30 Before 30

I can’t quite remember how the topic came up, but last week Nikki asked if I was doing 30 Before 30. I hadn’t thought about it but I liked the idea so when we got home that evening I started drawing up a list. It’s quite difficult to come up with ideas of things I haven’t done before, that I would be interested in doing and will be able to do before 1 August 2016 (e.g. finding a message in a bottle on a beach means that 1. I’ll need to go to a beach which is likely but 2. There needs to be a bottle with a message on that exact beach which is unlikely and 3. Somebody can’t have found the bottle before me which is even more unlikely). I looked at other people's lists on Pinterest and occasionally I would see things like "Get married" or "have kids" but that's not always within your control. And I'm already married and not sure if I want to have kids by August next year. Some of the things on my list are things every 30 year old should have done and others are a little silly. Some are for both G and I (such as number 11) and others are just for me (such as 3). I also reserve the right to change the list as I go.

So, here is my list (in the order I thought of them/found them on Pinterest):

1. Cook a roast chicken with gravy and roast veg

2. Go vegetarian for a week

3. Go on holiday by myself

4. Floss every day for a full calendar month

5. Learn to say hello and goodbye in 10 languages.

6. Run a sub-2 hour half marathon (this is possibly the most difficult one – I’m capable of completing one but I’m not exactly fast)

7. Go sober for a full calendar month

8. Host a party/dinner for a particular holiday and go all out with food, décor, research etc. (possibly linked to number 24?)

9. Fire a real gun

10. Ride a motorbike (sitting on the back of one counts – G has a licence so he is very excited about this one)

11. Watch every James Bond movie in order of release. I love Bond but haven’t watched many of the older ones.

12. Watch the sunrise and sunset of the same day (I have done this indirectly before but never concentrated on watching the entire things on the same day)

13. Create photo books of our trips

14. Create a message in a bottle and send it out to sea

15. Attend a proper yoga class (yip, I’ve never done this)

16. Get a caricature done of me

17. Get my fortune told by a crazy gypsy lady in a little caravan

18. Buy a ticket for a random destination at the last minute (i.e. go to the airport with my bags packed, ask for the next flight that costs less than x-amount and go)

19. Dye my hair a completely different colour (slightly closer to blonde doesn’t count)

20. Send someone flowers anonymously for no reason

21. Take G to a ballet/opera

22. Cook a roast beef with Yorkshire puddings and all the veg

23. Read Gone With The Wind (as a nerd I probably should have done this by now)

24. Learn more about Judaism (growing up in a mixed religion household only taught me so much – there are definitely gaps in my knowledge)

25. Knit a scarf but with slightly more than plain knitting techniques (i.e. more than what we learnt in Grade 4)

26. Learn how to play poker properly – more than just Texas Hold ‘em (actually, my Texas Hold ‘em knowledge can also use some brushing up)

27. Invest more. Need to decide on what though – property? Shares?

28. Get hypnotised

29. Be an audience member of a TV show. We were on the list for Graham Norton but couldn't make it. I'll keep trying. The benefit of being in AMS is that London isn't too far away.

30. Still to be determined. G thinks it should be something almost impossible or incredibly silly.

I’ve started preparing for some of them: I’ve downloaded all the James Bond movies and we’ve already watched Dr No. I have my mother's and grandmother’s recipe for Yorkshire puddings. We’re in a great part of the world to see ballet or opera. Yesterday I discovered that one of our favourite junk shops sells knitting stuff. Now that this is out in the internet, I have 490 days to do the above. Wish me luck!