Somebody found my blog after reading another blog called "Lifeless Matter," and suggested that I should do the BBC's Fifty Things to do Before You Die checklist they saw there (guessing I might be a good candidate considering all my traveling and stuff). I have to admit that it is an interesting list (though it has a bizarre fixation on wild animals and mountain expeditions), so I thought "why not" and gave it a try. From the looks of things, I am 2/5 ready to die already.

Personally, I have my own list of "Things I Want to Do Before I Die," but I only add something to it after I've actually done it. That way, I don't die unfulfilled!

Anyway, not exactly the list I would have chosen, but you can read my comments in an extended entry...

1. Swim with dolphins (Done it!)... The dolphins I swam with were wild, so it was pretty special.
2. Scuba dive on Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Wanna do it!)... I would want to re-up my certification first (it's been a while), but I would absolutely do this.
3. Fly Concorde to New York, New York, USA (Probably not!)... Now that the Concorde has been grounded, this is impossible.
4. Go whale-watching (Done it!)... From shore on Maui... no need to go buzzing around the poor things in a motorboat.
5. Dive with sharks (Done it!)... For my certification graduation dive in Maui, there were reef sharks (fairly harmless) swimming around.
6. Skydiving (Done it!)... A friend wanted to go tandem skydiving, and I loved it so much I went back and took parachuting classes.
7. Fly in a hot air balloon (Done it!)... Just up and back down again... would have been nice to actually go someplace.
8. Fly in a fighter jet (Probably not!)... And how, exactly, does one go about arranging this? I would do it, if it's possible.
9. Go on safari (Probably not!)... This would be okay, so long as no animals were harmed in any way.
10. See the Northern Lights (Sorta did it!)... On occasion you can see the Northern Lights from Washington State, but they are nothing like the show you would get in Alaska. So, while I have done this, I don't think I'll count it until I've seen them "for real."
11. Walk the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, Peru, South America (Wanna do it!)... My brother and I were going to do this, but he decided to get in an accident and nearly blow his face off instead. Oh well, maybe one day.
12. Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia (Wanna do it!)... And when I finally end up making it to Australia, I probably will (despite my fear of heights!).
13. Escape to a paradise island (Done it!)... Both Maui and Bali are candidates, and I love them both.
14. Drive a Formula 1 car (Probably not!)... I've sat in a Formula 1 car, does that count?
15. Go white-water rafting (Done it!)... Granted, this was a pretty tame run down the Columbia and not something spectacular like the Colorado or something.
16. Walk the Great Wall of China (Wanna do it!)... Absolutely want to do this one.
17. Bungee-jumping (Done it!)... Probably more frightening than skydiving for me.
18. Ride the Rocky Mountaineer train, Canada (Probably not!)... I'm not ruling it out, but there are a lot of other things I'd rather do first.
19. Drive along Route 66, USA (Done it!)... Well, not the entire thing, but I've driven parts outside of L.A., outside Chicago, and around St. Louis. Seems like it would be a great motorcycle trip to run the entire thing though.
20. Fly in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, Nevada, USA (Done it!)... And I took my mom along for the ride.
21. Take the Orient Express from Venice to London (Probably not!)... Okay, it's not that I am opposed to this, it's just that it's so incredibly expensive that I don't know how I could afford it.
22. See elephants in the wild (Wanna do it!)... Since I'm sure the elephants at Disney's Animal Kingdom don't count, I do think it would be cool to go to Africa or India and do this one.
23. Explore Antarctica (Probably not!)... Uh, why? I might consider it if they built an authentic Hard Rock Cafe but otherwise no.
24. Ride a motorbike on the open road (Done it!)... Every chance I get!!
25. Have a go at cowboy ranching (Probably not!)... Not exactly my cup of tea considering that the object of ranching is to breed cattle for slaughter.
26. Climb Mount Everest (Probably not!)... You've got to be kidding. Putting the extreme danger aside, can you imagine how much money it would cost to put such an expedition together? I'm guessing it would be a minimum of $10,000, which is rediculous.
27. Wonder at a waterfall (Done it!)... Kauai has some nice falls, as does the Big Island of Hawaii.
28. Travel into space (Probably not!)... Now this is just stupid. How many people are going to get the chance for this in their lifetimes?
29. Explore the Galapagos Islands (Probably not!)... This is a preserved area, and only scientists, researchers and such are given permission to visit.
30. Trek through a rainforest (Done it!)... Fortunately for me, my home state just happens to have a rain-forest available at Olympic National Park!
31. Gallop a horse along a beach (Wanna do it!)... My riding skills are crap though.
32. Ride a camel to the Pyramids, Egypt (Wanna do it!)... Absolutely something on my list to do.
33. Take the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok (Probably not!)... Whatever. I wouldn't pass it up, I suppose, but I'd think it would be a bit boring for a trip wouldn't it?
34. Catch sunset over Uluru (Ayers Rock) , Northern Territories, Australia (Wanna do it!)... And, again, when I finally get to Australia I probably will.
35. Go wing-walking (Done it!)... Part of parachuting is walking out on the wing strut to jump off, so I guess I've done this already.
36. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa (Probably not!)... Gack! Again with the massively expensive expedition that only a handful of people on earth could even manage to afford!
37. Fly over a volcano (Wanna do it!)... While on the Big Island of Hawaii, I walked over a volcano, which seems much more impressive, doesn't it?
38. Drive a husky sled (Probably not!)... Sorry, but I am one of those people that thinks this is cruel to the sled dogs, and have no plans to ever try it.
39. Hike up a glacier (Done it!)... My home state of Washington has glaciers as well. Nothing like Glacier Bay in Alaska, but still.
40. Ride a rollercoaster (Done it!)... Who hasn't? The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Universal Studios Florida being my favorite.
41. Fish for blue marlin (Probably not!)... I don't eat fish, nor would I kill them for sport, so this is something I have no plans of doing.
42. Go paragliding (Done it!)... Well, parasailing, which is close enough in my book.
43. Play a round of golf at Augusta, Georgia, USA (Probably not!)... Bah! If I were to play a round of golf anywhere, it would be in Scotland where the game was invented!
44. Watch mountain gorillas (Wanna do it!)... Who wouldn't?
45. See tigers in the wild (Wanna do it!)... But don't tigers EAT you in the wild?
46. Do the Cresta Run, Switzerland (Wanna do it!)... Heck yeah I would do this! Probably die while trying, but what a way to go!
47. Visit Walt Disney World, Florida, USA (Done it!)... I think I've been seven times, though it is not really a place I enjoy much.
48. Visit Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (Done it!)... Hasn't everybody?
49. See orang-utans in Borneo (Wanna do it!)... Why not? Boy, sure a lot of wild animal watching on this list!
50. Go polar bear watching (Wanna do it!)... Why not? Boy, sure a lot of wild animal watching on this list!