Life List

[pegkerr]

I think I will put this in as a separate entry, so that I can add it to my memories list. I plan to revise it continually to add other ideas. If you have more suggestions, send 'em my way!

Organizing principle: To take growth-promoting risks so that I can live life as fully as possible.

Life List

Graduate from college
Get graduate degree
Marry, have children
Write a book and get it published
Impart enough human culture to my girls so they are fully civilized by the age of eighteen
Study a martial art (which one? How do I decide how proficient should I be before I can check this one off the list?)
Learn how to play Gaelic fiddle
Become proficient in French
Learn how to fire a gun
Run a marathon
Study emergency first aid
Learn to sail a boat
Learn to rock climb

Peg

Comments

[ari-o.livejournal.com]

emergency first aid comes in so many different sizes. but it is good to know. You could take a week-end course or you could certify as First Responder which takes 80 hours. I was a Wilderness First Responder - now I'm an EMT.

Tai Chi is the nicest martial art I think - but if you want to kick ass try Akido or something.

Why fire a gun?

You've done a lot!

Did you hear the "This American Life" last week-end about the woman who had "The List" and her mission was to be a superhero bad ass spy?

-k

Firing a gun

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Actually, a number of friends of mine are gun nuts (Joel Rosenberg, for example, who was my gun consultant on The Wild Swans). And I have always been baffled by their fascination. I would only do target shooting, for the specific reason that I hate guns, but would try to stretch myself to find out about something I know nothing about.

It reminds me of the first time I walked into a gay bookstore, in order to do research for Swans. I was so absurdly scared, thinking, this world is just not my world at all. But I learned so much, and found parts of that world that I really enjoyed (e.g., the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, which I love). I realized that gay rights is the cutting edge of civil rights, which is a topic that had always fascinated me. And by entering the gay world, I met so many people who opened my thinking about things.

So: I would learn to fire a gun to learn about a new area, which interests a different class of people than the kinds of people I usually associate with. It would be trying to master something new. It would be an experiment with developing hand-eye coordination, which is certainly a skill which can be applied to other areas of life.

Yes, I did hear the segment in This American Life you mention. In fact, I discussed it at length in my earlier entry about starting a Life List. I thought it was a very intriguing story.

Peg

Re: Firing a gun

[ari-o.livejournal.com]

Apparently I am more behind in my livejournal reading than I thought. My room mate is a gun nut. They scare me too. But I understand the urge to do things that scare you.

That is why I started rock climbing. But I stopped after I had to help pick up the bodies of three climbers who had fallen 300 feet.

*goes to read old posts*

[mon-starling.livejournal.com]

A wonderful idea I might have to steal for my own journal, but I have to ask... the Gaelic fiddle?

Gaelic fiddle

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Irish music played on the violin. I fell in love with it while I was writing The Wild Swans, because one of my main characters, Sean, was an Irish musician, and so I listened to it all the time while I was writing that book.

I sing first soprano. And I played piano for three years when I was a kid. I grew up in a reasonably musical household--my mom has played cello for sixty years. But I've never played the violin. I have been feeling more and more tempted lately to try to start lessons.

*Sigh* In my copious free time.

Sure, feel free to steal the idea for your own journal. Did you see

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Irish music played on the violin. I fell in love with it while I was writing <i>The Wild Swans</i>, because one of my main characters, Sean, was an Irish musician, and so I listened to it all the time while I was writing that book.

I sing first soprano. And I played piano for three years when I was a kid. I grew up in a reasonably musical household--my mom has played cello for sixty years. But I've never played the violin. I have been feeling more and more tempted lately to try to start lessons.

*Sigh* In my copious free time.

Sure, feel free to steal the idea for your own journal. Did you see <a href="<a href="http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=pegkerr&itemid=89070">my original entry</a>?

Cheers,
Peg

Re: Gaelic fiddle

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

the link is broken, btw

-M

Re: Gaelic fiddle

[mon-starling.livejournal.com]

*swoons* Irish music on the violin? I really need to listen to that. I adore the violin, but I am afraid I am simply not talented when it comes to music: I was always a mediocre singer, and I did try to learn piano when I was 10 or so but I obviously did not have the skill (or the patience). I am fascinated by musicians, I used to know a couple at school who were absolutely amazing (and I have no doubt have quite the career in music right now), and, as silly as this will sound, I regret not drawing them while they played!

As for the list, I really need to do my own, but I am afraid planning too far ahead never works for me - life is certainly not easy to predict, and truth be told, I have no idea what I want to be doing in ten years, and, considering I just turned 19, I am assuming that is perfectly natural. But I suppose some serious thinking about what I want to accomplish in life can´t hurt, so I will give it a try. ;)

Oops

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Corrected link for my original entry.

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I would learn to rock climb next, it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

Now I feel the need to write my own list...

-M

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Our local Dr. Lisa and I have been over to REI to climb their big rock just once, but we mean to go back. I bet she has, in fact. But I climbed up the easiest beginner climb all by myself and it was a kind of cool challenge. It's not perfectly easy at all. I keep meaning to go back.

I do like the idea of you torturing Delia with your very beginning violin lessons. Would she feel better about her own first efforts, or would she be smugly superior? Both I bet.

K. [sleigh is highly skilled in aikido, and would probably go on endlessly about it if you want to hear about akido from an expert]

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Maybe this is just me, but seeing "marry and have children" crossed off along with your degrees looks weird -- you're still married, you still have small children., they're surely an ongoing thing?

Laughs

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right Jo. I suppose it would be more accurate to use a check mark to check it off. I just don't know how to do that in html!

Cheers,
Peg

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I'm actually pleased with the fact that I've never fired a gun. (I think I've touched one once or twice, but I'm not sure.)

B