The Life List

You know what I'm talking about, right? Everybody's got one: the List of Things To Do Before I Die. Or, Just Crap That Would Be Cool To Do (version without the morbidity). If you don't have one, I strongly suggest you sit down or stand up, I don't care which, and brainstorm things you want to do and write them down.

Here's a sample of mine:

Skydive Yeah, yeah, lots of people would probably like to do this one and probably do do this one so not really original, but I think it would be fun and terrfying at the same time. I did one of those indoor skydiving things with the tunnel and the big fan. It was kinda lame for the price I paid. I got all of 1.27 minutes to actually get blown around by a giant fan. It was kinda hard though, I couldn't stay stable for very long without falling off the column of air. There's a place in Alabama that does the skydiving. Maybe I'll look into it Real Soon Now.

Naturalist and Tracker Growing up, I loved reading stories about Indians or, if you prefer, Native Americans. I thought that if I could go back and pick a place and time period to live, I'd pick North America before the settlers arrived. Something about the way they lived with and respected the earth and relied on it for all their needs is appealing to me. A few years ago I stumbled on a Tom Brown, Jr. book, Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants. In it he tells a story of his first deer kill and how he was taught The Old Ways by his friend's grandfather, a displaced Apache Indian. I thought it was amazing that someone could learn these skills nowadays. At first I thought the book was really old and Tom Brown had to be dead, but no, he's alive and runs a Tracker School. I've wanted to go but haven't really had the money. I did find a student of his that teaches some classes in my area. I also bought the Kamana Naturalist home study course from Wilderness Awareness School, though I haven't done very much with it. Anyway, I could go on and on. Just so you know, I have built a debris hut and started a fire with sticks.

Break Dancing Yeah, I saw Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Everyone thinks breakin' is cool but not many think it's something they'd want to spend hours and hours learning how to do. Ever since I saw Office Space and the scene where they're celebrating in Peter's living room and Samir busts out a Master Swipe, I've wanted to learn how to break dance. I tried to clear out some space in my living room and learn how to do it by rewinding and watching that scene over and over. Alas, I kept crashing into objects. I mean, think how sweet it would be to be on a dance floor somewhere and bust out a windmill or something? Totally awesome. I don't even want to learn how to do a lot of stuff, just a few moves would suffice. I think I'll order this.

Ok, one more and then it's your turn.

Background talent Due to some sort of new legislation in Louisiana, it's really cheap to make movies there. I live about 5 hours from New Orleans and my parents live about an hour and a half. How cool would it be to go down there and get cast as an extra? It would be swell to see how a movie is made and meet people and raid the craft services table. And totally get paid for it; not a lot but probably enough to cover expenses. I had a buddy go down during the Dukes of Hazzard and get cast as an extra. His truck got cast too, but I don't think he made extra money for the truck. When the movie comes out I'll be looking for him. The insider tip is to go out to the clubs with the crew in the evening and chat up the director or somebody and maybe get a speaking role. Hey, it happens.

There's a small sample from my list. So all three of you who read this, put some of yours in the comments. Now!