrooms, 22 oz Spotted Cow Beer, Texas Roadhouse Fries, Steamed Vegetables, Dinner Rolls w/ CinButter, BBQ Ribs, Sirloin Steak (6 oz), Rattlesnake Bites. Snacks/Other: Fat Free Skim Milk, Gold Standard 100% Whey - Chocolate Mint. more...
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4057 kcal
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Activities & Exercise:
Shoveling - 30 minutes, Resting - 15 hours and 30 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours. more...
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