Bucketlist

In no particular order:

1. Turkey
2. Spain
3. France
4. Brazil
5. Italy
6. Japan
7. Austria
8. Switzerland
9. Greece
10. Russia
11. Laos
12. Cambodia
13. Vietnam
14. Kinabalu
15. UK
16. Nepal
17. Grand Canyon
18. Yosemite
19. big-wall climbing
20. ice climbing
21. cross-country biking
22. skydiving
23. high-lining
24. bungee-jumping
25. diving
26. ride a helicopter
27. travel on a hot air balloon
28. swim with dolphins
29. river paddling
30. jump off a waterfall
31. jump-back and jump-through
32. press handstand
33. levers
34. one-arm pull-ups
35. 8a and V12 (to start with...)
36. giant rollercoasters
37. multi-day music festivals
38. meet DMB, KOL, Foo Fighters
39. watch the Olympics
40. join the Olympics
41. West-End
42. Broadway
43. play the piano again
44. aurora borealis
45. geysers
46. Pompeii
47. the Amazon Rainforest
48. Serengeti
49. Machu Pichu
50. Ancient Egypt
51. Terra Cotta Warriors
52. Parthenon
53. Easter Island
54. write a poem
55. be a magazine editor
56. get a book published
57. get paid for writing
58. or traveling
59. or both
60. start my own publishing firm
61. build a public library
62. give away books to kids who can't afford books
63. inspire kids to love books
64. teach kids how to read and write
65. Mt. Everest
66. Mt. Kilimanjaro
67. Mt. Pulag
68. Mt. Guiting-guiting
69. Mt. Kanlaon

All this under 15 minutes. Let me stop here before I never do. They say we should dream big, right?

***Inspired by a photo of Turkey's Cappadocia that a friend posted. How worked up I can get by a single image!!!

P.S. I can't believe I forgot to include meeting all my sports idols and watching all the international sports events. That's probably plus ten items in itself, at the very least.

Dream

I've said this many times: I've never had an ambition.

When I was a kid, I never had a dream profession or job. I never envisioned myself to be a doctor, businessman, lawyer, writer, basketball player, artista, or politician. As I grew up, I was mostly just in the moment, learning about things as they came, enjoying wherever it is that I was, appreciating whatever it is that I had.

True, I would occasionally set my sights on certain goals, but I realize now that they would mostly be short-sighted -- ones that were realistic, purposefully calculated, within my reach, with (very) high chances of success.

If it's necessarily good or bad to be so careful, I'm not sure.

But recently, as I was reminded of a version of me that I once knew, and of certain adventures that have always taken my breath away, I felt a yearning to define the kind of life I want to live.

If it will involve the kind of images in this post, I'm not exactly sure. But right now, these photos of new friends' travels have sent my senses on fire, and have left me dreaming of an alternative life that just feels so far away, so lofty, so un-realistic, and way beyond my reach.

If it's necessarily good or bad to dream of having this kind of life, I'm not sure.

But I pray that my wondering mind is answered (sometime soon).

***All photos from http://onceuponaclimb.co.uk/stories/