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Bucket List

Stuff I’ve accomplished:
Stuff I still want/need to do:
  1. Learn the saxophone (1969/70)
  2. Learn how to shingle a roof as a teenager (1972-1975?)
  3. Learn to march for marching band (1974)
  4. Learn to drive (1976)
  5. Kiss a girl for the first time (1976)
  6. Move far away from hometown (L.A. 1984)
  7. Do manual labor for a year in a warehouse
    & drive a forklift (1979/80)
  8. Work at a nursing home,
    & gain understanding of elderly living (1978/79)
  9. Learn first programming language (BASIC, age 15 – 1974)
  10. Go to college, study Architecture (1977-1978)
  11. Go to college, study Computer Science (1978-1982)
  12. Take a university photography class (1980)
  13. Go on an out-of-town photo class shoot in Toronto (1978)
  14. Learn first professional software development platform
    [A-Series/MCP] & Language [ALGOL/COBOL] (1980-1983)
  15. Go Spelunking in a cave in Kentucky
    & not see daylight for 24 hours straight (1981-1982?)
  16. Vacation someplace exotic (Hawaii – 1981, 1983)
  17. See Bryce Canyon National Park (1984)
  18. Complete a college education
    (University of Redlands,
    Bachelor of Science in Information Systems – 1987)
  19. Take a 4 seater airplane ride
    & getting so green you almost barf (1989/1990?)
  20. Learn to downhill ski (1990)
  21. Ski in Colorado (Breckenridge – 1993-1998?)
  22. Go parasailing over the ocean (1998, 2007)
  23. Take an ocean cruise (Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas – 1998)
  24. Vacation in Europe (London, England – 1994)
  25. See the London Tower Bridge (1994)
  26. Get married (1995)
  27. Buy a house on a lake (with your spouse)
    & enjoy lake living (1995-2000)
  28. View the world from the tallest buildings
    (CN Tower, Toronto – 1978,
    John Hancock Building, Chicago – 2002/2006)
  29. Buy a boat, go boating on a daily basis,
    & have some fun for once in your life (1996-2000)
  30. Buy a jet ski, get over fear of water
    & go jet skiing (1996-2000)
  31. Get over fear of public speaking
    & give a presentation in front of ~20 people (1995)
    & teach a class (~10 people) (1996)
    & give several more classes (1996-2009)
    & join ToastMasters (2013)
  32. Paint Bob Ross style painting (1996/1997?)
  33. Take DNA test confirming 17 year old daughter (2001)
  34. Buy a house on my own (2001)
  35. Finish unfinished basement
    & learn electrical, plumbing, framing skills (2002-2005)
  36. Paint very first wall (2002)
  37. Build first woodworking project (built-in bookcases, 2009)
  38. Live with someone (1983, 1989, 2001/2008)
  39. Design and build (with help) a multi-layered deck (1996)
  40. Drive a car much faster than 100 mph (120 mph?)
    (1986 Toyota Celica on I-210 in L.A. -1986,
    2011 Ford Taurus CEL in Florida – 2011)
  41. Help raise kids that aren’t yours (2001-2004, 2008-2012)
  42. Build first model railroad scenery kit (2004)
  43. Start to build first model railroad layout (2006)
  44. Build first Model Railroad Structure
    (3 completed – 2010)
  45. Build second set of MRR structures (3-4 completed – 2014)
  46. Learn new software development platform (Remedy – 2004)
  47. Learn new computer platform
    [Sperry OS2200] and language [PLUS] (1988)
  48. Take Airboat ride in Florida Swampland
    & look for alligators (2011)
  49. See Grand Canyon (1987/1988)
  50. Go jet skiing on the ocean (Pacific – 1998, Cape Cod – 2008)
  51. Learn a new programming language
    [one that EVERYONE uses (JAVA – 2010)]
  52. Vacation in the Caribbean (Cayman Islands – 2007)
  53. Take Bubble-shell machine under the sea
    (Cayman Islands – 2007)
  54. Take your first helicopter ride (2009)
  55. Work downtown Minneapolis (2010-2011)
  56. Watch final space shuttle launch (Atlantis -2011)
  57. Take public transportation to work
    (Light Rail and Bus – 2010-2011)
  58. Work in Orlando (2011)
  59. Attend ‘Paint Nite’ and paint a painting in one evening
    (RML – 2014, and Elyse – 2015)
  60. Start and Finish Master’s Degree
    [Graduate Program in Software at Saint Thomas (2012-2015)]
  61. Hold a baby for longer than 5 minutes
    & fall in love with them
    & take care of them, by yourself, over many nights (2012-ongoing)
  62. Learn to become team lead for the first time,
    leading a database admin team (1993-1995)
  63. Become team lead of a system admin team
    & fail at it (1997-2001)
  64. Become team lead of a software development team
    & succeed at it  (2007-2009)
  65. Pick grapes from the vine at a winery
    (a few times from 2008-2014)
  66. Create a website and blog (2012 – ongoing)
  1. See India
  2. See Moscow
  3. See Vietnam
  4. See Auschwitz
  5. See Getty Museum
  6. See Henry Ford Museum
  7. See Edsel Ford Estate
  8. See Northlandz Museum
  9. Ski again in Colorado
  10. See Saint Petersburg
  11. See Grand Canyon again
  12. See Twin Towers Memorial
  13. See Great Wall of China
  14. Take an Alaskan Cruise
  15. See Yellowstone National Park
  16. Go up the Saint Louis Arch
  17. See Chernobyl, if possible
  18. Finish second unfinished basement
  19. Finish first Model Railroad Layout
  20. Go skiing (one time only) in the Alps
  21. Finish a paint by numbers painting
  22. Start/finish another Bob Ross painting
  23. Buy another house with an unfinished basement
  24. Start/complete more Model Railroad Structures
  25. See Diego Rivera’s Frescos at Detroit Institute of Art
  26. Start second woodworking project (Entertainment Center)
  27. Take Helicopter Pilot training lessons and get your license
  28. Keep being a step-grandfather to Lailah as long as possible
  29. Try to have a better relationship with Elyse

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