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My Life List

I’ve been slowly, quietly creating a Life List. Some of this is laughably aspirational, and other bits are embarrassingly rudimentary. They are listed in no order whatsoever. This list will likely be ever-changing, and I’m going to add and subtract as I go. Crossed-out items have been accomplished!

  1. Eat at the French Laundry
  2. Write a children’s book
  3. Start a high-quality community arts center in my neighborhood
  4. Stand quietly in La Sagrada Familia for ten minutes
  5. Find a form of exercise that I really love
  6. Host/coordinate a “long table” dinner party
  7. Completely refurbish an old building
  8. Own a piece by Diana Fayt
  9. Win a MacArthur Grant or become a TED fellow (ha!)
  10. Grow a (rooftop?) garden
  11. Go to New Zealand
  12. Make jam out of six different fruits in one year
  13. Learn to alter patterns and make beautifully-tailored clothing
  14. Raise a really great dog
  15. Send someone to college
  16. Commission a new work by an amazing composer
  17. Go to Hawaii
  18. Have a one-on-one session with Michael Kaiser, and pick his brain
  19. Receive an honorary doctorate
  20. Eat beignets at Cafe du Monde with someone I love
  21. Do a seasonal dinner/cooking class in my home
  22. Own a Persian rug
  23. Make homemade pasta in Italy
  24. Commission a painting
  25. Sew or commission a quilt made out of sentimental garments (like Grandmom’s leaf quilt)
  26. Surf
  27. Establish an annual vacation tradition
  28. Surprise breakfast delivery for people I love: burritos? Scones?
  29. Drink a fancy cocktail (garnished by a tiny umbrella) by the pool in Palm Springs
  30. Own at least five acres of land
  31. Get all of my moles and freckles checked out
  32. Host a huge family Thanksgiving dinner
  33. Learn how to effectively say “no” without sounding like a mean person
  34. Donate $5,000 to a cause I care about
  35. Get into the habit of flossing daily
  36. Run/Walk a 5K
  37. Attend an Outstanding in the Field dinner
  38. Sing with a band
  39. Do a pull up
  40. Own a perfectly-fitted trench coat
  41. Go to Paris
  42. Celebrate May Day by secretly dropping off bouquets at my neighbors’ front doors
  43. Barbecue oysters at Point Reyes or Tomales Bay
  44. Send someone on a surprise vacation
  45. Attend a sing along at the Castro Theatre
  46. Host a Christmas cookie party
  47. Learn to sail a boat
  48. Establish a scholarship in someone’s name
  49. Take ballet classes again
  50. Build a chair
  51. Sit on the beach in Mexico, drinking a beer
  52. Stay in a yurt in Big Sur
  53. Strip old wallpaper out of an entire room (I have no idea why I think this would be so appealing, but I think I’d love it)
  54. Visit all 58 (or 59, depending upon the list) National Parks
  55. Go hiking in a foreign country
  56. Dye my hair red
  57. Fall madly in love with someone who madly loves me
  58. Cook a whole fish
  59. Write 100 poems
  60. Host a retreat on the coast for the utterly badass women in my life