50 Things to Do Before I’m 40

Inspired by C64Glen and other people whose lists I’ve looked at, I’ve decided to do my own top 50 list of goals to complete before I’m 40. I’ve got another 13-odd years to worry about hitting 40, so I’m going to be a little more ambitious with my aims.  Some of these I’ve taken directly from other people’s 40 Things lists, because they’re exactly what I’d want to do. Another few I’ve taken from others, but have modified it usually because I’ve done it before and need to up the challenge, or it was an unfinished job and I want to make a proper go at it. Some of them are totally my own, in case anyone reading felt I didn’t have any originality of my own Anyway, as I’ve used other lists as inspiration for mine, feel free to use my list to inspire you.  Depending on things, I may actually go up to 100 if I get these completed faster than I intend to, although also, I may just end up having new aims in general, though I’ll have to keep 50 to a page and no more than 100 in total.

Anyway, my list stands at…

1. Read all of the BBC Top 200 reads. – (0% Complete)
I’m starting this from scratch, because I haven’t read any of the books listed that recently. I’m dreading having to read the Harry Potter books, but it has to be done… I’m not buying them, so library here I come!  I’d have done the first 100 only but then I’d end up wanting to do the next 100 for the sake of completion, so may as well just list it all in one go!  Besides, I think I have some books that feature in the second half of the 200 anyway.  I’ve always wanted to read Les Misérables anyway and seeing as that’s at 114, I’d hate for it not to contribute towards my greater goal. Same for The War Of The Worlds, Adrian Mole and Lolita, all of which are in 101-200.

2. Watch the Top 250 movies on IMDB, as of 10/12/2009. – (0% Complete)
While I was thinking the top 100, some of the films listed I’ve not seen before (which are in the top 250), even though I should have! I want to have seen many of the best films of all-time before I hit 40 as I’ve shocked people by not seeing them. The list should stay put for the most part. Also, numerical order’s irrelevent, it’s more the fact they’re on it. It would only be the lower ranks thet they’d change anyway and not majorly. I’ve a list to refer to anyway if it all changes.  Either way though, like quite a few of these things, they can form part of something I needed to do in the first place.

3. Learn piano & guitar. – (5% Complete)
I know a tiny bit about both instruments, although I can’t really play any music yet, but I can tune my guitar.  The piano’s my priority for now though.

4. Relearn Irish and German. – (5% Complete)
I used to know quite a bit of German, till it fell out of use… same for Irish, so I want to relearn them both at some point.  I was actually learning a bit of Irish again, though I never did continue it.  I know a little bit of both languages still, but not enough to converse in either.

5. Learn a Nordic language, ideally Icelandic. – (0.005% Complete)
I’m part Icelandic, so I’d love to learn this, although I have learnt a little bit of Swedish and Danish, which should help me a little.

6. Join a gym properly and attend it regularly for at least a year. – (0% Complete)
I’ve withdrawn my membership though at present they want payment off me for months I never attended   Damn non-cancellable agreements

7. Buy a house. – (0% Complete)
I’m quite a while off from this, but like most people, I want to do it.  It’ll most likely put me into debt though.

8. Learn to drive and get myself a car – (10% Complete)
This one could take a while, although I have experience with driving on private grounds which taught me a few important things.  I’m still miles off from being able to go out onto proper roads.

9. Properly produce a Podcast/Internet Radio Show. – (50% Complete)

Well, I’ve already done a podcast and did a stint on a somewhat regular radio show (on my own station!), but this time I want to make sure I do one and stick with it for at least a year, if not longer.  I’m hoping that I can at least get 10 episodes of my DiggerCast podcast out over the next year.

10. Get myself a Doctorate. (14.2% Complete)
I’ve already got a CertHE, so I’m 1/7 of the way there, but I need to brush up on stuff. I’m hoping that in 2011 I’ll be able to start towards the first major milestone, that being a BSc. I’m not resting on my laurels though, that said.  I’m learning some lesser courses to help ready me for a BSc and get a job.

11. Go to at least 3 big music festivals and see them through till the end – (0% Complete)
I’ve been to Leeds, but that was work and I left before it started. I’ve been to Castlepalooza and stayed through fully as well as working, but I want to go to one of the long-standing ones and stay the whole time. I’ve been to Witnness (now Oxygen), but I couldn’t stay through fully due to “The Incident”.  I was rather gutted and all because I missed David Gray and it was the last day as well!

12. Go camping properly/sleeping under the stars. (20% Complete)
I’ve been camping before, but I haven’t properly done it, though the experiences I ave had has taught me how to be better prepared for camping. Music festivals do not count.  Seeing as camping usually results in sometimes sleeping outside not under a tent, I may as well combine the two.

13. See the northern lights. – (0% Complete)
My mum mentioned wanting to see them, and I do too, so I’m going to add this here.

14. Own part of a pub/bar. – (75% Complete)
Perhaps it’s just because I’m Irish, but I quite like the idea of owning part of a bar. I’m in the process of going through this one now, but havent spent money on it yet which is all I need to do.  I can’t afford to at present though.

15. Put All My C.D.’s Onto My PC and MP3 player. – (0% Complete)
Perhaps this is an easy one, but I’ve been putting it off for so long now that I may as well do it!

16. See a West-end show. – (50% Complete)
I live in London and yet I’ve never done this!  I’m not sure what I want to see yet though.  Someone visiting me expressed an interest in seeing one, and I’m essentially just waiting for them to have more confirmed choices.  Wicked was mentioned as one though, I recall.

17. Shave the hair on my head off. – (0% Complete)
Call it a moment of madness, but I’ve always wanted to do this just to see what it’s like. A friend of mine has done it before in a moment of madness, and I’ve shaved other hair on my body off, but I figure I’d go and do it for the hell of it.

18. Cycle the whole length of the River Thames from start to finish and back again – ideally before I pass 30. – (10% Complete)
This is one of those things I plan to do with a friend or a team, which might end u being for charity as well, although needs a lot of preparation for! I’m hardly fit enough to do such a journey at present.  It would be a summer thing though and will have to be meticulously planned.  I would also cycle along the Thames in Greater London, from one end to the other, north and south of the river as a test run for such an undertaking.  It would be a good test in familiar territory, as London’s a good training ground.  It also allows us to time how long it takes us to do 50 miles.  Additionally, this endeavour will be blogged and other parts of London will be done to help with training.  I’ve done some research on this at Dartford library, and learnt that the Ordnance Survey maps are our best bet for mapping the journey.  I would ideally want to get a bike this year or next though.

19. Visit the birthplace of my ancestors and learn more about them. – (0% Complete)
I’ve been interested in geneology for quite some time now, so I need to add this one in. I’d love to know where my family started off from.  I also figured that in order to do this, I need to learn more about my family tree, so they’re both put in together.

20. Visit 10 world capitals. – (30% Complete)
So far, I’ve visted Dublin and London and half-did Amsterdam and Copenhagen, so want to make a proper go at those ones. I’d also love to visit Prague sometime.

21. Complete my “Europe Tour” with my friends. – (0% Complete)
This is a big one. I want to travel round Europe and blog about it on a website. I’ve been wanting to do this for a good 4 years now but it’s not happened yet.  I could combine this with 20.

22. Watch a meteor shower and see a total eclipse of either the sun or the moon. – (0% Complete)
I’m into astronomy and the like, so this sort of thing would be quite cool to me (and maybe a little romantic?).  Maybe I could mix it in with the camping one.

23. Take a road trip. – (0% Complete)
I figured it’d be cool to go on a proper road trip somewhere, though I kinda did one with a friend years back.

24. Have a few more media appearances, most notably TV. – (0% Complete)
I’ve been on the radio once in the past and have had a few newspaper mentions, but I want to say that I’ve also been on TV… maybe it’s vanity on my part but I want to get myself “out there” a bit more.

25. Drive a Ferrari. – (0% Complete)
Granted, I’m not the sort who really likes fast cars (give me a half-decent looking practical car), but I suppose it can’t hurt to indulge in this. I’d never buy one, but at least I’d have a test drive of one. I’d have to learn how to drive first though!

26. Write something and get it published. – (0% Complete)
I think everyone wants to do this one. Ideally, I’d write a novel and get it published, but I may also end up writing about a project or essay and having that published.

27. Get myself decently qualified with parapsychology and photography. – (0% Complete)
I want to learn more about two of my hobbies to help me get balanced. As some know, I’m a paranormal investigator and I also indulge in photography. It made sense to combine them as on an investigation I usually have a camera.

28. Go inside the Great Pyramids. – (0% Complete)
I thought it would be pretty cool to be able to see inside the Great Pyramids, although I’m not in a huge hurry to go to Egypt, given the state of their roads!

29. Join the Special Constabulary. – (20% Complete)
I’m in the process of applying for this now, and have filled out the application form, sent them pics of my tattoos and provided clarification of info.

30. Get my photos published and/or seen in more places – (0% Complete)
I’ve had my photo of Greenwich Park published in the Schmap Guide to London although I’d like to contribute more photos to sites such as this, maybe get some included in a book or something.

31. Visit Japan, Australia and New Zealand. – (0% Complete)
Not much to say other than I’ve always wanted to visit these places.

32. Make my own music and/or successfully play a song by another artist. – (0% Complete)
I need to learn to play an instrument first, but I figured I’d need to take the instrument stuff further than just learning how to play.

33. Be free of all debt. – (0% Complete)
This one will most likely be one of the last ones I do, given I’d have a house, car and other money-sinks in the future.

34. Own my own successful company. – (0% Complete)
More on this later.

35. Learn to to manage my time better. – (0% Complete)
Biggest thing for me. If I learn this, it would help me immensely.

36. Learn to budget my money properly. – (0% Complete)
Again, it would help me out if I learnt this. It would also help me with my reduction of debt.

37. Walk around all 7 walking routes in London. – (0% Complete)
I want to do this as a precursor for the cycling event although again I need to get fit for it.

38. Give a proper talk/speech on something. – (0% Complete)
I have done this in the past regarding the paranormal, but I suffered from stage fright due to lack of preparation! I want to try to give a talk while prepared this time!

39. Have children. – (0% Complete)
Eventually. I don’t want to talk about this now.

40. Run at least one successful website. – (0% Complete)
This is possible, as I have plenty of websites up… but none are really successful.

41. Eat somewhere really, really expensive! – (0% Complete)
Perhaps it’s the posh git in me, but I’d love to eat somewhere really upmarket at least once before I hit 40.

42. Visit the most remote places in Britain and Ireland I can get to by public transport, then again with a car. – (0% Complete)
I’ve wanted to visit the Highlands for ages, but I’m not sure if I can do the most remote place without getting a car.  Would be fun to see how far I could get though.

43. Drive a tank. – (0% Complete)
This would be pure awesomeness… and I’m a bloke so yeah… bang bang XD

44. Play proper paintball. – (0% Complete)
I’ve not done this yet but want to.

45. Learn to program again and don’t let myself lapse. – (0% Complete)
I still remember some of the basics, but really I’ve completely forgotten everything I learnt.  I want to learn Java and VB6 again so I can code them

46. See wolves face to face and maybe help out at a sanctuary. – (0% Complete)
I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time, to the extent that I was willing to go to somewhere in Colarado in the US to do this.  I can’t afford it, but I have found out there’s one much closer to me in Reading, which is good.  There’s even a place in Kent that has wolves, which is better though not a dedicated wolf one.

47. Start to meditate and take up yoga again. – (0% Complete)
I used to do yoga and I can kind of do meditation, but I need to focus more for both.

48. Keep myself fit. – (0% Complete)
I’m going to have to find other ways to keep myself fit, now I withdrew my gym membership.  I might just start walking 30 minutes every 2-3 days or something to start with.  Getting a bike would be a good idea too.

49. Learn how to cook to a better standard than I can now. – (0% Complete)
I can cook, but I’d like to cook a bit better.

50. Learn how to sew properly. – (0% Complete)
I need to learn how to sew so I can sort my own clothes out instead of asking others to as I’m sure I’m capable of it.

Last updated: 22 April 2010

References:

http://www.c64glen.com/40-things/
http://www.before40.co.uk/40things.html
http://www.direxplorers.com/lighter-note/1360-50-things-do-before-you-forty.html
http://www.blinman.com/before30.htm