A group of us from the Class of 2004 are putting the finishing touches on our 30 by 30 lists, and, considering we all have about 3 or 4 years to go, are even starting to check off a few. Believe it or not, our 30th birthdays are coming sooner than we all expect. And I'm not dreading mine as much, with these 30 things to look forward to- most notably, #30.
- Visit Oregon
- Ever since my old pal T. Hand moved out west, I've been dying to go visit. Like me, she's an outdoors gal, and she's there to stay. Can't wait for these long-over due trail runs!
- Get a PhD
- I'm starting in this coming September; my goal has always been to do this in three years. Coincidently, this falls right around my 30th birthday! Come to think of it, once I become a PhD student, it's going to be a lot more difficult to find time for the rest of this list. Better get to it!
- Jar jam and give it as gifts to friends
- My mom does this every year. It's a large impressive undertaking, but if done well, can make you a lot of friends!
- Perform at an open mike
- It's been years since I've performed anywhere outside of church. But I attest that I can still play the piano, still sing, and sometimes do them together. If only I could conquer the stage fright!
- Go rock climbing
- And take some sweet pictures doing so
- Enter the Washington Post Peep Diorama Contest
- Hopefully doing this in the next couple of months
- See my Texas cousins
- Since our grandmother died in '04, I think I've only seen the Buchanans (my relatives on my mom's side) once. They are such awesome people and there is no way I'm going to turn 30 and think, "When is the last time I've seen them?"
- Learn how to drive a stick shift
- Dad, I promise I'll be more interested next time around.
- Attempt 2:43
- My only running-related item here is an ambitious one (note the word "attempt"). If I can get my current marathon PR (2:56) down to 2:43 by the time I'm 29, I can run in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016.
- Visit California
- I've never been! And what makes that even more embarrassing is how many friends I have out there now. Now just to decide where in California....
- See Shaka
- This is one of the tricky ones that I'm not sure how it's going to play out. But somehow, I've gotta see my best friend from Mali days. With the political unrest currently restricting travel Mali and Shaka a teen who likes to disappear from time to time, this will be one a story to tell.
- Go surfing
- "Go" is also up for interpretation, as I'm skeptical about my chances at doing this successfully.
- Write and produce three public health related plays
- In my life, I've never felt so called to do a project than I was with The One Who Speaks. With my academic focus in qualitative data in public health, it's prime time to seize new opportunities to communicate the stories of the people behind the statistics.
- Learn how to roll a kayak
- Dad, I promise I'll grow some balls, get some skills and confidence so that our next white-water adventure doesn't involve you chasing my empty boat down the river and giving CPR to our water-logged camera.
- Become somebody's mentor
- I've had so many great mentors in my life. If I'm pushing 30, I think it's about time I find someone to take under my wing.
- Learn and successfully apply cookie-baking secrets from Mrs. Day and Taryn Hand
- After my unsuccessful attempt to bake Christmas cookies this year, I figure I need to learn from the best
- Record Christmas song
- I wrote "Gabriel: A Savior's Born" for St. Mary's choir in Honeoye for Christmas, 2010. To this day people are asking me if there is a recording, so I should really make one somehow.
- Re-learn how to do a cartwheel
- I'm gonna need a spotter
- Perform 30 random acts of kindness
- I stole this one from Christine. This'll be challenging and is not one to save until the last minute. It'll take some creativity too since paying for the person behind me at Starbucks will get old after a while.
- Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
- Out of all of these, this is the one I have the most doubts about. Getting to Kili is not cheap, so I'm hoping work will blow me out to East Africa at some point, and that someone will be game for doing this adventure with me.
- Publish the blog book
- My blog from Mali had a good following of readers, many of who wanted to see this in a novel, narrative form. There are a couple of chapters of a book about my friendship with Shaka and time in Dombila sitting in a folder on my laptop. Writing the rest is now or never!
- Visit all of the Smithsonian museums
- Yikes- there are 19? Good thing I live close to DC!
- Hike 10 new Adirondack peaks
- I'm not sure becoming a 46er is feasible at this point, but I'll knock off 10. Dad, when I'm 30, you're 60, so you better be up for this.
- Surprise my parents by showing up to something they don't expect to see me at
- Can't wait for the look on Mom's face!
- Independently chop down a tree
- Think of how bad-ass that's gonna be. It'll probably be a Christmas tree, as that wouldn't just be killing trees for no reason.
- Race in the Lake Placid Loppet
- And relive the cross-country ski glory days! Note: "race" does not necessary imply "train".
- Give out sandwiches to homeless people with Jen Lawler (or other activity of equal match in kindness and bonding)
- Jen's idea, so she better follow through. I recommend Baltimore for this activity. In any case, Jen and I are long overdue for an adventure.
- Read 5 classic and 5 modern fiction novels
- I read a lot of non-fiction. Actually, it's been years since I've read a non-fiction novel cover-to-cover. Though I always say I prefer non-fiction, its time to give fiction another shot. Recommendations please!
- Ride on a sailboat
- Ok so I was running out of ideas. But this would be something nice to do one day!
- Celebrate our 30th birthdays, the 30 by 30 lists, and all the other great years with the HFL gang.
- Watch out 2016!
If anyone would like to join me on any of the above adventures, or has any tips, your comments are appreciated!
Some of my friends did not make blogs about their 30x30. Others had one of their items be to keep about their 30 before 30. I am making no such promise. I'd like to write any interesting stories that come up, and I will try to. But at you can see, I'm going to be quite busy.
- Ever since my old pal T. Hand moved out west, I've been dying to go visit. Like me, she's an outdoors gal, and she's there to stay. Can't wait for these long-over due trail runs!
- I'm starting in this coming September; my goal has always been to do this in three years. Coincidently, this falls right around my 30th birthday! Come to think of it, once I become a PhD student, it's going to be a lot more difficult to find time for the rest of this list. Better get to it!
- My mom does this every year. It's a large impressive undertaking, but if done well, can make you a lot of friends!
- It's been years since I've performed anywhere outside of church. But I attest that I can still play the piano, still sing, and sometimes do them together. If only I could conquer the stage fright!
- And take some sweet pictures doing so
- Hopefully doing this in the next couple of months
- Since our grandmother died in '04, I think I've only seen the Buchanans (my relatives on my mom's side) once. They are such awesome people and there is no way I'm going to turn 30 and think, "When is the last time I've seen them?"
- Dad, I promise I'll be more interested next time around.
- My only running-related item here is an ambitious one (note the word "attempt"). If I can get my current marathon PR (2:56) down to 2:43 by the time I'm 29, I can run in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016.
- I've never been! And what makes that even more embarrassing is how many friends I have out there now. Now just to decide where in California....
- This is one of the tricky ones that I'm not sure how it's going to play out. But somehow, I've gotta see my best friend from Mali days. With the political unrest currently restricting travel Mali and Shaka a teen who likes to disappear from time to time, this will be one a story to tell.
- "Go" is also up for interpretation, as I'm skeptical about my chances at doing this successfully.
- In my life, I've never felt so called to do a project than I was with The One Who Speaks. With my academic focus in qualitative data in public health, it's prime time to seize new opportunities to communicate the stories of the people behind the statistics.
- Dad, I promise I'll grow some balls, get some skills and confidence so that our next white-water adventure doesn't involve you chasing my empty boat down the river and giving CPR to our water-logged camera.
- I've had so many great mentors in my life. If I'm pushing 30, I think it's about time I find someone to take under my wing.
- After my unsuccessful attempt to bake Christmas cookies this year, I figure I need to learn from the best
- I wrote "Gabriel: A Savior's Born" for St. Mary's choir in Honeoye for Christmas, 2010. To this day people are asking me if there is a recording, so I should really make one somehow.
- I'm gonna need a spotter
- I stole this one from Christine. This'll be challenging and is not one to save until the last minute. It'll take some creativity too since paying for the person behind me at Starbucks will get old after a while.
- Out of all of these, this is the one I have the most doubts about. Getting to Kili is not cheap, so I'm hoping work will blow me out to East Africa at some point, and that someone will be game for doing this adventure with me.
- My blog from Mali had a good following of readers, many of who wanted to see this in a novel, narrative form. There are a couple of chapters of a book about my friendship with Shaka and time in Dombila sitting in a folder on my laptop. Writing the rest is now or never!
- Yikes- there are 19? Good thing I live close to DC!
- I'm not sure becoming a 46er is feasible at this point, but I'll knock off 10. Dad, when I'm 30, you're 60, so you better be up for this.
- Can't wait for the look on Mom's face!
- Think of how bad-ass that's gonna be. It'll probably be a Christmas tree, as that wouldn't just be killing trees for no reason.
- And relive the cross-country ski glory days! Note: "race" does not necessary imply "train".
- Jen's idea, so she better follow through. I recommend Baltimore for this activity. In any case, Jen and I are long overdue for an adventure.
- I read a lot of non-fiction. Actually, it's been years since I've read a non-fiction novel cover-to-cover. Though I always say I prefer non-fiction, its time to give fiction another shot. Recommendations please!
- Ok so I was running out of ideas. But this would be something nice to do one day!
- Watch out 2016!
