I mean I want to see

1. Take part in a calligraphy competition.

2. Read Proust, Stendhal, War And Peace. Basically cut down on my literature major “hall of shame” list of books that have not been read.

3. Sit for French DELF exam. Conversational Cantonese.

4. Visit Kusu island. Walk South Ridge trail, go to Hort park. Visit Buangkok kampung.

5. Learn more about wine and tea.

6. Listen to all the chamber works by Beethoven and Brahms.

7. Grad school: MA S-E Asian studies.

8. Master the whole GRE wordlist.

9. Memorise three poems a week.

10. Be able to rattle off dates of important authors/writers/thinkers. Also to be able to explain concepts such as modernism, postmodernism, theory.

11. Maintain working habits that will last me for life. Cf Kant’s regularity. Be systematic in keeping up with mentors and contacts.

12. Nurture happy, healthy relationships. Master ways of resolving conflict.

13. Learn to pay attention, really pay attention, to people. Learn to read people better. Learn to sniff out insincerity. Learn to see through con artists.

14. Read all the BRK shareholder letters.

15. Catalogue my library. Read all the unread books I own before buying more.

16. Achieve glowing skin.

17. Go back to Bali/Vienna/north Vietnam with someone I love.

18. Do something better every day. Always choose what’s right and what will lead to growth over personal comfort.

19. Finish reading all Graham Greene books.

20. Hone counselling skills — eg empathy, asking interventive questions, training others.

21. Collect teaching material for when I do teach.

22. Take a first-aid course.

23. Learn to dive. :))

24. Go kayaking again.

25. Be able to identify all the countries in Africa. (Idea from A.)

26. Keep Economist/good reviews scrapbook.

27. Understand the basic tenets of all major world religions.

28. Break coca-cola, facebook, fried chicken addictions.

*

- Find things that make you laugh
- Start to recycle
- Write a bestseller
- Have a wall papered with a huge map
- Milk a cow
- Live in the place you love (done that!)
- Stand on the International Date Line — for something special like Christmas or a birthday.
- Learn to fly a plane
- Learn astronomy and read the night sky
- Go on a demonstration
- Swim with the scariest, the biggest, the most intelligent and the most colourful creatures in the sea.
- Win an award, trophy or prize
- Realise your childhood dream
- Learn that instrument
- Leave your mark in graffiti
- Get a piece of art into an exhibition
- Own a pointless collection
- Master poker and win in a casino
- Go up in a hot air balloon
- Sky dive
- See the Northern Lights
- Visit every continent
- Make a fire without matches
- See animals such as tigers, kangaroos, gorillas, hippos, elephants, lions in the wild
- See a snow leopard in the wild.
- Shoot a gun
- Have a friend much wiser than you. Make a friend on each of the five continents.
- Weed out charlatans and users. Cultivate kindred spirits.
- Ask each of your friends to teach you a new thing.
- Stop expecting anyone else to look after you.
- Add a new skill to your resume every few years.
- Think about what you used to want to do growing up. Have you done those things?
- Have one major achievement that you are very proud of.
- Learn a manual skill eg pottery or knitting
- Sort out finances, pay off debts, have a retirement plan. Have a sensible financial filing system.
- Know names of forty different plants or trees.
- See an eclipse
- Swim with dolphins. Swim in a river, a lake, a sea and an ocean.
- Make sure you have at least as many goals and ambitions as you had at 21
- Learn an instrument and sport and be proficient.
- Master a subject you wish you’d done well in at school.
- Always hone flirting skills.
- Keep a journal with details and anecdotes that will make good reading when you’re 80.
- Forgive any grievances. Make a list of past mistakes and errors of judgment and forgive yourself for them.
- Spend money wisely.
- Put your money where you mouth is.
- Learn to manage your emotions.
- Admit what you’re not good at and find ways to compensate.
- Get involved in the community.
- Take up a martial art.
- Have a repertoire of funny faces and ways of making your children giggle.
- Knuckle down if you don’t feel you make enough money yet.
- Examine your work life, home life, love life and friendships and make improvements where you find areas lacking.
- Cook a dozen dishes well, from a variety of cultures.
- Try to see the originals of favourite paintings.