Sunday, January 15, 2012

THE LIST



10 years ago my French host family gave me a bottle of wine from Bordeaux and instructed me to save it until 2011- it's peak year. I drug that bottle across the country, from apartment to apartment, always anticipating the momentous event in 2011 when I'd finally be able to break it open. Would I get a dream project at work? a promotion? get engaged? A lot could happen in 10 years. 2011 finally came and I kept asking myself, is this a big enough event to warrant its opening? But nothing ever seemed to live up to my expectations. I had a great year, but somehow it was December 31st and I still had not found a good enough excuse to open my precious gift. It was now or never, so I decided to start 2012 off right. I made a French dinner meant to pair beautifully with the wine and invited some close friends over to partake. The moment of truth finally came and... it was terrible. We couldn't even finish our glasses. Dang, I guess all that time in moving vans and collecting dust in my cabinets didn't suit it well. We all had a good laugh and popped open a bottle from Williamson that was guaranteed to be amazing and the party continued. I'd set some rather unrealistic expectations for the bottle, just like we often do with NYE and most other major events in life . It served as confirmation that it's not so much about the event or the day, it's about the people you're with and what you're doing. That's what deserves to be celebrated. So, I decided 2012 should be about trying to live more in the moment, appreciating where I am now and not focusing so much on long term plans and expectations.


With that in mind, I've come up with a list of things I'd like to accomplish over the next several months. I'm not going to call these resolutions, but more like a to do list. You see I turn 30 in April (scary!) and there are quite a few things on my bucket list that I really think should be checked off sooner rather than later. It's a lot to accomplish before April 28, so I'm hoping to recruit some help with each one. Here goes:

1. Learn to use my camera in manual
2. Go to a swing dance lesson in Golden Gate Park
3. Go down the Castro slides
4. Participate in the city pillow fight
5. Surf the 38 bus (an old bet)
6. Try acupuncture
7. Have my palm read (just for fun)
8. Go to Angel Island
9. Come up with my own signature cocktail
10. Make a dress from one of my mom's vintage patterns
11. Participate in a flash mob
12. Sign up for a CSA box and start cooking more seasonally/trying out new recipes

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